Author(s)

Adolf E. Blach

Abstract

Bolted flanged connections for fiber reinforced plastic (FRP) pipes and pressure vessels are of great importance for any user of FRP material in fluid containment applications. At present, no dimensional standards or general design rules exist for FRP flanges. Most often, flanges are fabricated to dimensional standards for metallic flanges without questioning their applicability to FRP materials. Flanges in FRP piping systems are often subjected to external, longitudinal bending moments of considerable magnitude. In piping systems, such bending moments are usually caused by thermal expansion of the piping components themselves, or by thermal expansion of pressure vessels and other equipment to which the piping system is connected. Such bending moments are of utmost importance on FRP pipi

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