Norway’s Pipeotech extends its industry-first 10-year gas-tight warranty for its ground-breaking DeltaV-Seal™ gasket all the way down to applications running at -196°C, based on stellar results of cryogenic leakage tests at a pre-eminent European research lab.
Pipeotech launched its metal-to-metal DeltaV-Seal in 2015. Backed by unique DNV GL type certification, DeltaV-Seal immediately set a new gas-tight standard for industrial gaskets, offering the first sealing solution that was proven to stay exceptionally tight over time with zero maintenance or retorquing required. After proving it efficacy in sectors ranging from hydrocarbons to chemicals processing, maritime, pharmaceuticals and food and beverage production, in 2020 Pipeotech launched the sealing industry’s first 10-year gas-tight limited warranty, creating a truly unique value proposition and cementing the claim of being the tightest, safest and most durable flange gasket technology in the world.
Raising the bar
Pipeotech has now blazed a new trail, conducting leakage testing of a bolted flange joint (BFJ) under cryogenic conditions in a laboratory testing programme engineered and carried out together with Wroclaw University of Science and Technology in Poland. The BFJ contained a DN40/PN40 material 316L DeltaV-Seal with a sealing length of 0.2 metres and containing helium pressures from 10 bar to 100 bar.
Exceptional performance
The results show that the DeltaV-Seal maintains a tightness level higher than 10-8 mg/s at temperatures down to -196°C at all tested pressures. The seal was also shown to expand and contract at same rate as the temperature fluctuations, confirming in action that extreme temperature fluctuations do not affect the tightness of the seal. “This gave us the confidence to extend our value proposition of 10 years gas-tight performance with no maintenance all the way down to -196°C, which is fantastic news for any industry featuring very low temperature processes,” said Sollie.
Hydrogen is key new market
A major part of gas value chain features cryogenic processes where operating temperatures often approach the temperature of liquid nitrogen (i.e. -196°C). Liquefaction, LNG/LPG shipping and terminals, floating LNG (FLNG) facilities and regasification are consequently one of Pipeotech’s main markets, but the broad spectrum of existing and emerging industries that also use cryogenic processes can also greatly benefit from using the DeltaV Seal.