Maintainability Aspects of Process Plant Pipe Joints

The paper is concerned with the maintainability aspects of pipe joints, the most common type of which is the bolted flange. An appreciation of pipe joint maintenance practice is obtained from two plant studies and a review of alternatives to flanges is then made with respect to these practical observations. Guidelines are given to help select the most appropriate coupling for an application. In the absence of a generally acceptable replacement coupling, a novel bolt design for use with standard flanges is proposed to alleviate some of the maintenance difficulties experienced.