Valve Inspection & Testing

Inspection & Testing in accordance with API 598

 Shell Test (Body Hydro Test): - Each valve shall be tested in accordance with
ASME B 16.34 for ASME valves. Shell test pressure shall not be less than 1.5 time at
380C (1000F) of the pressure rating rounded of the next higher 1bar (25psi)
increment. The test shall be made with the valve in partially open position.
Test media: - Shell test shall be made with water contain corrosion or rust
inhibitor. Test fluid temperature shall not exceed 500C (1250F).
Acceptance Criteria: - Visually detectable leakage through the pressure boundary
is not acceptable. Body, bonnet, cover, gasket joint, stem seals, packing shall be
capable of retaining pressure up to 380C (1000F) pressure rating without visible
leakage.

Duration of Required Test Pressure

Valve Size Minimum Test Duration ( Seconds)1
Backseat (For Closure Check Closure
DN NPS Shell valves with Valves Other
Backseat Features) (API594) Valves
≤50 ≤ (2) 15 15 60 15
65 to 150 (2.1/2 to 6) 60 60 60 60
200 to 300 ( 8 to 12 ) 120 60 120 120
≥ 350 ≥ (14 ) 300 60 120 120
1 The test duration is period of inspection after valve is fully prepared & is under full

pressure.

 High Pressure Closure Test (Seat Hydro Test):- Result of the test confirms the
capacity of valve design, it is an optional test but mandatory for valve to pass the
test. Test pressure shall be 110% of maximum allowable pressure at 380C (1000F).
Test media: - Test shall be made with water contain corrosion or rust inhibitor.
Test fluid temperature shall not exceed 500C (1250F).
 Low Pressure Closure Test (Air or pneumatic Test):- Low Pressure Closure test
performed with air at 4 to 7 bar pressure.

Acceptance Criteria: - for both high & low pressure closure test, visual evidence of leakage
through the disk, behind seat rings, from shaft seals or any structural damage is not
permitted.
Note: -
1) Test shall be performed with seat sealing surface interface clean, free from oil,
grease & sealant.
2) The backseat test is required for all valves that have this feature
Maximum allowable Leakage Rates for Closure Tests as per API 598
Metal Seated Valves Except
Valve Size All Metal Seated Check valves
Check
Resilien
Liquid Test a Gas Test a
DN NPS t Seated Liquid Test Gas Test Gas Test
(drops/ (bubbles/
(mm) (in.) Valves (cc/min) ( m3/h) ( ft3/h)
min.) min.)
≤50 ≤ (2) 0 0b 0b 6 0.08 3

65 2.1/2 0 5 10 7.5 0.11 3.75

80 3 0 6 12 9 0.13 4.5

100 4 0 8 16 12 0.17 6

125 5 0 10 20 15 0.21 7.5

150 6 0 12 24 18 0.25 9

200 8 0 16 32 24 0.34 12

250 10 0 20 40 30 0.42 15

300 12 0 24 48 36 0.50 18

350 14 0 28 56 42 0.59 21

400 16 0 32 64 48 0.67 24

450 18 0 36 72 54 0.76 27

500 20 0 40 80 60 0.84 30

600 24 0 48 96 72 1.01 36

650 26 0 52 104 78 1.09 39

700 28 0 56 112 84 1.18 42

750 30 0 60 120 90 1.26 45

800 32 0 64 128 96 1.34 48

900 36 0 72 144 108 1.51 54

1000 40 0 80 160 120 1.68 60

1050 42 0 84 168 126 1.76 63

1200 48 0 96 192 144 1.02 72

a For the liquid test, 1ml is considered equivalent to 16 drops.
For liquid test, 0 drops means no visible leakage per minimum specified test duration. For gas test, 0
bubbles means less than 1 bubble per minimum specified test duration.
Inspection & Testing in accordance with BS EN 12266 - 1
 Shell Test (Body Hydro Test): - Test pressure for each valve shall be a minimum of
1.5 times the allowable pressure at room temperature.
Test media: - Shell test shall be made with water contain corrosion or rust
inhibitor.
Acceptance Criteria: - Visually detectable leakage from any external surface of the
shell is not permitted. Leakage from the operating mechanism sealing is permitted
at the shell test pressure provided that there is no visual detectable leakage when
the test pressure is 1.1 times the allowable pressure at room temperature.

Minimum Test Duration for Shell Tests

Nominal Size Production Test& Acceptance Test (s) Type Test ( min )
Up to DN 50 15 10
From DN 65 to DN 200 60 10
DN 250 & above 180 10

 Seat Tightness Test : - Test pressure shall be a minimum of 1.1 times the allowable
differential pressure at room temperature, except that if the test fluid is gas, the test
pressure may be lower of 1.1 times the allowable differential pressure at room
temperature or ( 6± 1) bar for valves:-
 Size up to DN 80 for all pressure ratings
 Size above DN80 & up to DN200 for pressure ratings up to PN40 & up to
Class300.

Minimum Test Duration for Seat Tightness Tests

Production Test & Acceptance Test Type Test
Metal Seated Valves Soft Seated valves All Valves
Nominal Size
Liquid Gas Liquid or Gas Liquid or Gas
Up to DN 50 15s 15s 15s 10min
DN 65 to DN 200 30s 15s 15s 10min
DN 250 to DN 450 60s 30s 30s 10min
DN 500 & above 120s 30s 60s 10min
Acceptance Criteria: - As per below table.

Maximum Allowable Seat Leakage for each leakage rate in cubic millimeters per second

Test
Rate A Rate B Rate C Rate D Rate E Rate F Rate G
Fluid
No visually
Liquid detectable 0.01 x DN 0.03 x DN 0.1 X DN 0.3 X DN 1.0 X DN 2.0 X DN
leakage for
duration of 0.3 x DN 300 X 3000 x 6000 x
Gas 3.0 X DN 30 X DN
the test DN DN DN
Note 1- The leakage rates only apply when discharging to room temperature.
Note 2 – “No visually detectable leakage” means no visible weeping or formation of drops
or bubble and is lower leakage rate than Rate B.

Inspection & Testing in accordance with ANSI / FCI 70 – 2

ANSI / FCI 70 – 2 classified valve leakages are as follows:

Leakage Class Test Media Test Pressure Maximum Seat Leakage

Class I Water None No Test Required

0.5% of Rated Valve
Class II
3 – 4 bar or ±5% of Capacity
Clean Air or Water at
max. operating 0.1% of Rated Valve
Class III 10 – 51 0C
differential pressure, Capacity
( 50 – 1250F )
whichever is less 0.01% of Rated Valve
Class IV
Capacity
5 x 10 ml (0.0005ml)
-4
Air / Nitrogen / Water 3.5 barg ( 50psi ) or
per minute per inch of
Class V 10 – 52 0C ±5% of max. service
seat diameter per psi
( 50 – 1250F ) Pressure drop.
differential
Clean Air / Nitrogen 3.5 barg ( 50psi ) or
Class VI 10 – 52 0C ±5% of max. service As per below Table
( 50 – 1250F ) Pressure drop.

Nominal 26 38 51 64 76 102 152 203 250 300 350 400

Seat Dia. (1) (1.5) (2) (2.5) (3) (4) (6) (8) (10) (12) (14) (16)
ml per
0.15 0.30 0.45 0.60 0.90 1.70 4.00 6.75 11.1 16.0 21.6 28.4
minute
Bubble per
1 2 3 4 6 11 27 45 -- -- -- --
min.
Inspection & Testing in accordance with ISO 5208
 Shell Test (Body Hydro Test): - Test pressure for each valve shall be a minimum of
1.5 times the CWP (Cold Working Pressure).
Test media: - Shell test shall be made with water contain corrosion or rust inhibitor
at -200C to 380C temperature.
Acceptance Criteria: - Visually detectable leakage from any external surface of the
shell is cause for rejection.

Minimum Duration for Pressure Tests

Minimum Test DurationB (s)

Valve Size Shell Optional Backset Closure

All Valves When Relevant Isolation Valves Check Valves

DN ≤ 50 15 15 15 60

65 ≤ DN ≤ 150 60 60 60 60

200 ≤ DN ≤ 300 120 60 120 120

DN ≥ 350 300 60 120 120

B - The test duration is the period of time for inspection after the test valve is fully
prepared and under test pressure.

 Backseat & Closure Test (Seat Hydro Test):- Test pressure shall be 1.1 of CWP
(Cold Working Pressure).
Test media: - The test shall be made with water contain corrosion or rust inhibitor
at -200C to 380C temperature.

 Low Pressure Closure Test (Air or pneumatic Test):- Low Pressure Closure test
performed with air at 6 bar ±1 bar pressure.

CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE….

 Acceptance Criteria: At backseat test, visually detectable leakage from any external
interface of the shell, seat, and stem is cause for rejection, other given in below table.

0.006 x DN

0.03 x DN

0.08 x DN

0.39 x DN
0.01 x DN

0.1 x DN

0.3 x DN

1 x DN

2 x DN
mm3/s

No visually Detectable leakage for duration of the test

Liquid
Maximum Allowable Closure Test leakage Rate

0.00016 x DN

0.0005 x DN

0.0013 x DN

0.0016 x DN

0.0048 x DN

0.0062 x DN
0.0001 x DN

0.016 x DN

0.032 x DN
Drops/s

3000 x DN

6000 x DN
300 x DN

470 x DN
0.18 x DN

22.3 x DN

30 x DN
0.3 x DN

3 x DN
mm3/s
Gas

0.0046 x DN

0.0458 x DN

0.3407 x DN

0.4584 x DN

4.5837 x DN

7.1293 x DN

91.673 x DN
45.837 X DN
0.003 x DN
Bubbles/s
Test Fluid

Leakage

Rate AA

Rate EE
Rate CC

Rate D
Rate A

Rate B

Rate G
Rate E
Rate C

Rate F
Rate
Unit

Note for above Table:-

Note 1:- The leakage rates only when discharging test fluid to the atmosphere.
Note 2:- The closure leakage rate that applies is either that identified in a valve product
standard or leakage rate identified in a purchaser’s valve procurement purchase order that
is more stringent than that specified in the product standard.
Note 3:- The meaning of “No visually detectable leakage” is that there is no visible weeping
or leakage in the form of drop or bubbles.
Note 4:- There is a loosely defined correspondence between the leakage rate acceptance
values of API 598 and the leakage values Rate A as applied to DN≤50, Rate AA- Gas & Rate
CC – Liquid for other than metal seated check valves and for check valves Rate EE-Gas and
Rate G- Liquid. Rates A, B, C, D, E, F and G correspond to values in EN 12266-1.