Rupture disc

A rupture disc is a type of sacrificial part because it has a one-time-use membrane that fails at a predetermined differential pressure, either positive or vacuum and at a coincident temperature.

Major advantages of the application of rupture discs compared to using pressure relief valves include leak-tightness, cost, response time, size constraints, flow area, and ease of maintenance.

Rupture discs are commonly used in petrochemical, aerospace, aviation, defense, medical, railroad, nuclear, chemical, pharmaceutical, food processing and oil field applications.

It is sometimes possible and preferable for highest reliability, though at higher initial cost, to avoid the use of emergency pressure relief devices by developing an intrinsically safe mechanical design that provides containment in all cases.

This can lead to extremely thin discs (similar to tin foil) that are highly prone to damage and have a higher chance of forming pinhole leaks due to corrosion.

An alternative example is a deliberately weakened wall in a room used to store compressed gas cylinders; in the event of a fire or other accident, the tremendous energy stored in the (possibly flammable) compressed gas is directed into a "safe" direction, rather than potentially collapsing the structure in a similar manner to a thermobaric weapon.

Such bunkers are designed, typically, with concrete walls on four sides, and a roof made of a lighter material covered with earth.

The design is such that if an explosion or fire in the ammunition bunker (also called a locker) were to occur, the force of the blast would be directed vertically, and away from other structures and personnel.

Instead, their function is part of the normal operation of the device, allowing for precise pressure-based control of particle application to a sample.

In these devices, the rupture disc is designed to fail within an optimal range of gas pressure that has been empirically associated with successful particle integration into tissue or cell culture.