Mild Steel (12L14) Zero-Leak Gold Burst Pressure Evaluation
Burst Testing of Zero-Leak Gold Plugs
Report Content:
Higher pressures and expanded size range to include larger plug sizes and smallest SAE style ZLG Plugs.
Background:
The Zero-Leak Gold product line of EPCO Products, Inc., a Fort Wayne, IN based company, is a revolutionary line of plugs and fittings. The fittings developed a zero leak seal at lower assembly torque values than their SAE counterparts. EPCO wanted to determine more accurately the burst pressures of the larger and smaller plug sizes that were not originally included in the earlier Zero-Leak Gold Plug tests conducted by the Fluid Power Institute. EPCO wanted confirmation of these values under accepted industry practices and established measuring methods.
EPCO contacted the Fluid Power Institute (FPI) located at the Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE) to perform a burst test at two installation torque values on Zero-Leak Gold Plugs (ZLGP) per ISO 1436-1:2001 standard for hydrostatic pressure testing to failure. Supplied specimens were installed in two different strength manifolds of Ductile Iron material [D654512 & D805506] provided by Daman Products Company and (6 each) ZLGP of the following SAE dash sizes:
ZLGP Plug Sizes Tested: -00, -01, -02, -04, -06, -10, -12, -16, -24, -32
Project Scope:
Evaluation by the FPI determined the maximum pressure that each specimen could withstand before it would no longer contain the fluid. This defines a failure.
RESULTS – 70% Torque Value
| Table 1 – ZLGP Burst Summary | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ZLGP Size | Torque | ZLGP Burst [psig (MPa)] |
SAE Burst* [psig (MPa)] |
ZLGP Working** [psig (MPa)] |
SAE Working*** [psig (MPa)] |
| -00 | 5 in. – lbs. | 28,359 (195.6) | — | 7,090 (48.9) | — |
| -01 | 20 in. – lbs. | 33,128 (228.5) | — | 8,282 (57.1) | — |
| -02 | 43 in. – lbs. | 44,072 (303.9) | 24,360 (168.0) | 11,018 (76.0) | 6,090 (42.0) |
| -04 | 124 in. – lbs. | 47,257 (325.9) | 24,360 (168.0) | 11,814 (81.5) | 6,090 (42.0) |
| -06 | 23 ft. – lbs. | 43,449 (299.6) | 37,120 (256.0) | 10,862 (74.9) | 9,280 (64.0) |
| -10 | 57ft. – lbs. | 39,702 (273.8) | 37,120 (256.0) | 9,926 (68.5) | 9,280 (64.0) |
| -12 | 90 ft. – lbs. | 35,574 (245.3) | 24,360 (168.0) | 8,894 (61.3) | 6,090 (42.0) |
| -16 | 160ft. – lbs. | 33,288 (229.6) | 24,360 (168.0) | 8,322 (57.4) | 6,090 (42.0) |
| -24 | 215 ft. – lbs. | 25,689 (177.2) | 14,500 (100.0) | 6,422 (44.3) | 3,625 (25.0) |
| -32 | 265 ft. – lbs. | 18,458 (127.3) | 12,006 (82.8) | 4,615 (31.8) | 3,002 (20.7) |
* J1926-4 Revised Augest 2010 Table 3 Internal Hex: Test Pressure-Burst
** ZLGP Working = Average Burst/4 (Using 4:1 Safety Factor)
*** J1926-4 Revised Augest 2010 Table 3 Internal Hex: Working Pressure