Elfab, a leading manufacturer of pressure safety solutions, enhances in-house testing capabilities with the first ASME certified Flow Lab outisde the USA.
Elfab, a leading manufacturer of pressure safety solutions, enhances in-house testing capabilities with their new ASME certified Flow Lab.
They are the first rupture disc company outside the USA to gain this certification, improving their position to attract global business to the North East.
Located at Elfab’s headquarters in the North East of England, the Flow Lab is a test rig developed and assembled by Elfab’s engineering team. ASME certification allows Elfab to carry out capacity testing, and the company now has authorisation to apply the UD-stamp to a wide range of rupture discs for systems built to ASME pressure vessel codes. The UD stamp is a legal requirement for many pressure relief products sold to the US and other geographical regions worldwide.
The Flow Lab enables Elfab to establish a rupture disc’s resistance to flow (Kr value) and its minimum net flow area (MNFA). This data is used by pipeline & process engineering designers and the new facility will see Elfab certifying products to both ASME and ISO4126-6 (annexe D) standards.
Elfab’s ASME acceptance followed a rigorous review of the test facility by the National Board of Boiler and Pressure Vessel Inspectors, with flow testing and certification tests being witnessed by an approved National Board Team Leader.
Russell Trotter, Innovation Director at Elfab commented ‘We are delighted to be the first ASME accepted rupture disc facility outside the USA. Achieving this leading, universally recognised standard is testament to our commitment to quality and continuous improvement, supporting our delivery of an enhanced service and product offering to our customers.
He added ‘The Flow Lab test rig means we can maximise the design potential of our products. Processes which previously took months can now be completed on demand.’
In-house testing using the Flow Lab has commenced with re-certification of a range of discs requiring six-year certification renewal. New product certification will start in 2019.