Abstract
To clarify the sealing characteristics of metal gasket seals, the relationship between leakage rates of gas and the real contact area of the seal surfaces is very important. In a previous work, to determine the leakage flow paths between the gasket and the flanges, the real contact situation between them was observed using a thin polymer film 1μm in thickness. In this research, we use a laser microscope with wide field of view recently developed in our laboratory. The static seal consisted of a ring-shaped copper gasket and the two steel flanges that held the gasket in place. Gasket width was 5 mm in the radial direction. The contact surfaces of the flanges were finished by lathe turning. After unloading, the whole seal surface of the copper gasket indented by the ridges of the flange was directly observed with the laser microscope. These observations indicated that the leakage flow paths on the gasket surface were the radial direction perpendicular to the lathe-turned groove and the circumferential direction along the groove. As the closing loads increased, the leakage flow in the radial direction ceased and only that in the circumferential direction remained.
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