Where Will the Disk Burst?

At what pressure(s) can we expect the delivered rupture disk to burst at?

Trick question? The answer should be the stamped burst pressure. But again the world isn't perfect.

Burst Tolerance

 

Figure 3A: Burst Tolerance

The Manufacturing Range is applied to the specified burst pressure but there is yet another unknown due to imperfections in the material used to fabricate the rupture disk. This is accounted for in the burst tolerance. Burst tolerance is applied to the stamped burst pressure and is set by code. For stamped burst pressures of 40 psig and lower, the burst tolerance is ± 2 psi. For stamped burst pressures above 40 psig, the burst tolerance is ± 5%.

Let's look at the examples again but apply the burst tolerance. For this discussion, I'm changing the specified burst pressure for the case of a rupture disk with a Manufacturing Range of +5% and -10% to 95.2 psig (see Figure 3B) so the stamped burst pressure can't exceed code.

The important thing to notice is that in both Figures 3A and 3B, the upper limit of the stamped burst pressure is equal to the design pressure but the maximum bursting pressure is 105 psig, or 5 psig over design pressure. Unlike the stamped burst pressure, which by code cannot exceed the design pressure (or MAWP), the maximum expected burst pressure can if it is caused by the burst tolerance.

Figure 3B: Specified, Stamped, and Maximum Burst