We describe what fragmentation is, what ASME has to say about it, and what operations and maintenance engineers can do to mitigate the risks.
Fragmentation occurs when a rupture disc shatters into multiple fragments upon bursting. Older rupture disc designs were traditionally all fragmenting. Unscored, forward-acting (also known as ‘tension-loaded’) rupture discs of any type of metal can be prone to fragmentation. Graphite rupture discs will always fragment, graphite being a very brittle material.