Setting of the heat exchanger safety valve
Thread Content
The tube side of the heat exchanger contains high-pressure gas at 25 MPa, while the shell side contains low-pressure heat transfer oil at 1.0 MPa. I would like to ask the experts: if we consider the possibility of leaks in the high-pressure gas pipelines inside the heat exchanger, is it necessary to install safety relief valves (such as pressure valves) on the heat exchanger? If pressure valves are installed on the outlet pipeline of the heat transfer oil, can they help protect the equipment? Or rather, what is the purpose of installing a safety valve in the heat transfer oil outlet pipeline? I would appreciate the advice from experts.
Installing a safety valve on the outlet pipeline of the heat transfer oil can protect the equipment against leaks in the shell side. This is a common practice (the set pressure is set to the design pressure of the shell side)
When high-pressure gas at 25 MPa is released into a liquid at 1.0 MPa, how should the safety valve be designed? For a double-pipe design, is it necessary to consider releasing all the incoming gas volume?
According to ASME regulations, in your case, as long as the design pressure of the shell side is not less than 10/13 of the design pressure of the tube side, it is not necessary to install a safety valve. Otherwise, a safety valve must be installed; API521 provides formulas for calculating the discharge volume in the event of tube rupture.
Thank you very much; let’s take a look at API 521