If you experiencing issues with diaphragm seal failure in your process, you are not alone. In harsh applications that involve corrosive media and other challenging conditions, diaphragm seals are your primary line of defense in protecting your pressure instruments from becoming damaged. At Ashcroft, we've seen practically every scenario that can cause a diaphragm seal to fail, leading to inaccurate readings and costly downtime. In this article, we will review how a diaphragm seal works, explore the three conditions that account for the majority of diaphragm seal failure — corrosion, high temperature, and fluid fill leakage — and offer some corrective measures to fix these issues. When you are done, you will have a better understanding of why diaphragm seals can fail and be able to identify and prevent potential issues in your own process. You will also find links to additional resources that will help address other diaphragm-related questions you may have.

This article was originally published on February 9, 2022, and was updated on April 3, 2024. Pressure gauges are often used in challenging environments where they could be exposed to extreme temperatures that may damage them or impact their accuracy. These extreme temperatures can come from a variety of sources such as the surrounding environment (ambient temperature), or the temperature of the process media being measured (media temperature). How do you minimize the effects of temperature on your instrumentation and protect your pressure gauges from damage? Read on to learn the effects that temperature can have on pressure gauges and their performance. Plus, you will gain insights into how you can address these issues to keep your gauge working at peak performance.