Sight Glass Materials Used in Our Process Photometers

Oil-on-water detection by infrared scanning with the IRmat (IR21) is a non-contact, virtually maintenance-free method for detecting floating oil on water surfaces.

  • Sapphire
  • Metaglas
  • Quartz glass
  • PVC
  • Polyphenylsulfone

Metaglas

Metal-fused sight glasses consist of a glass disc fused into a metal ring. The different thermal expansion coefficients of glass and metal create a homogeneous state of compressive stress throughout the entire glass body. As a result, the composite sight glass material behaves like a tough material, following the “leak before break” principle.

The high level of safety is achieved by a special borosilicate glass with good chemical resistance, exceptional purity and homogeneity. Combined with the low thermal expansion typical of this borosilicate glass, thermal prestressing (tempering) results in particularly high thermal shock resistance.

Advantages:

Safety: conventional thermally tempered sight glasses fail abruptly once a crack is initiated. In the event of damage, metal-fused sight glasses only show surface cracks; total failure does not occur. Damage is detected in good time, and the glasses can be replaced during a production shutdown.

  • Cost reduction through design solutions
  • Effortless installation
  • Long service life and high operational reliability
  • Flush, dead-space-free mounting solves cleaning and deposit problems
  • CIP and SIP capable.

Applications:

For installation in flow sight glasses with the seal in the main force flow instead of sight glass fittings according to DIN 28121, in sterile processing areas to solve deposit problems, and in vessels, tanks and inline housing components.

For hazardous media, metal-fused, mechanically prestressed sight glasses should be preferred over thermally tempered sight glasses made of borosilicate or soda-lime glass.

Approvals:

  • DIN 7079
  • TÜV component approval as a pressure vessel part according to the Pressure Vessel Ordinance
  • Factory Mutual Approval (FM)
  • Food-grade according to 3-A standard
  • EEx

Technical Data:

Manufactured and tested according to:

  • Pressure Equipment Directive 97/23/EC 02/98, Module H/H1 (DIN/EN/ISO 9001)
  • AD data sheets W0/TRD 100 and DIN 7079
  • Materials according to VdTÜV data sheets and the relevant DIN/EN/ISO standards
    Materials: C22.8, ST52-3, 1.4462, 1.4571, 1.4523, 2.4602, 2.4605, 2.4610, 2.4819, Monel 400, among others
  • Glass quality: borosilicate glass according to DIN 7080
    Operating temperatures: (-60°C) -30°C to +280°C (+300°C)
  • Pressure 64 bar, TÜV component testing for pressure vessels, up to 1000 bar, depending on materials and design

Material

Quartz Glass

Quartz glasses are characterized by the following properties:

  • good transmission in the ultraviolet, visible and infrared wavelength ranges
  • high temperature resistance
  • low coefficient of thermal expansion
  • good thermal shock resistance
  • excellent electrical insulation
  • high chemical purity

A distinction is made between:

  • synthetic quartz glass (SQ) – made from ultra-pure silicon tetrachloride (SiCl4)
  • natural quartz glass (SILUX®) – made from rock crystal or pegmatite quartz

Applications:
For installation in high-temperature environments and in UV photometers.

Material

PVC as a Sight Glass Material

Polyvinyl chloride (abbreviation PVC) is an amorphous thermoplastic. The hardness and toughness of PVC can easily be varied by adding plasticizers. It is easy to color. PVC absorbs hardly any water and is resistant to acids, alkalis, alcohol, oil and gasoline. PVC is attacked by acetone, ether, benzene, chloroform and concentrated hydrochloric acid. At temperatures of 120 to 150°C it can be formed without cutting. Joints can be made with adhesives (solvent-based adhesives, two-component adhesives) or by welding (various manual and machine welding processes). PVC is divided into flexible PVC (PVC-P, P = plasticized) and rigid PVC (PVC-U, U = unplasticized).

Windows made of clear PVC are characterized by the following properties:

  • good resistance to acids and alkalis
  • easy to machine, allowing complex shapes

Material

Polyphenylsulfone as a Sight Glass Material

Polyphenylsulfone (PPSU) is an amorphous high-performance thermoplastic that offers better impact strength and chemical resistance than polysulfone and polyetherimide. It provides outstanding hydrolytic resistance compared with other amorphous thermoplastics, which fail when tested in an autoclave.

PPSU offers unlimited steam sterilizability, outlasting other materials by a factor of 40:1. This makes it an excellent choice for steam autoclave sterilization of biotech equipment. It also resists common acids, including commercial detergents, over a wide temperature range.

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