Finite Element Stress Analysis and Evaluation of the Sealing Performance in Pipe Fittings With Adhesive for Threaded Connections Under Internal Pressure and Bending Moment

Abstract

In practice, PTFE tape is being used for sealing of a pipe fitting. However, the efficiency, the decrease in work time, and the sealing performance can be improved by using adhesive instead of the tape. When such a pipe fitting is under an internal pressure and external bending moment by an internal fluid and others, however, an influence in the sealing performance is taken by how to use an adhesion. This study deals with the stress analysis and the evaluation of the sealing performance of the pipe fitting with an adhesive under an internal pressure and an external bending moment analyzed by using the 3-dimensional elastic finite element method. Furthermore, the experiment of the leakage test of the pipe fitting with an adhesive was carried out when the above loads were applied to the pipe fitting. From 3-D FEM analysis, the following results were obtained: (1) the stress distribution at the interface between thread and adhesive on the side of the internal pressure is tensile stress, and stress on the opposite side is compressive, (2) the stresses at the area of the clearance between the valley of the screw and the mountain increase as the numbers of turns of the thread in fittings increase, and (3) the compressive stress at the side of the tensile part in the fittings decrease as the external bending moments increase. However, the sealing performance will not change when the bending moment is not so great because the compressive stress at the side of the compressive part in the fitting increases. From the leakage tests, the following results of the sealing performance were obtained: (1) the sealing performance of a fittings with adhesive under an internal pressure and a bending moment didn’t decrease when bending moment was not so great, and (2) when it exceeds fixed pressure, rapid leakage from the fitting with adhesive occurred by the exfoliation of the adhesive. Furthermore, the numerical results are in fairly good agreement with the experimental results.