High Pressure Tube Fitting
High Pressure Tube Fitting
(OP)
We have a new high pressure stainless steel tube fitting for use with hard drawn or thick walled SS tubing in sizes 1/4, 3/8 and 1/2 inch. The design provides an easily made leak-tight connection at pressures up to 15 ksi with a safety factor of four. We don't have a very good handle on the market for this product, however. Specifically, where are high pressure fittings in these sizes used in petroleum recovery, refining and chemical processing, and what specifications are customarily applied? ASME/ASTM? MR0175? MR0130? What applications are there outside of the petrochem industry? What specs apply in these instances? Is the safety factor of 4x used in all these applications? The current product is in 316 stainless; are there other alloys that would extend the applications/markets for this product? If there are any user or engineering specialists who would be willing to discuss this with me directly, I would appreciate hearing from you.





RE: High Pressure Tube Fitting
The chip makers use toxic materials and may use high pressure fittings. However, high pressure is more common in the petrochem business.
Most oil and gas applications are limited to below 15000 psig.
Autoclave Engineers offers products rated to 150000 psig. http://www.autoclaveengineers.com/index4.html
Swagelok make fittings to about 60000 psig.
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RE: High Pressure Tube Fitting
Higher pressure users would include systems like high pressure hydraulics, supercritical fluid extraction, water-jet cutting machinery and down-hole/subsea applications. The market is more limited, but there are established suppliers in this range also.
Beyond 15,000 psig you're generally into "cone and thread" type connections for tubing. From 6,000 to 15,000 psig there are existing fitting designs which do not require the additional labour/effort of cone and thread.