As you start to consider purchasing flanges or gaskets, you’ll see a variety of terms used that you may not have come across before. Flange faces are the surface area that will receive the gasket, allowing them to come together to create a seal when put under pressure. Today we’re going to take a deeper dive into the meaning and types of flange faces to help you make the right decision when purchasing this part in the future. Check our page for more information about the products we offer and don’t hesitate to contact our team if you have any questions about flanges or gaskets.
What is a Flange Face?
The flange face is the surface area of the flange that will receive a gasket to create a seal when pressure is put on these parts. The size of the flange and gasket will depend on your unique requirements, but you’ll find a wide variety of options on offer to avoid leaks. The flange face can be either flat or raised but is designed in a way that makes it compatible with the gasket to create a high-quality seal. You’ll find flange faces with different finishes, including serrated, spiral or concentric options. The roughness of the flange will also vary depending on the option you choose based on the requirements you have for using flange faces.
Types of Flange Faces
There are a variety of different flange faces on the market today, all of which have different uses and benefits. These are some of the most common types of flange face that you might consider for your business needs. Take the time to review which option would be best for your business based on your pressure and temperature requirements. Choosing the right flange face will help to reduce the chances of a leak and create an effective seal for your processes.
Lap Joint Flange
A lap joint flange has a flat side with a stub end on the sealing surface. This stub end can be either flat or raised and the joint is accommodated with the back of the stub end as the flat side isn’t as useful for sealing flanges.
Raised Face Flange (RF)
As one of the most common types of flange face, you may have used this type already in the past. The sealing face sits higher than a circular bolt face and it allows a variety of different gasket design options. This works well with a spiral wound type, double wall type, or flat right sheet type. You’ll find this type of flange is readily available and one of the most reliable options for businesses.
Ring Joint Flange (RTJ)
When researching flanges and gaskets, you’ll often see comparisons of the differences between RF flanges and RTJ flanges. RTJ flanges are ideal for anyone working with high pressure and high temperatures, thanks to the groove cut into the face and the excellent seal they create. This type of flange creates a very effective metal-to-metal seal. O-ring sealing RTJ flanges are some of the most popular on the market today thanks to the high pressure they can withstand.
Flat Face Flange (FF)
A flat face flange will have a sealing surface that is in the same plane as the bolt surface. These are suitable for lower pressure jobs and are not an option for using alongside RF flanges.
Choosing the Right Flange Faces
With so many options on offer, we know that it can be a challenge to find the right type of flange face for your unique needs. There are many different factors to consider when it comes to choosing a ring type joint gasket or any of the other options that we’ve shared above. We recommend taking the time to research all of the solutions and then find the one that best suits the temperature and pressure applications you will use it for. Our team is very experienced at helping companies choose ring type joints and we have a wide selection of products that you can review on our site. Choosing the right flange face will help to minimise the chances of leaks and other issues and support your work each and every day.
With so many types of flange faces to choose from, it’s critical that you find the right option for your needs. Whether you want to use RTJs or another type of flange, our team will be here to support you with that decision. You’ll find more information about the different types of flanges on our product pages, but our expert team will also be here to guide you if you do have any questions about which option would be best for your needs. Contact us today for more information about any of the products on our site or to discuss any questions you have about flange faces.
