Download - Medical gas cylinders
Medical Gas Cylinder
R.Srihari
Topics for Discussion
• Definitions• Medical Gas Cylinder– Components– Sizes– Contents and Pressure– Testing and Filling– Color– Marking, Labelling and Tags– Rules for safe use of cylinders– Hazards
Defintions
• Psi: Pounds per square inch
• Psig: Pounds per square inch gauge
GAUGE PRESSURE
It is the difference between the measured pressure and the atmospheric pressure
Most gauges are measured to read zero at atmospheric pressure
• Psia: Pounds per square inch absolute
ABSOLUTE PRESSURE
It is based on reference point of zero in a perfect vacuum
Psia = Psig + atmospheric pressure
Eg: at sea level- atmospheric pressure is 0 but psia is 14.7psia
• Units of Pressure:– 1 atmosphere = 14.7 psi
760 mmHg
1030 cm H20
1000 mbar
100 KPa
• Critical temperature:– It is defined as the temperature below which no
gas can be liquefied irrespective of which pressure is applied
• Critical Pressure:– Defined as the minimum pressure required to
liquefy a gas at its critical temperature
• Compressed Gas:– It is defined as any mixture having in a container
an absolute pressure exceeding 40 psi at 70 F
OR– Regardless of the pressure at 70 F having a
absolute pressure exceeding 104 psi at 130 F
OR– Any liquid having a vapour pressure exceeding 40
psia at 100 F
• Non-Liquified Gas: – These are gases that do not liquefy at ambient
temperatures regardless of the pressures applied– These gases do become liquids at lower
temperatures at which point – called as CRYOGENIC LIQUIDS
– Eg: Oxygen, Nitrogen, Air, Helium
• Liquified Compressed Gases:– It is one in which gas becomes liquid at ambient
temperatures at pressures varying from 25-100 psig (172 -10340 Kpa)
– Eg: N20, CO2
Standards for Cylinders in India
• Gas Cylinders Rules(1981)• Static and Mobile Pressure Vessels(unfired)
rules (1981)• Bureau of Indian Standards Act(1986)
• All those who produce, supply and transport or use medical gases must comply with variety of safety regulations
put forth and enforced by agencies at state and central government
• Purity of gases specified by USP and enforced by FDA
Components
• Consists of:– Body– Valve– Port – Stem– Pressure relief devices
• Body:–Most medical gas cylinders are made of steel with
various alloys added
– In recent years, manufacturers have moved from traditional steel cylinders towards steel-carbon fibres cylinders
Can hold more gas and light in weight
– MRI compatible cylinders are made of aluminium
– Modern cylinders are made of alloy of MOLYBDENUM + STEEL +/- CHROMIUM
Alloy containing Molybdenum (0.15-0.25%)
Chromium (If + 0.8-1.1%)
Is used to increase strength and to minimise weight and wall thickness
• Walls of the cylinder vary from 5/64 to ¼ inch thickness on an average
• Cylinders that have a marking 3AA are made from steel. The marking 3AL or 3ALM indicates that the cylinder is made from aluminium
• Cylinder have a flat or a concave base. The other end may taper into a neck that is fitted with tapered screw threads that attach to the cylinder valve
• Valve:– Cylinders are filled and discharged through a valve
(spindle shaped) attached to the neck
– It is made of bronze or brass which is heavily plated with nickel or chromium so as to allow rapid dissipation of heat of compression
– The end which enters the neck of the cylinder is threaded to fit a corresponding screw thread inside the neck itself
• A sleeve or washer of soft alloy ( containing high proportions of lead) completes the gas tight seal as the valve is screwed into the neck of the cylinder
• Cylinder valves are of various types. – Those used on anesthesia machines are ‘flush’ types
which fits with the pin index system on the machine– For medium and large capacity cylinders – bull nose
valves are used
• Cylinder valves are of 2 types –packed type and diaphragm type
– Packed type:• Capable of withstanding high pressures• A.k.a direct acting valve• Stem is sealed by resilient packing such as TEFLON which
prevents leaks around the threads• In large cylinders, the force is transmitted by means of driver
square• It is opened by 2-3 turns• Used in most of the cylinders
– Diaphragm type:• Stem is separated from the seat• Closure between the cylinder interior and atmosphere is
accomplished by using a seal and a bonnet nut that clamps one or more circular discs in place
• These discs separate upper and lower stems which may be permanently attached to the diaphragms
• Upper stem is actuated by manual/automatic means and Lower stem shuts/permits flow through the valve
• Can be opened fully by ½ to ¾ turns• Seat does not turn-so less likely to leak• Generally preferred when pressures are relatively low and no leaks
can be allowed • However - expensive
• Port:– It is the point of exit for the gas
It fits into the nipple on the hanger yoke of the anesthesia machine
– It should be protected in transit by a covering
– When installing a cylinder on anesthesia machine, it is important for the user not to mistake the port for the conical depression
– Conical depression is situated on the opposite side of the port on the cylinder valve and is situated above the safety relief device
It is present on those cylinders which are designed to fit on anesthesia machine
– Conical depression is designed to receive the retaining screw on the yoke of the anesthesia machine
Screwing the retaining screw into the port may damage the port
• Stem:– Each valve contains a stem (spindle/screw-pin) or
shaft that is rotated to open or close the cylinder valve
– It is made up of very hard steel
– To close the valve the stem seals against the seat that is part of the valve
when the valve is opened –stem is moved upwards and allows the gas to flow to the port
• Pressure Relief Devices:– Every cylinder is fitted with pressure relief devices
whose purpose is to vent the cylinder’s contents to the atmosphere
if the pressure of enclosed gas increases to dangerous levels
– Types:• Rupture Disc• Fusible Plug• Combination of Both• Pressure Relief valve (spring loaded)
– Rupture Disc:• When pre-determined pressure is reached the disc
ruptures and allows the gas contents to be discharged
• It is a non- reclosing device held against an orifice
• It protects against excess pressure as a result of high temperature/overfilling
– Fusible Plug:• It is thermally operated
• It is a non-reclosing pressure relief device where the plug is held against the discharge channel
• It provides protection against excess pressure due to high temperature but not overfilling
• YIELD TEMPERATURE: Temperature at which fusible material becomes sufficiently soft to extrude from its holder- so that cylinder contents are discharged
– Spring loaded pressure relief device:• It is a reclosing device
• When set pressure is exceeded, the pressure in the cylinder forced the spring to open the channel for letting out the gases
Gas flows around the safety valve seat to discharge channel till excess pressure is relieved
• Handle/ Handwheel:– It is used to open or close a cylinder valve
– It is turned counter-clockwise to open and clock-wise to close
this causes the stem to turn
– A good practice is to attach a handle to each anesthesia machine or other apparatus for which it may be needed
– Each large cylinder has a permanent attached handwheel that uses a spring and nut to hold it firmly in place
Non-Interchangeable Safety Systems
• With withspread use of cylinders containing different gases , a potential hazard is connection of a cylinder to equipment intended for a different gas
• For safety purposes– Color coding for each gas– Pin index safety system
Color coding
GAS SHOULDER BODY
OXYGEN WHITE BLACK
NITROUS OXIDE BLUE BLUE
CYCLOPROPANE ORANGE ORANGE
CARBON DI OXIDE GREY GREY
AIR WHITE GREY
NITROGEN BLACK BLACK
ENTONOX WHITE BLUE
Pin Index Safety System
• The use of PISS began in 1952
• In order to ensure that the correct cylinder is attached to the appropriate hanger yoke of the anesthesia machine/workstation
A series of pins on the hanger yoke is made to fit into the corresponding indentations(pits/holes) drilled into cylinder valve
• It consists of holes on the cylinder valve positioned in an arc below the outlet port
• Positions of the cylinder valve are on the circumference of a circle of 9/16 inch (14.3mm) radius centered on the port
• The port has a diameter of 7mm
• The distance between the centre and lower part of the yoke is 20.6mm
• Unless the pins and holes are aligned, the port will not seat
• The indentations on the cylinder valve/yoke block are counted 1-6 from left to right
• The distance between the centre of the 1st pin and 6th pin should be 16mm
• There are 7 positions for pins and holes
• The pins are 4.75mm in diameter and 6mm long except for pin number 7 which is slightly thicker and placed at the centre (between port 3 and 4)
GAS PIN INDEX
AIR 1,5
OXYGEN 2,5
NITROUS OXIDE 3,5
NITROGEN 1,4
O2-CO2 (CO2 <7.5%) 2,6
O2-CO2 (CO2 >7.5%) 1,6
ENTONOX 7
Sizes• Gas suppliers classify cylinders by using a letter code with A
being the smallest
• Volume and Pressure of gas in a particular size cylinder vary
• O2 and Air – similar ; CO2 and N20- similar
• Size E is the most commonly used in anesthesia machine and for patient transport and resuscitation
• Size D cylinders are used for limited supplies of gases where size and weight considerations are important
CYLINDER SIZE DIMENSIONS(OUTER DIAMETER X LENGTH) IN INCH
EMPTY CYLINDER VOLUME
KG
INTERNAL VOLUME
L
D 4.5 X 17 5 3
E 4.25 X 26 6.3 5
H 9.25 X 51 53 46-50
O2/AIR N20/CO2
SIZE D – CONTENT IN LITRES
400 940
SIZE D- PRESSURE IN PSIG
1900 745/838
SIZE E- CONTENT IN LITRES
660 1590
SIZE E- PRESSURE IN PSIG
1900 745/838
SIZE H –CONTENT IN LITRES
6900 15800
SIZE H- PRESSURE IN PSIG
2200 745
Contents and Pressure
• In a cylinder containing a non-liquefied gas
Pressure declines as the contents are withdrawn
Hence pressure can be used to measure cylinder volume(approximately)
• In a cylinder containing a liquified gas, the pressure depends on VAPOUR PRESSURE of the liquid and is not an indication of the amount of gas remaining in the cylinder as long as the contents are partly in the liquid state
Pressure remains nearly constant till all liquid has evaporated
After which pressure declines till cylinder is exhausted
Testing
• A cylinder must be inspected and tested atleast every 5 years or with special permit upto every 10 years
• The test date must be permanently stamped on the cylinder
• Each cylinder must pass an internal and external visual check for corrosion and evidence of physical impact or distortion
• Cylinders are checked for leaks and retention of structural strength by testing to minimum of 1.66 times their service pressure
• SERVICE PRESSURE IS DEFINED AS THE MAXIMUM PRESSURE TO WHICH THE CYLINDER MAY BE FILLED AT 70 F
• Other tests that are done:– Tensile test– Flattening test– Bend test– Impact test
– These are carried on atleast one out of every 100 cylinders
Filling
• If a cylinder containing a gas under a safe pressure at normal temperature is subjected to higher temperature the pressure may increase to dangerous levels
• To prevent this, regulations have been drawn limiting the amount of gas a cylinder may contain
• Non- liquefied gases – may be allowed an additional 10% filling
• Liquefied gas containing cylinders:– Pressures will remain constant as long as there is liquid
in cylinder
to prevent cylinder being overfilled
Maximum amount of gas allowed is defined by the filling density(filling ratio) for each gas
• Filling density- percent of ratio of weight of the gas in a cylinder to the weight of water that the cylinder would hold at 60 F
– N20 – 68%– CO2- 68%
Marking/Labelling/Tags
• Important for identification
• To check test date
• In case of flammable gases- Caution/ Danger/ Warning label is needed
• Tags should contain either full/ in use/ empty
Hazards
• Incorrect cylinder• Incorrect valve• Incorrect color/labelling• Inoperable valve/ Damaged valve• Suffocation/fire explosion• Overfilled contents in cylinder• Nitrous oxide theft• Contaminated contents in cylinders• Thermal injury
Rules for safe use of cylinders
1. To be handled by trained staff
2. Store cylinders in a cool, clean room with adequate ventilation
3. Do not drape cylinder with any material during storage
4. Cylinders are best stored upright in a cylinder stand
5. Keep the valve closed when not in use
6. Identify contents by label
7. Remove wrappings( protective covering) before use
8. Remove dust/ foreign bodies before connecting
9. ‘Cracking’ to be done to reduce to possibility of flash fire
10. A sealing washer in good condition should be used
11. Flow control valves should be closed before cylinders opened
12. Quick opening to be avoided as it can generate heat leading to flame
13. Valve should be fully opened when in use
14. To be kept away from oil, rubber and combustible substances
15. Do not expose cylinder to heat or higher temperatures
Thank You