Raised Face Flange vs Flat Face Flange! (Pic.s)

  • 11echo
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12 years 3 months ago - 12 years 3 months ago #8168 by 11echo
This is what happens when you try to match up a raised face steel flange to a flat faced cast iron flange! Unfortunately this happened on an expensive control valve. Lucky it wasn’t the flange of a more expensive piece of equipment, like a pump! You need to KNOW what your connection types are, and not assume ANYTHING!

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12 years 3 months ago - 12 years 3 months ago #6539 by shrivallabha
Replied by shrivallabha on topic Re: Raised Face Flange vs Flat Face Flange! (Pic.s)
Was this control valve different in face connection from the items in the pipe spec (i.e. pipe spec default was RF)? Or since it is CV the Spec break from Steel Spec to Cast Iron was occurring here?

Was the face of RF flange machined off to match with FF flange or they just tried to work it out as it is?

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12 years 3 months ago - 12 years 3 months ago #6547 by 11echo
Actually this was an error from engineering on down, the control valve type wasn't picked out until the very last, so it was assumed the connection type would match the piping spec. Then once the control valve type was known, it was assumed that the "field" would handle it. What did happen was the control valve arrived late; it was rushed into service, and actually worked for a time. But there were some leaks in the system and the field guys were going through and re-tighten the flanges in this situation and the flange broke. Bottom line the raise face steel flange was mated up to a flat face cast iron flange and this is the result. An expensive lesson, hopefully learned so it doesn't happen next time!!?

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12 years 3 months ago - 12 years 3 months ago #6548 by Anton
11echo,

You can tell people all about RF Vs. FF until you're blue in the face, and some people still don't get it .....

A picture tells a thousand words.

Great post!

- If you're the smartest person in the room ... you're in the wrong room.

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12 years 3 months ago - 12 years 3 months ago #6560 by Peter Pyper
Replied by Peter Pyper on topic Re: Raised Face Flange vs Flat Face Flange! (Pic.s)
Good post 11echo. I wonder why the field didn't catch this though? It should have bounced back as an RFI from the field to home office. Was this an AWWA ductile iron flange (125lb) against an ASME B31.3 RF 150lb steel flange (control valve)?
It can happen on pumps where the first flange is FF but the mating flange would match and then spec break to RF flanges (if required)

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12 years 3 months ago - 12 years 3 months ago #6566 by 11echo
Peter Pyper ...I would guess that in a refinery the "field" guys probably would have caught the problem. However I work in the oil fields and the "field" are contractors that submit the lowest bid, and not everybody speaks the same language. Actually this type of stuff happens all the time around here, just another symptom of this declining engineering/construction industry! ...IMHO

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