ANALYSIS OF BOLTED-FLANGE JOINT USING FINITE ELEMENT METHOD

Flange Joint is a joint system in the piping system, and is used in almost every industrial sector, the flange joint aims to facilitate checking and maintenance so that it is not permanent. The main concern of the piping engineer on this flange joint is the possibility of leakage that will occur at the joint, this is related to the strength of the material used in the joint. In the flange design process, there are several institutions that regulate flange design standards, for example API (American Petroleum Institute), ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers), etc. In this study, there are 3 main objectives, knowing the internal pressure limits of the API 6BX Flange design size 4 1/16 in, knowing the response of joint components to additional external loads combined with internal pressure loads, and knowing the effect of preload variations applied between API and ASME standards. From the simulation results obtained under internal pressure loading, the acceptable limit for the flange joint is 206,8 MPa (30 ksi), where failure is in the flange component which has exceeded the specified yield strength limit of AISI 4130 material (517 MPa). While in the combined loading of internal pressure and external force (44,4 kN, 133,4 kN, 266,8 kN), the maximum stress on the flange component is ±308,92 MPa (API Preload), and ±399,53 MPa (ASME Preload), and bolts. The maximum stress that occurs is ±567,5 MPa (API Preload), and ±593,1 MPa (ASME Preload). These values are still below the yield strength of the material flange and bolt components.