ARTICLE IN PRESS

International Journal of Pressure Vessels and Piping 84 (2007) 185–194

www.elsevier.com/locate/ijpvp

Creep analysis of bolted flange joints

Akli Nechache, Abdel-Hakim Bouzid
Ecole de Technologie Superieure, 1100 Notre-Dame Ouest, Montreal (Quebec), Canada H3C 1K3
Received 22 January 2006; received in revised form 24 May 2006; accepted 24 June 2006

Abstract

In the petrochemical and nuclear industries, the difficulty in assessing the effect of creep on the tightening load of bolted flanged
connections is recognized. Under high temperatures, the leak tightness of bolted joints is compromised due to the loss of the bolt load as
a result of creep of not only the gasket and bolt materials but also the flange material. Apart from acknowledgment of this effect, there
exists no established design calculation procedure that accounts for creep. This is because the relaxation of the bolt load and the
corresponding loss of the gasket contact stress are not easy to assess analytically. The main objective of the work is the development of a
simple analytical solution to the creep-relaxation problem encountered in bolted flange connections of the float type. Particular emphasis
is put towards relaxation caused by the flange and bolt material creep.
The validation of the methodology is carefully checked against the more complex 3D numerical FE method using different size flanges.
Based on the creep constants of the different joint elements (bolt, flange and gasket), the implemented analytical method is shown to
predict the bolt and gasket load relaxation with reasonable accuracy. In some flange cases, up to 70% of bolt load relaxation is found
with both methods depending on the flange creep material and size.
r 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Bolted flanged joints; Analytical modelling; Bolt load relaxation; Flange creep; Finite element analysis

1. Introduction The ability of a joint to remain tight over a long period

Bolted flanged joints are the most popular means of
connecting piping systems and pressure vessels containing
fluid or gas under pressure. Although this type of
connection is practical in terms of disassembly, it is a
source of potential leakage failure especially when operat-
ing under high pressures and temperatures. Some flanged
joint assemblies may begin to leak at some time following a
successful hydrostatic test. One reason for this is that the
gasket experiences a drop in its initial compressive stress
due to gasket creep. Furthermore, above a temperature of
650 1F, flange and bolt creep become important contribut-
ing factors to the relaxation of the joint. Although it is
widely acknowledged that creep relaxation of bolted joints
increases with elevated temperature, [1,2] show that even at
room temperature relaxation can also be significant with
certain types of gaskets such as PTFE-based gaskets.
Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: anechache@mec.etsmtl.ca (A. Nechache),
hakim.bouzid@etsmtl.ca (A.-H. Bouzid).
of time is jeopardized due to the creep phenomenon that
takes place not only within the softer gasket material but
also the flange and bolt materials. Over the past 20 yr, with
strict emission laws and environmental protection con-
sciousness, the technology of bolted flanged joints has
fostered considerable research and development world-
wide. The research has evolved to the point where several
countries have already adopted new flange design proce-
dures [3,4] and others are in the process of implementing
new design rules [5]. Nevertheless, apart from acknowl-
edging the effect of creep-relaxation, these flange design
procedures do not give specific guidelines to help the design
engineer make a quantitative assessment [4–6]. Research
into the effect of creep on load relaxation in bolted joints
has recently re-emerged with the implementation of the
strict environmental laws and the recent development of
the two new gasket materials PTFE and flexible graphite.
In the absence of a specific method to evaluate the load
change due to creep, the experienced engineer has no choice
but to make an ‘‘educated guess’’. However, from a
practical standpoint it would be safer to provide the

0308-0161/$ - see front matter r 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.ijpvp.2006.06.004
 ARTICLE IN PRESS
186 A. Nechache, A.-H. Bouzid / International Journal of Pressure Vessels and Piping 84 (2007) 185–194

Nomenclature KfP flange uniaxial stiffness due to pressure

(N/mm2)
Dn nut displacement (mm) lb initial bolt length (mm)
n Poisson’s ratio of joint element m creep constant for steel
e strain deformation M Discontinuity edge moment (mm N/mm)
y flange rotation (rad) Mf flange moment (mm N/mm)
yfM flange rotation due to bending moment (rad) n creep constant for steel
yfP flange rotation due to pressure (rad) N gasket contact width (mm)
sy tangential stress (MPa) P internal pressure (N/mm2)
as gasket stress creep constant Q Discontinuity edge load (N/mm)
at gasket time creep constant r radial distance (mm)
A creep constant for steel ri flange inner radius (mm)
Ag full gasket contact area (mm2) ro flange outer radius (mm)
Ab bolt area (mm2) tf thickness of the flange (mm)
Ap pressurized area encircled by G (mm2) tg thickness of the gasket (mm)
bs gasket stress creep constant u radial displacement (mm)
bt gasket time creep constant y axial distance from flange centroid (mm)
C bolt circle diameter (mm) w axial displacement of joint element (mm)
d bolt nominal diameter (mm)
Ef Young’s modulus of flange material (MPa) Superscript
Eg gasket compression modulus (MPa)
Eb Young’s modulus of bolt material (MPa) c refers to creep
Fb bolt force (N) f refers to final state
Fg gasket force (N) i refers to initial state
G gasket reaction force diameter (mm) T refers to steady state temperature
hG radial distance from bolt circle to gasket force
(mm) Subscript
hP radial distance from bolt circle to flange inner
diameter (mm) b refers to bolt
Kb bolt uniaxial stiffness (N/mm) e refers to an element of the joint
Kg gasket uniaxial stiffness (N/mm) f refers to flange
KfM flange uniaxial stiffness due to moment g refers to gasket
(mm N/mm)

designer with a method that predicts the loss of load
accurately in order to guarantee a leak-tight joint over a
specified period of time. In critical applications, because of
the lack of creep data and the unavailability of a design
procedure, common practice is to apply hot torquing to
recover the load loss due to gasket creep.
Although recognized, long-term creep-relaxation in
bolted gasketed joints remains a subject that has received
little research attention. In the literature, very few papers
address analytically the effect of creep to help engineers
estimate accurately the load relaxation in bolted joints.
Creep analyses of bolted flange connections are presented
in [7–9]. A constant creep rate known as steady creep was
assumed to take place in the flange and bolts. The radial
growth of the hub and shell due to creep that alters the
stiffness of the flange as well as the gasket creep were not
considered. The paper presented in [10] extends the
analytical approach of [9] by using a strain-hardening rule
to estimates the bolt load loss due to flange creep.
However, the flexibility of the gasket and attached
structural components of the joint assembly were not
taken into account. Finally, a model based on the flexibility
and interaction of all joint elements presented in [11,12]
accurately predicts load relaxation due to gasket creep
only. This paper extends that work to include the creep
effect of the flange and bolts used in high temperature
applications.
2. Analytical flexibility model
The determination of the bolt load relaxation requires a
flexibility analysis to be conducted on the bolted joint
assembly. Fig. 1 shows the flexibility interaction model
used in this study that is limited to the raised face flange
type only. Due to the flexibility of the flange, the gasket
and the bolts, the deflections and rotations due to the
different loads and creep together with the interaction
between them is considered. Based on the work presented
in [13], this model can accommodate the creep-relaxation
behaviour of the flange, the gasket and the bolts
concurrently.
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Either a time or strain hardening creep law of the bolts,
the flange ring and the gasket could be introduced in this
model to evaluate the load relaxation as function of time.
The theoretical calculation procedure that considers this
effect is presented in detail hereafter.
2.1. Axial displacement compatibility
A bolted flanged joint is a statically indeterminate
structure. The flexibility interaction analysis in the axial
direction is the key solution in determining the final
remaining load in terms of the initial one. Therefore a
PAp
relationship exists between the final relaxed force and the
initial bolt-up force. This is established by considering the
axial displacement compatibility, which involves all in-
dividual joint element axial displacements caused by forces,
moments, pressure, thermal expansion and creep. A
compatibility equation is obtained based on the axial
distance travelled by the nut Dn during the tightening
process as shown in Fig. 2. In the absence of bolt self-
loosening, this must remain the same during the operating
stages of pressurization and relaxation when creep takes
place. The elongation of the bolts, the compression of the
gasket and the displacement of the flange due to rotation
and their associated thermal expansion and creep compo-
nents represent this amount of fixed absolute displacement.
The sum of the axial displacement of all joint elements in a
flange pair is
X
3 X
3
Dn ¼ wie ¼ wfe , (1)
e¼1 e¼1

wib þ wig þ 2wif ¼ wfb þ wfg þ 2wff þ wT þ wc (2)

where the axial displacements in terms of stiffness for the
individual joint elements, are given by
P Fb Fg
wb ¼ ; wg ¼
,
Kb Kg
KfM ,KfP
Mf P
wf ¼ 2hG þ 2hG . ð3Þ
K fM K fP
Mf
θf While the bending of the bolts is not accounted for, the
gasket reaction location shift due to flange bending causing
the lever arm hG to change as detailed in [14] is considered.
Kb
Kg wf is the flange axial displacement induced by flange
rotation caused by the bolt and pressure loads. wT is the
wg wb equivalent axial displacement due to the thermal expansion
difference of the individual elements. Although its effect
Fg Fb might be important as detailed in our previous papers
[15,16], it is not considered here for dissociation purposes
Fig. 1. Bolted flange model. and ease of comprehension. wc is the total axial creep

Initial Free Initial pretightening Initial pretightening Operating state

state with rigid flange with all elements with all elements
and end closure flexible flexible
( virtual)
i
CYLINDER θc f
θc

FLANGE i
θf wi2
f
tf θf w2f
wfi
wff
e wi b
wfb
Hi lo
GASKET H lo
Hf
whi
BOLT lo whf
wi 1 w1f

REFERENCE EDGE
END CLOSURE

Fig. 2. Axial compatibility.

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displacement of the gasket, the bolts and the flange to a moment are detailed in [13]:
c
w ¼ wcg þ wcb þ wcf . (4) P Mf
K fP ¼ and K fM ¼ . (12)
yfp yfM
It is to be noted that the axial displacement correspond-
ing to the gasket is obtained at the gasket load
reaction location and that of the bolt and flange is
considered at the bolt circle. Substituting Eqs. (3) and (4) 2.3. Axial displacements
into Eq. (2) gives
i The axial displacements of the different elements of the
F ib F g Mi joint including creep are given as follows:
þ þ 2hG f
Kb Kg K fM The axial displacement of the gasket is given by
f
F fb F g Mf P Fg
¼ þ þ 2hG f þ 2hG þ wc ð5Þ wg ¼ þ wcg . (13)
Kb Kg K fM K fP Kg
with axial equilibrium requiring that for initial bolt-up The axial displacement of the bolt is given by
F ib ¼ F ig (6) Fb
wb ¼ þ wcb . (14)
Kb
and for pressurization
The resulting axial displacement of the flange as a result
F fb ¼ F fg þ PAp . (7) of rotation at the bolt circle relative to the gasket reaction
location is given by
The moment Mf acting on the flange about the bolt circle
is given by considering the discontinuity edge loads in Mf P
wf ¼ 2hG þ 2hG þ wcf , (15)
addition to the gasket force and hydrostatic end force. For K fM K fP
the initial bolt-up: where, wcb , wcg and wcf are, respectively, the axial displace-
M if ¼ F ig hG i
þ 12Q tf þ M i
(8) ment of the bolt, gasket and flange ring due to creep.

and for pressurization 3. Creep models and analysis

M ff ¼ hG F fg þ PAp hP þ 1 f
2Q tf þM .f
(9)
3.1. Creep model of flange and bolts

The power creep law used to model the flange and bolt
2.2. Rigidity calculations steel material is given by the following equation:
c ¼ Asm tn . (16)
The rigidities of the individual elements of the bolted
flanged joint are then calculated. The gasket stiffness Kg Differentiation with respect to time gives the time
depends on the level of stress achieved during bolt-up and hardening solution of the creep strain rate:
is considered to vary across the gasket width. An average _c ¼ nAsm tn1 . (17)
value is obtained as follows:
Z The strain hardening solution used in this paper is
DSg obtained by isolating the time t from Eq. (16) and
K g ¼ 2p r dr, (10)
DDg substituting it into Eq. (17) such that the creep rate is
expressed as follows:
where DSg over DDg is the slope of the unloading
curves obtained at different stress levels across the _c ¼ nA1=n sm=n ðn1Þ=n
c . (18)
gasket width using an interpolation method. Ref. [17]
gives the detailed analysis of Eq. (10). The bolt rigidity is
given by
3.2. Creep model of gasket
Ab E b
Kb ¼ , (11)
lb For the gasket, although other forms of creep law could
where l b ¼ 2tf þ tg þ 0:5d. be used, based on experimental data conducted in [2], the
The rigidity of the flange with or without a hub when gasket creep displacement law considered here has a
subjected to a bending moment or a radial pressure may be logarithmic trend of both stress and time and is detailed
determined by a study of the compatibility of radial as follows:
displacement and rotation required at the junction between
wcg ¼ f ðsÞ  gðtÞ
the flange and the shell. The expressions of the flange
rotational stiffness KfP due to radial pressure and KfM due ¼ ðas lnðsÞ þ bs Þ  ðat lnðtÞ þ bt Þ. ð19Þ
 ARTICLE IN PRESS
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For the time hardening model, this equation is repre- The moment acting on the flange ring is given by
sented by the displacement creep rate as follows: Z ro Z tf =2
w_ cg ¼ at ðas ln s þ bs Þt1 . (20) M¼ sy y dy dr. (27)
ri tf =2
For the case of strain hardening, the time t, is isolated
Substituting for sy and integrating gives
form Eq. (19) and is substituted into Eq. (20) to give the
  Z ro Z tf =2
creep displacement rate as E f t3f y ro
M¼ ln  E f c y dy dr (28)
c
w_ cg ¼ at ðas ln s þ bs Þeððbt =at Þðwg =ðat ðas ln sþbs ÞÞÞÞ
. (21) 12 ri ri tf =2

Differentiating M with respect to time t gives

dM E f t3f lnðro =ri Þ dy
3.3. Creep displacements ¼
dt 12 dt
Z ro Z tf =2
dc
Using Eq. (18) for the bolt and substituting the stress s  Ef y dy dr. ð29Þ
by the force over the area, the increment of creep axial ri tf =2 dt
displacement of the bolt considered as a single axial From a numerical stand point it can be assumed that the
member is given for an interval of time Dt as follows: moment remains constant during only a small time interval
 m=n Dt, in order to evaluate the increment of the flange rotation
c 1=n F b
Dwb ¼ l b Dc ¼ l b Dt_c ¼ l b Dt nA cðn1Þ=n . (22) Dy due to creep. Obviously, this increment of rotation is
Ab
used to re-evaluate the new moment. Eq. (2) becomes
The increment of creep axial displacement of the gasket Z ro Z tf =2
considered as a single axial member is obtained by 12Dt
Dy ¼ 3 _c y dy dr. (30)
substituting the stress s by the gasket force over the area tf lnðro =ri Þ ri tf =2
in Eq. (21) and multiplying by the time increment Dt:
    Using the strain hardening law of Eq. (16), the increment
Fg of flange rotation during a time increment Dt is therefore
Dwcg ¼ Dt w_ cg ¼ Dt at as ln þ bs
Ag
  12Dt nA1=n
c
 e ðbt =at Þðwg =at ½as lnðF g =Ag Þþbs Þ . ð23Þ Dy ¼
t3f lnðro =ri Þ
Although the attached hub and shell are considered in Z ro Z tf =2
m=n
the interaction analysis, their radial growth due to creep is  sy ððn1Þ=nÞ
c y dy dr. ð31Þ
ri tf =2
not considered. Therefore, only creep of the flange ring is
assumed to take place. In addition, the flange ring portion The creep axial displacement of the flange ring at the
is considered to act as a ring taking stress in the bolt circle relative to the gasket reaction location is given as
circumferential direction only. This stress is caused by follows:
radial pressure and bending due to rotation or twist. The
radial stress due to pressure is generally small compared to Dwcf ¼ hG Dy. (32)
the hoop stress because the flange ring is thick and Finally, knowing the creep axial displacement of the bolt
therefore is neglected. The total hoop strain is given by the gasket and the flange; Eqs. (21), (22) and (31), the final
the elastic and creep components: bolt operating force is therefore obtained by substitution of
sy Eqs. (6), (7), (12), (13) and (14) into Eq. (5):
y ¼ e þ c ¼ þ c . (24)
Ef
F fb ¼ F ib  K e
Neglecting shear and assuming that the flange ring cross  
Ap p 2hG hp Ap p 2hG p c c
sections remain plane after bending, the total strain is given  þ þ þ Dwb þ Dwg þ hG Dy ,
by Kb K fM K fP

yy u sy ð33Þ
y ¼ þ ¼ þ c . (25)
r r Ef where Ke is the joint equivalent rigidity and is given by
y is the flange rotation and u is the radial displacement of
1 1 1 2h2
the flange due to pressure obtained by considering the ring ¼ þ þ G. (34)
to act as a thick cylinder. Finally, the flange hoop stress is K e K b K g K fM
given by These creep models have been incorporated into the
sy ¼ E f e SuperFlange program [18] that can evaluate not only
  the bolt load relaxation but also the resulting change in the
E f yy r2i P r2o
¼ þ 2 1 þ 2  E f c . ð26Þ gasket contact stress and its distribution in the radial
r ro  r2i r direction [14].
 ARTICLE IN PRESS
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4. Finite element model
To validate the analytical model that estimates the
relaxation of the bolt and the gasket, three-dimensional
numerical FE models were constructed. Because of
symmetry with respect to the plane that passes through
the gasket mid-thickness and the evenly repeated loading in
the angular direction, it is possible to model only an
angular portion (Fig. 3) that includes half of the bolt and
half of the gasket thickness.
The program developed using ANSYS 7.1 [19] was used
to treat four different size bolted joints namely a NPS 3cl.
150 slip-on, a NPS 4cl. 600 welding-neck and 24 in.
(610 mm) and 52 in. (1320 mm) heat exchanger flanges.
The loading is applied in three steps. The first step consists
of applying an initial bolt-up. This is achieved by imposing
to the bolt mid-plane nodes, an equivalent axial displace-
ment to produce the target initial bolt-up stress of
275 MPa. An internal pressure that depends on the case
studied is applied in the second step. For the FE model,
this consists of applying a radial pressure load to the shell
and flange and an equivalent longitudinal stress to the shell
to simulate the hydrostatic end thrust. The third step,
which is of most interest in our study, is the application of
creep while the relaxations of the bolt and gasket loads
over time are evaluated. In the second and third steps, the
loading is applied while all the nodes of the bolt mid-plane
are constrained in the axial direction.
In practice, creep of all joint components takes place at
the same time. Nonetheless, for the purpose of the
validation of the model and to illustrate the creep effect
of each component on the load relaxation, creep is applied
Fig. 3. 3D FE Model.
to the bolt and the flange separately and together and to
the gasket using their corresponding material creep
constants. At 400 1C, the creep constants taken from
[10,20,21] are A ¼ 1:64  1023 , m ¼ 6:9 and n ¼ 1 for the
bolt material and A ¼ 3:8  1015 , m ¼ 5:35 and n ¼ 0:22
or A ¼ 7:22  1017 , m ¼ 5:5 and n ¼ 1 for the flange
materials. The first set of flange creep constants was
applied to the NPS 4cl. 600 and the 52 in. HE flanges while
the second set of constants was applied to the NPS 3cl. 150
and the 24 in. HE flanges. However, the gasket creep
constants in Eq. (19) are as ¼ 0:01427, at ¼ 1, bs ¼
0:003764 and bt ¼ 0 [11,12]. These were obtained
experimentally on a PTFE gasket style. However, they
have been modified to fit a power function for the ANSYS
software as it does not allow a logarithm form of creep. In
addition since the gasket contact element of ANSYS 7.1
does not have the creep option, a dummy rigid plate of half
the size of a compressed gasket and modelled with a
volume element was placed beneath the gasket to handle
the creep effect. The presence of this thin rigid plate has no
significant effect on the bolt stiffness or the overall joint
stiffness. The materials selected to run the analysis of these
bolted joints are:
 ASTM A-105 or equivalent for the flange for which
E ¼ 210  210 Gpa, n ¼ 0:3
 ASTM A-193 B7 for the bolt for which
E ¼ 210  210 GPa, n ¼ 0:3.
Two types of gaskets were used: CMS (corrugated metal
sheet) for the NPS 3 class 150, 24 and 52 in. flanges and
CAF (Compressed Asbestos Sheet) for the NPS4 Class 600
flange. The mechanical behaviours of these gaskets are
represented by non-linear curves of gasket contact stress
300
250
CMS gasket
CAF gasket
200
Gasket stress, MPa
150
100
50
0
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6
Gasket displacement, mm
Fig. 4. Mechanical behaviour of gasket materials.
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versus axial displacement as shown in Fig. 4. These curves 40

are obtained from load-compression tests conducted on Bolt-up: 172 MPa
rigid platens. Due to the limited gasket creep data and its
Pressure: 5.5 MPa
availability for short term only and for a better assessment
20 Neutral axis
of the method, PTFE sheet was used to illustrate the

Tangential stress, MPa

relaxation of the NPS4 Class 600 and 24 in. flanges.
Therefore, the gasket creep model was verified for up to
10,000 s while the flange and bolt creep models were
0
verified for a much longer time of 10,000 h. It is worth Total creep time
noting that, in general, bolted joints relax extensively
0 hr
during the first few hours of service due to the excessive
500 hr
short term creep of the gasket. However, in the long term,
-20 5000 hr
the contributions of the flange and bolt creep become
significant especially at high temperature, in addition to the 10000 hr
gasket degradation and weight loss resulting from thermal Dotted lines: FE model (Ansys)
exposure [22]. Solid lines: Analytical model
-40
-0.5 -0.4 -0.3 -0.2 -0.1 0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5
5. Discussion of the results Flange thickness ratio

Fig. 6. Stress relaxation in NPS 4cl. 600 WN flange.

The results of flange creep after 10,000 h obtained from
the proposed analytical approach are compared to those of
80
FE model for the three different sizes of flanges. Figs. 5–8
show the distribution of the tangential stress across the Bolt-up: 214 MPa
No pressure
flange thickness at the flange OD and its variation with
time. At t ¼ 0, the distribution is linear with maximum 40
stress values located at the flange upper and lower surfaces. Neutral axis
Tangential stress, MPa

As creep takes place, at these locations, the stress

relaxation is therefore more important than at the vicinity 0
of the flange mid-thickness where the stress is very small.
While the analytical and FEA stresses for the NPS 4cl. 600 Total creep time
flange and the 24 and the 52 in. HE flanges are in a fairly -40 0 hr
good agreement; the NPS 3cl. 150 flange show a significant
500 hr
difference especially after 5000 h. This is attributed to the
5000 hr
fact that the flange circular portion is assumed to behave as -80 10000 hr
a ring instead of a plate. It is also to be noted that the effect
Dotted lines: FE model (Ansys)
Solid lines: Analytical model
60
Bolt-up: 276 MPa -120
-0.5 -0.4 -0.3 -0.2 -0.1 0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5
Pressure: 0.76 MPa
40 Flange thickness ratio

Fig. 7. Stress relaxation in 24 in. HE flange.

Tangential stress, MPa

20 Neutral axis
of creep over time on the distribution of the tangential
stress with time depends on the creep constants used. The
0
Total creep time first set of creep constants corresponds to a much higher
0 hr creep resistant material. This explains why the stress
-20 500 hr
distribution variations over time are less significant in the
case of NPS 4cl. 600 and 52 in. HE flanges as compared to
5000 hr
the case of NPS 3cl. 300 and 24 in. HE flanges.
10000 hr
-40 Nonetheless, the bolt load relaxation which is a more
Dotted lines: FE model (Ansys) important parameter in terms of leakage control is worth
Solid lines: Analytical model investigating. The results of the bolt stress relaxation
-60
caused by creep at 400 1C of the bolt and the flange
-0.5 -0.4 -0.3 -0.2 -0.1 0.0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5
considered to take place separately as well as simulta-
Flange thickness ratio
neously for all cases studied seem to have a better
Fig. 5. Stress relaxation in NPS 3cl. 150 SO flange. agreement. Figs. 9–12 show that the bolt relaxations due
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120 200
Bolt-up: 172 MPa
Bolt-up: 276 MPa Pressure: 5.5 MPa
80 Pressure: 0.69 MPa

Bolt stress relaxation, MPa

Tangential stress, MPa

Neutral axis 180

40

0 160
Total creep time
0 hr
-40 500 hr Bolt creep
5000 hr 140 Flange creep
10000 hr Flane & bolt creep
-80
Dotted lines: FE model (Ansys) Dotted lines: FE model (Ansys)
Solid lines: Analytical model Solid lines : Analytical model
-120 120
-0.5 -0.4 -0.3 -0.2 -0.1 0.0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0 2000 4000 6000 8000 10000
Flange thickness ratio Time, hours

Fig. 8. Stress relaxation in 52 in. HE flange. Fig. 10. Bolt stress relaxation in NPS 4cl. 600 WN flange.

240
Bolt-up: 214 MPa
300 Pressure: 0 MPa
200
Bolt stress relaxation, MPa

250 Bolt-up: 276 MPa

Pressure: 0.76 MPa
Bolt stress relaxation, MPa

160
200 Bolt creep
Flange creep
Flange & bolt creep
150 120
Dotted lines: FE model (Ansys)
Bolt creep Solid lines: Analytical model
100 Flange creep 80
Flange & creep

50 Dotted lines: FE model (Ansys)

Solid lines: Analytical model 40
0 2000 4000 6000 8000 10000
0 Time, hours
0 2000 4000 6000 8000 10000
Time, Hours Fig. 11. Bolt stress relaxation in 24 in. HE flange.

Fig. 9. Bolt stress relaxation in NPS 3cl. 150 SO flange.

to creep of these two bolted joint elements are significant.
In some cases, more than 50% relaxation is obtained after
10,000 h. The resulting bolt stress relaxation has a direct
impact on the loss of joint tightness. These figures show
that, when bolt creep is considered alone, the load
relaxation results are in better agreement indicating that
the one-dimensional bolt creep model is representative of
the real behaviour. However, when only flange creep is
considered, the FEM results show greater relaxation as
compared to the analytical model. This is attributed mainly
to two factors. Firstly, the developed analytical model is
based on ring theory and therefore neglects the radial and
shear stresses. Depending on the ratio of the flange outside
to inside diameters, the flange annular portion behaves as a
ring, a thick or a thin plate with a central hole. Secondly,
the creep of the flange attached structures namely the hub
and the cylinder have not been considered in the analytical
model.
Table 1 gives the differences in the load relaxation after
10,000 h between the FEM and the proposed analytical
model for the three different creep cases. In general, the
effect of creep is higher with FEM, and in particular when
flange creep alone is considered. This is more pronounced
in the case of the NPS 4cl. 600 and 52 in. HE flanges and is
due to the creep of the attached structures that contribute
to unload the gasket. The relaxation produced by only
flange creep in these two flanges is 8% and 31% with FEM
and 2% and 18.5%, respectively. Nevertheless, Table 1
 ARTICLE IN PRESS
A. Nechache, A.-H. Bouzid / International Journal of Pressure Vessels and Piping 84 (2007) 185–194 193

300 140
Bolt-up: 276 MPa
Pressure: 0.69 MPa
120 Bolt-up to 214 MPa
Bolt stress relaxation, MPa

250 Bolt creep after 10000 h

100

Gasket stress, MPa

Dotted lines : FE model (Ansys)
80 Solid lines: Analytical model
200

60

150 40
Bolt creep
Flange creep Dotted lines : FE model (Ansys)
Solid lines : Analytical model 20
Flange & bolt creep

100
0
0 2000 4000 6000 8000 10000
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
Time, hours
Gasket width ratio
Fig. 12. Bolt load relaxation in 52 in. HE flange.
Fig. 13. Gasket stress relaxation in 24 in. HE flange.

Table 1 250
Percentage of bolt relaxation due to creep
Bolt-up to 276 MPa
Flange Bolt creep Flange creep Total creep
200 Pressurization to 0.69 MPa
Anal. FEA Anal. FEA Anal. FEA
Bolt creep after 10000 h
Gasket stress, MPa

NPS 3cl. 150 42.5 38 50 51.7 55.2 56.5

NPS 4cl. 600 10 13.2 2 8.8 14.4 15.2 150
24 HE flange 19.3 19.2 64.5 70.2 66 73
52 HE flange 44.2 42 18.5 31 43.2 44.5

100
shows that the relaxation values compare well when bolt
creep is also included with a maximum difference of 9.6%
between the two methods. It is to be noted that the effect of 50
both the bolt and the flange creep cannot be obtained from Dotted lines : FE model (Ansys)
Solid lines : Analytical model
the superposition of the individual effects but is deduced
from a combination of the two effects considered
0
simultaneously in the calculation because the effect is 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
nonlinear. The gasket contact stress distributions shown in Gasket width ratio
Figs. 13 and 14 for the three loading conditions are
obtained from the estimated gasket load, flange rotation Fig. 14. Gasket stress relaxation in 52 in. HE flange.
and the load deflection curves. Interpolation was used for
points lying between the curves as detailed in [14]. The loss of more than 30% and 60% of load is observed for
contact stresses are relatively higher at the outside diameter these two flanges, respectively. In general, the results of the
due to flange rotation and can be beneficial for some gasket short-term creep relaxation of the gasket obtained with the
types provided the crush limit is not reached. However, analytical model are in good agreement with those
these contact stresses decrease with the application of obtained by with FEM. The difference between the two
pressure and time. The reduction of the contact stress with methods is less than 5%.
time can sometimes result in a leak and therefore needs to
be evaluated with reasonable accuracy. 6. Conclusion
Fig. 15 shows the relaxation of the bolt stress of NPS 4cl.
600 and 24 in. HE flanges over a period of 2.8 h or 10,000 s An analytical model has been developed to account for
when only gasket creep takes place. Even though, the the creep effect of the bolt, flange ring and gasket
available PTFE creep data used are for a short period of separately or simultaneously in the design of bolted joints.
time, the analytical model capability is acknowledged. A The proposed analytical approach considers the flexibility
 ARTICLE IN PRESS
194 A. Nechache, A.-H. Bouzid / International Journal of Pressure Vessels and Piping 84 (2007) 185–194

240 [4] prEN 13555 2001. Flanges and their joints—gasket parameters and
test procedures relevant to the design rules for gasketed circular
PTFE gasket flange connections.
200 [5] ASME. Alternative rules for bolted flanges with ring type gaskets,
24 HE flange Proposed Nonmandatory Appendix BFJ, ASME Sub-Working
Bolt-up: 206 MPa
Bolt stress relaxation, psi

Group on Bolted Flange Joints; 2004.

No pressure
160 [6] ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code. SECTION VIII, Division 2,
Appendix 2, Rules for bolted flange connections with ring type
gaskets; 2001.
120 4 cl. 600 WN flange [7] Bailey RW. Flanged pipe joints for high pressure and temperatures.
Bolt-up: 172 MPa Engineering 1933;144 364–365, 419–421, 538–539, 674, 676.
Pressure: 5.5 MPa [8] Marin J. Stresses and deformations in pipe flanges subjected to creep
80 at high temperatures. J Franklin Inst 1938;226:645–57.
[9] Waters EO. Analysis of bolted joints at high temperatures. Trans
ASME 1938;60:83–6.
Analytical model [10] Kraus H, Rosenkrans W. Creep of bolted flanged connections,
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Welding Research Council Bulletin, no. 294; 1984, p. 2–8.
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the leakage tightness of bolted flanged joints. ASME J Pressure Vessel
0
Technol 1995;117:71–8.
0 2000 4000 6000 8000 10000
[12] Bouzid A, Chaaban A. An accurate method for evaluating relaxation
Time, second in bolted flanged connections. ASME J Pressure Vessel Technol
1997;119:10–7.
Fig. 15. Bolt load relaxation due to gasket creep.
[13] Bouzid A, Beghoul H. The design of flanges based on flexibility and
tightness. Proceedings of the 2003 ASME-PVP conference, PVP2003-
of the bolts and the gasket in addition to the flange. Creep 1883, Cleveland, OH, 2003; vol. 457, p. 31–38.
of these elements has been coupled to the axial deflection [14] Bouzid A, Champliaud H. Contact stress evaluation of non-linear
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