A brief history

It is usually supposed that the Frenchman Papin was the inventor

of the safety valve, which he first applied about 1682 to his
digester
The safety valve was kept closed by means of a lever and movable
weight; sliding the weight along the lever enabled Papin to keep
the valve in place and regulate the steam-pressure. It appears now
that Papin was only the inventor of the improvements just
mentioned and that safety valves were already being used some
fifty years before by the German Glauber (who contributed many
valuable additions to the mechanical department of chemistry). In
his practise on philosophical furnaces, translated into English in
1651, he describes the modes by which he prevents retorts and
stills from bursting from an excessive pressure. A conical valve
was fitted, being ground air-tight to its seat, and loaded with a
"cap of lead", so that when the vapour became too "high" it slightly
raised the valve and a portion escaped; the valve then closed again
on itself, "being pressed down by the loaded cap and so kept
close".
The idea was followed up by others and we find in the art of
distillation, by John French, published soon afterward in London,
the following concerning the action of such safety-valves: "Upon
the top of a stubble (valve) there may be fastened some lead, that if
the spirit be too strong, it will only heave up the stubble and let it
fall down". It should be realised that the word steam was unknown
at the time, being of later coinage. In its place we find in every old
book the words vapour, spirit, smoke, Ayr and even ghost, whence
the modern word gas, for aeriform bodies, is doubtless derived
In the New England region of the USA, there were 1700 boiler
explosions resulting in 1300 deaths during the five years between
1905 and 1911.
The American Society of Mechanical Engineers was asked to
formulate a design code. The boiler & pressure vessel committee
was formed and hence the A.S.M.E. Section 1 for fired vessels was
formulated and became a mandatory requirement for all States,
which recognised the need for regulation. The sole purpose of a
pressure-relieving device (safety relief valve) is to protect LIFE and
PROPERTY.
With the expansion of process industries the need for a code for
unfired pressure vessels was identified which gave rise to A.S.M.E.
Section VIII.
The ASME Codes are mandatory in the USA and Canada. API
recommended practices and standards have been an important
guidance for users and engineering companies. In many European
countries, national ruIes for the protection against overpressure of
process equipment were developed and remained in force well into
the 20th century.
However, in order to allow free circulation of goods in the
European Community, Member States were prohibited from
making new technical rules and from updating the existing ones.
They have to conform to a new directive, the pressure equipment
directive PED which was published in 1997. lt has become
compulsory for equipment "put in the market" after 29/05/2002
(refer to Art.20 - par 3 of the PED).
Today, the term safety valve should be used to describe - Safety,
Safety/Relief and Relief Valves; this term is now used in European
Norms (EN) and ISO 4126 descriptions. Safety valves are included
as "Safety Accessories in the PED (Art. 1 par 2.1.3) and are
classified in risk category IV (the highest). The manufacturer, in
order to EC mark his product must undergo, for each product, a
conformity assessment comprising the EC type or design
examination and the assurance of the production quality system.
The procedures to certify the conformity to the PED are carried out
by a body notified by the Member States of the European
Community.
With the completion of the above, the manufacturer may stamp
the EC mark on his product.
Harmonized standards for safety valves
No standard is yet harmonised. A list of standards relative to
safety valves (and rupture discs), which are in the process of being
harmonised is given in Table 1. It is not compulsory to follow
harmonised standards, but if a manufacturer conforms to these
standards, he is presumed to conform to the PED (Art 5 of PED
Presumption of conformity). Otherwise the manufacturer himself
must prove that his products conform to the PED.
As a consequence of the "New Approach" there have been many
changes regarding safety valves, the more significant of which
being:
- Discharge coefficient in back pressure conditions.
When the back pressure exceeds 25% of the full lift pressure, the
manufacturer must obtain valve discharge coefficients after tests
carried out in actual backpressure conditions. Reference: par
7.1.2, 7.3.3.4 and 9.1 of prEN ISO 4126-1 (see Table 1).
Table 1: CENTC 69/WG 10 Safety devices against excessive
pressures
PrEN ISO Safety devices for the protection against excessive
4126-1 pressure - Part 1 : Safety valves
PrEN ISO Safety devices for the protection against excessive
4126-2 pressure - Part 2: Bursting disc safety devices
PrEN ISO Safety devices for the protection against excessive
4126-3 pressure - Part 3: Safety valves and bursting disc safety
devices in combination
PrEN ISO Safety devices for the protection against excessive
4126-4 pressure - Part 4: Pilot operated safety valves
PrEN ISO Safety devices for the protection against excessive
D 4126-5 pressure - Part 5: Controlled safety pressure relief
systems (CSPRS)
PrEN ISO Safety devices for the protection against excessive
4126-6 pressure - Part 6: Application, selection and
installation of bursting disc safety devices
PrEN ISO Safety devices for the protection against excessive
4126-7 pressure - Part 7: Common data
- Bellows
If the bellows break, the valve must still open within 10% of the
maximum allowable pressure of the equipment being protected.
Reference: par 5.1.8 of prEN ISO 4126-1. If the valve is set at or
close to the design pressure of the protected vessel (as in the case
of 99% of the applications) a way to meet with requirements is to
install a balancing piston to back up the bellows.
- Pilot operated safety valves
It will be possible to install pilot operated valves in some Member
States (i.e. the Netherlands and Germany) where local authorities
have not approved pilot operated valves up to now. Reference:
prEN ISO 4126-4.
- Overpressure
The overpressure must not exceed 10% of the maximum allowable
pressure. Overpressures such as 16% (multiple pressure relief
devices) or 21 % (fire), which are acceptable in accordance with
ASME VIII division 1, are not permitted.
Commonly-used terminology
 Safety valve - steam applications, characterised by rapid, full
opening or "pop" action.
 Relief valve - liquid applications, the valves open in proportion
to the increase of system pressure over the opening pressure.
 Safety/relief valve - pressure relieving device suitable for use
as a safety valve or a relief valve depending on its application.
 Pilot-operated safety valve - in one such valve the spring
provides +/-75% of the disk loading; the gas or vapour
supplies the remainder through the pilot valve. When the
pressure in the vessel reaches the set pressure, the pilot valve
 relieves the gas pressure (which contributes to the disk
loading) to the atmosphere causing the safety valve to open
wide. Both the pilot and the main valve contain flexible
membranes and, consequently, are limited to the design
factors of the membranes. These can be snap acting or
modulating and are non-flowing.
 Conventional safety valve - a conventional safety relief valve is
a pressure relief valve characterised by rapid opening or pop
action, or by opening in proportion to the increase in pressure
over the opening, depending on the application. Such valves
may be used either for liquid or compressible fluids.
 Balanced safety valve - A balanced safety relief valve is a
pressure relief valve, which incorporates a means of
minimising the effect of backpressure on the operational
characteristics (opening pressure, closing pressure, and
relieving capacity).
 Full nozzle - inlet flow passage; only the nozzle and disc insert
are in contact with the process media when valve is in the
closed position.
 Semi nozzle - the nozzle, disc insert and part of the valve body
are in contact with the process media.
 Effective discharge area - the nominal orifice size listed in API-
526, usually defined by a letter (D thru T)
  Actual discharge area - the measured minimum net area,
which determines the flow through a valve.
 Coefficient of discharge - ratio of the measured relieving
capacity to the theoretical relieving capacity.
 Simmer - audible or visual escape of fluid between the seat
and disc. Applies to valves on compressible fluids, at around
98% of the set pressure.
 Huddling chamber - annular pressure chamber located beyond
the valve seat, this generates the pop characteristics.
Safety valve nomenclature
 M.A.W.P. (Maximum Allowable Working Pressure) - maximum

gauge pressure permissible at the top of a completed vessel for

a designated temperature.
 Operating pressure - working pressure in a pipe or vessel.

· Set pressure - pressure at which a relieving device opens and

relieves.
 Operating gap - difference between set pressure of the valve

and the operating pressure of the vessel or system.

 Overpressure - increase over set pressure of a relief device.

 Accumulation - increase over M.A.W.P.

 Blowdown - difference between set pressure and re-seating

pressure of a safety valve.

  Back pressure - pressure existing at the outlet of the pressure
relieving device.
 Back pressure is either - constant or variable.
 Built-up pressure - the pressure existing at the outlet of a
pressure relief device caused by the flow through that
particular device into a discharge system.
 Superimposed - the static pressure existing at the outlet of a
pressure relief device at the time the device is required to
operate. It is the result of pressure in the discharge system
from other sources.
Back pressure limits (variable)
Conventional 10% Built-up
Bellows 25% Built-up /Superimposed
Pilots 70% Built-up /Superimposed
Codes and standards
Because of their critical safety function, pressure relief valve
design rules are very strict. Public safety laws in many countries
require special inspection and verification of compliance with
codes before allowing operation of the installed equipment.
The most widely used and recognised of these codes is the ASME
Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code. One of the key features of the
ASME Code is the rule for overpressure protection. These rules
provide for the accreditation of manufacturers and the certification
of pressure relief valves by tests in approved laboratories. Thus,
the specification of ASME Code symbol stamped pressure relief
valves assures the end-user that the performance requirements
defined in the Code has been verified.
ISO 4126 provides for design and performance standards, but no
accreditation process is in place to ensure compliance. Other
standards groups such as NEN (Europe) provide alliterative
specification and control rules. The balance of this article,
however, focuses on the rules of the ASME Code as it relates to
pressure relief valves. Also reviewed are contents of certain
American Petroleum Institute (API) Standards and Recommended
Practices, which are commonly applied in the petroleum and
petrochemical industry.
For safety valves, then, the general design codes are the American
Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) and the American
Petroleum Institute (API)
The ASME code is split into two main sections:
- ASME Section I (V) which covers Fired Pressure Vessels (Power
Boilers)
- ASME Section VIII (UV) which covers Process Installations
(Unfired Pressure Vessels)
Relevant American Petroleum Institute (API) recommended
practices are:
- API RP520 Part I. This design manual is widely used for sizing &
selection of relief valves.
- API RP520 Part II. This includes methods of installation.
- API RP521. Guide for pressure relief and de-pressurising
systems.
- API 526. Flanged steel safety/relief valves for use in the
petroleum industry. Gives industry standards for dimensions,
pressure-temperature rating, and maximum set pressure and
body materials.
- API RP527. Commercial seat tightness of safety/relief valves with
metal to metal & soft seats.
ASME Code requirements
The important sections of the ASME Code which deal with
pressure relief valves are Section I {Power Boilers}; Section 11
{Materials}; Section 111 {Nuclear}; Section IV {Heating Boilers};
Section VIII {Unfired Pressure Vessels}; and Section IX {Welding}.
As the applications of interest to the petroleum and chemical
industries are primarily covered in ASME Code Sections I and VIII,
only the requirements of these sections are reviewed. AII
manufacturers certified to these sections of the code also comply
with materials and welding requirements as
they may apply to pressure relief valves. Because of the specialised
nature of power boilers, the operating characteristics of pressure
relief valves are very strict. Spring operated valves are generally
required under Section I of the ASME Code.
Design principles
Pressure relief valves are designed to open automatically at a pre-
determined set pressure level of system pressure and to achieve a
rated relieving capacity at a specified pressure and temperature
above the set point (overpressure) before re-closing at a pressure
below the opening point (blowdown). Many manufacturers provide
special trim options for liquid service valves because of the
properties of incompressible fluids.
The simplest and most reliable type of pressure relief valve even to
this day some four hundred years on from the first design is the
spring-loaded design (Fig. 1) where a spring force opposes the
system pressure acting on the valve disc. When the system
pressure rises above the level of the spring force, the valve opens.
This valve type may also be fitted with a bellows, for better
emission control performance (Fig 2).
Fig. 1 Spring-loaded pressure relief valve.
 Fig. 2 Spring-loaded relief valve fitted with a bellows and a
balanced piston.
The significant elements of all spring-loaded pressure relief
designs are the springs and the seats.
The springs must provide the desired compression rate and a
reasonable range of adjustment. They must also fit into the valve
bonnet and stay within the design perimeters.
The seats may be flat or angled, metal or soft. As the seat area
usually defines the load transmitted to and from the spring, very
high precision is essential to ensure proper valve operation.
A second type of valve, which is more sophisticated and offers
operating advantages in selected applications is the pilot operated
pressure relief valve (Fig. 3)

Fig. 3 Pilot operated pressure relief valve

This type of valve consists of a main valve and a pilot valve. The
pilot responds directly to system pressure and communicates with
the main valve. As with the spring loaded valve, many unique
models exist. However, some common design features of pilot
operated pressure relief valves include: the sensing line, the pilot
valve and the main valve.
The sensing line is either connected to the valve inlet or a remote
location and conveys system pressure to the pilot.
The pilot valves senses and responds to the system pressure. The
pilot is the controlling member of the valve system and determines
all of the operating characteristics of the valve. It consists of many
small parts and passages and usually relies on elastomer seals for
operation.
The main valve operates in response to the pilot and provides the
main rated flow capacity to reduce excess pressure.
Application codes
The American Petroleum Institute has developed the most
commonly applied standards and recommended practices for the
petroleum and chemical industries in addition to the ASME Code.
API Recommended Practice 521 provides excellent guidance for
evaluating causes of overpressure and pressure relief systems.
API Recommended Practice 520 Part I is the design manual which
is most widely used for the design. sizing and selection of
components for pressure relief systems. Part II includes guidelines
for recommended piping practices and methods for determining
the reactive force created during valve discharge. If not properly
evaluated, these reactive forces can cause chattering when
conventional piping designs are applied. These high performance
liquid service designs ensure smooth, stable operation and full
relieving capacity on liquid service.
API also provides handling and storage recommendations. API
Recommended Practice 526 provides an industry standard to
manufacturers of flanged pressure relief valves and includes a
common set of installation dimensions, pressure and temperature
ratings, set pressure limits, capacities, and materials. This set of
industry standards ensures that valves from different
manufacturers will be interchangeable functionally and
dimensionally. As many valves may not comply with this standard,
these variables should be verified before substituting one model for
another.
API Recommended Practice 527 provides a basis for testing and
acceptance for set pressure and seats tightness of pressure relief
valves.
Inspection and maintenance codes
As pressure relief valves contain neither instrumentation nor
external operators it is necessary to establish an effective program
for inspection and maintenance to ensure that they will operate
when called upon in emergency situations.
A number of guidelines exist for recommending the basic structure
of an effective pressure relief valve inspection and maintenance
program. API Recommended Practice 510 is the Pressure Vessel
Inspection Code. Also, the API Guide for Inspection of Refinery
Equipment, Chapter XVI, provides excellent guidance for review of
relief valves to ensure operational readiness.
The best policy for assurance of safety is also the best policy for
economic considerations. The risk associated with the lack of
attention to suspect pressure relief devices cannot be tolerated
and is a major threat to both life and plant availability.
When purchasing new valves, always make certain that you are
dealing with a reputable and reliable distributor/manufacturer.
Verify that your vendor has current authorisation to sell
advise/manufacture or assemble the products that you purchase.
Testing (set pressure verification)
Safety relief valve testing is one of the most important elements of
an effective maintenance program. There are many techniques
available for conducting pressure relief valve tests. Obviously, the
most desirable type of test is one that subjects the pressure relief
valves to the full operating conditions that it is expected to endure.
Such a test has the advantage of assuring that all of the operating
characteristics of the valve, set pressure, lift and blowdown are
acceptable. However, this type of test is often impractical if not
impossible.
The most practical valve test is usually the bench-testing
alternative because a controlled environment can be created. By
transporting valves to a central shop, consistency of test
techniques and record keeping of test data can be monitored.
Reference to the manufacturer's instructions for testing and
adjustment is an essential part of any testing program. These
documents are most easily accessed in a shop environment.
There are many contract services that provide pressure relief valve
testing capabilities. It is important to review and qualify these
service contractors in the same manner that valve suppliers are
reviewed. The best choice is the manufacturer directly. If this
option is impractical then the manufacturer's authorised service
centre would be recommended. Many manufacturers offer training
programs to qualify plant maintenance personnel for testing and
repair of pressure relief valves.
Note that operator techniques on test benches can influence
results! Therefore proper training and qualification of operators is
a must for consistent and reliable test results.
Repair
In the event that a valve is in need of repair, only personnel who
have been trained in the appropriate repair techniques should
conduct repairs. In addition, a full reference manual of
manufacturer's instructions should be accessible.
Usually, the manufacturer's instruction manual will provide limits
for inspection and rework of this critical part. The seat step, seat
diameters and disc holder bearing surfaces are of particular
interest.
Re-machining of control rings is not recommended. If damaged,
they should be replaced.
The points listed above are also applicable to pilot operated valves.
In addition, all elastomers should be replaced as part of any
disassembly.
Records should be kept of the "as found" adjustment of adjusting
bolt and adjusting rings. This allows for resetting of adjustable
members after overhaul prior to final testing.
Valves should be reassembled in the reverse order of disassembly.
After reassembly of restored components, final testing and
adjustment must be completed. Depending upon the test
apparatus employed, final ring adjustments may not be made until
after the set pressure has been determined. lf a low volume test
stand is used, a "bench setting" will be employed for pressure
adjustment. The rings may then be replaced in the "as found"
position. AII final adjustments must be sealed. Seals should be
traceable and assigned only to qualified personnel.
Records and data registration
Records should be kept which provide equipment history. This is
helpful for establishing a proper inspection interval as well as
evaluating the suitability of the equipment employed for the
application.
Valves requiring major repair should have their inspection interval
shortened. Those in excellent condition may have their interval
lengthened until the optimum balance of economic and safety
concerns has been established. These records are a basis for
compliance with all safety concerns