GRP DESIGN & TESTS: Design of GRP flanges and tests to verify the design and to determine long-term properties of GRP Pipes

• Research unit: EU RFP
• Project number: 99.0852

Key words (English)

GRP pipes; GRP flanges; long-term behavior; strain corrosion; dimensioning of GRP flanges; Measurement Methods; Reference Materials

Alternative project number (English)

EU project number: G6RD-2000-00259

Research programs (English)

EU-programme: 5. Frame Research Programme - 1.3.1 Innovative products, processes and organization

Short description (English)

See abstract

Further information (English)

Full name of research-institution/enterprise:
Eidg. Materialprüfungs- und Forschungsanstalt EMPA

Partners and International Organizations (English)

Coordinator: ComTec GmbH, Aachen (D)

Abstract (English)

It is estimated that the European flange market is worth 25 MEuro per year and that there are several hundred thousand composite flanges in operation. In contrast to the precision of standards available for pipes the currently still valid national standards either do not make any reference to flanges, or they use very vague sentences such as 'the joints made using flanges must have a strength equal to that of the pipes' and do not take into account the real properties of the material. An increase in the reliability of flanged joints expected by the research work will contribute to a significant reduction in the number of shutdowns of processes for maintenance or repairs. In the case of chemical industry that handles dangerous and environmentally hazardous products, there will be an increase in the safety of the operating system and a consequential reduction in the probability of the occurrence of leakage.

References in databases (English)

Swiss Database: Euro-DB of the
State Secretariat for Education and Research
Hallwylstrasse 4
CH-3003 Berne, Switzerland
Tel. [phone]
Swiss Project-Number: 99.0852