Rupture disks are available in a variety of materials including nickel based alloys (stainless steel, nickel 200, alloy 400 and alloy 600) as well as exotic elemental metals such as tantalum, niobium, silver, platinum and gold.

The rupture disk device typically consists of a pressure sensitive disk element and a safety head (holder) that clamps the disk into place in the piping system, although some disk designs may be installed directly between pipe flanges or fittings without a holder.