A flange connection involves joining two pieces of material together by means of an internal or external lip. A gasket gets fitted between that pair of pieces to prevent any leakage. Then, installers generally use bolts to seal them tight. Flanges come in a variety of styles, everything from slip-on flanges and lap-joint flanges to weld-neck flanges and socket-weld flanges. Flange fittings may be mechanically joined, threaded or welded, and chemically adhered. However, other pipe fittings help connect pipes for handrails and other architectural elements, where providing a leak-proof connection is unnecessary.
Even though there are specific applications where flange fittings and flanges are the only choices, flanges benefit the piping system in ways that traditional hydraulic fitting types do not. For example, in larger applications, flanges connect to the pipe and component ports more easily than adapters or threaded fittings.
Benefits of Flange Connections
- Easy assembly in tight spaces where wrenches might not have clearance to install the traditional flange fittings.
- These are hard-to-reach areas that require flexibility. For example, it needs to eliminate the need for pipe or hose lines, adapters in the tube, etc.
- Pipe, tube, or extensive hose connections with high pressure, vibration, shock, and pressure surges could easily damage the traditional large hydraulic fitting.
- It makes connections that allow easy maintenance in rigid lines like continuous metal tubes and pipes.
- Reduce the chances of components becoming loose in rigorous hydraulic applications.