Reliability Analysis of Spring Operated Pressure Relief Valve

Author(s):  
Shiyi Bao ◽  
Zhibin Li ◽  
Lijia Luo ◽  
Zengliang Gao

Pressure relief valve (PRV) is an important automatic overpressure protection system in the process industry. Because of the operating characteristics, the performance of PRV is supposed to be proved by the proof test. However, it’s difficult to determine the proof test intervals and the availability of the PRV between two proof tests. Based on stochastic Petri nets (SPN), the reliability modeling and analysis procedure of spring operated full lift pressure relief valve which is the most widely used PRV is depicted in this paper. Firstly, the FMECA method is used to analyze the causes and effects of the typical six failure modes of the PRV, such as vibration, leakage, frequency hopping, unable to open, open before the settings and the low back seat pressure. Second, the corresponding fault tree (FT) models of the PRV are built through the multi-component failure analysis. Third, the SPN models of the PRV are established by employing the logical relations in the FT models. Based on the collected failure data of the PRVs, the steady state and transient reliability index are calculated by Monte Carlo simulation based on the SPN software SPN@. Last, the idea about PRV reliability data collection in domestic process industries is proposed. The result of the reliability analysis can provide the basis for determination the proof test intervals of the PRV, and the proposed procedure also bears significance in its application in the reliability analysis of general system in process industry.

1991 ◽  
Vol 113 (1) ◽  
pp. 46-54 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. M. Petherick ◽  
A. M. Birk

It is well known that the response of a rail tank car to exterior heating (e.g., fire engulfment) is significantly affected by the operating characteristics of the pressure relief valve (PRV). If the valve jams or fails in some way, it can lead to a violent vessel rupture; therefore, PRV failure modes and mechanisms must be understood. This paper investigates the studies which have been conducted in the area of PRV technology. The original focus of the paper was to conduct a literature search to find the state-of-the-art for the PRV’s which are presently installed on railway tank cars, highway tankers, and stationary LPG storage vessels. When few papers were found which had concentrated on this particular topic, the authors continued the search by considering both the nuclear power and chemical processing industries, where similar technologies are found. The results of the literature search suggest that the PRV’s currently installed on tank cars and highway tankers are based on designs more than 30 yr old. Controlled fire tests and industry’s maintenance programs suggest that PRV’s could be improved. Most experimental studies of PRV’s have concentrated on flow visualization techniques and have not considered PRV dynamic characteristics. The lack of understanding of valve dynamic characteristics has slowed the development of improved PRV dynamic computer models.


2002 ◽  
Vol 124 (2) ◽  
pp. 247-252
Author(s):  
A. J. Pierorazio ◽  
A. M. Birk

Recent studies have shown that the hazards associated with loss of containment and BLEVEs (boiling liquid expanding vapor explosions) are strongly tied to the energy stored in the liquid phase of a pressure vessel. This stored energy is affected by heat transfer with the surroundings (e.g., fire exposure) and pressure relief valve (PRV) action. Since it would be desirable to minimize this stored energy to reduce hazards, a study was initiated by Transport Canada and Queen’s University to quantify the effect of various PRV parameters on the thermal energy storage of a pressure vessel. A fully automated state-of-the-art test facility has been constructed to perform 2-phase blowdown tests using steam and water. This paper describes the Queen’s University/Transport Canada PRV Test Program and the test procedures and facilities used. It goes on to show some preliminary results from 2-phase testing currently underway to determine the optimal PRV operating characteristics from a hazard mitigation standpoint. The results of this study may be useful for standards-writing bodies to set experimentally determined optimal behavior criteria for PRVs and acceptable tolerances for deviation from this.


2010 ◽  
Vol 118-120 ◽  
pp. 561-565
Author(s):  
Shi Yi Bao ◽  
Wei Ping Wang ◽  
Jian Xin Zhu ◽  
Zeng Liang Gao

This paper proposes a new reliability modeling and analysis approach based on Stochastic Petri Nets by employing the logical relations in the RBD to cope with the inadequacy in various quantitative reliability analysis techniques, such as Reliability Block Diagram (RBD) and Markov analysis of control system in process industry. In this paper, the proposed new approach is elaborated and its feasibility and effectiveness is illustrated in a study case. As the results show, the proposed approach is demonstrated more straightforward and visual than Markov method. This research also bears significance in its application in the reliability analysis of general system in process industry.


2018 ◽  
Vol 140 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hyunjun Kim ◽  
Sanghyun Kim ◽  
Youngman Kim ◽  
Jonghwan Kim

A direct spring loaded pressure relief valve (DSLPRV) is an efficient hydraulic structure used to control a potential water hammer in pipeline systems. The optimization of a DSLPRV was explored to consider the instability issue of a valve disk and the surge control for a pipeline system. A surge analysis scheme, named the method of characteristics, was implemented into a multiple-objective genetic algorithm to determine the adjustable factors in the operation of the DSLPRV. The forward transient analysis and multi-objective optimization of adjustable factors, such as the spring constant, degree of precompression, and disk mass, showed substantial relaxation in the surge pressure and oscillation of valve disk in a hypothetical pipeline system. The results of the regression analysis of surge were compared with the optimization results to demonstrate the potential of the developed method to substantially reduce computational costs.


2006 ◽  
Vol 128 (3) ◽  
pp. 467-475 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. M. Birk ◽  
J. D. J. VanderSteen

In the summers of 2000 and 2001, a series of controlled fire tests were conducted on horizontal 1890liter (500 US gallon) propane pressure vessels. The test vessels were instrumented with pressure transducers, liquid space, vapor space, and wall thermocouples, and an instrumented flow nozzle in place of a pressure relief valve (PRV). A computer controlled PRV was used to control pressure. The vessels were heated using high momentum, liquid propane utility torches. Open pool fires were not used for the testing because they are strongly affected by wind. These wind effects make it almost impossible to have repeatable test conditions. The fire conditions used were calibrated to give heat inputs similar to a luminous hydrocarbon pool fire with an effective blackbody temperature in the range of 850°C±50°C. PRV blowdown (i.e., blowdown=poppressure−reclosepressure) and fire conditions were varied in this test series while all other input parameters were held constant. The fire conditions were varied by changing the number of burners applied to the vessel wall areas wetted by liquid and vapor. It was found that the vessel content’s response and energy storage varied according to the fire conditions and the PRV operation. The location and quantity of the burners affected the thermal stratification within the liquid, and the liquid swelling (due to vapor generation in the liquid) at the liquid∕vapor interface. The blowdown of the PRV affected the average vessel pressure, average liquid temperature, and time to temperature destratification in the liquid. Large blowdown also delayed thermal rupture.


Author(s):  
James A. Petersen

When An Lp-Gas Container Is Involved In A Fire, Flammable Gas Is Usually Vented From The Relief Valve. One Of The First Questions Is Whether The Container Vented The Gas That Caused The Fire Or Whether Gas Was Vented Due To The Fire Heating The Container. If The Relief Valve Vents Gas That Initiates The Fire, It Is Usually Due To An Overfilled Container. This Paper Discusses; 1) The Prediction Of The Rate Of Container Warming Due To Normal Temperature Changes, 2) The Resulting Pressure Changes Of The Liquefied Gas, 3) The Reaction Of The Pressure Relief Valve And The Quantity Of Lp-Gas Vented During The Operation Of The Relief Valve, 4) Designing The Experiment And 4) Adjusting The Model To Reflect Test Data.


Author(s):  
R Maiti ◽  
R Saha ◽  
J Watton

The steady state and dynamic characteristics of a two-stage pressure relief valve with proportional solenoid control of the pilot stage is studied theoretically as well as experimentally. The mathematical model is studied within the MATLAB-SIMULINK environment and the non-linearities have been considered via the use of appropriate SIMULINK blocks. The detailed modelling has resulted in a good comparison between simulation and measurement, albeit assumptions had to be made regarding the solenoid dynamic characteristic based upon practical experience. The use of this characteristic combined with additional dynamic terms not previously considered allows new estimations of internal characteristics to be made such as the damping flowrate. The overall dynamic behaviour has been shown to be dominated by the solenoid characteristic relating force to applied voltage.


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