Metal-to-Metal Contact
Bolted flanges connections - Characteristics and components

The principle of metal-to-metal contact in a leak-tight bolted joint is to limit the crushing of the gasket by introducing direct contact between rigid metal parts. This reduces the mechanical stresses applied to the gasket while maintaining the system’s leak-tightness.

Over the past few decades, the development of leak-tight bolted joints with metal-to-metal contact has been driven by growing industrial demands: extreme vacuums (semiconductor industry), very high pressures (offshore drilling), and severe thermal transients  ...