Pressure Relief

Grace under pressure

Ernest Hemingway

Harry J. Toups LSU Department of Chemical Engineering with

significant material from SACHE 2003 Workshop presentation
by Scott Ostrowski (ExxonMobil)
and Professor Emeritus Art Sterling

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What is the Hazard?
Despite safety precautions

Equipment failures
Human error, and
External events, can sometimes lead to

Increases in process pressures beyond safe

levels, potentially resulting in

OVERPRESSURE due to a RELIEF EVENT

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What are Relief Events?
External fire
Flow from high pressure source
Heat input from associated equipment
Pumps and compressors
Ambient heat transfer
Liquid expansion in pipes and surge

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Potential Lines of Defense
Inherently Safe Design
Low pressure processes

Passive Control
Overdesign of process equipment

Active Control
Install Relief Systems
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What is a Relief System?
A relief device, and

Associated lines and process

equipment to safely handle the material
ejected

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Why Use a Relief System?
Inherently Safe Design simply cant
eliminate every pressure hazard

Passive designs can be exceedingly

expensive and cumbersome

Relief systems work!

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Pressure Terminology
MAWP
Design pressure
Operating
pressure
Set pressure
Overpressure
Accumulation
Blowdown

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Code Requirements
General Code requirements include:
ASME Boiler & Pressure Vessel Codes
ASME B31.3 / Petroleum Refinery Piping
ASME B16.5 / Flanges & Flanged Fittings

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Code Requirements
Relieving pressure shall not exceed
MAWP (accumulation) by more than:
3% for fired and unfired steam boilers
10% for vessels equipped with a single
pressure relief device
16% for vessels equipped with multiple
pressure relief devices
21% for fire contingency

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Relief Design Methodology
LOCATE
RELIEFS
CHOOSE
TYPE
DEVELOP
SCENARIOS
SIZE RELIEFS
(1 or 2 Phase)
CHOOSE
WORST CASE
DESIGN RELIEF
SYSTEM
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Locating Reliefs Where?
All vessels
Blocked in sections of cool liquid lines
that are exposed to heat
Discharge sides of positive
displacement pumps, compressors,
and turbines
Vessel steam jackets
Where PHA indicates the need

LOCATE
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RELIEFS
Choosing Relief Types
Spring-Operated Valves

Rupture Devices

CHOOSE
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TYPE
Spring-Operated Valves
Conventional Type

CHOOSE
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TYPE
Picture: Conventional Relief
Valve
Conventional
Relief Valve

CHOOSE
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TYPE
Superimposed Back
Pressure
Pressure in
discharge header
before valve opens
Can be constant or
variable

CHOOSE
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TYPE
Built-up Back Pressure

Pressure in discharge
header due to
frictional losses after
valve opens
Total = Superimposed
+ Built-up

CHOOSE
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TYPE
Spring-Operated Valves
Balanced Bellows Type

CHOOSE
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TYPE
Picture: Bellows Relief
Valve
Bellows
Relief Valve

CHOOSE
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TYPE
Pros & Cons:
Conventional Valve
Advantages
+ Most reliable type if properly sized and operated
+ Versatile -- can be used in many services

Disadvantages
Relieving pressure affected by back pressure
Susceptible to chatter if built-up back pressure is
too high

CHOOSE
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TYPE
Pros & Cons:
Balanced Bellows Valve
Advantages
+ Relieving pressure not affected by back pressure
+ Can handle higher built-up back pressure
+ Protects spring from corrosion

Disadvantages
Bellows susceptible to fatigue/rupture
May release flammables/toxics to atmosphere
Requires separate venting system
CHOOSE
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TYPE
Rupture Devices
Rupture Disc

Rupture Pin

CHOOSE
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TYPE
Conventional
Metal Rupture Disc

CHOOSE
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TYPE
Conventional
Rupture Pin Device

CHOOSE
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TYPE
When to Use a Spring-
Operated Valve
Losing entire contents is unacceptable
Fluids above normal boiling point
Toxic fluids
Need to avoid failing low
Return to normal operations quickly
Withstand process pressure changes,
including vacuum
CHOOSE
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TYPE
When to Use a Rupture
Disc/Pin
Capital and maintenance savings
Losing the contents is not an issue
Benign service (nontoxic, non-
hazardous)
Need for fast-acting device
Potential for relief valve plugging
High viscosity liquids
CHOOSE
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TYPE
When to Use Both Types
Need a positive seal (toxic material,
material balance requirements)

Protect safety valve from corrosion

System contains solids

CHOOSE
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TYPE
Relief Event Scenarios
A description of one specific relief event
Usually each relief has more than one relief
event, more than one scenario
Examples include:
Overfilling/overpressuring
Fire
Runaway reaction
Blocked lines with subsequent expansion
Developed through Process Hazard Analysis
(PHA)
DEVELOP
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SCENARIOS
An Example: Batch Reactor
Control valve on
nitric acid feed line
Raw
stuck open, vessel Material
overfills Feeds
Steam regulator to Organic substrate
Catalyst
jacket fails, vessel Nitric Acid

overpressures
Coolant system Reactor ~ 100 gallons
Product
fails, runaway
reaction
DEVELOP
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SCENARIOS
Sizing Reliefs
Determining relief rates

Determine relief vent area

SIZE RELIEFS
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(Single Phase)
Scenarios Drive Relief Rates
Overfill (e.g., control valve failure)
Maximum flow rate thru valve into vessel
Fire
Vaporization rate due to heat-up

Blocked discharge
Design pump flow rate

SIZE RELIEFS
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(Single Phase)
Overfill Scenario Calcs
Determined maximum flow thru valve
(i.e., blowthrough)
Liquids: Qm C v A 2 g c P

g M
( 1)/( 1)
Gases: Qm Cv APo c 2

choked RgTo 1

SIZE RELIEFS
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(Single Phase)
Fire Scenario Calcs
API 520 gives all equations for
calculating fire relief rate, step-by-
step
1. Determine the total wetted surface area
2. Determine the total heat absorption
3. Determine the rate of vapor or gas
vaporized from the liquid
SIZE RELIEFS
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(Single Phase)
Determine Wetted Area

B cos1 1 2 E D

A D E L D B /180
wet

SIZE RELIEFS
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(Single Phase)
Determine Heat Absorption
Prompt fire-fighting & adequate
drainage: 0.82
Q 21,000 F A




Btu/hr wet
Otherwise: 0.82
Q 34,500 F A

Btu/hr wet

where Q is the heat absorption (Btu/hr)

F is the environmental factor
1.0 for a bare vessel
Smaller values for insulated vessels
Awet is the wetted surface area (ft2)
SIZE RELIEFS
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(Single Phase)
Determine Vaporization
Rate
where

W = Mass flow, lbs/hr

W Q /H vap
Q = Total heat absorption to
the wetted surface, Btu/hr

Hvap = Latent heat of

vaporization, Btu/lb
SIZE RELIEFS
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(Single Phase)
Determine Relief Vent Area
Liquid in 2(psi)1/2

Qv ( )
A



ref
Service 38.0 gpm CoKvKpK



1.25Ps P

b b
A is the computed relief area (in 2)
where Qv is the volumetric flow thru the relief (gpm)
Co is the discharge coefficient
Kv is the viscosity correction
Kp is the overpressure correction
Kb is the backpressure correction
(/ref) is the specific gravity of liquid
Ps is the gauge set pressure (lb f/in2)
Pb is the gauge backpressure (lb f/in2)
SIZE RELIEFS
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(Single Phase)
Determine Relief Vent Area
Qm Tz
Gas A
Service CoK P M
b
P Pmax 14.7
A is the computed relief area (in )2

Q is
where Pmax m
1.discharge
the 1Ps for flow
unfired pressure
thru the vessels
relief (lb /hr)
m

P
max
1.2Ps for vessels exposed to fire
C is the discharge coefficient
o

K is the backpressure correction

b

max 1absolute
P T is the .33Ps for pipingof the discharge (R)
temperature
z is the compressibility factor
P is the set pressure for the relief valve
sM is average molecular weight of gas (lb /lb-mol)
m
P is maximum absolute discharge pressure (lbf/in2)
is an isentropic expansion function
SIZE RELIEFS
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(Single Phase)
Determine Relief Vent Area
Gas
( 1)/( 1)
519 . 5

2

Service
1

where is an isentropic expansion

function
is heat capacity ratio for the gas
Units are as described in previous
slide

SIZE RELIEFS
38/51
(Single Phase)
A Special Issue: Chatter
Spring relief devices require 25-30%
of maximum flow capacity to maintain
the valve seat in the open position
Lower flows result in chattering,
caused by rapid opening and closing
of the valve disc
This can lead to destruction of the
device and a dangerous situation
SIZE RELIEFS
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(Single Phase)
Chatter - Principal Causes
Valve Issues
Oversized valve
Valve handling widely differing rates

Relief System Issues

Excessive inlet pressure drop
Excessive built-up back pressure

SIZE RELIEFS
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(Single Phase)
Worst Case Event Scenario
Worst case for each relief is the event
requiring the largest relief vent area
Worst cases are a subset of the overall
set of scenarios for each relief
The identification of the worst-case
scenario frequently affects relief size
more than the accuracy of sizing calcs
CHOOSE
WORST CASE 41/51
Design Relief System
Relief System is more than a safety
relief valve or rupture disc, it includes:
Backup relief device(s)
Line leading to relief device(s)
Environmental conditioning of relief device
Discharge piping/headers
Blowdown drum
Condenser, flare stack, or scrubber

DESIGN RELIEF
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SYSTEM
Installation, Inspection, and
Maintenance
To undermine all the good efforts of a
design crew, simply
1. Improperly install relief devices
2. Fail to regularly inspect relief devices,
or
3. Fail to perform needed/required
maintenance on relief devices

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?? Reduced Inlet Piping
Reduced
Inlet Piping

Anything wrong
here?

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??Anything
Plugged wrong
Bellows, Failed
Signs of
Maintenance
Inspection,
here? Maintenance
Issues

Bellows plugged
in spite of sign

Failed
Inspection
Program
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?? Discharges Pointing
Anything
Discharges
wrong
Down
Anything wrong
here? Pointing
here?Down

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?? Long MomentLongArm
Moment Arm

Anything wrong
here?

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?? Will these bolts hold in a
Will these
relief
bolts event
hold
in a
relief event?

Anything wrong
here?

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Mexico City Disaster
Major Contributing Cause:
Missing Safety Valve

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Summary
Pressure Relief
Very Important ACTIVE safety element
Connected intimately with Process Hazard
Analysis
Requires diligence in design, equipment
selection, installation, inspection and
maintenance
Look forward to
Two-phase flow methodology/exercise
50/51
References
Crowl and Louvar Chemical Process
Safety, Chapters 8 and 9
Ostrowski Fundamentals of Pressure
Relief Devices
Sterling Safety Valves: Practical
Design, Practices for Relief, and Valve
Sizing

51/51
 END OF
PRESENTATION