Pressure-Resistant Plane Disc Viewports from Allyl Diglycol Carbonate Plastic for Hyperbaric Chambers.
Abstract
Acrylic plastic viewports have been used for over 40 years in pressure vessels for human occupancy without any catastrophic failure resulting in a loss of life. However, there are special applications, such as hyperbaric chambers for medical purposes, in which the susceptibility of flex-stressed acrylic plastic to surface crazing and cracking in the presence of common organic solvents contained in antibacterial sprays is a distinct disadvantage. To solve this problem, a search has been initiated for transparent plastics that are not attacked by organic solvents and can be cast economically in thick sections. Allyl diglycol carbonate plastic appears not only to satisfy the above requirement, but also to provide better resistance to abrasion, pitting, and X-ray or gamma irradiation than acrylic plastic. Short-term, long-term, and cyclic pressure testing has been conducted on over one hundred allyl diglycol carbonate plane disc viewports with t/d sub o ratio in the 0.06 to 0.4 range and at temperatures in the +40 to +125 F range. It appears that plane discs cast from allyl diglycol carbonate plastic can perform safely as pressure-resistant viewports in pressure vessels for human occupancy. Keywords: Acrylic windows; Hyperbaric chambers; Corrosion testing.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 01, 1985
- Accession Number
- ADA168007
Entities
People
- J. D. Stachiw