Heat Exchanger Gaskets


Gaskets are used on plate-, tube- and shell-type heat exchangers. The material used and the structure of these gaskets varies. These different materials and structures allow these gaskets to operate at temperatures beyond that serviced by most standard soft gaskets.

Heat exchangers are used to transfer heat between one or more fluids. A common example of a heat exchanger is found in most automobile engines, where coolant circulating in the engine moves through the radiator coils which reduces the temperature of the hot coolant while increasing the temperature of the incoming air. Heat exchangers are commonly used in chemical and petrochemical plants, petroleum refineries, power stations, energy production facilities, and sewage treatment plants.

At Canada Rubber Group (CRG), we supply a range of gaskets for heat exchanger applications. These include soft gaskets made from Teadit style NA1081 material, as well as jacketed gaskets and corrugated core gaskets.

Heat Exchanger Gaskets: Soft Gaskets

Gaskets made from Teadit style NA1081 sheet have numerous applications in process industries, including heat exchangers. Style NA1081 is a premium compressed non-asbestos sheet gasket material produced from a combination of DuPont Kevlar®, Inorganic Fillers and bonded with Nitrile Rubber (NBR). These gaskets stand up well mild acids and alkalis, water, hydrocarbons, oils, gasoline, steam, air, industrial gases, general chemicals, neutral solutions.

We can custom cut and fabricate soft gaskets to fit heat exchangers of various types and sizes.

Heat Exchanger Gaskets: Jacketed Gaskets

Jacketed gaskets consist of a soft pliable core inside a metallic jacket. The standard filler material is Flexible Graphite. Other fillers like ceramic, PTFE or another metal (corrugated, flat, or serrated) can be used. CRG can supply Teadit styles 923 and 927 for heat exchanger applications. Another important use is for these gaskets is for flanges in the large, low pressure ducting in steel mill blast furnaces.

Heat Exchanger Gaskets: Corrugated Gaskets

Another product which CRG can supply for tube- and shell-type heat exchanger gasket applications is Teadit style 905 Metalbest corrugated gasket. This gasket combines the sealing properties of flexible graphite with the extrusion resistance of a corrugated metal core.

A key advantage of style 905 Metalbest is that it provides an extremely effective seal under low bolt loads. This makes the gasket ideal for applications where the available loading is determined to be low and unsuitable for spiral wound or other type of gasket requiring high seating stress. The gasket is designed to maintain a positive seal through thermal cycling and shock load conditions. These gaskets have passed an industry fire test, a relative indicator of the gasket's ability to resist fire conditions.

The standard material for the metal core in style 905 Metalbest is Austenitic Stainless Steel. Other alloys are available upon request.

One of the most frequent uses of style 905 Metalbest Gaskets is in tube- and shell-type heat exchangers, due to the ability of to avoid mechanical shearing problems associated with other gasket types in heavy thermal cycling applications. For customers requiring expanded PTFE facing material instead of graphite, style 905-ePTFE is available in a range of thicknesses as required.

If you are sourcing or buying heat exchanger gaskets, our sales team will be pleased to discuss your requirements and how CRG can help.

For further information, please contact our sales department at crg@canadarubbergroup.com.