scholarly journals Statistical Performance Evaluation of Spring Operated Pressure Relief Valve Reliability Improvements 2004 to 2014

Author(s):  
Holly L. Watson ◽  
Robert E. Gross ◽  
Stephen P. Harris

The United States Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site (SRS) in Aiken, South Carolina, is dedicated to promoting site-level risk-based inspection (RBI) practices in order to maintain a safe and productive work environment. Inspecting component parts of operational systems, such as pressure relief valves (PRVs), is a vital part of SRS’s safe operating envelope. This paper is a continuation of a SRS program to minimize the risks associated with PRV failures. Spring operated pressure relief valve (SOPRV) test data accumulated over the past ten years resulted in over 11,000 proof tests of both new and used valves. Improved performance is seen for air service valves resulting from changes to the maintenance program. Although, statistically significant improvement was not seen for liquid, gas, or steam service valves, analysis shows that the overall probability of failure on demand is trending down. Current SRS practices are reviewed and the reasons for improved performance are explored.

Author(s):  
Robert E. Gross ◽  
Stephen P. Harris

Risk-based inspection methods enable estimation of the probability of failure on demand for spring-operated pressure relief valves at the United States Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site in Aiken, South Carolina. This paper presents a statistical performance evaluation of soft seat spring operated pressure relief valves. These pressure relief valves are typically smaller and of lower cost than hard seat (metal to metal) pressure relief valves and can provide substantial cost savings in fluid service applications (air, gas, liquid, and steam) providing that probability of failure on demand (the probability that the pressure relief valve fails to perform its intended safety function during a potentially dangerous over pressurization) is at least as good as that for hard seat valves. The research in this paper shows that the proportion of soft seat spring operated pressure relief valves failing is the same or less than that of hard seat valves, and that for failed valves, soft seat valves typically have failure ratios of proof test pressure to set pressure less than that of hard seat valves.


2014 ◽  
Vol 136 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert E. Gross ◽  
Stephen P. Harris

Risk-based inspection methods enable estimation of the probability of failure on demand (PFD) for spring-operated pressure relief valves at the United States Department of Energy's Savannah River Site in Aiken, South Carolina. This paper presents a statistical performance evaluation of soft seat elastomer spring operated pressure relief valves. These pressure relief valves are typically smaller and of lower cost than hard seat (metal to metal) pressure relief valves. They can provide substantial cost savings in certain fluid service applications providing that PFD is at least as good as that for hard seat valves. PFD is the probability that a pressure relief valve fails to perform its intended safety function during a potentially dangerous over pressurization. The research in this paper shows that the proportion of soft seat spring operated pressure relief valves failing is the same or less than that of hard seat valves, and that for failed valves, soft seat valves typically have failure ratios of proof test pressure to set pressure much less than that of hard seat valves.


2013 ◽  
Vol 135 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily M. Mitchell ◽  
Robert E. Gross ◽  
Stephen P. Harris

The probability of failure on demand (PFD) for spring-operated pressure relief valves (SORVs) is estimated by applying the Fréchet and Weibull probability distributions using proof test data from the United States Department of Energy's Savannah River Site (SRS) in Aiken, South Carolina. The data can be accessed through the Center for Chemical Process Safety (CCPS) Process Equipment Reliability Database (PERD). The probability distributions enable the evaluation of risk, estimation of ANSI/ISA-84.00.01 Safety Integrity Levels (SILs), and the impact of potential modifications of the maintenance plan. Current SRS practices are reviewed, and recommendations are made for risk-based adjustments to the maintenance plan. Subsets of valves are identified in which maintenance times can be extended and in which increased safety margins may be needed.


Author(s):  
Emily M. Mitchell ◽  
Robert E. Gross ◽  
Stephen P. Harris

The probability of failure on demand for spring-operated pressure relief valves (SORVs) is estimated by applying the Fréchet and Weibull probability distributions using proof test data from the United States Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site (SRS) in Aiken, South Carolina. The data can be accessed through the Center for Chemical Process Safety (CCPS) Process Equipment Reliability Database (PERD). The probability distributions enable the evaluation of risk, estimation of ANSI/ISA-84.00.01 Safety Integrity Levels (SILs), and the impact of potential modifications of the maintenance plan. Current SRS practices are reviewed, and recommendations are made for risk-based adjustments to the maintenance plan. Subsets of valves are identified in which maintenance times can be extended and in which increased safety margins may be needed.


2015 ◽  
Vol 752-753 ◽  
pp. 828-832
Author(s):  
Nian Yong Zhou ◽  
Yan Long Jiang ◽  
Lei Xu ◽  
Jun Li ◽  
He Xu Wang

By analyzing the key technologies of pressure relief valve and comparing the advantages and disadvantages of existing products, liquid sealing automatic micro-pressure relief valve is designed with the properties of adjustable opening pressure, fast response rate, good sealing performance and long life, etc. Also, a reasonable mathematical model of liquid sealing automatic micro-pressure relief valve is developed, and the pressure relief valve’s opening pressure, reset pressure, relief rate and other key performance parameters is obtained. This work wil be helpful for the design and research of automatic micro-pressure relief valves used in mine rescue cabin.


Author(s):  
Tero Eskola ◽  
Heikki Handroos ◽  
Takao Nishiumi

The present paper deals with hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) simulation of hydraulic components and systems. The main idea is to develop hydraulics by using a simulation model of it as a part of the machine. The interface between the real and simulated parts is defined by means of pressures and flows. The proposed idea makes it possible to test a variety of design parameters of a hydraulic system or single component on-line while running the practical experimental machine. The method is demonstrated in its application to a single-stage pressure relief valve in a simple hydraulic circuit. The real valve is replaced in the circuit by a HIL simulator mimicking the dynamic behavior of the valve. Finally the dynamic responses of original pressure relief valve and the HIL simulator are compared.


Author(s):  
Leonardo Motta Carneiro ◽  
Luis F. G. Pires ◽  
Marcelo de Souza Cruz ◽  
Luis F. A. Azevedo

The majority of oil and refined-product pipelines in Brazil have their protection system designs based on spring-type pressure relief valves. Thus, the proper design and operation of these valves is essential to ensure the safety of transport pipelines and loading/unloading terminals during any abnormal operation conditions that generate a surge pressure. In simple terms, these valves have a disk which is pressed by a spring against the inlet nozzle of the valve. When the pressure rises, the force generated on the surface of the disc increases and, depending on the pressure relief valve set point, the force due to pressure overcomes the force exerted by the spring, causing the disk to rise and discharge the fluid through the outlet nozzle to the relief line, reducing the pressure level within the pipeline. Despite its importance, most commercial applications do not present a specific model to simulate the transient behavior of pressure relief valves. This paper presents an experimental study aimed at determining the dynamic behavior of a commercial spring-type relief valve. The valve was installed in a pipe loop instrumented with pressure and flow transducers. The transient motion of the valve disc was measured with a fast-response displacement transducer. The transient in the flow loop was generated by the controlled closing of a block valve positioned downstream of the relief valve. The recorded transient data for disc position, upstream and downstream pressures, and discharge flow rates were used to compute the discharge coefficient as a function of opening fraction and the opening fraction as a function of time. Simulation models based on a spring-mass damped system were developed and implemented in a PID-actuator-control valve system. The systems were implemented in a commercial pipeline simulation program modeling the experimental loop employed in the tests. The numerical and experimental data of the block valve closure transient were compared displaying good agreement. Simulations results employing a generic relief valve model frequently used in simulations were also obtained revealing problems associated with this approach.


2015 ◽  
Vol 137 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lili Xie ◽  
Xinhua Zheng ◽  
Lizhuo Liu

To overcome the shortcomings of traditional method for modeling pop action pressure relief valves (PAPRVs), a new method for modeling PAPRVs as a bistable element is proposed. The effects of the model’s main parameters on a valve’s behavior are simulated and analyzed. Through simulations, the atypical behaviors of PAPRV previously found by other researchers do arise and can be explained based on the simulation data. Then, according to this new method, a model was built for a special pressure relief valve, and the simulation data agree well with the experimental results. These results demonstrate the validity of the modeling method.


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.


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