PLANTS, APPARATUS, COMPONENTS Optimised cryogenic valve Keeping cool when be Type $598 eyopenc valve i suitable both a trate ave for gs liguficion and a conta vale fr oftore tank fans controlling cryogenic media The Type 3598 cryogenic valve by Samson was carefully tailor made for use at cryo- genic temperatures, high operating pressures and high pressure drops: optimised features include the materials used for the valve bodies and trims, the design engin- ered to master cavitation and flashing as well as the well-thought-out temperature distribution across the insulating section. Together with the top-entry design and standard pressure balancing, these benefits add up to lower cost of operation and quicker maintenance. Cryogenic liquefied gases ate stored and cransported at very low (cryogenic) tempers- ures and, ifnecessary, high pressures To ‘maintain these conditions, che employed valves must havea specal desig, The ma serials used to manufacture weted compo- eats, such a the valve body and trim, must, be capable of withstanding the extreme tem: peratures ofthe proces medium, which may drop to near absolute zero, Bven afer longer periods in servic, the materiale must show no signs of embritdement In terns of appearance, cryogenic valves stand out from othe valves due to their long 44° cpp 01-2020 insulating section or extension bonnet, Which creates the necessary distance between, the valve body that carries the process medi tum and the valve bonnet. This cryogenic ex- tension bonnet ensures thatthe exyogente process medium does not damage sensitive ‘components. To prevent an exchange of ener- ay berween the inside of the eryogentec valve and the warm environment, cryogenic valves ae often insulated (e.g. in offshore instal lations) of mounted in a so-called ‘cold ox’ These installation specifications make i diff colt to access the valves. As a result, working fon them is ime consuming and compli- cated, which ealls for low-maintenance de. signs witha long service life Even stricter requirements apply to cryo: genic valves weed as throtle valves in gas liquefaction. If gates ae liquefied using tur ines and/or valves, the process takes ad- vantage of the Joule-Thomson effect. This rmeans that the gases are depressurised below their inversion temperature, which ‘causes them to liquefy ~ contrary to thelr [behaviour above the pressure-dependent in- version temperature. Joule-Thomson valves are expected to handle high pressure drops between the compressed medium at thevalve inlet and the relieved medium at the valve outlet. Severe pressure differences across the valve favour the occurrence of cavitation and flashing This results in high noise levels, severe vibrations and erosion ‘on valve components For larger volume flow rates or many decades, Samson has been devel- ‘ping and manufacturing exyogenic valves in compliance with applicable specifications Different valve versions in small and medi ‘um sizes for moderate pressure drops at cryogenic temperatures were added the product range long ago. With the newly de- veloped Type 3598 valve, Samson responds to the rend that has also taken hold of the industrial processes to produce and dis tribute eryogente gases: plants are becoming ever larger while constantly higher flow rates and differential pressures need to be handled, During the development process, Samson brought together the thorough on- site experience gained over many years by plant operators with the corporate know- hhow acquired through CFD (computational fluid dynamics) simulations and experi- ‘ments conducted at Rolf Sandvoss Innovation Center The product management and R&D department focused on reducing the total cost of ownership by achieving greater relia bility, ease of service and energy efficiency. More reliability ‘The Type 3598 valve for cryogenic process ‘media is capable of handling high pressure drops and also available in large valve sizes, ‘Tis makes the valves suitable for operation {in up-scaled process plants with high flow: rates as well 25 for use as Joule- Thomson valves in applications with high pressure drops and, consequently, a risk of cavitation. In larger valve sizes, here is enough space downstream for the flow to continue with ‘out disturbances despite cavitation and ‘ashing. To minimise undesired vibration and imminent eavitation damage on the sealing surfaces inside the valve, the pres sure is let down in the camped-in cage and not a the seating surface, as isthe case in valves with seat-plug design Ease of service ‘The cryogenic valve has a top-entey design. ‘This design comes witha single-piece valve body including a large-diameter cryogenic extension bonnet. Asa result, service and. maintenance work on the trim parts can be performed without having to remove the valve from the pipeline, cold box or insa- lation, Afler the actuator bas been disas- sembled, there Is free access tothe valve seat, piston and cieulation inhibitor through the cxyogenic extension bonnet, The pressure balancing assembly fitted as standard guar antees that even large control valves are easy to service and disassemble This is because relatively ite force is required to move the piston, even in large control valves and at high pressure drops. Asa result, smaller ac- tuators having a lower weight can be ‘mounted on the valves. Asa positive side ef fect, itis also possible — depending on the valve size—to fic actuators suitable for the Girect attachment of positioners or limit swiceies, This considerably reduces the pip- Ing and hosing requited for installation Higher energy efficiency A circulation inbibitor is installed in the lower part of the cryogenic extension bon- net, which influences the process medium's emperature distribution scross the insulat- Ing section, Ths offers several advantages zo icing up of the packing chamber, which 's located im the valve bonnet outside the cold box of insulation. And no heat energy from the outside can heat up the process ‘medium, which has been cooled down with great effort The interface between the cold box and the environment ean additionally bbe insulated by attaching an optional cover plate to the valve. So, the control valves total energy balance is influenced by the ‘optimised temperature conditions as well at the required air capacity. On top, the thrust needed by the actuator plays aa important role, which means thatthe ineluded pres sure balancing has a positive effect ae well, Lower actuator thrust Due to the engineered design, the cost of purchasing a Type 3598 cryogenic valve is higher than a standard valve with sezew-on z a mm th ty7e 3598 cryogenic ‘lve comes wth some Ti ntgeted stare pressure balancing (boton Fig) and ereclson i Iubioe (op sgh) Insulating section, This is counterbalanced by the lower cost resulting from the lower actuator thrust and smaller actuator size required, Realistially, it would be possible to uze an actuator with 1000 em? dia phragm area on a pressure-balanced valve instead of a 2x 2800 cm* actuator om an un- balanced valve of the same size, A compat son of the two actuators shows a reduction ‘of roughly 90 % concerning travel volume and weight and of around 80 % when it comes to the actual cost of the aeweator. Outlook Further versions of the eryogente valves ‘with enhanced features are alzeady in the pipeline This includes modular additions — such as larger valve sizes and higher pres sure ratings ~ ae well as angle-style valve bodies, Currenly, the valves are avallable ac cording to Ansi standards only, bus DIN ver. stone wil follow, ‘wwweepp-net.com ‘Online search: Samson, AUTHORS (MARTIN KNAACK ‘Produ: Management We Teenie Sales, Contd Valves Salons, ‘Timo Maus ‘rod: Management Technical Sle, Conrl Valves Solutions ANDREAS SANDER Research & Development Modilie Stems Serre Servi Applicant pp or-2020 45