Reliability Study on a New Integrity Pressure Relief Device in Nonrefillable Steel Gas Cylinder

Abstract

A new integrity pressure relief device in a nonrefillable steel gas cylinder is proposed and tested. Instead of a rupture disk welded on the opening of the head, the new integrity pressure relief device is machined by stamping a circular groove on the vessel head, which not only avoids an additional penetration on the head but also reduces the manufacture cost. To ensure the safety and reliability of the device, its performance is evaluated using a reliability method based on material properties and burst pressure. The effect of stamping pressure on the groove depth is investigated, and then, the material properties taken from different locations are tested. Tensile properties taken along the circumferential direction of the cylinder are suggested to be used to predict burst pressure of the new integrity pressure relief device. The tolerance of the burst pressure in a percentage is analyzed, and a probabilistic model is built. The reliability analysis shows that the batch of cylinders with the integrity pressure relief device has a very high qualified probability.