The Liberty Air Dictionary of HVAC Terms
- Blank-Off Plate—a blank-off plate is a metal plate used to seal off a sector of the condenser on the absorber to prevent the rupture disk from blowing while the absorber is under pressure (e.g. when you are conducting a leak check on an absorption chiller).
- Freon—a refrigerant, aerosol propellant, or organic solvent made up of a group of one or more chlorofluorocarbons or hydrofluorocarbons. Freon is added to what is known as "closed-loop systems" and is continuously recycled (and should not be released into the environment—it’s been shown to damage the Earth’s protective Ozone layer).
- Rupture Disk—a rupture disk is also known as a burst diaphragm or burst disc, or sometimes a pressure safety disc. A rupture disk is a relief device which does not close or reclose, but bursts under certain pressure conditions. Rupture discs are used to protect a pressure vessel such as an absorption chiller from overpressurization, or conditions which could otherwise damage the chiller. Rupture disks are designed to fail at a specific, predetermined pressure differential so that the absorption chiller or other components which would be much more difficult and expensive to replace are saved (in this case, the absorption chiller—not something that is easy or cheap to replace!).