Abstract: A spiral wound gasket (10) with increased resistance to an inward buckling while sealing flanges at low stress levels, in which an outer guide ring (14) for positioning the gasket within the bolt circle of a bolted flange connection connects to a sealing element (12) having a core (16) that contributes to gasket recovery and made of a spirally wound, chevron-shaped band overlaid by a layer (20) of sealing material covering at least a portion of opposing sides of the core to conformably seal contact faces of flanges to be sealed.

Abstract: A spiral wound gasket made of an elongate band with a portion of the elongate band jacketed by a resilient filler material, the jacketed elongate band wrapped in a plurality of overlapping turns to define a radially thick reinforcing member with the band in each turn enclosed by resilient filler material that abuts contactingly to the resilient filler material in an adjacent turn, the overwrapped portions of the elongate band defining opposing sealingly resilient lateral surfaces, with a leading portion and a trailing portion of the elongate band lacking the jacketing resilient filler material and adjacent turns of the leading portion secured together to fix an inner diameter and adjacent turns of the trailing portion secured together to fix an outer diameter. A method and apparatus is disclosed to wind an elongate band jacketed by a filler material around the perimeter of a die until a desired radially thick spiral wound gasket is formed.

Abstract: A spiral wound gasket made of an elongate band jacketed by a sealing material, with the elongate band wrapped in overlapping turns to define a radially thick gasket with an inner diameter for being exposed to a material to be sealed and an outer diameter, in which the jacket of the sealing material defines interior portions of the gasket having the sealing material with a first density between adjacent overlapping turns of the elongate band and defining opposing flange sealing faces of the sealing material with a second density lower than said first density, for use in sealing applications.

Abstract: An apparatus (10) for manufacturing rubber-based spiral wound gaskets,in which a length of an elongate band (22) passes through a bath (34) for applying a coating of a rubber sealing material and then is wound in overlapping relation on a die (100) to make a spiral wound gasket. Wire brushes (70) remove the rubber sealing material from selected portions of the band, to define interior and exterior diameter portions of the wound gaskets. The die (100) defines a slot (102) extending inwardly from a perimeter for receiving a distal end portion of the elongate band (22) so that the gasket does not unwind. A fixing device (120) secures selected portions of the wound elongate band together at the interior and exterior diameters. A cutter (90) severs the elongate band (22) in order to remove the spiral wound gasket from the apparatus (10). A tapper (134) moves strikingly against a perimeter portion of the die to dislodge the spiral wound gasket.