IJRET: International Journal of Research in Engineering and Technology eISSN: 2319-1163 | pISSN: 2321-7308 _______________________________________________________________________________________ Volume: 05 Special Issue: 21 | ICRIET-2016 | Nov-2016, Available @ https://www.esatjournals.org/ijret 46 ANALYSIS OF A NON GASKETED COMPOSITE FLANGE FOR PRELOAD AND OPERATING CONDITIONS Sunil Kumar B.V 1 , Sathish Nadig 2 , Vasanth Kumar S.N 3 , Sandesh Kamath 4 1 Mechanical Engineering Department, Canara Engineering College, Mangalore, VTU, Karnataka, India 2 Mechanical Engineering Department, Canara Engineering College, Mangalore, VTU, Karnataka, India 3 Mechanical Engineering Department, Canara Engineering College, Mangalore, VTU, Karnataka, India 4 Mechanical Engineering Department, Canara Engineering College, Mangalore, VTU, Karnataka, India Abstract Flanges are basically used to connect the pipe joints and they are widely used in chemical, power plants, petro chemical industries. Flanges are classified according to class of working range and are designed according to ASME standards. In industries fluid is pressurized and due to this the pipe joints are affected internally as well as externally. We are concentrating on these critical areas by adopting a composite flange. Since composite materials are most promising now days so, use of composite flanges can make difference to the existing components. In the present paper metallic flange for radial stress(x-direction) and axial stresses (y-direction) for preload condition are compared with a carbon epoxy composite flange. Analytical solutions are obtained using laminate theory. The analytical results are validated with finite element solution using different fiber orientations. The stress obtained for different orientations are compared with each other and they are compared with analytical results. From results it can be said that [0/45] and [0/60] orientation will give better results. Finally it is said that metallic flanges can be replaced by composite flanges in some industrial applications as the radial and axial stress developed is less when compared to metallic flanges. Keywords: Metallic Flange, Composite Materials, Composite Flange, Fiber Orientation, Finite Element Analysis -------------------------------------------------------------------***------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. INTRODUCTION Flange is a component used to connect tubular members in piping systems, a flange is a disc, collar or ring that attaches to pipe with the purpose of providing increased support for strength, blocking off a pipeline or implementing the attachment of more items. These flanges are widely used in chemical industries, hydraulic systems etc. Pipe flanges are usually welded or screwed to the pipe end and are connected with bolts. Flanges are affected by the varying forces, pressure, temperature and an environmental effect because of which leakages occurs in the connection. So sealing of a connection must analyzed. [1]. The most used flange types acc. to ASME B16.5 are: Welding Neck, Slip On, Socket Weld, Lap Joint, Stub end, Threaded and Blind flange [2]. Fig-1.1: Details of Welding Neck flange Fig-1.2: Details of Slip On flange A composite is a structural material that consists of two or more combined constituents that are combined at a macroscopic level and are not soluble in each other. One constituent is called the reinforcing phase and the one in which it is embedded is called the matrix .The reinforcing phase material may be in the form of fibers, particles, or flakes. The matrix phase materials are generally continuous. Examples of composite systems include concrete reinforced with steel and epoxy reinforced with graphite fibers, etc. [3]. Our area of interest are Laminated composite structures consisting of several layers of different fiber reinforced laminate bonded together to obtain desired structural properties (e.g. stiffness, strength, wear resistance, damping, etc.). Varying the lamina thickness, lamina material properties, and stacking sequence the desired structural properties can be achieved. Composite materials exhibit high strength-to weight and stiffness-to-weight ratios, which make them ideally suited for use in weight sensitive structures.