HARDNESS TESTING

Many grades of Stainless and Nickel alloy, corrosion resistant steels need precise conditions to forge or cast to a condition suitable for gaskets. Continued machining can work-harden them further. The requirement for soft metal RTJ rings to effectively seal within harder flanged joints requires NDT methods such as hardness and Co-ordinate Measuring Machine tests to ensure SMITH and customer specifications are met.

This combination of plasticity, combined with the load bearing ability of RTJ's means the gasket hardness is critical to the integrity of the joint assembly. Our team of metallurgists and quality control staff ensure raw material suppliers and machining specifications are written and followed for all materials.

All materials are tested for hardness within specified limits. SMITH Gaskets is one of the few gasket manufacturers, in conjunction with our suppliers, to meet the lowest hardness requirements of many applications, such as 316L stainless steel to 135 BHN and Inconel 825 to 160 BHN, amongst others. All test measurements are done using ASTM E10-08 and EN ISO 6506 (Brinell).