Weusecookiestogiveyouthebestexperienceonourwebsite.Ifyoucontinuewithoutchangingyourcookiesettings,weassumethatyouconsenttoouruseofcookiesonthisdevice.

Youcan
changeyourcookiesettingsatanytimebutifyoudo,youmaylosesomefunctionalityonourwebsite.MoreinformationcanbefoundinourPrivacyPolicy

Changecountry

International

Searchthissite...
EXPER T ISE

SO L U T IO N S

SU ST A IN A B IL IT Y
NEWS

HOME

CAPABILITIES

INDUSTRIES

SERVICES

PRODUCTS

CAREERS

CONTACTUS

TRAINING

SteamEngineeringTutorials>SafetyValves

IntroductiontoSafetyValves
Anypressurisedsystemrequiressafetydevicestoprotectpeople,processesandproperty.Thistutorialdetailssituationswhenoverpressuremay
occur,thewideandoftenconfusingtypesofdeviceonoffer,howsuchdevicesoperateandthemanycodes,standardsandapprovalauthoritiesto
note.
Introduction
Assoonasmankindwasabletoboilwatertocreatesteam,thenecessityofthesafetydevicebecameevident.Aslongas2000yearsago,theChinesewere
usingcauldronswithhingedlidstoallow(relatively)saferproductionofsteam.Atthebeginningofthe14thcentury,chemistsusedconicalplugsandlater,
compressedspringstoactassafetydevicesonpressurisedvessels.
Earlyinthe19thcentury,boilerexplosionsonshipsandlocomotivesfrequentlyresultedfromfaultysafetydevices,whichledtothedevelopmentofthefirst
safetyreliefvalves.
In1848,CharlesRetchieinventedtheaccumulationchamber,whichincreasesthecompressionsurfacewithinthesafetyvalveallowingittoopenrapidlywithin
anarrowoverpressuremargin.Today,moststeamusersarecompelledbylocalhealthandsafetyregulationstoensurethattheirplantandprocesses
incorporatesafetydevicesandprecautions,whichensurethatdangerousconditionsareprevented.
Theprimaryfunctionofasafetyvalveisthereforetoprotectlifeandproperty.
Theprincipletypeofdeviceusedtopreventoverpressureinplantisthesafetyorsafetyreliefvalve.Thesafetyvalveoperatesbyreleasingavolumeoffluid
fromwithintheplantwhenapredeterminedmaximumpressureisreached,therebyreducingtheexcesspressureinasafemanner.Asthesafetyvalvemaybe
theonlyremainingdevicetopreventcatastrophicfailureunderoverpressureconditions,itisimportantthatanysuchdeviceiscapableofoperatingatalltimes
andunderallpossibleconditions.
Safetyvalvesshouldbeinstalledwhereverthemaximumallowableworkingpressure(MAWP)ofasystemorpressurecontainingvesselislikelytobe
exceeded.Insteamsystems,safetyvalvesaretypicallyusedforboileroverpressureprotectionandotherapplicationssuchasdownstreamofpressure
reducingcontrols.Althoughtheirprimaryroleisforsafety,safetyvalvesarealsousedinprocessoperationstopreventproductdamageduetoexcess
pressure.Pressureexcesscanbegeneratedinanumberofdifferentsituations,including:
Animbalanceoffluidflowratecausedbyinadvertentlyclosedoropenedisolationvalvesonaprocessvessel.
Failureofacoolingsystem,whichallowsvapourorfluidtoexpand.
Compressedairorelectricalpowerfailuretocontrolinstrumentation.
Transientpressuresurges.
Exposuretoplantfires.
Heatexchangertubefailure.
Uncontrollableexothermicreactionsinchemicalplants.
Ambienttemperaturechanges.
Theterms'safetyvalve'and'safetyreliefvalve'aregenerictermstodescribemanyvarietiesofpressurereliefdevicesthataredesignedtopreventexcessive
internalfluidpressurebuildup.Awiderangeofdifferentvalvesisavailableformanydifferentapplicationsandperformancecriteria.Furthermore,different
designsarerequiredtomeetthenumerousnationalstandardsthatgoverntheuseofsafetyvalves.
Alistingoftherelevantnationalstandardscanbefoundattheendofthistutorial.
Inmostnationalstandards,specificdefinitionsaregivenforthetermsassociatedwithsafetyandsafetyreliefvalves.Thereareseveralnotabledifferences
betweentheterminologyusedintheUSAandEurope.Oneofthemostimportantdifferencesisthatavalvereferredtoasa'safetyvalve'inEuropeisreferred
toasa'safetyreliefvalve'or'pressurereliefvalve'intheUSA.Inaddition,theterm'safetyvalve'intheUSAgenerallyrefersspecificallytothefulllifttypeof

safetyvalveusedinEurope.
TheASME/ANSIPTC25.3standardsapplicabletotheUSAdefinethefollowinggenericterms:
PressurereliefvalveAspringloadedpressurereliefvalvewhichisdesignedtoopentorelieveexcesspressureandtorecloseandpreventthefurther
flowoffluidafternormalconditionshavebeenrestored.Itischaracterisedbyarapidopening'pop'actionorbyopeninginamannergenerallyproportional
totheincreaseinpressureovertheopeningpressure.Itmaybeusedforeithercompressibleorincompressiblefluids,dependingondesign,adjustment,
orapplication.
Thisisageneralterm,whichincludessafetyvalves,reliefvalvesandsafetyreliefvalves.
SafetyvalveApressurereliefvalveactuatedbyinletstaticpressureandcharacterisedbyrapidopeningorpopaction.
Safetyvalvesareprimarilyusedwithcompressiblegasesandinparticularforsteamandairservices.However,theycanalsobeusedforprocesstype
applicationswheretheymaybeneededtoprotecttheplantortopreventspoilageoftheproductbeingprocessed.
ReliefvalveApressurereliefdeviceactuatedbyinletstaticpressurehavingagradualliftgenerallyproportionaltotheincreaseinpressureoveropening
pressure.
Reliefvalvesarecommonlyusedinliquidsystems,especiallyforlowercapacitiesandthermalexpansionduty.Theycanalsobeusedonpumped
systemsaspressureoverspilldevices.
SafetyreliefvalveApressurereliefvalvecharacterisedbyrapidopeningorpopaction,orbyopeninginproportiontotheincreaseinpressureoverthe
openingpressure,dependingontheapplication,andwhichmaybeusedeitherforliquidorcompressiblefluid.
Ingeneral,thesafetyreliefvalvewillperformasasafetyvalvewhenusedinacompressiblegassystem,butitwillopeninproportiontotheoverpressure
whenusedinliquidsystems,aswouldareliefvalve.
TheEuropeanstandardENISO41261providesthefollowingdefinition:
SafetyvalveAvalvewhichautomatically,withouttheassistanceofanyenergyotherthanthatofthefluidconcerned,dischargesaquantityofthefluid
soastopreventapredeterminedsafepressurebeingexceeded,andwhichisdesignedtorecloseandpreventfurtherflowoffluidafternormalpressure
conditionsofservicehavebeenrestored.
TypicalexamplesofsafetyvalvesusedonsteamsystemsareshowninFigure9.1.1.

Fig.9.1.1Typicalsafetyvalves

Safetyvalvedesign
Thebasicspringloadedsafetyvalve,referredtoas'standard'or'conventional'isasimple,reliableselfactingdevicethatprovidesoverpressureprotection.
Thebasicelementsofthedesignconsistofarightanglepatternvalvebodywiththevalveinletconnection,ornozzle,mountedonthepressurecontaining
system.Theoutletconnectionmaybescrewedorflangedforconnectiontoapipeddischargesystem.However,insomeapplications,suchascompressedair
systems,thesafetyvalvewillnothaveanoutletconnection,andthefluidisventeddirectlytotheatmosphere.


Fig.9.1.2Typicalsafetyvalvedesigns
Thevalveinlet(orapproachchannel)designcanbeeitherafullnozzleoraseminozzletype.Afullnozzledesignhastheentire'wetted'inlettractformedfrom
onepiece.Theapproachchannelistheonlypartofthesafetyvalvethatisexposedtotheprocessfluidduringnormaloperation,otherthanthedisc,unlessthe
valveisdischarging.
Fullnozzlesareusuallyincorporatedinsafetyvalvesdesignedforprocessandhighpressureapplications,especiallywhenthefluidiscorrosive.
Conversely,theseminozzledesignconsistsofaseatingringfittedintothebody,thetopofwhichformstheseatofthevalve.Theadvantageofthis
arrangementisthattheseatcaneasilybereplaced,withoutreplacingthewholeinlet.
Thediscisheldagainstthenozzleseat(undernormaloperatingconditions)bythespring,whichishousedinanopenorclosedspringhousingarrangement(or
bonnet)mountedontopofthebody.Thediscsusedinrapidopening(poptype)safetyvalvesaresurroundedbyashroud,discholderorhuddlingchamber
whichhelpstoproducetherapidopeningcharacteristic.

Fig.9.1.3Afullnozzlevalve(a)andaseminozzlevalve(b)
Theclosingforceonthediscisprovidedbyaspring,typicallymadefromcarbonsteel.Theamountofcompressiononthespringisusuallyadjustable,using
thespringadjuster,toalterthepressureatwhichthediscisliftedoffitsseat.
Standardsthatgovernthedesignanduseofsafetyvalvesgenerallyonlydefinethethreedimensionsthatrelatetothedischargecapacityofthesafetyvalve,
namelytheflow(orbore)area,thecurtainareaandthedischarge(ororifice)area(seeFigure9.1.4).
1.FlowareaTheminimumcrosssectionalareabetweentheinletandtheseat,atitsnarrowestpoint.Thediameteroftheflowareaisrepresentedby
dimension'd'inFigure9.1.4.

Equation9.1.1
2.CurtainareaTheareaofthecylindricalorconicaldischargeopeningbetweentheseatingsurfacescreatedbytheliftofthediskabovetheseat.The
diameterofthecurtainareaisrepresentedbydimension'd1'inFigure9.1.4.

Equation9.1.2
3.DischargeareaThisisthelesserofthecurtainandflowareas,whichdeterminestheflowthroughthevalve.

Fig.9.1.4Illustrationofthestandarddefinedareas
Valvesinwhichtheflowareaandnotthecurtainareadeterminesthecapacityareknownasfullliftvalves.Thesevalveswillhaveagreatercapacitythanlow
liftorhighliftvalves.ThisissuewillbediscussedingreaterdepthinTutorial9.2.
Althoughtheprincipalelementsofaconventionalsafetyvalvearesimilar,thedesigndetailscanvaryconsiderably.Ingeneral,theDINstylevalves(commonly
usedthroughoutEurope)tendtouseasimplerconstructionwithafixedskirt(orhood)arrangementwhereastheASMEstylevalveshaveamorecomplex
designthatincludesoneortwoadjustableblowdownrings.Thepositionoftheseringscanbeusedtofinetunetheoverpressureandblowdownvaluesofthe
valve.
Foragivenorificearea,theremaybeanumberofdifferentinletandoutletconnectionsizes,aswellasbodydimensionssuchascentrelinetofacedimensions.
Furthermore,manycompetingproducts,particularlyofEuropeanoriginhavedifferingdimensionsandcapacitiesforthesamenominalsize.
AnexceptiontothissituationisfoundwithsteelASMEspecificationvalves,whichinvariablyfollowtherecommendationsoftheAPIRecommendedPractice
526,wherecentrelinetofacedimensions,andorificesizesarelisted.Theorificeareaseriesarereferredtobyaletter.Itiscommonforvalveswiththesame
orificelettertohaveseveraldifferentsizesofinletandoutletconnection.Forexample,2"xJx3"and3"xJx4"arebothvalveswhichhavethesamesize('J)
orifice,buttheyhavedifferinginletandoutletsizesasshownbeforeandaftertheorificeletterrespectively.A2"xJx3"valvewouldhavea2"inlet,a'J'size
orificeanda3"outlet.

Basicoperationofasafetyvalve
Lifting
Whentheinletstaticpressurerisesabovethesetpressureofthesafetyvalve,thediscwillbegintoliftoffitsseat.However,assoonasthespringstartsto
compress,thespringforcewillincreasethismeansthatthepressurewouldhavetocontinuetorisebeforeanyfurtherliftcanoccur,andfortheretobeany
significantflowthroughthevalve.
Theadditionalpressureriserequiredbeforethesafetyvalvewilldischargeatitsratedcapacityiscalledtheoverpressure.Theallowableoverpressuredepends
onthestandardsbeingfollowedandtheparticularapplication.Forcompressiblefluids,thisisnormallybetween3%and10%,andforliquidsbetween10%and
25%.
Inordertoachievefullopeningfromthissmalloverpressure,thediscarrangementhastobespeciallydesignedtoproviderapidopening.Thisisusuallydoneby
placingashroud,skirtorhoodaroundthedisc.Thevolumecontainedwithinthisshroudisknownasthecontrolorhuddlingchamber.

Fig.9.1.5Typicaldiscandshroudarrangementusedonrapidopeningsafetyvalves
Asliftbegins(Figure9.1.6b),andfluidentersthechamber,alargerareaoftheshroudisexposedtothefluidpressure.Sincethemagnitudeoftheliftingforce
(F)isproportionaltotheproductofthepressure(P)andtheareaexposedtothefluid(A)(F=PxA),theopeningforceisincreased.Thisincrementalincrease
inopeningforceovercompensatesfortheincreaseinspringforce,causingrapidopening.Atthesametime,theshroudreversesthedirectionoftheflow,which
providesareactionforce,furtherenhancingthelift.

Thesecombinedeffectsallowthevalvetoachieveitsdesignedliftwithinarelativelysmallpercentageoverpressure.Forcompressiblefluids,anadditional
contributoryfactoristherapidexpansionasthefluidvolumeincreasesfromahighertoalowerpressurearea.Thisplaysamajorroleinensuringthatthevalve
opensfullywithinthesmalloverpressurelimit.Forliquids,thiseffectismoreproportionalandsubsequently,theoverpressureistypicallygreater25%is
common.

Fig.9.1.6Operationofaconventionalsafetyvalve
Reseating
Oncenormaloperatingconditionshavebeenrestored,thevalveisrequiredtocloseagain,butsincethelargerareaofthediscisstillexposedtothefluid,the
valvewillnotcloseuntilthepressurehasdroppedbelowtheoriginalsetpressure.Thedifferencebetweenthesetpressureandthisreseatingpressureisknown
asthe'blowdown',anditisusuallyspecifiedasapercentageofthesetpressure.Forcompressiblefluids,theblowdownisusuallylessthan10%,andfor
liquids,itcanbeupto20%.

Fig.9.1.7Relationshipbetweenpressureandliftforatypicalsafetyvalve
Thedesignoftheshroudmustbesuchthatitoffersbothrapidopeningandrelativelysmallblowdown,sothatassoonasapotentiallyhazardoussituationis
reached,anyoverpressureisrelieved,butexcessivequantitiesofthefluidarepreventedfrombeingdischarged.Atthesametime,itisnecessarytoensure
thatthesystempressureisreducedsufficientlytopreventimmediatereopening.
TheblowdownringsfoundonmostASMEtypesafetyvalvesareusedtomakefineadjustmentstotheoverpressureandblowdownvaluesofthevalves(see
Figure9.1.8).Thelowerblowdown(nozzle)ringisacommonfeatureonmanyvalveswherethetighteroverpressureandblowdownrequirementsrequireamore
sophisticateddesignedsolution.Theupperblowdownringisusuallyfactorysetandessentiallytakesoutthemanufacturingtoleranceswhichaffectthe
geometryofthehuddlingchamber.
Thelowerblowdownringisalsofactorysettoachievetheappropriatecodeperformancerequirementsbutundercertaincircumstancescanbealtered.Whenthe
lowerblowdownringisadjustedtoitstoppositionthehuddlingchambervolumeissuchthatthevalvewillpoprapidly,minimisingtheoverpressurevaluebut
correspondinglyrequiringagreaterblowdownbeforethevalvereseats.Whenthelowerblowdownringisadjustedtoitslowerpositionthereisminimalrestriction
inthehuddlingchamberandagreateroverpressurewillberequiredbeforethevalveisfullyopenbuttheblowdownvaluewillbereduced.


Fig.9.1.8TheblowdownringsonanASMEtypesafetyvalve

Approvalauthorities
Formostcountries,thereareindependentbodieswhowillexaminethedesignandperformanceofaproductrangetoconfirmconformitywiththerelevantcode
orstandard.Thissystemofthirdpartyapprovalisverycommonforanysafetyrelatedproductsandisoftenacustomerrequirementbeforepurchase,ora
requirementoftheirinsurancecompany.
Theactualrequirementsforapprovalwillvarydependingontheparticularcodeorstandard.Insomecases,revalidationisnecessaryeveryfewyears,inothers
approvalisindefiniteaslongasnosignificantdesignchangesaremade,inwhichcasetheapprovalauthoritymustbenotified,andreapprovalsought.Inthe
USA,theNationalBoardofBoilerandPressureVesselInspectorsrepresentstheUSandCanadiangovernmentagenciesempoweredtoassureadherenceto
codeconstructionandrepairofboilersandpressurevessels.
SomeofthemorecommonlyencounteredbodiesarelistedinTable9.2.1.

Table9.1.1Approvalauthorities

CodesandStandards
Standardsrelevanttosafetyvalvesvaryquiteconsiderablyinformataroundtheworld,andmanyaresectionswithincodesrelevanttoBoilersorPressure
ContainingVessels.Somewillonlyoutlineperformancerequirements,tolerancesandessentialconstructionaldetail,butgivenoguidanceondimensions,orifice
sizesetc.Otherswillberelatedtoinstallationandapplication.Itisquitecommonwithinmanymarketstouseseveralinconjunctionwitheachother.