Pressure Relief Valve: Definition, Types,

Working, Location, Sizing, Codes and Standards

Table of Contents
 What are Relief Events?
 What is a Relief System?
 Locating Pressure Relief Valves
 Types of Pressure Relief Valves
 Conventional Pressure Relief Valve
 Balanced Bellows Type Pressure Relief valve
 Pilot-operated Pressure Relief Valves
 Power Actuated Pressure Relief Valve
 Temperature Pressure actuated Pressure Relief Valves
 When to Use a Spring-Operated Pressure Relief Valve
 Pressure Relief Valve Accessories
 Working of a Pressure Relief Valve
 Codes and Standards for Pressure Relief Valve
 Pressure Relief Valve Sizing
 Pressure Relief Valve Symbols
 A Special Issue: Chatter
 Difference between a PSV and PRV
A pressure relief valve is used to release excess pressure from a system during
overpressure situations thus avoiding catastrophic failure. So, a Pressure relief
valve is an important process safety device and widely used in chemical,
petrochemical, power, and oil and gas industries. The pressure relief valve (PRV)
is designed to open at a predefined set pressure. So whenever the system pressure
exceeds the set pressure, the PRV pops and releases the overpressure and when the
excess pressure is removed the PRV closes again. The main advantages of installing a
pressure relief valve in a system are:

 They vent the fluid to safeguard the system from overpressure.

 They reclose and prevent loss of fluid when system pressure returns back to
acceptable.
 Installation of the PRV system minimizes damage to system components.
 They are reliable and versatile

What are Relief Events?

Relief events are obligatory events which prevents efficiency or performance and
increase cost but must be met considering safety of the operating plant. Examples of
potential relief events are

 External fire
 Flow from a high-pressure source
 Heat input from associated equipment/ external source
 Pumps and compressors or other equipment failures.
 Failure of Cooling Medium
 Ambient heat transfer
 Failure of Control system
 Liquid expansion in pipes and surge
 Blocked discharge, Gas blowby
 Failure of Condenser system
 Chemical reactions
 Operating error
 Closed Outlets
 The entrance of Volatile Fluid

Potential Lines of Defense against Relief Events

To act against the above-mentioned potential relief events the following defense
methods are followed.

 Inherently Safe Design

 Low-pressure processes
 Passive Control
 Overdesign of process equipment
 Active Control
 Install Relief Systems
What is a Relief System?
A relief system is an emergency system used to safeguard plants during relief events by
reducing pressure or discharging gas during abnormal situations. The relief system
consists of

 A relief device, and

 Associated lines and process equipment to safely handle the material ejected

Why Use a Relief System?

Installing relief systems in operating plants is a must from the process and technical
safety points as

 Inherently Safe Design simply can’t eliminate every pressure hazard

 Passive designs can be exceedingly expensive and cumbersome
 Relief systems work!

Code Requirements for relief system design

General Code requirements include:

 ASME Boiler & Pressure Vessel Codes

 ASME B31.3 / Petroleum Refinery Piping
 ASME B16.5 / Flanges & Flanged Fittings

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

Locating Pressure Relief Valves

Location of Pressure Relief valves are decided by Process Engineers. They mention the
PRV requirements in the P&ID. Relief valves are normally located at

 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
 Low-pressure storage tanks
 Piping systems where overpressure can arise due to process control failure.

Types of Pressure Relief Valves

Conventionally Pressure relief valves are categorized into the following three groups:

 Relief Valve
 Adjustable
 Electronic
 Safety Valve
 Low Lift
 High Lift
 Full Lift
 Safety Relief Valve
 Conventional spring-loaded safety relief valve
 Pilot operated relief valve
 Balanced-bellows type relief valve
 Power actuated
 Temperature and Pressure actuated relief valve
The above mentioned pressure relief valve types are produced in graphical form in Fig.
1 below
Fig. 1: Types of Pressure Relief Valves
Relief valves are spring-loaded and characterized by gradual opening and closing.
They are actuated by the upstream pressure and suitable for incompressible fluids.
Adjustable relief valves allow the pressure setting adjustment through the outlet port.
Electronic relief valves offer zero leakage with electric controls to monitor and regulate
the system pressure.

On the other hand, safety valves are used for compressible fluids (gas and vapors) and
characterized by the rapid action of opening and closing. Safety valves are widely used
in steam plants for boiler overpressure protection. They are classified into three groups
based on the amount of travel or lift during the pop-up. Low-lift safety valves have a
small capacity and the valve lifts 1/24th of the bore diameter. High-lift safety valves travel
1/12th of the bore diameter. Whereas Full-lift safety valves travel at least 1/4 th of the bore
diameter and best suited for steam services.

The safety relief valve can be used for gas or liquid service depending on the
application. They have the characteristic of both rapid or gradual opening.

Conventional Pressure Relief Valve

Spring-loaded conventional pressure relief valves are best suited for applications where
excessive back pressure is absent. The back-pressure directly affects the operational
characteristics of these PRVs. Refer to Fig. 2 that represents a conventional safety
relief valve with its basic elements.
 Fig. 2:
Conventional type Pressure Relief Valve
There are three basic components of a conventional pressure relief valve

 An inlet nozzle to be connected to the system requiring protection.

 A movable disk for fluid flow control, and
 A spring for controlling the disk position.
While designing a conventional pressure relief valve, consideration of seat leakage to
be checked as leakage means continuous loss of system fluid and valve seating surface
can be damaged. Depending on the seating material, conventional pressure relief
valves are classified in the following two types:

 Metal-seated valves, and

 Soft-seated valve

Pros & Cons of Conventional Pressure Relief Valves

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

Balanced Bellows Type Pressure Relief valve

To reduce the effects of backpressure, spring-loaded balanced bellows pressure relief
valves (Fig. 3) are developed. The PRV design incorporates a bellow that offsets the
effect of back-pressure. The bellow isolates the spring, bonnet, and guiding surfaces
from direct contact with the process fluid.

Typically when back pressure is variable and exceeds 10% of the set pressure, a
balanced-bellows type pressure relief valve is used.

Fig. 3: Bonnet
Bellow type PRV

Pros & Cons of Balanced Bellows type Pressure Relief Valve

Advantages
 Relieving pressure not affected by back pressure
 Can handle higher built-up backpressure
 Protects spring from corrosion
 Possess good temperature and chemical properties

Disadvantages

 Bellows susceptible to fatigue/rupture

 May release flammables/toxics to the atmosphere
 Requires a separate venting system
There are two types of balanced bellows safety relief valves:

 Balanced bellows
 Balanced bellows with auxiliary balancing piston

Pilot-operated Pressure Relief Valves

A pilot-operated safety relief valve is a pressure relief valve where a self-actuated
auxiliary pressure relief controls the pressure-relieving. The opening or closing of the
relief valve is governed by the pressure of the flowing medium. A pilot is used to sense
the process pressure and to pressurize or vent the dome pressure chamber, which
controls the valve opening or closing. Three main components consist of a pilot-
operated pressure relief valve (Fig. 4)

 the main valve,

 a floating, unbalanced piston assembly, and
 an external pilot.
Fig. 4: Pilot-Operated Pressure Relief Valve
The pressure on the top side of the main valve’s unbalanced moving chamber is
controlled by the pilot. Generally, a resilient seat is attached to the lower end.

Advantages of Pilot Operated Pressure Relief Valve

The main advantages of pilot-operated safety relief valves are:

 The set pressure is unaffected by the valve backpressure.

 As the system operating pressure decides the opening of the relief valve, the
system can be operated at maximum working pressure.
 Economical as compared to other types.
 Less susceptibility to chatter.
Pilot-operated Pressure relief valves can be classified based on various parameters as
mentioned shown below:

 Depending on the type of moving members

 A piston-type.
 A diaphragm-type.
 Based on the type of pilots
 A pop-action pilot
 A modulating-action pilot
 Based on the flow of pilots
 A flowing-type pilot.
 A non-flowing-type pilot

Power Actuated Pressure Relief Valve

Power-actuated pressure relief valves (Fig. 5) are controlled by a device requiring an
external power source. Energy sources like water, electricity, or steam control the
opening and closing of the pressure relief valve. They are mostly used for forced-flow
steam generators with no fixed steam or waterline and in nuclear power plants.

Temperature Pressure actuated Pressure Relief Valves

A temperature and pressure-actuated pressure relief valve (also known as T&P safety
relief valve-Fig. 5) is actuated by temperature or pressure of the inlet side of the relief
valve. The valve consists of two primary controlling elements, a spring, and a thermal
probe. They serve dual purposes.

 Prevention of temperature rise above specified and

 Prevention of over-pressure from rising above a specified value.
They are mostly used for vessels, tanks, and heaters carrying hot fluids.

F
ig. 5: Power and Temperature Actuated Safety Relief Valve
Vacuum Relief Valve
A Vacuum Relief Valve is designed to prevent an excessive internal vacuum by
admitting fluid. Once the normal condition is restored, they reclose and prevent further
fluid flow.

When to Use a Spring-Operated Pressure Relief Valve

 Losing entire contents is unacceptable
 Fluids above the normal boiling point
 Toxic fluids
 Need to avoid failing low
 Return to normal operations quickly
 Withstand process pressure changes, including vacuum

Pressure Relief Valve Accessories

A number of pressure relief valves accessories help the valve in their operations to
achieve the intended use. They are:

 Test gags hold the safety valve closed during the hydrostatic test.
 Lifting mechanisms to lift the valve disk. Available in three types
 plain lever,
 packaged lever, and
 air-operated lifting devices.
 Bolted caps are available for standard pressure relief valves in addition to the
screwed caps.
 Valve position indicators for remote indication of the PRV opening

Working of a Pressure Relief Valve

For a spring-loaded pressure relief valve, the spring force holds the disk at position
keeping the valve in a closed position. When the pressure of the line exceeds the set
pressure, the disk starts to lift allowing the fluid to flow through the outlet and releasing
pressure. With a further increase in inlet pressure, the disk lifts further. When the disk
has traveled to its designed value, the valve is fully open and the system pressure is
released.
Once the overpressure inside the system falls below the spring force the spring pushes
back the disk in positive to close the valve preventing further release of fluid.
For pilot-operated pressure relief valves, the inlet pressure is directed to a small safety
valve that acts on top of the piston. As the top area of the piston is designed greater
than the bottom area under fluid contact, the pressure on top is higher which pushes the
piston to close the relief valve. When the inlet pressure rises above the set pressure, a
net upward force acts on the piston forcing the piston to pop-up and release the
pressure.

Codes and Standards for Pressure Relief Valve

Pressure relief valves are governed by codes and standards. The most widely used
pressure relief valve codes and standards are:

 ASME BPVC (Sec I, Sec III, Sec IV and Sec VIII)

 ISO 4126
 API 520
 API 521
 API 526
 API 527
 PED 97/23/EC
 EN4126
 JIS B 8210 (Japan)
 KS B 6216 (Korea)
 SAA AS 1271 (Australia)

Pressure Relief Valve Sizing

The sizing of a pressure relief valve is done by the Process team based on the
governing codes and standards. The most widely used reference for pressure relief
valve sizing is API 520. The parameters that affect the PRV sizing and selection are

 Set Pressure of the relief valve

 Process Design temperature and pressure
 Size of inlet and outlet piping
 Backpressure on the pressure relief valve outlet
 Fluid Service
 The required capacity of the relief valve
 Flow condition (liquid flow, gas flow (critical and sub-critical), steam flow and two-
phase flow)
The sizing of pressure relief valve is a complex method requiring a multi-step process
as listed below:

 Defining the Protected System

 Locating the relief valve
 Defining the over-pressure condition
 Selecting the relief device
 Obtaining Data for Relief valve Sizing
 Determining the flow condition types
The above steps can be easily shown in the form of a flow-chart as shown in Fig. 6.
Fig. 6: Pressure Relief valve Sizing Flowchart
Most major pressure relief valve manufacturers provide sizing software having the
unlimited capability to accept wide variability of fluid properties and decide the right
pressure relief valve. Some typical software for pressure relief valve sizing is developed
by:

 Anderson Greenwood Crosby

 PRV2SIZE software Emerson Automation Solutions
 PRV2SIZE software Pentair Software
 VALVESTAR® by LESER Safety Valves
 SIZEMASTER – Relief System Sizing Software by Farris
 VALVIO by HEROSE
 Fluid-Flow
In absence of pressure relief valve sizing software or manufacturer’s standard tables,
the effective orifice area can be manually calculated using the following equations:

Fig. 7: Pressure Relief Valve Sizing Equations

After getting the effective area, Standard pressure relief valve orifice designation (size)
is selected from the following table:
 Fig. 8: Standard Orifice
Designation for Pressure Relief Valve
Pressure Relief Valve Symbols
Pressure relief valves are designated by special symbols as shown below:

Fig. 9: Pressure Relief Valve Symbols

Fig. 9 also provides the P&ID representation of a typical Pressure Safety Valve. Set
pressure and Orifice Designation is clearly mentioned in the P&ID, along with the
identifier and symbol of pressure relief valve.

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 the destruction of the device and a dangerous situation

Chatter – Principal Causes

Valve Issues

 Oversized valve
 Valve handling widely differing rates
 Relief System Issues
 Excessive inlet pressure drop
 Excessive built-up backpressure

Difference between a PSV and PRV

 A Pressure Relief Valve (PRV) opens gradually in relation to the pressure, on
the other hand when the pressure reaches a certain value a Pressure Safety Valve
or PSV opens suddenly to release the overpressure.
 PRV is normally used for liquid systems while PSV for gaseous systems.