Fike recently exhibited at the 2011 ChemShow in New York City. During the show, our National Sales Manager, Daniel Willis, spoke to Chemical Processing’s Traci Purdum about Fike’s latest innovations in the industry, including our G2 technology used with our rupture disc manufacturing.

Fike recently added the TQ+ to its line of pretorqueable rupture disc holders. The pretorqueable holder allows rupture discs to be installed and then “torqued” to recommended static load levels, properly clamping the rupture disc within the assembly. For added convenience and to reduce the possibility of assembly errors, this can take place at a workbench, rather than in the field where conditions could be less than ideal.

Rupture disc devices provide overpressure protection for a variety of storage, process vessels and equipment. The objective of the rupture disc is to maintain a leaktight seal and be a passive bystander until called upon to relieve excess pressure. Sanitary and hygienic applications demand specific rupture disc requirements, and there are times when rupture disc performance can be adversely affected by application processes and/or operation and maintenance practices.  

A very large pharmaceutical manufacturing plant had been utilizing a competitors’ high performance sanitary disc within a sterilization process for injection bottles.  Throughout the 7 -8 year time span that the company used these discs, they noticed an unusually short service life,  making it necessary to replace the discs an average of every 3 months.