Investigation on the degradation and opening behavior of knife blade burst disks

Burst disks are often used as the highest level of defense against over pressure. 36 knife blade burst disks were spent to test their steadfastness and reliability. Half of the burst disks were subjected to stress similar to normal use in a plant. They showed no sign of degradation compared to the unstressed disks. However many disks failed to burst at the specified pressure and none opened with the specified cross section. These parameters are essential for dimensioning pressure relief equipment.