Gasket material selection guide covering the 13 gasket families most often specified in marine and industrial service: Klingersil, Top-Chem PTFE, ePTFE tape, spiral wound (SWG, ASME B16.20), grafoil-filled SWG, ring joint (RTJ), kammprofile, aluminium-jacketed, Alfa Laval EPDM / NBR PHE plate gaskets. Service, T max, p max and thickness per family.
The right gasket for a joint balances temperature, pressure, media and the flange geometry. Soft (fibre) sheet gaskets suit low-to-medium temperature raised-face flanges; spiral wound gaskets take higher classes without cold-flow; ring joints seal Classes 900 to 2500 and need grooved flanges; PTFE and PTFE-filler sheets take aggressive chemicals but need bolt-load control against cold flow; plate-heat-exchanger gaskets are model-specific EPDM or NBR moulded profiles.
| Material | Service | T max (°C) | p max | Thickness | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Klingersil C-4400 | General water, steam, oil, gas | 200 | 85 bar | 0.5–3.0 mm | Aramid + NBR binder. Blue-grey. Non-asbestos general purpose. |
| Klingersil C-4324 | Steam + oil (higher pressure) | 250 | 100 bar | 0.5–3.0 mm | Higher tightness class than C-4400. |
| Klinger Top-Chem 2000 | Chemical (acids + alkalies) | 250 | 120 bar | 1.0–3.0 mm | PTFE + silica filler. Off-white. Standard for chemical duty. |
| Klinger Top-Chem 2003 | Hot HF, chlorine, oleum | 260 | 200 bar | 1.0–3.0 mm | PTFE + BaSO₄ filler. Grey. High-tightness chemical. |
| Expanded PTFE tape | Chemical + flange-face repair | 260 | 150 bar | 1.5–6 mm tape | Deformable — seals warped or damaged flange faces. |
| Spiral wound (SWG) | Steam + pressure vessels | 650 | Class 900+ | per ASME B16.20 | 304/316 SS windings + graphite/PTFE filler. Standard for ASME B16.5 RF flanges. |
| SWG + inner ring | High pressure + hazardous media | 650 | Class 1500+ | per ASME B16.20 | Inner ring prevents bore buckling; mandatory Class 900+. |
| Grafoil-filled SWG | Steam, refinery | 450 | Class 900 | per ASME B16.20 | Best for saturated steam; ferritic steel windings for high temp. |
| Ring joint (RTJ) | Refinery, ASME B16.5 Class 900+ | 540 | Class 2500 | per B16.20 | Soft-iron / 316 SS / Inconel 625 ring; matched grooved flanges. |
| Kammprofile | Steam, gas turbine, heat exchangers | 800 | Class 900+ | 3–5 mm | Serrated metal core with graphite/PTFE facing; reusable core. |
| Aluminium jacketed | Heat exchanger channel/cover | 500 | Class 600 | 3–6 mm | Metal-jacketed with fibre filler. |
| Alfa Laval EPDM plate | PHE — food + water | 160 | 25 bar | per PHE model | FPP-fitted EPDM; wrong compound in seawater PHE = leak. |
| Alfa Laval NBR plate | PHE — oil + fuel | 110 | 25 bar | per PHE model | NBR compound; not for phosphate ester or hot glycol. |
Fibre sheet (Klingersil) is the low-cost general choice up to ~200 °C on RF flanges. PTFE + filler (Top-Chem) for hot aggressive chemistry that attacks NBR binder. Spiral wound is the industry standard for ASME B16.5 raised-face flanges Class 300 and above (and Class 150 above NPS 6). Ring joint for high-pressure Class 900+ refinery / wellhead. Kammprofile for heat-exchanger channel covers and turbine casings (reusable core). Plate-heat-exchanger — always order the OEM-marked gasket for the plate model; a wrong-compound gasket looks identical but fails within weeks.