Eurovalve: Stable Operation of Spring-loaded Safety Valves in Gas Service Through Damping and Internal Modifications

The stable operation of safety valves is required for the adequate protection of chemical plants. Instabilities like flattering and chattering of safety valves have caused severe damage to plants in the past. The publication introduces the results of the Eurovalve project investigated at the CSE Cen...

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Main Authors: Gergely Keszthelyi, Jürgen Schmidt, Jens Denecke
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: AIDIC Servizi S.r.l. 2025-06-01
Series:Chemical Engineering Transactions
Online Access:https://www.cetjournal.it/index.php/cet/article/view/15170
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author Gergely Keszthelyi
Jürgen Schmidt
Jens Denecke
author_facet Gergely Keszthelyi
Jürgen Schmidt
Jens Denecke
author_sort Gergely Keszthelyi
collection DOAJ
description The stable operation of safety valves is required for the adequate protection of chemical plants. Instabilities like flattering and chattering of safety valves have caused severe damage to plants in the past. The publication introduces the results of the Eurovalve project investigated at the CSE Center of Safety Excellence. Various models for safety valves are presented along with the equations used for numerical solution. It is shown that the stability of safety valves cannot be precisely pre-determined with the models currently available. Therefore, two methods of improving the stability that require the modification of the valve are proposed. One such solution is the addition of different types of dampers to the safety valves. Measurements have been conducted to investigate the effect of friction dampers, and the results are analysed. The stability of the safety valve improves, but the safety valve reseating pressure drops below what is permissible by the standard. Simulations are used to test the effect damping on the system, showing that the analysed safety valve opens in a stable manner with a damping that reaches the critical damping of the spring mass-damper system. The other possible solution presented in this paper is the modification of the force acting on the safety valve disk. The theoretical effects of modifying the safety valve disk are evaluated by varying the effective area of the safety valve. Limits for the effective area are derived based on the requirements of the international standards. Four different cases are examined within and out of these limits, showing that further investigations are necessary to adhere the standards.
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issn 2283-9216
language English
publishDate 2025-06-01
publisher AIDIC Servizi S.r.l.
record_format Article
series Chemical Engineering Transactions
spelling doaj-art-9f656be99fe549d58c7253194c4dbbd22025-08-20T03:14:47ZengAIDIC Servizi S.r.l.Chemical Engineering Transactions2283-92162025-06-01116Eurovalve: Stable Operation of Spring-loaded Safety Valves in Gas Service Through Damping and Internal ModificationsGergely KeszthelyiJürgen SchmidtJens DeneckeThe stable operation of safety valves is required for the adequate protection of chemical plants. Instabilities like flattering and chattering of safety valves have caused severe damage to plants in the past. The publication introduces the results of the Eurovalve project investigated at the CSE Center of Safety Excellence. Various models for safety valves are presented along with the equations used for numerical solution. It is shown that the stability of safety valves cannot be precisely pre-determined with the models currently available. Therefore, two methods of improving the stability that require the modification of the valve are proposed. One such solution is the addition of different types of dampers to the safety valves. Measurements have been conducted to investigate the effect of friction dampers, and the results are analysed. The stability of the safety valve improves, but the safety valve reseating pressure drops below what is permissible by the standard. Simulations are used to test the effect damping on the system, showing that the analysed safety valve opens in a stable manner with a damping that reaches the critical damping of the spring mass-damper system. The other possible solution presented in this paper is the modification of the force acting on the safety valve disk. The theoretical effects of modifying the safety valve disk are evaluated by varying the effective area of the safety valve. Limits for the effective area are derived based on the requirements of the international standards. Four different cases are examined within and out of these limits, showing that further investigations are necessary to adhere the standards.https://www.cetjournal.it/index.php/cet/article/view/15170
spellingShingle Gergely Keszthelyi
Jürgen Schmidt
Jens Denecke
Eurovalve: Stable Operation of Spring-loaded Safety Valves in Gas Service Through Damping and Internal Modifications
Chemical Engineering Transactions
title Eurovalve: Stable Operation of Spring-loaded Safety Valves in Gas Service Through Damping and Internal Modifications
title_full Eurovalve: Stable Operation of Spring-loaded Safety Valves in Gas Service Through Damping and Internal Modifications
title_fullStr Eurovalve: Stable Operation of Spring-loaded Safety Valves in Gas Service Through Damping and Internal Modifications
title_full_unstemmed Eurovalve: Stable Operation of Spring-loaded Safety Valves in Gas Service Through Damping and Internal Modifications
title_short Eurovalve: Stable Operation of Spring-loaded Safety Valves in Gas Service Through Damping and Internal Modifications
title_sort eurovalve stable operation of spring loaded safety valves in gas service through damping and internal modifications
url https://www.cetjournal.it/index.php/cet/article/view/15170
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AT jurgenschmidt eurovalvestableoperationofspringloadedsafetyvalvesingasservicethroughdampingandinternalmodifications
AT jensdenecke eurovalvestableoperationofspringloadedsafetyvalvesingasservicethroughdampingandinternalmodifications