FSA Sealing Sense

Compression packings have suffered from a reputation of being an old-fashioned technology unsuited to modern industrial processes. In the case of rotating equipment, they are largely superseded by...

End users should be aware of the latest standards revisions to employ the most up-to-date valve sealing practices.

Many associations, societies and regulatory agencies have rewritten and redeveloped emissions and leakage standards and controls year after year. The partial list of organizations—based on voluntary...

Compression packing used as a valve stem seal requires a compressive load. The appropriate compressive load can be accomplished by the most common method—to compress the packing by a fixed...

How can I compare the performance of pump packing?

Part One Last month, "carbon/graphite fiber" braided packings were shown to be effective solutions to many common sealing applications. But the questions remain: Are there packing materials that...

In today's global environment, the "one size fits all" approach is used for so many products that we expect it to apply to just about everything. In the mechanical seal industry, one problem with that...

This month's Sealing Sense was submitted by FSA member Steve Stratton, edited by Pete Petrunich. Successfully sealing bolted flange connections depends on all the components of a well-designed...

Galvanic corrosion is an electrochemical process that occurs between two dissimilar metals, or between a metal and a conductive non-metallic material, when both are exposed to an electrically...

For many years, industry has recognized the inherent benefits of braided packings produced from PTFE fiber. Low coefficient of friction and outstanding chemical stability make it well-suited for...

Q. How Will the P3-A Equipment Standards Affect You? A. The pharmaceutical industry has frequently cited 3-A sanitary standards (used primarily in dairy and other food processing) when specifying...

Elastomeric expansion joints serve many functions in modern piping systems including absorbing all directional movements, reducing noise and vibration, resisting shock, relieving pipe and anchor...

Anyone considering the use of ePTFE/graphite packing in a plant environment needs to know its basic characteristics, including its manufacturing process and potential benefits and pitfalls. This...

Compression packing has continuously been used to seal pump shafts in many applications. For most applications, the packing relies on the product itself for lubrication and cooling. In some...