system consisted of three small pieces of Plexiglas which clamped the glass 

 to the end plates. This simplified system (Figure 5) or a tie-rod system was 

 used after the first few tests. 



The test assembly end plates, fabricated from 6061 -T6 aluminum, 

 were designed to be of sufficient thickness (a) to provide a rigid end closure 

 capable of withstanding pressures up to 20,000 psi, (b) to prevent end-plate 

 thinning (resulting from the metal removal in refinishing the seating surfaces 

 after each use) from weakening them excessively before the experiment was 

 completed. Remachining was necessary after each use because of the damage 

 done to the sealing surface when the specimens either imploded (Figure 6) 

 or f.-tiir-i hy cracking wiMii '!]t inirilnM' m. 



Figure 2. Component parts for a short-term critical pressure test assembly. 



The initial thickness of the aluminum end plates for each diameter 

 of pipe was as follows; 



Inside Pipe Diameter (in.) 



Plate Thickness (in. 



1 

 1-1/2 

 2 

 3 

 4 

 6 



0.910 



1.365 



1.820 



2.730 



3.63 



5.45 



