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From 1978
to 1992, San-I-Pak
manufactured square sterilization chambers, which were integrated
with a compaction system. During this period, hundreds of systems
were manufactured. After a few years of operation we noticed a
tendency for many of these chambers to require additional maintenance
and repairs due to stress cracks caused from both the pressure
and vacuum of the system. The square chamber design has proven
to have an operating life of 5-10 years while the 316L stainless
steel round chamber has an immortal life expectancy. Please look
at the figure below to better understand why San-I-Pak made the
transition to a round chamber design.
Shown
without reinforcements, slight flex with inforcements cause termination.
Aside
from the issues faced from the wear on the square chambers by
the pressure and vacuum, we were also able to design the new chamber
without a hot jacket. Therefore, the round chamber design uses
far less electricity since we do not have to maintain a 105oC
while the system is not in use. In the case of most sterilizer
systems, only about 30% of the chamber is used after the waste
is loaded. A majority of the chamber contains air, not waste.
As a result, less steam is required when operating a San-I-Pak
system since up to 95% of the chamber can be utilized during the
processing of the waste.
The
round chamber also allows for quicker penetration of the heat
into the waste load and will not allow for "cold pockets"
like most other sterilizer systems. The round chambers have a
much more efficient ability to radiate the heat evenly within
the waste load.
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