Bhowmik, Palash. (2012). SIZING AND SELECTION OF PRESSURE RELIEF SAFETY VALVE.

10.13140/2.1.4232.6082. 1. INTRODUCTION A pressure relief valve is a safety device

designed to protect a pressurized vessel or system during an overpressure event. An
overpressure event refers to any condition which would cause pressure in a vessel
or system to increase beyond the specified design pressure or maximum allowable
working pressure (MAWP) [3]. Since pressure relief valves are safety devices, there
are many Codes and Standards written to control their design and application. Since
reliability is directly related to the complexity of the device, it is important
that the design of the pressure relief valve be as simple as possible. The pressure
relief valve (PSV) must open at a predetermined set pressure, flow a rated capacity
at a specified overpressure, and close when the system pressure has returned to a
safe level. Pressure relief valves must be designed with materials compatible with
many process fluids from simple air and water to the most corrosive media. They
must also be designed to operate in a consistently smooth and stable manner on a
variety of fluids and fluid phases [4]. The first step in applying overpressure
protection to a vessel or system is to determine the set pressure, back pressure,
allowable overpressure, and required relieving capacity. Set pressure and allowable
overpressure can be determined by reference to the operating pressures of the
system. A more difficult task is determining the required relieving capacity. The
pressure relief valve must relieve a sufficient amount of fluid to ensure that
pressure in the vessel or system never exceeds the specified overpressure [5]. This
means that all possible sources and causes of overpressure must be evaluated. Some