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and other industrial applications as part of pressurerelieving systems to protect piping, boilers, vessels, and
other pressurized assets from dangerous over-pressure
conditions. To help users ensure that these systems are
supplied in accordance with recognized good engineering
practices, a number of industry-specific standards exist.
For example, American Petroleum Institute standards API
521 (ISO 23251), API 526, and RP 520 all deal specifically
with PRVs and pressure-relieving systems as used in the
petroleum industries.
The Problem
PRVs are particularly susceptible to leaks and the
consequences of such leaks can be quite serious:
Dangerous operating conditions, increasing the
risk to plant and personnel
Damage to the environment
Regulatory fines/penalties
Negative public image/reputation
Reduced process efficiency and profitability
Loss of raw, intermediate, or finished materials
While most companies expend considerable resources
to detect and mitigate leaks, usually in the form of
routine inspection or observation regimens, current
approaches have not proven entirely effective and
PRV leaks remain a significant challenge for industry.
Additionally, PRVs are frequently subjected to unnecessary maintenance. This occurs when a leak cannot be
confirmed, but to err on the side of caution, preventive
repairs, replacements, or overhauls are carried out just
in case. This can drive the relative maintenance costs
for PRVs very high.
The Solution
Cost-effective and reliable online technology is now
available to monitor critical PRVs for the presence of
leaks. An online approach means that leaks are caught
within minutes, incident severity (and associated
consequences) is minimized, and costly routine inspection
regimens are eliminated.
GEs PRV Leak Detection System (see overview diagram
on facing page) uses the Bently Nevada Trendmaster*
Pro architecture to gather periodic, online temperature
and acoustic measurements and automatically analyze
them in System 1* software. By using both temperature
and acoustic measurements in complementary fashion,
more reliable detection is available than when using
either technology alone. These measurements are
then processed through a special RulePak in System 1
softwares decision support engine. This RulePak contains
sophisticated, embedded knowledge of PRV leak behavior,
automatically detecting the presence of a leak.
Continued on page 62.
Vent to atmosphere
Pressure relief valve
Ultrasonic
acoustic sensor
Ultrasonic Amp
in 3300XL JB
Outlet
temperature
FlexiTIM for
Ultrasonic
Inlet
temperature
ProTIM-C for
thermocouples
DSM supports up to 8
lines with up to 63
valves per line
Existing DSM dedicated
to other plant area
Pressurized asset
Trendmaster Pro
platform
Vo l . 2 9 N o. 1 2 0 0 9 ORB I T 6 1
PRV BASICS
PRVs are designed to open at approximately
1020% above normal design pressures for
the protected asset, venting excess pressure
to the atmosphere, a flare stack, lowerpressure containment system, or other means.
Once pressure returns to normal ranges, the
PRV is designed to reseat itself using a selfclosing mechanism, typically incorporating
an internal preloaded spring or weight.