Whether you manufacture fighter jets or cargo planes, gaskets hold your future together.
Protecting equipment and technology from extreme pressure changes and environmental
hazards, gaskets enhance the durability of your final products in the defense and aerospace
industries.
Ensuring a tight seal between two joined parts, the type of gasket you choose is critical to the
success of the application. Because they help contain pressure while minimizing contamination
risks, a gasket needs to be high quality and able to withstand excessive compression over a
long period of time. Today we explore the most common types of gaskets and how to choose
the best one for your field application.
Metallic Gasket Options
For the highest quality surface sealing, we recommend metallic gaskets. Fabricated from one
type of metal or a combination of strong metals, you’ll find metallic gaskets are ideal for
applications subjected to medium- and high-pressure environments, extreme temperatures, and
chemical exposure.
You’ll also find that metallic gaskets usually contain a ring-type joint and are referred to as “ring
gaskets.” Typically used in offshore oil and gas pipelines, these gaskets are perfect for
notoriously high-pressure conditions. With a solid metal ring construction, you’ll find ring gaskets
feature different cross-sections (oval, round, or octagonal), and may also include a passage
hole that facilitates pressure equalization on both sides of the sealing surfaces.
Other common metallic gaskets include camprofile (grooved), spiral-wound, corrugated metal,
and metal-jacketed. Although many purposes lend themselves to the use of metallic gaskets,
the most common uses include manufacturing heat exchangers, compressors, condensers,
pumps, valves, and turbines.
Non-Metallic Gasket Options
You’ll find most non-metallic gaskets are made from composite sheet materials such as aramid
fiber, glass fiber, or PTFE, but other materials might include mica sheet, ceramic fiber,
compressed non-asbestos sheet, or glass-filled/reprocessed PTFE sheet. These gaskets are
used with flat-face and raised-face flanges to accommodate low-pressure applications, without
absolutely no metal found in their construction.

Also called “soft gaskets,” these gaskets are easily compressed under a bolt load. Although they
are completely resistant to corrosion, they can only handle minimal temperature, pressure, and
chemical exposure. Non-metallic gaskets are typically used to manufacture pipe flanges, heat
exchangers, compressors, and bonnet valves.
Meeting in the Middle
If your application requires a happy medium between the metallic and non-metallic options, you
can choose gaskets made from both kinds of materials. These gaskets offer a blend of strength
and resiliency, with the ability to still easily conform and adapt to a variety of seals. You’ll find
mostly semi-metallic materials used in spiral-wound gaskets
For this choice, ideal uses include raised face, male-and- female, and tongue-and- groove
flanges.
etaGLOBAL Can Guide Your Decision
Although they seem like a small detail, the wrong gasket can cause a domino effect of
operational failure. Make sure your products are designed and manufactured perfectly by
verifying your gasket selection with etaGLOBAL, your trusted supplier. For more information,
contact us today.

Photo by CEphoto, Uwe Aranas