What Is a Sanitary Fitting?
Sanitary Fitting is a fitting used in piping where cleanliness is required.
Also known as sanitary fittings, they are often used in factories that manufacture food, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and other products that are directly ingested by or act on the human body. Even if a normal piping joint has a clog in the joint, it does not cause a major problem.
However, in the field of food and medical product manufacturing, where cleanliness is required, bacteria and foreign matter generated in the pooled area can be a major problem. Therefore, Sanitary Fitting is often used.
Uses of Sanitary Fittings
Sanitary Fitting is used in the pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and food related industries. As mentioned above, Ferrule is also called Sanitary Piping or Sanitary Fitting. Sanitary Fitting is used in areas that are frequently removed for cleaning, etc., because it can be assembled and disassembled without the need for tools.
The inside of a ferrule pipe is characterized by its lack of irregularities. In use, the ferrule is superior, especially in terms of ease of cleaning. In addition, the risk of foreign matter contamination and bacteria formation can be reduced due to the lack of liquid accumulation.
Principle of Sanitary Fittings
Sanitary Fitting consists of three components: ferrule piping, gasket, and clamp band. The flange portion of the ferrule pipe has a groove engraved to hold the gasket, and the gasket has a protrusion to fit the groove of the ferrule pipe.
When pipes are connected to each other, they are firmly sealed by connecting the special gasket between them. The connected flanges are secured with a clamp band, which can be tightened only by hand and requires no tools.
Sanitary Fitting is a piping component, so there are several types of fittings such as elbows, cheese, sockets, and nipples. Ferrule caps are used to provide end closure, such as when not joining piping or components.
The gasket used in Sanitary Fitting can be changed depending on the fluid flowing in the pipe. The most common is a white silicone gasket. Various other types have also been developed, including PTFE, fluoro-elastomer, EPDM, NBR, and Saniclean.
Other Information on Sanitary Fitting
1. How to Install Sanitary Fitting
To install Sanitary Fitting, fit the ferrule gasket into the groove engraved on the flange, butt it against the flange to be connected, and clamp the flange with a ferrule clamp and tighten it. If dust or foreign matter adheres to the groove on the flange or the gasket during installation, sealing performance cannot be ensured.
Since this can cause leaks, each item must be kept in a clean place and be free of dirt before installation. Also, care must be taken when tightening the gasket if it is not properly seated in the groove, as this will damage the gasket.
In addition to the IDF/ISO standard, there are several other standards for Sanitary Fitting, including the 3A standard, the JIS gas piping standard, and the JIS stainless steel sanitary pipe standard. Most of the items commonly used for sanitary applications are ISO-standard products, but it is basically not possible to install them with other standards that differ from each other.
Even if they are the same ISO standard product, products of different manufacturers may have slightly different gasket groove shapes, so it is basically safer to use the same manufacturer’s product for one process piping.
2. Pressure Resistance of Sanitary Fitting
Sanitary Fitting is a mechanism that focuses on ease of installation and removal, and its pressure resistance is not so high. In general, it is recommended to use ferrule fittings within the range of 1 MPa or less, and the pressure resistance varies depending on the corrosiveness of the fluid, temperature, etc. It is important to use ferrule fittings within a margin. It is important to use within the range with a sufficient margin.
Sanitary Fitting can be used on the low-pressure side up to a certain degree of low pressure and vacuum, but for higher vacuum, the NW/KF standard for vacuum is used. The NW/KF standard flange can achieve a high vacuum of about 10^-7 Pa.
Sanitary Fitting should be handled with care to prevent deterioration of the intermeshing parts, since pressure resistance may be impaired by scratches on the flange surface, deterioration of the gasket, or contamination.