Pressure relief valve
Pressure Relief Valve
A Pressure Relief Valve is a safety device that relief in case of overpressure in vessel or piping.
The generic term is or Pressure Relief Valve (PRV) or Pressure Safety Valve (PSV)
Relief Valve (RV): automatic system that relief by static pressure on a liquid. It specifically open proportionally with pressure increasing.
Safety Valve (SV): automatic system that relief by static pressure on a gas. It specifically open almost straight to full lift after a pop sound.
Safety Relief Valve (SRV): automatic system that relief by static pressure on both gas and liquid.
Pilote Operated Safety Relief Valve (POSRV): automatic system that relief by remote command from a pilote on which the static pressure (from equipent to protect) is connected.
Low Pressure Safety Valve (LPSV): automatic system that relief by static pressure on a gas. The pressure is small and near the atmospheric pressure.
Vacuum Pressure Safety Valve (VPSV): automatic system that relief by static pressure on a gas. The pressure is small, negative and near the atmospheric pressure.
Low and Vacuum Pressure Safety Valve (LVPSV): automatic system that relief by static pressure on a gas. The pressure is small, negative or positive and near the atmospheric pressure.
RV, SV and SRV are spring operated (even said spring loaded).
LPSV and VPSV are spring operated or weight loaded.
Legal and code requirements in industry
In most countries, industries are legally required to protect pressure vessels and other equipment by using relief valves. Also in most countries, equipment design codes such as those provided by the ASME, API and other organizations like ISO (ISO 4126) must be complied with and those codes include design standards for relief valves.[1][2]
The main standards, laws or directives are:
- ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers) Boiler & Pressure Vessel Code, Section VIII, Division 1
- API (American Petroleum Institute) Recommended Practice 520 et API Standard 526
- ISO 4126
- AD Merckblatt
- PED 97/23/EC (Pressure Equipment Directive)
The main manufacturers of pressure safety valves are:
- Sarasin-RSBD (France)
- Sapag (France)
- Crosby (USA)
- Consolidated (USA)
- Anderson-Greenwood (USA)
- Farris (Canada)
- Fukui (Japan)
- Leser (Germany)
- Bopp & Reuter (Germany)