Sealing Performance of Gasketed Bolted Flanged Joints: A Fuzzy Decision Support System Approach

Abstract

The paper describes a fuzzy decision support system (FDSS) and its application to the selection of sets of optimal parameters to characterise the gasket sealing performance in gasketed bolted flanged joints. The FDSS of fuzzy logic theory is applied considering the gas pressure, gasket deflection, and leakage rate based on required gasket stress and flange surface roughness. The idea and implementation of the fuzzy decision support system is based on the compositional rules of inference and can be applied to other areas of gasketed bolted flanged joints to automate the selection of proper parameters which can best characterise the joint sealing performance and provide the required tightness.