In this issue of Between The Pipes, the Durlon® Newsletter, we focus on the challenges of sealing steam in high-temperature systems and the gasket technologies that can help support long-term reliability.
We’re also pleased to share our new Sealing Solutions for Steam Applications guide, with practical information on steam conditions, gasketed joints, and Durlon® product recommendations.
We hope this issue provides useful guidance to help you make more informed sealing decisions and improve reliability throughout your steam systems.
Warm regards,
Sylvia Flegg, Global Marketing Manager
Rhea Lisondra, Digital Marketing Coordinator
Steam is essential to power generation, process heating, sterilization, heat transfer, and plant utilities, but it can create demanding conditions for gasketed joints.
Temperature and pressure are only part of the challenge. Steam systems regularly move through startup, shutdown, changing loads, condensation, and pressure changes. As operating conditions change, flanges, bolts, piping, and gasket materials respond differently. Maintaining sufficient gasket stress throughout these changes is critical to minimizing leakage and supporting long-term system reliability.
Durlon® offers sealing solutions for steam service ranging from general utility applications to high-pressure, high-temperature, and thermally cycling equipment.
Types of Steam at a Glance
Steam conditions can vary considerably throughout the same facility, making it important to understand what the gasket will encounter at each connection during operation.
Saturated steam is widely used for process heating, heat transfer, and general utility service, while superheated steam operates at higher temperatures and is commonly encountered around boilers, turbines, and power-generation systems.
Wet steam contains suspended water or condensate, creating mixed liquid-vapour conditions, while utility steam may experience changing pressure and temperature as it is distributed throughout a facility.
In hygienic processing, clean steam and steam-in-place (SIP) applications introduce additional considerations around material purity and repeated sterilization. After steam transfers its heat, condensate return systems continue to expose gaskets to heat, pressure changes, and cycling conditions.
The Durlon® Sealing Solutions for Steam Applications guide provides a more detailed look at these steam conditions and the sealing considerations associated with each.
Download Our Durlon® Steam Applications Guide
Why Steam Leaks Develop at Flanged Joints
A steam leak does not necessarily mean that the gasket has exceeded its temperature capability.
A flange connection functions as a complete system. Gasket compression, bolt load, flange condition, surface finish, installation, and operating conditions all influence whether the joint maintains an effective seal.
This becomes particularly important as equipment repeatedly moves between ambient and operating temperatures. Heating and cooling can change the forces acting throughout the assembly, while gasket creep and relaxation can reduce retained sealing stress over time.
For maintenance and reliability teams, preventing steam leaks therefore begins with evaluating the entire bolted joint, rather than selecting a gasket based only on its maximum temperature rating.
Selecting Gaskets for General Steam Service
Many plant steam applications can be effectively sealed using compressed non-asbestos gasket materials when temperature, pressure, flange design, and available bolt load are within the material’s recommended operating range.
Durlon® 8500 is a versatile high-performance compressed gasket material suited to steam, water, oils, and a broad range of general process applications. It provides a practical option for plant utility systems, steam distribution, valves, pumps, and associated piping.
For more demanding steam conditions, Durlon® 8300 provides a premium carbon-fibre compressed gasket construction designed for applications involving steam and hydrocarbons, including service in power generation, refining, and petrochemical processing.
Explore the Durlon® compressed gasket material range to compare options for steam and other industrial applications. Compressed Non-Asbestos Gaskets
When Steam Conditions Become More Demanding
Increasing temperature and pressure, frequent cycling, larger flange sizes, and more critical equipment can change the type of gasket construction required.
Flexible graphite is widely used for demanding steam applications because of its temperature capability, conformability, and sealing characteristics. Reinforced graphite constructions can provide additional mechanical strength for high-temperature piping, valves, boilers, heat exchangers, and power-generation equipment.
For systems that experience repeated temperature changes, gasket recovery can also become increasingly important. Durlon® CFG combines flexible graphite sealing layers with a corrugated stainless-steel core. The corrugated construction helps provide recovery as flange conditions change, making CFG particularly suited to thermal cycling applications such as heat exchangers and process equipment.
Learn more about the characteristics and applications of flexible graphite in high-temperature sealing. Benefits of Flexible Graphite
Semi-Metallic Solutions for Critical Steam Equipment
Critical steam connections may require a gasket that combines a soft sealing material with the structural strength and recovery of a metallic component for added reliability.
Durlon® Spiral Wound Gaskets use alternating metallic windings and compressible filler to create a resilient sealing element. This construction is commonly applied to high-pressure piping, valves, boilers, pressure vessels, and other demanding flanged connections.
Durlon® Kammprofile gaskets use a serrated metal core with soft sealing layers, typically flexible graphite for high-temperature service. The metal core provides mechanical stability while the facing material conforms to the flange sealing surface. This combination makes Kammprofile particularly useful for heat exchangers, pressure vessels, and other equipment where maintaining sealing stress under changing operating conditions is important.
Durlon® CFG and Durtec® provide additional semi-metallic constructions for demanding pressure, temperature, and cycling applications.
Explore Durlon’s range of semi-metallic sealing technologies. Semi-Metallic Gaskets
Go Deeper: Sealing Solutions for Steam Applications
Steam conditions change as they move from generation and distribution through process equipment and ultimately into condensate return.
Understanding how those conditions affect gasketed joints can help engineers and maintenance teams choose the appropriate sealing technology for each location:
- Saturated, superheated, wet, utility, and clean steam
- Condensate return
- How steam affects gasketed joints
- Temperature, pressure, and thermal cycling
- Gasket stress and available bolt load
- Flange and surface considerations
- Durlon® product recommendations for steam service
Download Our Durlon® Steam Applications Guide
For additional product properties, gasket factors, torque information, chemical compatibility, and technical selection guidance, consult the Durlon® Gasket Manual. Durlon Gasket Manual
Installation Is Part of Steam Leak Prevention
Selecting an appropriate gasket is only one part of creating a reliable steam connection. The gasket must also receive sufficient and reasonably uniform compressive stress during installation. Fastener condition, lubrication, flange alignment, surface condition, tightening sequence, and applied torque all influence the load transferred to the gasket.
A gasket selected correctly for the steam conditions may still leak if the joint cannot generate or maintain the stress required to keep it sealed.
Technical Tip: Select for the operating conditions, then install for the gasket stress the joint requires.
Protect Steam System Reliability
Reliable steam sealing supports more than the flange connection. Reducing leakage helps protect equipment, conserve valuable steam, support process efficiency, and improve overall system reliability.
From general utility steam to demanding high-temperature equipment, the right combination of gasket material, gasket construction, joint design, and installation provides the foundation for maintaining seal integrity throughout the operating cycle.
Tune in for our next issue as we cover the topic: “Chemical Compatibility, Food/Pharma Sealing, Pump/Valve/Equipment Sealing” as we focus on acids, caustics, solvents, and process chemicals, including why media, temperature, and pressure should drive selection.
See you in December!