Print this pageBursting Discs
Bursting discs are commonly used when Pressure Relief Valves are too slow, or are too big, or when the likelihood of the discs operation is very low. They are also cheap to install, have low maintenance and do not leak. So there are compelling reasons to use discs in some situations.
But bursting discs do not close and hence can allow very high discharge that may be prolonged and this can cause ‘secondary’ problems to occur.
Some operators also report there is a risk of spurious or premature failure when the operating pressure is close to the burst pressure.
Work that we became involved with (instigated by the HSE) also showed that the material affects the bursting speed, so in rare situation dynamic studies will be needed to specify which materials are suitable (see ‘Testing and Analysis of Relief Device Opening Times’ ISBN 0717623610).
Recent operating experience shows the risk of rupture due to reverse pressures and the reported consequences are very high. An HSE case study is a useful guide to this situation and we believe that this is something that can be studied and evaluated by simulation studies.
It is sometimes easy to believe that bursting discs can be easily specified, but we trust that the above gives a few good reasons to invest more time in the specification of bursting discs and to apply simulation technology to that task.
