1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the invention generally relate to the field of testing pilot-controlled safety relief valves, and more particularly to the field of measuring instantaneous/dynamic effective area coefficient, and effective area vs. lift function, of pilot-controlled pressure relief valves.
2. Discussion of Related Art
In general, pilot controlled Safety Relief Valves (SRVs), have a main valve composed of a piston with a dome volume behind it, and a pilot valve for filling/dumping the dome volume. The main valve piston is exposed to pipe inlet pressure below and dome pressure above. The difference in exposed surface areas between the top and bottom of the piston keep the main valve closed, until the pilot valve dumps the gas in the dome volume, which lowers the dome pressure and causes the piston to lift.
As the main valve piston lifts and begins to relieve pressure from the protected system, the inlet pressure may only push against a portion of the exposed piston surface area as a result of gas flow and dynamic/parasitic effects. That portion coefficient is known as the “Effective Area” coefficient. In a steady flowing or slowly moving valve, this coefficient depends on piston lift. But in a rapidly moving valve, the Effective Area coefficient depends strongly on piston velocity, gas inertia, gas compliance and more. Since the analysis of valve instabilities involves rapidly moving SRVs, dynamic/parasitic effects such as piston inertia and gas inertia/compliance cannot be ignored.
One current method for measuring the Effective Area coefficient of pilot controlled SRVs is as follows: (1) raise the piping system, leading to the main valve inlet, up to an operating pressure; (2) keep the valve opened at different piston lift points, which is often done by holding the valve piston with a screw; (3) at each lift point, measure the lift force on the valve piston, which is often done with a load cell placed behind the valve piston; and (4) divide the lift force by the operating inlet pressure to obtain the coefficient.
There are variations of this method, but they all require steady-state or quasi-steady flow conditions. As a result, when dealing with unstable valves or rapidly moving valves, these methods fail because they do not consider valve dynamic/parasitic effects such as piston inertia, gas inertia, gas compliance and more, as previously noted.
Current methods do not take dynamic effects into account in the measurement/calculation of Effective Area coefficient. Certifications of valves require manufacturers to analyze valves in steady-state flowing conditions. The common belief is that valve stability/performance problems depend exclusively on fixed parameters such as pipe lengths and pipe turns/intersections. For the reasons previously noted, such techniques may result in inaccurate values of the Effective Area coefficient for an SRV.
Thus, there is a need for an improved method for measuring the instantaneous/dynamic Effective Area coefficient and “Effective Area vs. Lift” function of pilot-controlled SRV's.
The disclosed method is an improved technique for measuring the instantaneous Effective Area coefficient and Effective Area vs. Lift function of rapidly moving pilot-controlled SRVs.
A method is disclosed for determining effective area coefficient for a pilot operated safety relief valve, the relief valve having a piston with an upper surface area, an inlet, and a dome. The method comprises the steps of: determining piston velocity (Pvel) and piston acceleration (Pacc); determining a total force acting on the piston (Ftotal) based on a mass of the piston and the piston acceleration; determining a downward force on the piston due to dome pressure (Fdome) by multiplying the dome pressure (Pdome) with the piston upper surface area (AUpperSurfaceArea); determining an upward force on the piston due to inlet pressure (Fmain) by subtracting the downward force from the total force (Ftotal); determining a lift of the piston (Plift); determining an instantaneous Effective Area coefficient (Ae) by dividing the upward force on the piston (Fmain) by a main inlet pressure (Pmain); and plotting the Effective Area coefficient vs. Plift to determine the Effective Area coefficient (Ae) vs. piston (Plift) function.
The accompanying drawing illustrates an exemplary embodiments of the disclosed device so far devised for the practical application of the principles thereof, and in which:
The disclosed method can be used to measure the instantaneous/dynamic “Effective Area Coefficient” and “Effective Area vs. Lift” function of pilot-controlled pressure relief valves. The disclosed arrangement can be used to obtain many other dynamic properties of valves, such as piston velocity and acceleration, kinetic and potential energy, frictional losses and much more. In one embodiment, the disclosed method calculates the instantaneous Effective Area coefficient of a pilot-controlled SRV using field sensor data.
In general, pilot controlled SRVs (Safety Relief Valves), as shown in
A pilot valve (not shown) is in communication with the dome volume 12 for filling/dumping the dome volume. As previously noted, the piston 6 is exposed to pipe inlet pressure below it (via the valve inlet port 2), and dome pressure above it. The difference in exposed surface areas between the faces 8, 10 of the piston 6 keep the valve 1 closed, until the pilot valve dumps the gas in the dome volume 12, lowering the dome pressure, and causing the piston 6 to move upward, opening a path between the inlet port 2 and the outlet port 4.
As the main valve piston lifts and starts relieving the protected system, gas flows around the piston. The gas applies a pressure-drag force that pushes the piston upwards. The inlet pressure, however, only acts against a portion of the exposed piston surface area. That portion is known as the “Effective Area” coefficient. Effective Area is the area which, when multiplied by the inlet pressure, equals to the upward pressure-drag force due to the gas flow. In a steady flowing or slowly moving valve, the Effective Area coefficient depends on piston lift. But in a rapidly moving valve, the Effective Area Coefficient depends strongly on piston velocity, gas inertia, gas compliance, frictional losses and more.
Referring to
The disclosed arrangement is unique in that it enables calculation of the dynamic Effective Area coefficient, as opposed to standard methods which are based on steady state flows. It also allows for on-line calculation of instantaneous Effective Area coefficient. This can, in turn, be used for on-line analysis of valve performance, valve stability and much more. The
1. Calculate Piston Velocity (Pvel) and Piston Acceleration (Pacc) by differentiating the piston lift signal twice:
2. Calculate the total force acting on the valve's piston (Ftotal) by using Newton's second law:
F
total
=P
mass
*P
acc
3. Calculate the downward force on the valve's piston due to dome pressure (Fdome) by multiplying the dome pressure (Pdome) with the piston upper surface area (AUpperSurfaceArea):
F
dome
=P
dome
*A
UpperSurfaceArea
4. Calculate the upward force on the valve's piston due to inlet pressure (Fmain) by subtracting the dome force (Fdome) from the total force (Ftotal):
F
main
=F
total
−F
dome
5. Calculate the instantaneous Effective Area coefficient (Ae) by dividing the upward force on the valve's piston (Fmain) by the main inlet pressure (Pmain):
6. Calculate the Effective Area coefficient (Ae) vs. Lift (Plift) function by plotting the Effective Area coefficient vs. piston lift:
Plot Aedefi Ae(Plift)
The ability of this method to generate real-time plots is advantageous when applied to rapidly opening/closing valves, as is the case for unstable valves. In such cases, parasitic effects can create highly non-linear interfaces between the piston and the flowing gas, which vary wildly from the smooth linear steady state condition.
The method described herein may be automated by, for example, tangibly embodying a program of instructions upon a computer readable storage media capable of being read by machine capable of executing the instructions. A general purpose computer is one example of such a machine. A non-limiting exemplary list of appropriate storage media well known in the art would include such devices as a readable or writeable CD, flash memory chips (e.g., thumb drives), various magnetic storage media, and the like.
The features of the system and method have been disclosed, and further variations will be apparent to persons skilled in the art. All such variations are considered to be within the scope of the appended claims. Reference should be made to the appended claims, rather than the foregoing specification, as indicating the true scope of the disclosed method.
The functions and process steps disclosed herein may be performed automatically or wholly or partially in response to user command. An activity (including a step) performed automatically is performed in response to executable instruction or device operation without user direct initiation of the activity.
The systems and processes of
Thus, although the invention has been described in terms of exemplary embodiments, it is not limited thereto. Rather, the appended claims should be construed broadly, to include other variants and embodiments of the invention, which may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and range of equivalents of the invention.
Number | Date | Country | |
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61320397 | Apr 2010 | US |