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Erection &
Commisioning
-Athiannavi. E
SM/Engg-Valves, BHEL-Trichy
Valve is a mechanical
tool used for controlling
the fluid flow
parameters in a
pressurised system.
These valves are
operated
daily/continuously in a
system.
SAFETY
1) Do not go near discharge side of a safety valve.
2) Body drain and cover plate vent must be piped
to a safe area. If left open, steam will escape and
present a burn hazard to personnel near the valve.
3) Always gag a safety valve before making ring
adjustments.
4) When pulling hand lever for inspection purpose,
a rope should be attached to the handle of sufficient
length (minimum 6 to 10 m long) to protect the
operator from escaping steam, dust, fly ash etc.,
SAFETY
Exercise caution when examining a
safety valve for audible leakage. SUPER
HEATED STEAM is NOT VISIBLE.
Safety valves should be mounted to
provide adequate access, 360 around
the valve plus overhead, for disassembly
and maintenance.
Use ear-muffs during the adjustment of
valves.
Use hand gloves during adjustment of
valve in the hot condition.
STORAGE
STORAGE
Check that the seals are intact on ring pin,
spring adjuster and overlap collar. Check for
transit damages, if any.
Ensure that the end covers are kept in
position and removed only just before
erecting in place. Meticulous care should be
taken to ensure dirt or foreign particles do
not enter into the inlet or outlet of the valve.
Ensure the valves are stored in crates on
sleepers in a covered area with the inlet side
downwards. Valves should never be laid on
the side to avoid damage to internals.
ERECTION
ERECTION
Commissioning
Use calibrated pressure gauges for safety
valve floating. Float the lowest set safety valve
first, gag the valve after setting is over and
float the next higher set valve and so on till all
valves are floated and checked for the set
pressure within 1% tolerance level.
Try to achieve the setting within a minimum
no. of pops (about 3 pops).
Apply gag-load finger tight in hot condition to
avoid spindle bending.
Remove gags after floating of safety valves.
Check and ensure sufficient approach and
maintenance space all around the valve.
Valve operation
1) Ambient temperature
2) Discharge Stack Binding against drip pan elbow (Cold & Hot conditions).
3) Vibration of the header from upstream bends.
4) Lesser operating Gap.
5) Very Short Blow down setting.
6) Improper Locking of Ring pins, Spring Adjuster & Release Collar.
Excessive pressure loss at the inlet of the safety valve will cause extremely rapid opening and
closing of the valve, which is known as chattering .Chattering may result in lowered capacity as
well as damage to the seating surface of the valve. Severe Chattering can also cause damage to other
parts of the valve.
To reduce chatter, the area of the inlet nozzle should he at least equivalent to the inlet area of the
safety valve and that nozzle should be short as possible.
The inlet nozzle corners must be rounded to a radius of minimum 25% of the diameter opening.
Ensure the pressure drop to the inlet of the valve should not be greater than 50% of the expected
blow down of the safety valve.
Safety valves should be installed at least eight to ten pipe diameters downstream from any bend in a
streamline. This distance should be increased if the direction of the change of the steam flow is from
vertical upwards to horizontal in such a manner as to increase density of the flow in the area directly
beneath the safety valve nozzles.
Safety valves should not be installed closer than eight to ten pipe diameters either upstream or
downstream from diverging or converging Y fittings In cases where piping configuration renders
the two above recommendation impractical or impossible, the downstream corners of the nozzle
inlets should be rounded, leaving the upstream corners square. The nozzle entrance should be
rounded so that the radius at the downstream corner will be equal to one-fourth of the nozzle
diameter. The radius should be reduced gradually leaving only a small portion of the upstream
corner sharp.
The safety valve nozzle should never be installed in a steam line in a position directly opposite a
branch line of equivalent size.
Excessive steam line vibrations are known to produce shifts in safety valve set pressures. Results
of sizable vibrations will be to introduce possible chatter with ultimate damage to the valve.
Exhaust, drain and cover plate vent piping must be installed so that they will not impose any
stresses on the safety valve. These stresses can produce distortion and leakage at pressures below
the set point.
Discharge piping should not be supported by the valve. The maximum weight on the outlet of the
valve should not exceed the weight of a discharge flange, elbow and drip pan unit.
Clearances between the valve exhaust piping and the discharge stack should be sufficient to
prevent contact when considering thermal expansion of the boiler, valve, discharge stack and
increased stack movement due to vibration and temperature when the valve is relieving.
Steam flowing vertically out of the discharge elbow produces a downward reaction on the elbow,
in proportion on the quantity of steam flowing and its velocity. In large, high capacity valves this
force can equal several thousand kilograms and can produce severe stresses in the valve necks.
The bending stresses are determined by the amount of the reactive forces, combined with the
moment arm, or horizontal distance between the vertical centreline of the valve and the vertical
centre line of the outlet elbow.
In no case should discharge piping be of a smaller size than the valve outlet .The length of the
discharge stack will govern its size and with increased lengths, stack diameters will increase. This
will prevent blow back from the discharge stack. Excessive water being pulled through the valve
will also produce a blow back under certain conditions and should be investigated prior to faulting
the discharge stack.
For optimum performance, safety valves must be serviced regularly and maintained. So that
servicing can be properly handled safety valve should be located for easy access. Sufficient
working space should be provided around the safety valve to permit access to adjusting rings. If
two or more safety valves are located close together, the outlets should be parallel, to offer as
much protection as possible to personnel repairing or working close to the safety valve. Cross
beams may be provide above valve centre line for easy disassembly of safety valves.
For valves being installed that are tested for set pressure with the use of a hydro set, it should be
realized that only the set pressure is being verified. Other factors such as blow down, lift, reaction
force, proper inlet welding, proper discharge stack sizes and effects of thermal expansion cannot
be determined.
Because foreign material passing into and through a safety valve may damage it, the system on
which the valve is tested and finally installed must also be inspected and cleaned. New systems,
especially, are prone to contain welding beads, pipe scale, and other foreign materials which are
inadvertently trapped during construction and destroy the sealing surfaces the first few times the
valve opens. Wherever possible, the system should be purged thoroughly before the safety valve is
installed.
It is recommended that the safety valve be isolated during hydrostatic testing of the boiler either
by blanking off the valve, gagging the valve, or installation of hydrostatic test plugs. i.e. For weldend inlet valves, completely assembled valves may be installed without necessity for disassembly.
Vertical alignment should be within 1 from a vertical plane. During welding, where possible, the
valve neck should be insulated to reduce thermal effects. When stress relieving, the same will
apply. In all cases the valve neck should be insulated at least up to the inlet neck-valve body bowl
juncture.
It is of outmost importance that the gasket used be dimensionally correct for the specific flange and that if fully
clears the valve inlet and outlet openings. Gasket, flange facings, and bolting should meet the service
requirements for the pressure and temperature involved. When installing flanged inlet valve, the flange bolts must
be pulled down evenly in order to prevent body distortion and consequent misalignment and leakage.
On new installations, during initial setting of safety valves there is a possibility of damaging the super heater
valve seat due to foreign matter, such as mill scale, weld spatter and beads, etc., being drawn into the steam flow.
This foreign matter batters and cuts the seats of the valve although damage to the bushing seat is usually
considerably less than to the disc seat. This type of damage causes the valve to leak quite badly and generally
requires that the disc be replaced and the bushing seat re-lapped. Before bringing the boiler down, the leaking
valve should be hand blown at least ten times and held open for a period of one minute each time. This should
clean any remaining foreign material out of the super heater and minimise the possibility of damage to the seats
after overhaul, although this particular trouble sometime persists until the boiler has been operating for a
considerable period of time. Drum safety valves do not, generally, draw foreign matter into the steam flow, and no
difficulty of this type to be expected
All Safety valves are steam tested at the factory. Every valve is set to have a clean popping action and to reseat
tightly. However, because the boiler used In setting the valves has a small capacity compared to the capacities of
the valve. Slight adjustments on the actual installation are necessary to maintain proper action and blow down.
Two methods exist for field testing of valves; use of the 1566-Hydroset Unit, and full system pressure.
The use of a hydroset unit will serve to establish Set pressure only and should not be used for establish blow
down, lift, etc., Gagging of other valve not being set generally will not be necessary; however, for setting of high
set pressure valves, depending on system pressure being used, it may be required to gag the lower set valves.
Boiler safety valves tests can be conducted with the unit either on or off the line. However, with the unit on the
line at full load a sudden load drop could be dangerous as most of the safety valves will be gagged. Therefore, it is
recommended that the safety will be tested and adjusted with unit off the line or with light load. Boiler control can
then be maintained with little or no outside influence due to load change. The valves should be set within 1% of
the set pressure. Set pressure should not be changed without the permission of the manufacturing unit. Lab
standard or test Gauges should be used with a minimum graduation of 0.5% of the full scale reading and accuracy
of 0.25%.Gauges should be of sufficient range so that reading is in the middle third of the scale.
Ring Adjustments
1) Always gag the Safety Valve for protection, in case boiler
pressure rises while making ring adjustments. Adjusting ring
lock pins are threaded into the valve body and engage notches
which are cut into the rings. To adjust either ring the
corresponding ring pin must be removed. A screw driver can be
used to turn the rings.
Overlap Setting
1) It will further be noted that there is a distinct difference between the actual
overlap setting on the valve and the point at which the overlap begins to take
effect.
2) This can be understood since the area in the overlap vent begins to reduce
considerably ahead of the point where upper corner of the overlap level actually
enters the floating washer.
3) Excessively high overlap settings are liable to cause seat damage when the
valve closes. It is therefore desirable to set the upper ring in such a position as
to cause the valve to stay in full lift for as short time as possible most desirous
complete.
3) An approximate rule is to add 0.5% of set pressure to the blow down for
each 55.6C of steam temperature below the final temperature.
After testing the valve for proper set point and blow
down, the ring pins, and top lever pin will be sealed
for all external adjustments. Seals shall be installed by
the manufacturer at the time of initial shipment and
after field adjustment or repair of the valves either by
the manufacturer, his authorized representative
repairer, or the user
Blow down
1) The lower and upper adjusting ring pins of any particular valve is not
interchangeable.
2) Spare ring pins when supplied will be of excess length. These pins are to be
ground at site so as to match the valve under maintenance. The tip of pin should
NOT touch the bottom of the ring notch. Also the pins should not bear against the
rings.
3) DO NOT attempt to adjust blow down with the lower ring.
4) The upper adjusting ring should not be set below the seat level and the lower
adjusting ring should not be set above the seat level. Lock both the ring pin
settings using a seal wire to avoid disturbance during system/valve operation and
line vibrations.
5) It is possible to raise the upper ring too far and prohibit attainment of full
lift.
Pin failure
1) Excessive line vibrations, presence of foreign particles,
discharge piping stress, back pressure, reaction force etc., can lead
to pin failure over a prolonged period of exposure. The ring pins
being the most critical spare part, it is desirable that one pin per
valve (for drum, SH and RH SVs) and one ring per four valves is
stocked as essential spares by customer.
2) To reduce blow down MOVE RING UP (TURN COUNTER
CLOCKWISE).
3) To increase blow down MOVE RING DOWN (TURN
CLOCKWISE).
DISASSEMBLY
1) Safety Valve can be easily disassembled for inspection, reconditioning
seats, or replacing internal parts, without altering the spring load and hence the
set pressure.
2) Be sure that the there is no steam pressure in the drum or header then
proceed.
3) To retain the spring setting of the valve when and only when, a disc is to
be replaced. Remove the top lever pin and top lever. Loosen cap set screw and
lift off cap and drop lever assembly. Remove the cotter pin and turn the
Release collar down until it is tight against the top of the spring adjuster, then
back off turn. Install cotter pin in lower hole of spindle. Remove the two top
yoke rod nuts and the four cover plate stud nuts, and lift the spindle, spring and
spring washers, cover plate, disc and disc holder assembly out of the valve.
1) During any hydrostatic test all safety valves on the unit must be gagged. This gagging
procedure prevents the possibility of damage of the safety valve internals in the event that the test
procedure exceeds the safety valve set pressure. For higher pressures hydrostatic plugs should be
used and valves should be gagged. Probably the most common source of Safety Valve trouble is
over gagging.
2) Gags should never be applied when the boiler is cold.
3) Boiler pressure should be brought up to within 80% of the pressure of the low set valve before
applying the gags.
4) Any attempt to pinch off the leakage through the valve without first lowering the hydrostatic
pressure is liable to result in damage to the valve seats. If the gag on the valve has not been
tightened sufficiently, the valve will leak and sometimes the leakage is accompanied by Sizzling
sound. If this occurs the hydrostatic test pressure should be reduced until the valve becomes tight
and then gag should be tightened further. This procedure must be followed exactly since it is very
difficult to stop the leak by additional gagging once it has started.
5) FLANGED INLET SAFETY VALVES SHOULD BE REMOVED FROM THE BOILER
DURING THE HYDROSTATIC TESTS AND BOILER NOZZLES BLANKED OFF.
Users scope
1) Quantity of steam being discharged through the valve, i.e. the actual
installation capacity exceeding that of the test boiler, thus permitting the valve
to flow its full rated capacity.
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)
8)
9)
CHATTER
Causes
Remedy
Valve lift may be restricted to reduce the valve rated capacity if possible. Contact Valve
Engg.
Increase the Blow down setting.
Modify the exhaust piping routing to reduce the pressure drop if required.
GAG SLIPPAGE
Causes
Not properly installed
Remedy
Remedy
One major reason for high blow Try to maintain drum water levels at nearest to
down in Drum Safety Valves is lower limit during floating.
the Drum water level available at
the time of floating. If water
levels are kept above normal
then the chances of water lifting
during valve floating is there
which would result in high blow
downs.
Upper adjusting ring would have Check with the position of the Upper adjusting
been disturbed
ring with ref. to other Safety Valves (set with
normal blow down) available on the boiler
Drum. In case of any difference, we will get to
know the required adjustment. Normally on a
drum safety valve we need not have to adjust
the OLC for getting the required blow down.
Leaking/Passing
Causes
Remedy
Setting disturbed
Adjust the Spring Adjuster and lock the position by the Locknut.
Physical obstruction in seat Blowout the obstruction by opening the valve with the provided manual lifting lever.
Spindle is bent by cold
gagging or over gagging
Improper tightening of Lock Ensure proper tightening so that proper locking of the spring adjuster is ensured.
Nut.
High ambient temperature Ambient temperature is to be reduced by identifying the source of heat. The ambient
temperature near by the safety valve should be 40C maximum.
Impurity in steam/Foreign
particles damages the seat.
Wrong working pressure
which is closer than 6% of
set pressure difference
The gap between exhaust
pipe and Drip-Pan is not
sufficient
Change/lap the disc/seat. Seat cutting to be done if required. Maintain the steam condition
without impurities. For servicing/seat-cutting please contact BHEL/Valves Services
Department.
Increase the set pressure or reduce the working pressure to have "6% of set pressure"
operational gap.
Ensure proper clearance of 25 mm minimum, such that exhaust piping do not bind on the
drip pan (valve outlet) so that loads are not transferring to valve.
Remedy
The release collar if left unlocked could rotate and come
down. If system vibration is more or during valve lifting this
can happen and the release collar would sit on top of the
lever/spring adjustor and prevent the valve from reseating
even at very low pressures of the system. Spare spindles,
supplied to sites as replacement / spares, this hole is to be
drilled on spindle in site only after setting of the release collar
or by measurement.
More External
Load on Safety
Valve Body/Outlet
by Discharge
Piping or Drain
connections.
Remedy
The Lock Pin should Spare ring pins when supplied will be of excess length. These pins
bear against the Ring. are to be ground at site so as to match the valve under maintenance.
The tip of pin should NOT touch the bottom of the ring notch. Also
the pins should not bear against the rings.
Material failure
Ensure the proper material/ heat treatment
Excessive Line
If vibration exists due to turbulent flow or improper piping support,
Vibration
correct the pipe supports to arrest the line vibration.
More Back Pressure Redesign Outlet Piping so that Back Pressure does not Develop, if
required.
More External Load
on Safety Valve
Body/Outlet by
Discharge Piping or
Drain connections.
Exhaust pipe
expansion clearances
is not sufficient
Thank You