What is a Flange face?

Different types of flange faces are used as the contact surfaces to seat the sealing gasket material. ASME B16.5 and B16.47 define various types of flange facings, including the raised face, the large male and female facings which have identical dimensions to provide a relatively large contact area.

Other flange facings covered by these standards include the large and small tongue-and-groove facings, and the ring joint facing specifically for ring joint type metal gaskets.

Raised Face (RF)

The Raised Face flange is the most common type used in process plant applications, and is easily to identify. It is referred to as a raised face because the gasket surfaces are raised above the bolting circle face. This face type allows the use of a wide combination of gasket designs, including flat ring sheet types and metallic composites such as spiral wound and double jacketed types.

The purpose of a RF flange is to concentrate more pressure on a smaller gasket area and thereby increase the pressure containment capability of the joint. Diameter and height are in ASME B16.5 defined, by pressure class and diameter. Pressure rating of the flange determines the height of the raised face.

The typical flange face finish for ASME B16.5 RF flanges is 125 to 250 µin Ra (3 to 6 µm Ra).

Raised Face height

For the height measures H and B of all described dimensions of flanges on this website, with exception of the Lap Joint flange, it is important to understand and remember the following:

In pressure classes 150 and 300, the height of raised face is approximately 1.6 mm (1/16 inch). In these two pressure classes, almost all suppliers of flanges, show in their catalog or brochure, the H and B dimensions including the raised face height. (Fig. 1)

In pressure classes 400, 600, 900, 1500 and 2500, the height of raised face is approximately 6.4 mm (1/4 inch). In these pressure classes, most suppliers show the H and B dimensions excluding the raised face height.