A Spiral Wound Gasket is the most widely used common metallic gasket used in industrial applications involving a range of pressure and temperatures. They are popular in the oil and gas, chemical, petrochemical, power, and food industries and prevents leak through flange joints.

Spiral wound gaskets are used for

• High-Temperature service applications. • High-pressure applications. • Corrosive fluids. • Flammable Fluids. • Hydrogen, etc.

Construction of Spiral Wound Gaskets

It is a semi-metallic gasket. It consists of a spirally wound v-shaped metallic with a non-metallic filler material. There are three elements that constitute a spiral wound gasket. Outer ring: Also known as a guide ring or centering ring, the outer ring of a spiral wound gasket is usually made of carbon steel material. The main purpose of this element is to center the gasket while inserting it into a bolted flange joint. Inner ring: The inner ring is one of the most important parts of a spiral wound gasket as it prevents windings from buckling inside the pipe. In the situations of buckling of a gasket, parts of it get sucked into the pipe and eventually flow through the piping system to get caught/wrapped on something. Inner rings prevent this phenomenon and help in avoiding the problem. Sealing element: This is the element of the spiral wound gasket that creates a tight seal to prevent leaks. The sealing element encompasses both windings and filler material. In general, spiral wound gaskets use a flexible graphite filler material rated for high temperatures. Graphite as filler material also helps the gasket avoid flange distortion and joint misalignment. Another common filler material is PTFE (Polytetrafluoroethylene). However, PTFE is not suitable for use in high-temperature applications. The most widely used winding materials are Stainless Steel and Monel. For different types of gasket, click here.