Vent Valve Safety FlowThrough Steam Pipes

H.E. BRANDMAIER M. E. KNEBEL

I N TR O D U C ITO N The large volume released through a steam safety valve in a power plant must be discharged to the atmosphere without causing to personnel. danage to equipment or injury installation the steam flows In a typical from a valve discharge e1bow, hereafter referred to as the valve pipe, through a length of piping, referred to as a suitable exhausted to the vent pipe, and is finally I n . t D c o r n m o nv e n t s y s t e m atmosphere. 1, in which the vent shown design, li.$l*FiBure

Thus, given steam conditions and r-ent pipe length, the design problem consists of the determination of the minimun \rent pipe diameter to eliminate the possibi.litv of blowback. An additional requi-rement to assure the integrity of the vent system is the deternination of the reaction forces acting on the valve pipe and the vent pipe for proper support of these rnembers. Failure of either component could release more steam into the surroundings than from blowback. Tl-e force acting upon the valve pipe is frequently deternined frorn valve manufacturerrs data, but may also be calculated from steam conditions at that point. The forces acti.ng on the vent rripe may be deternined fron steam condi.tions at the vent pipe i.nlet and outlet. Two nethods frequently enployed in the design of safety valve vent systems are cited The fj.rst is based upon a procedure in (1). establj.shed almost 35 years ago by Benjami-n (2) ; the second is a nore recent industry developed procedure. The former method assumes a value for nozzle efficiency in the conversion of available enthalpy drop into velocity to deternine the steam velocity at the valve pipe outlet. Assuming sonic flow at the vent pipe outlet the static pressure at the vent pipe inlet is calculated considering friction losses in a long pipe. Blowback is assumed not to occur if the velocity head of the steam jet leaving the safety valve is equal to or greater pressure insi.de than the calculated static the vent pipe in1et. An examination of these methods shows defi.ciencies i-n each. The forner method requires the assurnption of a nozzle efficienc No for expansion through the safety valve. rationaL basis exists for selection of the cfficiencv rralrre other than the observation that a value of 25 to 30% results i.n what appears to be an adequate vent pi.pe design.

(1
l2-

( (/

,:'7
DISCIiAR6i

(.
tr , P9. t. t DRrP '
l---

vLlr plpt w;r prn

|| (
a t a a t"

)"
I

ti,
{

vll/t ptPt --]

stc0;i,AiY P I P tF R l C I t oe i iE 6 i 0 I

s
r
t l

i
I I

(.
l.

,-;r'r

I<l _r:r_,_ i-l L 1}'l _ - f'_ j- _ _ _:_ __ __-l

l i

7
I

t.4 tI:tl

8)

Ir

Fig.

Steam Safety

Valve

Systen

la tl rl

(A) Schernatic (B) One-dimensional

Model

over forms an "urnbrella fitti:rg" pipe inlet the valve outlet exthe valve pipe outlet, tends into the vent pipe with sufficient clearance so that thernal expansion or reaction induced movement of either valve or not affect the other convent pipe will p o n e nt . Proper design of the vent pipe is necesnot be resary to a sure that steam will This leased in-- the power plant interior. can occur by blowback of stean at the and vent clearance between valve pipe outlet pipe because of an undersized vent pipe for the existing steam conditions.

The latter method calculate steam condi tions at the vent pipe inlet by worki.ng backwards from the vent pipe outlet sonic condipressure and tions. The resulting calculated velocity at the vent pipe inlet nay not be the same as the pressure and velocity

\_

NOI"IENCLATURE
i

pipe

exit conditions region in valve plpe

flow sonic

area veloci.ty flow diameter a1 vent pipe

f

atmospheric stagnant

a D

corner

prirnary inlet

f F G
I

Darcy frictj-on nass flow function impulse duct

factor

function defined by equation (3)

:i ..+

or

monentum function

),

length

M n P P R
q

Mach Number nass flow

pressure ratio of secondary nation pressure gas constant entroPy tempera ture square root of ratio of secondary prinary stagnation temperatures structural vent pipe valve pipe ratio of load area area on pipe ratio , ratio, heats A3/Atl = A4/At1 to 'f;L

to primary

stag-

I
. ) 't ')

T t
l{

:f
:,

p
Y

A3/AI = A4/A7

specific rati.o

lr I iI

velocity

ratio

of

secondary to

primary

mass flow

SUPERSCR P IT pri.nary
lt

flow flow at sonic condition

secondary quantity

gRI PT SUBS

0 1
1 L

stagnation initial section

condition

section at which flow filLs pipe

3
3t

sectj.on at which shock systern produces subsonic flow section at which mi.xing of primary and secondary flows is complete in r.ent pipe

cal culatc-d r.orking forriard frorn the sonic condi tions at the safett' valr-e pipe outlet. Thus thc procedure does not tlirectl)'t_ie together conditi.ons at these two paints.' It appears then that while either rnethod ma)'result in a satisfactor)'vcnt pipe si:ing, the result is fortuitous. The anal1'sis described in the following sections, based upon the application of modern fluid dr.namics, provides a sounder basis for vent pipe de-s The descri.ption of the f1or.' ign. processes uses the similarity between the f l o w i . n t h e v e n t s , v s i - e mw i t h t h a t i n f r e e jet wind tunnels and supersonic ejectors.

stc0:rJniY _-,.FLOI{ DESCRIPTION Tl.e combination of a valve pipe and vent pipe is very complex, fron a fluiddynamic viewpoint, due to the annular valve ori f ice, whose axis i.s generall-y perpendicular to the f1ow, and the number of bends in the piping required to conduct the steam to For mathernatical tractabil ity, atmosphere. the model to be discussed consists of a onedimensional valve orifice in the flow direction and straight piping with inlets and outlets normal to the pipe axi.s as shown in Figure 1. In addi.tion, it is assumed that effects transient due to valve opening and are sma11 and that the thermodynamic closing properties of stearn are approximately 1\p-sr; p-r:.,tt'rroFriate isenr{ :. ps. fe;,: g;.:; t.'_r'-h exponent. tropic The f1 cw ir. th: .r.a1 .'e -.,)pe r s s ir,-il a.. tt +-aat in free-jet wind tunnels (3-5); i,r r _ y 1i - , r t ' 1 ' ; r - 2 1 t ; r l - c i : o . : l l . - t i - a u . r : : h e t . s ( 6 ) ; a n d in ejectors operating a t z e r o s r ) . o t 11 i ' i ' i - i , L c r ^ : t'! ) . '\ n.a;31 ,li^-'fers..!cc t etween these primarily aerospace pro|rll.r,s -.n.1 !rrc r)r.lseltt i:3.1 ; rr:rai-yrlh'er plant problem is that the veloc; r; i" 3ererl..liy 9:l:,eisJl:r.rinitial : r . i : c : . - o : r n e rc a s e a n d s o n i c i n t h e l a t t e r , 'ta, -l]:c Referrl;r3 i:r )--qt'1t i : 1 , , ,l : . z L r , ing the valr'e orifice can be characterj ze r (tl-t0) e^hausting 1: . a:. 3ri lr:derr;.(L,ar:de( i3 into a larger dianeter cylindrical p-Lpc. li..: tlow expands across a series of expansion waves to supersonic velocities untj-1 its statj-c pressure equals the pressure surrounding the jet; the corresF,onding flow direction defi.nes the jet boundary. An shock wave is generated at the interoblique section of the jet boundary and the pipe wa11 which is requlred to turn the flow para11e1 The subsequent flow iir tire to the wall. valve pipe then consists of a series of intersecting oblique shocks which decrease in intensity due to their interaction with each other and with the pipe boundary layer. If the valve pipe i.s long enough the flow becomes subsonic and behaves as a eventually subsonic flow in a long pipe with friction (11,12). The stagnant corner region at the ori fice is essentially isolated. Its pressure is not atmospheric and is determined by the balance between the flow leaving it by FL0il l>l i>1
n:l
v L L r! rL

I>-1
> -

I^',

.
J :

'."
! r_ i.

SYSTL,,

PRII'IARY FLO:. B) F i g . 2 Underexpanded Flows (rt) Valve Pipe (B) Vent Pipe

(:"
lt-

fi
J't
(.I\a

,t

entrainment in the supersonic jet and that entering it through the subsonic boundary layer under the adverse pressure gradieni d to the oblique shock.

a -

l't; iri ; { ) '', a

t (

rl
? l
r t i

Flow in the vent pipe is sj.milar to th flow in the valve pipe. However in the ven pipq, depending on-the design and operating c-onditions, tl:ere nay be eiiher a secondari flow of air into the vent pipe fron the sui rounding atmosphere, as in-air ejector; no secondary flow; or blowback of itean frorn t vent pipe system into the powerplant. The oDJectrve ot the vent pipe deisgn is to de_ termine the mininum vent- pipe aiea required prevent blowback of steam. Figure 2b depicts the flow field when _ there is a secondary flow from the surround ing atnosphere into the vent pipe.

l '., tl
tt rl I

Downstrearn of the obliqu e i . xs h o c k w a v e , 'm prinary and secondary f1.ows in the cons diameter pipe until at some section the flot are conpletely mixed and the i-ntersecting shocks have reduced the initially supersonir flow to a subsonic f1ow. Depending irn the vent pipe length, the flow at the vent pipe outlet nay be sonic with a static pressuri greater than atnospheric; supersonic if the vent pipe is very short; or subsonic in whir case-the outlet pressure must equal atnosph The limiting condition for no blowback coiresponds to zero secondary flow and a pipe length for which the flow'accelerares ro so conditions at the pipe outlet. At greater lengths the shock system moves upstiean intr the free jet region, the pressurl rises and DIoWDaCK occurs. - -Ear1y analyses of the flow in ejectors and free-jet wind tunnels were based on a o dimensional flow nodel (4,7,13) . While

useful, this model is incapable of providing information on the three-dimensional flow ii the underexpanded jet region, on details oi the nixing of primary and seiondary ffows,and on the statis pressure in the corner region of the valve pipe. The developrnent of methods r the analy-.is of three_ij.men_ sional, supersonic, compressible flows con_ t a i n i n g s h o c k w a v e s c o u p 1 e , . iw i t h i n c r e a s e d digital.computer capacitl, and speed has resulted in nore preci.se deterninations of the flow clraracteristics for these devices. This-approach has been successfuliy apptied to free.j."tt. (8,10)., ejectors (14_iO)'i"O ducts uith abrupt changes in.iorr_section progress has also been t9J: made irr deter_ mining the static pressure in the corner region at an abrupt change in flow area (i;,18). E r n p h a s i - si n t h e c i t e d s t u d i e s w a s o n . the underexpandedjet portion between the primary jet exit pLane - the valve orifice or.the valve pipe exit in the present case _ and the vici.nity of the intersbction of the jet boundary and the pipe wa11. The sub_ sequent flow containing shock-shock and shock-wall interactioni appears to have been only investigated experi"mentally (6,17). Due to the possibility of two_phase ttoH and condensation shocks when the steam is initially close to saturation conditioni, ' the-flow in powerplant safety valve piping is far more complex than flow in the- freel jets, ejectors and other fluid devices on t-!e preceding discussj.on was based. Ilri.l ffe ajfficulty of anaLyzing this pr-ob1em, aaa the time and cost required--to devLLop suit_ able computer programs has left the power_ plant designer wi.th.essentially the benjamin tnethod (3) developed over thirty y.ors ago. Although still one-di.mensional,' tire anal!sis and results discussed in the fottowJ,,g,"i_tions will extend the power plant designer,s knowledge_ of thi.s compiex flow problem and present the data j.n a simpJ.e, eisily useable fo rn. FLOW AN.ALYS IS

I = ((U * I)/2t)

f i " n( A * 1 , , A . 1

(1)

In deriving equation (1), conserr.ation of mass and e^nergy and the equation of state ror.a pertect gas were used. The -e1ocit1, ratio A is the ratio of the fluid .elocitito the crlti.cal soni.c velocitv attained bi. i s e n t r o p i c e x p a n si o n f r o m t h e l o c a l s t a g n a _ tion state. Alternatiyelv, Mach \umber !,t can be used; however the equivalent expression. is nore compJex. in ad'dition. the ranpt, oi_,{ is, narrorii.e., O < ^ S if V*tl/' ' ( y - 1) ) compared to the range of trt i. e. , 0 < lt 3 co. Apnlying equation (1) between the inlet section 1 and section 3 where the primarl. and secondary flows are completel\. mixed r e s u l t s i n t h e m o n e n t u mc o n s e r v a t i o n e q u a t i o n ,

(rn + m

.l

r I I

. )a- Ga = fr

rt

Gl

+ o fi

rr

*rr

Gt .

(2)
'

ll *lich the primary flow is denoted by a srngte prrme and the secondary flow bv a double prime and

c = A + 1/A

(3)

Equation (2) assumescontinuity of static pressure across the boundary between primary and secondary f1ows, although the average pressures may di ifer widely; the isentropic exponent is the same for the primary and secondary flow; and wa11 friction for the secondary flow is negligible. The mixed flow stagnation ternperature can be expressed in terns of the piinary and secondary stagnation ternperatures, using conservat j.on of energy, as, {m
.'t

l :" )
i

f
') tn
D

+ m } -l 0 3 = m T O

'tr -

".

, 3t + n

'

"

1O = T n "/ T n ' , u in," = Cl +

I

(:l

retting A = il"/fi' and t? Dlnlng equations results

F.

and com(s)

lfl

)(i

* pt")J

1,

,.j

/JtGr

Kno_r^'ing the steam tenperature ups trean of the s a f e t , v t ' a 1 v e T n r a n d t h e a m b i e n i t " - . o r r t r r" rp ;i;" Figure lb is the general nodel used to T0" d; fines t.' In the case o f the ;,;ii; analyze flow in the valve pipe and vent = r corresponding to sonii i";;i i;";;'';i .A1 pipe. The flow characteriitlcs are as the-\'alve orifice; in the case of the vent described pipe, Although A', )1 and is determi.n"d b, th" _in, the _preceding section. mixing and flow deceleration o c c u r s i . m u l_ valve pipe analysis. A i can then be detet.taneousll', this analysis assumes that the nllled, trorn equation (5) ds a function of primary' and secondary flows first mix to : Ar 1 for snecified r.alues of ) 0 f yreld a uniform supersonic flow. However, equation (5) has two solrrtions Thi.s is t-(_,!. folloried by deceleration through the oblique A ; the supersonj.c solution which corresshock system r,.hich is replaced i.n the ana_' ponds to conditions upstrean of the norm:,1 lytical nodel by a normal shock - the p-seudo_ shock and the subsoni.c soli-rtion which corshock creared bv Crocco (19). lr'hi1e these resnonds to conditions downstream of tl-re phenomena mav actual 1y require many pipe nornal shock. These are qir.en 1.r,. d i a n e t e r > 1 , 1 9 , . 3 0, . 1i f n o t t h e e n t i r e - p i p e , tor cornpletion it is assumedthat ti,ey ".6 - ((cs/z1l11': A: = (.c3/2) (6j c o m p l e t e d h . i t h i n a s m a l1 f r a c t i o n o f i n e t pipe length. r . / 1 r = ( ) ; t((G\/lr--l)' 'r'-' (:) C o n s i . . lr-i n g t h e v e n t j r l p e f i r s t , the . i r n p u l s e 'i : u n c t i o n , I = i r A + i l \ . c a n b e e x p r e s s e Ja s ( l i l it follorvs frorn equations {6) and [-l that the prodLrct of the sub- and supersonic valrresof A - equals 1.

The ratio of the pipe area to the primarv flow area at section 1 is deter_ mined fron conservation of nass in the forrn

Substituting equation sirnplif,ving vields,

I I

(11)

for

( o( _1) and

' i , = 6 ( J / ( X + 1 ))

''.t[Po/ao) ,A G- (( { -r) /
(B)

(U*r))A2l'''tr-1)
w h er e ,

rt rr 11/Ft -1/F" ) + (7/Fr _L/F)X 1t t/p.)=0 (17) . J n n l l ' i n ee q u a t i o n f 1 ) b e t w e e n s e c t i o n s l and 3 a n d n e g l e c t i n g r v a 1 1f r i c t i o n f o r t h e s e c o n d a r yf l o w r e s u l t s i n ,

ao = t V nro)l
Letting

(e)

( t r - C , ; * ( C r- G z ) / t = 0

t t

r r

r18)

F = A ( t - ( V - 1 )A t / ( V * t ) ) r / t V - t )

F i n a l l y , . u Si n g e q u a t i o n ( l S ) t o e l i m i n a t e tne proltuct P t in equation (17) gir.es,

(ro)

and,p = Po"/Pn', "ld applying equation (g) bgth leads lo _ p Y i r n a Y ya n d s e t o n d a r | f i o r , to the following equation from which the vent pipe area ratio o( =Ar/A', can be determined,

" ( c 1 ' - G l )' / ( r / r r ' - t / F 2 ) = p ( G r -"."-) / (r/Ft -1/F2")

{'r9)

t t = ( 4 - t t or r ' u t n j
(

(11)

i1
1t-

The value of fL/^D, corresponding to the limiting condition of Sonic flow at fhe vent pipe exit and A -calculated using equation ( 6 ) i s d e t e r r n i n e d 'a frorn the frictioi, equa_ tion for flow in long pipes (ZI).

Thi.s equation can be nurneri.al ly sol-r,ed for "t in terms , oI for a giu"n combina_ A l , ' A r , _ . tion'of.p, and. in" vent prpe li area ratio is ttren obtainGa from equatibn' [16) and the secondary to prirnary flow ratio obtained from equaiion itty given t. 1r

t!
y .

ti

tl

fL/D3 = (( U +I)/z Y )( 1n ,\ 2

. )2 * r /
(12) ( 1 0 )v e nt and must be

As -i;

A sati.sfactory, simpler solution ass,rmes _inconpressible secondary- flow at section 1. ( 1 9 ) then reduces to a quadratic ,ftri,uation equation for A't . Fi-gure J shows the results using this approach for p = 0.0S. From the curves = 1,0.'5 and 0.1 A", for the sonic l irni t i"s seefr to be a lower t init

(r

ti
at-

A 1t h o u g _ h e q u a t i o n s ( S ) , (6) and . are sultlclent l\t) to determine the pipe area for given values of L, Al there are physical limits ,U, "fri.l., considered in their appl ication.

3,0

s' i
F

lr. I t, a 4

. t
. a I t ',c i I ',

,t

The first Limit corresponds to sonic at section 2 in the secondary f1ow. y:lo.j-ty This will be referred to as the tsecondary flow sonic 1initr.. The supersonic primary flow area is a maxinum at iection 2-whereas the subsonic secondary flow area is a mini_ mum. The flow conditions at section 2 are more difficult to deternine than those at section I since neither the prirnary nor secondary velocities or flow areas are known. assuming no mixing of primary and 1 ? 1 : " : r , s-econdary flows and therefore iientropic flow between sections 1 and 2, conservation yields for the primary and secondary ?,f^.Tlts

\
I 1-' .
r z f

\\ ; ;

u//,,,'
/ ^t?

1.0

r, 'a I

u,402

0.01 RATI(J OFSECO,]DARY TCPRI::AiY FLO]I

0,1

A2 /Ar = Fr/Fz Az /At = Fr /F2

As the vent pipe area is
l.t t t ,'
tt tt t, ,r

(13) (14)
Fig. 3

SecondaryFlow Sonic Linit

constant,

At

*A1

=AZ

*AZ

_-A3

V= 1.3, t = 2/3, p = 0.05 (1S) on the vent pipe area ratio e(for a qiven value of secondary to primary flow ritio l,l : at larger values of s( , A "" r r n c r e a s e st o 1 . 5 i n F i g u r e 3 i a s n a l l e r area ratio and therefore a smaller increase in primary flow velocity i{ required to accelerate the secondary flw to sonic condi_ tions at section 2

Yt1"e equations (iJ) and (14) to eliminate AZ' and A," in equation (11) leads to, ( d -1) = .1 1 F r /' F r ' ) ) / ( ( r . ' / (16)

F2 ) -1)

Once o( has been calculated from equa. tions (5) , (6) and (10) - (12) for specified values of L, A ., and fl , Figure i can be used to estinat6 A "r, the secondary flow velocity ratio at section 2. For the r2noc

of o< and l'r .o"ria"i"o-i;";;in,,,t."'^-<'i"""r

and therefore the tsecondary flow Sonic limitr is not reached. Figure 3 is inapplicable = 0. to the stean blowback limit, /

The most interest.ing 1imit originates from the thernodynamic requirement that the entropy cannot decrease in the direction of f1ow. This therrnodynamic limit, initially studied by Hernann (4), can be expressed i-n terms of the difference between the mixture entropy upstream of the normal shock at section 3' and the sum of the entropies of the primary and secondary flows at section i. For an i-dea1 gas, the entropy is expressed as,

it follows that A this is . S I/ A',; approximate since, ds equatioh (5)shows. lr '1 has an effect. The nininum value'of A i, determined by the mpximumvalue of A- n .d .r ,mal = (( U *l) / ( V -1) )-' upstream of the shock which corresponds to an infinite Mach Number.,_Thus A y -f.; S 1/ A . ., or A . I (( TLese'1i*it, /,(-'*I))4. ploduce litrlits to fLlD. in accordance with equation (lZ), In particular, = 0.3612 for a minimum .A = i . 3 r e s u l t s i n a m a x i m u.r df l , / D , - 4 . 0 9 6 . t This limit is, l,owever, bevond ihe range of interest in Fiqures 5- 7 where the abscissa is = o1 !,( fllr3) SY/Dt . TERO SECONDARY FLOW The case of zero secondary flow corresponds both to the I imitinq ."=" for no blowback, given the vent pipe length and pressure ratio p, and to the flow in the valve Pipe. Setting / = 0 in the equations in the preceding section gives the equations applicable to this case. Thus the nomentum and thermodynamic linit equations reduce to, after dropping the superscripts.

AS/R = (/ / (..-r1) .l,tT0 Thus,

. - .P 0

(:0)

(fi' + fi")( A s/R)3, )

m" ( A
r ll

i n '( a s Z n ) ' r + ( 2r)

equation (20) and

S/R),

G: = G1 + o(F3'lFl)

( o( -1) 1

p/Ft

( 2s )
( ?6 )

or, after substituting sinplifying,

) t )

- o * l L ) ( ! ' ^ ( p 0 3 , / p ' 6 ) ( r o r t t 'Y o/t(- Y - 1 ) ) . / u h n { o t - zv / ( v - t ) t ) o (zz)

Substituting equation (6) into nass conservation bet-weensections 1 and 3t, ie fi, = (1* /l )frr', results in

+
)
t-

P0 jrlP'01 = (I*

(To l L ) f r , Ur r ' ) 3/T'd\O/

n) (23)

In the vent p ipe case gi ven ,A . and f L/D_ , which determines A . frorn equdtion (iZ) i equatio-n (25) uniquely determines ( 4 -ij p" For o( > l, A . < 1/ A r i.., the flow accelerates betwden secti6ns I and 3r. However, it should be noted that since fLlD- for the vent duct-depends on D. a.rd thereford o(, the solution i-s iterati.ve.' The thermodynamic limi-t, equati.on (26) must be check.d fo, each solution of equation (25). In the valve pj.pe case, the area ratioB is generally known or can be deduced fron the valve manufacturer t s 1i.terature. The unknown quantities in equation (25) are the static pressure in the corner, which determines p and the velocity at section 3 in the valve pipe. Either experimental data or a rnultidimensiona1 analysj-s is required to determine the corner pressure, P o i n F i g u r e l b . . A , st l , e v a l v e pipe is rnuch short8r than the vent pipe, the velocity changes prinarily due to the- oblique shock_systen. The minimurnvalve pipe outlet velocity is the sonic velocity. Thb maximurn yelggity is the supersonic velocity at section 2 which corresponds to the super,sonic solution of equation (25) in the forn

Fromequation (4) , the total ratio is,

temperature

/'

r03/r

= (I* !t')

/ ( t +/ L )

( 24 )

Thus each solution of equation (5) must satisfy the inequality expressed by equation (Z?). For each value of fL/D. this thernodynanic tirnit imposes an uppei limit on the al1owab1e pressure ratio p for a physically realizable f1ow. In the actual flow where prirnary and secondary flow lnixing and shock interactions occur simultaneously and not in series as assumedin this mode1. + ] . ; ^ - i + ^ . , - ^ . Lnr.s1 t li . m r r *m ay n or exist at all. This possibiiity depends on a more detailed analysis for evaluation. Other 1imits include a vent pipe outlet Pressure greater than atmospheric pressure, which is consistent with the assumption ofsonic veloci.ty at this section. Fina11y,

Gs = 2 * (2/[ Y *1)) ( p -1) PrlP, = Go (27)

I n e q u at i o n ( 2 7 ) = 1, PB/P' = (PBlp'l)(1 '\ - ( f -D 1 A 12/ ( / 1 ) ({* t)).''/ a n dp i s t h e r a t i o o f pipe o:itlet area to valve ori fice area, X"trl" 'From equati-on 8, the ratio of the stagnation pressure at the valve pipe outlet to the iq stagnation pressure at the valve p.ifiee

a, ::il:.?::.':?':;"':":l:,":i::il' ;f,:'" n a x i m u mv a l u e o f A , c o r r e s p o n d s t o n o

primary flow accelerdtion beiween sections I a n d2 . A s A = 1 andAj') 4,, : A3'

7 ./

V
l

,t
i3 ;i;
t

Fu + -

' l )

ut

r 1l

l .

,r F t / F . ,

allJl

a: t5 :

t:
t

If soni.cconditions cxist at both scction-., the stagnation ltressure ratio i-s sinn1.,. thc invcr..c oi- the lrel rtl io. R i : : UL T s F i g u r e . . .J - 7 i l l u s t r a t c the efl.ect ot' t h c m aj o r p . l r a m e t e r s o n t h e m i n i m u m , " . e n t pipe area ratio o( for no steirn blouback. lhc inrtial I'elocitr' 3n6 stagniltlon Dressrrre at scction I of the vent pipe in Figrrre 1 d c p e n d o n t h e s t a g n : r tj o n o r e s s u r e a i t h c valr'e orificc and thc geometr)'o1- the t-alr-c. 'lhis prpe. i s - s h o w ni n F i g u r e J . The variation of the ratio of corner pressure to

equation llSl. As i-,,r/[.,,,( l, thc ir:relsc. in thr' fl,_-ri'_liiict i-n.

entrlrp\

I'
J

For this one--incnsion;il ,lnalr-slsthe v a i v e t r j p c o r r t l e t r - , , ' l c c i t . , - ,L , c t u i t it o t h c vent pipe inlet r-eiocitr', :an onlr.fs .11.i.-an r ; . . : , 1r , i t h , i n l i m i t s , eg for tire .ussr.rne!i corncr l)rcssrrrr'data, i S A , S i.-. i'hr. I-1rL'ssrrru e i i o p i s t l - r er a t i o ' o f tne.ie.or_' 1 o / ' s t i l ,tnittion llessLirc I'.," to thf ar-; ; ; r i m a r v [ 1 o r i s t . l r n a t ] o n D r e s s L r r cp , , r l r t i ] i c \ - ' e n tp L t e i n l e t ; thus ? = I t t ) " /I " 0 = [ P " 0 , / l ' f ] l ( P , . , I ' 0 t r = i i r " , , , / p ^ l j f 1,,

Por/l'oJ)

f:!))

.:
O F

T o a g o o d a p p r o x i p ; 1 1 . r r . ^ P , . , . ,, is t h c : :t e a n pres-sure upstream of the i;d1r.eorifice and P.," is atmospheric pressure. Fisure 5 is an example o f the princi nal design data, calculated from equations fl5l and (Jb) r..l.rjch correspond to the limitinq case of:ero secondarv florr and the pine length that produces son.ii flo,, at the v-ent pipe outlet. l'l'.e data i.s for s r ).,theated

(, ,
t'.

:-.: -

lt !.

t! tl

t0

(
17
J -

j
O

t:\ t "
a 1 . l m l r l l t ' t.

q V/,LV r

6 , , , r - , rtrl / t i 1 0Q

--

Il

Fig. 1

(-orner Prpssrrrc VeloCitv And stugnetion Pressure Ratio as Functions o f Valr-e Pipe Area Ratio

!l ,l

Ar - '
\ l

statj.c pressure j.n the flow Po/P, is based on the analysis by Xorst, Cho# afrd lum'.'a._t (i3); the dotted line is an extrapolation of their data. T h e m a x i m u mv e l o c i t v A = A r = A l, corresponding to Lmpingerrentof the flow'on the valve pipe wa11 near tlie pipe outlet, was calculated from equation (17) and plotted in Figure 4. It approaches a constant at Large ratios of valve pi.pe outlet to valve ori.fice area: for the assumed corner pressure data the naximun value of T h e m i n i . m u mv e l o c i t y A is about 1.7. corre-sponds to sonic conditi.ons at the outlet, A=1.. T!g rtagnation pressure ra-tio pO+/FOf shown i,n Figure 4 was calculated fron

0
f udi.
F i o q

Effect of Pressure Ratio T i m i t i_ n o -l ' r e : R e t r g . . 6

on the

Y= 1.3,#=0, Att = r
ste3n and sonic flow at the vent pipe in1et. For each value of the product of friction and the ratio of vent pipe length to the diameter
nf tLhr e rl

there exi sts a maximurp nressure ratio p corrpsnnndino

m l l li fn l lccd u fI r l n Um Ill

nrimerv Pt LtttaI)

fI ' ll U h

dL

-L^ llls

--^-r VglrL

-:na PryL

inlot

tn

fhe

fhslmgdvnamiC
/ a ' \ !-U./ - ' - i U>1lr}<

limit
! L trlu

deterc ri X . r nr . r

e tn{ rurdaLf l Ui l l^ q

ay . r u u !arr l

For e:ch nressrrre ratio at or bclow this is a ninimun maxinum pressiir- rali,o,ihere area ratio below which steam blowback occurs. As an exanple, for a valve pipe area ratio p of 10, sonic flow at the valve pipe outlet ahd a stagnation pressure Pn., of 3000 psia ( 2 . 0 7 x 1 0 / P a )a t t h e v a l v e o i i f i c e , p = 10(15/3000) = 0.05. Thus, assuming fL/D' 1 = 4, Figure 5 shows that the mi-ninun is about 7.45. area iatio The yent pipe area ratio
n ine H ^ F i n l e t

a n d a s p e c i f i e d P n . , ' ,p r o v i d e s a c o n s e r v a t i v e area ratio for thE'vent pipe since, for larger values of A t1 and correspondingly low6r values of p, tfie mininum vent pipe area ratio is 1ess. Fisure 7 shows the effect of vent pipe and length on the secondary mass area raiio '1 = 1. In the flou for p = 0.05 and A

qe11pc^^nJi-^
from data suCh

t o t h e r n a x i m uv ni r u J ^ " i f l - ; - " ; - i h ; ' ; ; ; ; ' " "

inIpt
y e l n e

c2n he
i

deterrnined

as shown in

Figure t -w ^ 1 t , _ :

6. Here, the effect of a glven pressure ratlo,

F

= = = := ::

s:i 6

I :
J

=_
o

;
t:
J

; -

il

) t ) t ) t"

f L/Dt' 2 Fig. 7 E f f e c t o f S ' ; c cn d a r Y F l o w o n Area Ratio 1 . 5 , P 0 " , / P 0 ' = 0 . 0 5, \ 1 ' = 1

f izul'
Fig. 6 Effect Ratio of Initial Velocity on Area

Y=

|t =o
P; /P'o =0.05

,, X r = r . 7 , P ' ;/ P ' o = o . o r 8 s 7
o n t h e m i n i m u mv e n t p i p e a r e a r a t l o is shown. The thermodynamiclimit imposes an upper bound on the inj.tial velocity for a specified value of fL/D1.. The maximumal.lowable value of A . as a ffinction of A t, results in the lowei limit on fL/D -t . s" h-o w n ' i n F i s r r r p I 6. From Figure q, A'l = 7 . 7 a n d P i < . / P t , 0.1 75 fo1 B = I0; thus for Pr,' = 5-Cl psra (2.07x10' Pr,), p= (15/3000) /t).175 = O.-OZSSi. Fron the dot ted I ine for A'r -- I .7 and p = U.02851 in Figure 5, the rnininurnarea ratio = 4 is 4.9. for fllDi Assurning l',

of the # =0 curve, steam region to the right In the a:gion to the left blSwback occurs. secondary flow of air curve, a of the ll=0 the vent into is induced from the power plant o s . 1 L , / D t1 , v a l u e c b n s t a n i a o r T h u s f , ;ip;. increases inireasing the vent pipe.area Ia!io for SimiI?tIy, the secondary mass flow / . a constant o( , decreasjng fL/Dr 1 increases AssurninR a value of ll > O for the vent U . oipe design piovides a design margin for the calculated as described r'"nt pip"-'ar'ea ratio h er e i n . SATUMTED STEAM The equations for deterrnining the mi'niare based on the mumlrent pipe area ratio assumpti.on lhat stearn behaves as a perfect an isentropic pas. in the calculations, 1.3 in the superheated case Exponent Vof case was assurned. "n'd 1.1 in the saturated is relativel,v .\lthoush the area ratio

./

7
I

!r
::
l i I

the thcrnodl'namiciirqit inseirsitir,,eto U, strongll'dependson X. l h c l - 1 o r oa n a 1 1 ' s i s f o r s a t u r a t c d s t c r t m i s morc conpler t'.an for superheated steam due to non-cqriii.ibrium effects ari ing fronr thc existencc of two phases - vallor and l iquid I t i s g c n e r a l l v a s s t t m c Jt h a t t h e droplets. l i q u i d a n d . . . a p o rt L - m p e r a t u r e s a n d v e l o c i t i e s l r c t h c - s a m c ; t h e r e F o r e n o n - e q u j l.i b r i u m effects arc confined to thc changing vapor 3s stean condenses or and l iqrrid rna-*ses the liqtrid ilroplets v3pori:e r'ith the corrcsponding conversion of lrtent and sensible heats. I n t h c c a s e o t ' n o : : l e 1 ' 1 o i i s ,f o r and experimental inforwhich nost analytical mation is available f:l-11j, non-equilibrium results in supersaturation of the vapor, fo1Lowed bv rapid condensation and latent heat referred to as release at a discontinuity the condensation shock (23) . T'. one-dinensional florr' equations including a phase change require, in addition to the perfect gas equation, and rnass, momentuna r nd energy conservittion equat ions, . -n Lt i l ^ , 'u i .l l o m c s s c a n r n o n r r r f i n n f n. m. . 'w chn + rn e ll ;r^ q . .r be determined as a function of the fi.ow In the non-equilibrium conparaneters. densing flow case, this is an equation for the rate of fornation of liquid droplets. If the phases are assuned to be in thermo.ivn:rmie e n r r il i h r i r : m t h e e o t t ; r t i n n i S t h e Clausius-Clapeyron equation relating saturation pressure and tempcrature fZ:). In addition to an incrcase in the nurnbcr of equations to be solved, the speed cf sound, l l a c h , r " u m b e r ,d e p e n d o n n o n and therefore i f the flow is in equi Librium cffects. equilibri.urn, an equilibrium sound speed can b e d e f i n e d b a s e d o n a h o m o g e n e o u sn i x t u r e At the other extreme, of vapor and 1iquid. t hc I iquid droplets hehaveas inerl psrticles end the vapor properties alone determine the speed of sound. step toward evaluating twoAs a first phase florv in the vent pipe a few equiliwere made brium flori vent pipe calculations for saturated steam r.rsingthe.{SltlE stean tables (151. This r^asaccomplished b-v e x p r e s s i n g t h e n a s s , m o m e n t u ma n d e n e r g l ' conser\-irtion equations in their ntost basic fornr and using the stean tables to deterrnine thc relationship between enthalp.', entropy'
u ( ' l l > l L \ ,

'fhus ccnimpulse function, equation (1i. sidering the va1"c'nipe the load cr thrust i'. p a r u 1 1 e 1t o i t s r t r i : . i s s i n P l r ' lr = Il I-,1" 1-1 i - ' ) nI

I' {,

r'ilere the sr-rbscritlts rc l-cr to thc valr'e pille is the iorcc T h r - p r o - iu c t l ' , , " l , in FigLrre 1. at the lolier end .rf ihc vrrlile pipc in the usual case il'here thcrc is an elbo, ir'nediatcIn the 1r' downstream oi the valr'e ori f-ice. oi r . " n t p i p e c a s e , t i ' . t et o t h e p c s s i b i l i t v bends in the Piirc, the velrres of I at the i n l e t a n d o t r tl e t n u s t b r ' r c s o l v e d i n t o t h e ' r I'he tiifcomponents along coorilinatc axes. aionc the r-:rris, fcrences,e.q., I'.-T-.. a r e t h e c o r r e s p o n d i n g - t o a , ls o n t h e s u p p o r t . In addi.tion to these forces , moments are al so As the r;alue of A I and therefore produced. the lirniting i,r depends on the pipe lengthl '.-i1ue-ofA rt that maxirnizes I1 should be u s e d i . n d e s i g n i n g t h e s u P P ' ., t . LE E X.:lUP As an appl ication con-sider a superheater Fsllowinqconditions: o f the Preceding, safetl'va1\:e for the

(, ( (/

r) '0i T6 rated i
\a1\'e :r:e

2800 psia(1.930x10 Pa absJ 1 0 0 0 0 t( 5 . 1 7 . 8 0 c ) 3 5 0 , 0 0 0 1 b , / h rf l . 5 i i S \ 10 5 k g / h ) 6" sch 10 (15.J0 cm') (18tr.-l cnll

J?
(.
,I b

6.065 in I.D, ( A r Jv a l v e= A l ) r , e n t 1 3 . 9 i n l

aI t,

lt\

S i n c e t h e A S I { Ev a l v e r a t i n g i - s 9 0 - q o f capacity, the design flow r'i11 be increased For calculation purposes, to fu11 capacitr'. t h e v e n t p i p e w i I t b e s S S U m e dt o b e 5 0 f t ' Uesign data are: long. d isupqrheated s t e a n r l1 . 3

. l
r i l) t
r t l ( l t . i

m=1.11 (rated ml L u0 (eq 9)

91b/se( c1 3 . 9 1k g / s ) 107. 50 ft ( 1 5 . 1 ' 1m )

m/st ll90 ftz'sec(698

be perforrned for The calcr.rlation riill 1'1, lrnd 1b a s s r . r m ev de n t p i p e s i : e s o f l l , inches standard r'ej.cht.

r.-

;+

L s l l l P s l d L u r !

t r r r e

a rnr u d o

n y

r c s s l l r e-

i i m i t-

ed nunber of hand calculations was made for stagnasaturated steam at one valve orifice tion pressure; the results indicated that the rninimun vent pipe area ratio was smaller i.n the real gas case than in the ideal gas However, nore extensive computerized case. that are required to verify calculations the ideal gas approach yields conservative area ratj-os over the range of saturated stean conditlons of i ,terest in power plants. LOADS STRUCTURAL loads are applied Structural -"--^- L) aJ d and r nt n es r u rp l uJ > u P P U l v r L ro t L y ri l /n e r
d r r u

to the valve gsu1t of I

of thg

tr r hr a q

,L r rh dr r rn Bo L

ir n m r|Itq Sa r ro n i t r t d e

and

di rection

l-c

i-,
: ,
Venf nine si-e
J r ! L t

inches

I2 (cm) 1 2 . 0( 5 0 . 4 8 ) tl5.1(i19.7) 3.91 0.0130 0.648 0.604 0.6:' Z.o l.lb0 0.163 3.t0(2-i.2) 6.018 0.1116 0.005t5 0.0lli 4.87

14

16

Inside diameter,

Flowarea, AO in Vent pipe area ratio , ot =AO/A, f for ful 1 turbulence rt/Ds A , ( e O . 1 2 , s u b - s o n i cs o l u t i o n ) Fr(eC.lO) =1) G r ( e q . 3 ,A r ( e Q . 3 ) G. ('ct-t)p (eq.lS) a 1 V a l v eo r i f i c e a r e a A r I e q . 8 ) , i n - ( c m ' ) =A4/AI Vaivepipe area ratio, e eQ.3S,F,=F*) P o + / P o( 1 P"/t01 p (eq.29) ol

tntn"s ? " a( c r n ' )

7 3 . 2 s ( 5 3 . 6 s ) 1 s . 2 s ( 3 87 . 4) 137.9(889.7) 182,6(117 . l8 4.77 0.0128 0.530 0.618

n A ' -

6.51 0.0125 0.493 0 .65 8

n 6 1 -

t:

t.0 2.236 0.14E 3.60(23.2) 8.028 0.1146 0.00525 0.0411 4.52 1.618 0.402 1.90
RE FE RENCE S l.

1.0 :.205 0.118 5 . 6 0 r 2 33 .l 8.018 0.1246 0.0052s 0 . 0 , l1i 4.04 1.567 0.133 l.?9

)s'=t/As
Fj' (eq.lo) o( F-'lFl \

r.6s6
0.s;9 2.95

t t
)

A11 vent pipe sizes satisfy the thermo. dynamic limit since, in all three cases, o( F3'lFl )- 1. Comparing the calculated values of o(r's. A3/A1 for the assumed pipe size, the 14 inch vent pipe is the smallcst vent pipe with adequate flow area to preclude bl.owback. Therefore, the 14 inch llipe would be selected. C O N C L UI S ONS Tl.e proposed vent pipe analysis provides a simple, convenient design method that is consistent with modern fluid dynamics. However, a one-dimensional analysis of the /' vent pipe system has certain lirnitations. A nulti-dimensional in conjunction analysis, with experinental data to correlate the results, could provide the basis for estab1 i s h i n g d e si g n m a r g i n s . These would then b e a p p l i .e d t o t h e o n e - d i m e n s i o n a l a n a l y s i s results in the design of a safety valve piping system. Until such data becones available careful judgment must be exercised in applying the one-dimensional procedures. the writers Aftcr comnletino thi c n:ncr becamea'''are of a similar analysis by Liao (26) for flow in a s afety valve s1'stem. A brie f review indicates that Liao combines
Tp2l :ny' nerfpel' oas relationshins in the

+
: )
f*
a

ANSI 831.1 Appendix C - Proposed Case on Non-Mandatorl' Rules for the Design of American Safety Valve Installations, Society of Mechanical Engineers. Vent Piping for Benjamin, M.l{., "Si:ing Safety Valves", Heating, Piping G Air Conditioninq, Vo1. 13, No. 10, October 1941, pp. 615-619.

.1 .

and Space Gothert, B.H. , "lligh Altitude Arnerican Rocket Simulation Testing", Societl' Journal , Vo1. 32, No. 6, June 1962 p p . 8 7 2 - 8 8 2. of FreeHermann, R. , "Di ffuser Efficiency Jet Supersonic l{ind Tunnels at Variable Test Chamber PressLlre", Journal of the Aeronautical Sciences, tol. 19, No. 6, June 1952, pp. 375-384. German, R.C., Bauer, R.C., and Panesci, J.H., "Methods for Determining the Per{-nrmenec n f F i e c t o r - D i f f u s e r S v c t e m c r ,' Journal of Spacecraft, \'ol. 3, No. 2, FehrrrervI Q66 nn. i93-100.
) L ' ' " ' Y Y

4.

5.

6.

saturated stean case, uses one-dj-nensional equations based on Mach Nurnber rather than
rv 'r l^u 1 ^^i+.. L
I L Y

-^.;I d L

I U ,

d l t u

^rrl

e nreqqFs ! _r \ P

thc

blowback

Batson, J. L., "A Studr of the Flow Field Produced bv an Axisl'mmetric Underexpanded Tube, Jet Exhaustlng into a Cvlindrical phn ni ssprt:tionthe University of Texas at Austin, December, 19-:. "Supersonic Fabri, J. and Siestrunck, R., i n A p p lied Advances Air Ejectors", Mechanics, Dryden, H.L. and von Karman, T.,eds., Academic Press, New York, 1958, pp. 1-18.

criterion in terms of the nomenta at Pipe sections 1 and 2 in Figure 1.

Yent l.

tL

8.

Abbett, M. "The Mach Disc in Underexpanded Exhaust Plumes". American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Paper No. 70-23I. C r i s t , S . , S h e r m a n ,P . M . a n d G 1 a s s , D . R . , "Studies of the Highly Underexpanded Sonic Jet'', American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics JournaI, Vo1. 4, \o. 1 January 1966, pp.68-:1. "Mach Relfections, Mach Disc, and the Associated Nozzle Free Jet F1ows, P h D T h e si s , Illinois Universitl', 191i.

31 , Hoge, H.J. , "Neh' Tables for Aj,r Flow" , U.S, Armv Pioneering Research Laboratory Technical Report 70-50-PR, March 1970. 1 3 . M a r b l e , F . 8 . , " S o m e G a s d v n a m i cP r o b 1 r m , . in the Flow of Condensing Vapors", Astronautics Acta, Vo1. 14, 1969, pp. 585-611. 33. Wegener, P.P. and Mack, L.M. , "Condensat i o n i n S r r n e r s o n ic a n d H v o e r s o n i c W i n d Tunne1s", ACvancesin Applied Mechanics, Dryden, H.L. and von Karman, Th. (eds), Vo1. 5 Academic Press, Inc., New York, 1958,pp.307-447. J 4 . W e g e n e r , P . P - , " G a s d y n a m i c so I E x p a n s i o n Flows with Condensation, and Hornogeneous Nucleation of lVater Vapor", Nonequilibriurn F1ows, Wegener, P. P. r'ed), Marcel Dekker, New York, 1969, pp. 763-243. 2 5 . M e y e r , C . A . e t a 1 , T h e r m o d y n a r n i ca n d Transnort PronPrf i es o f Stc:m. The American Society of Mechanical Engineers, N e w Y o r k , 1 . 9 6 7. ZJ. tiao, G.S", "Analysis of Power Plant Safety and Relief Valve Vent Stacks", A S M E P a p e r N o . 7 4 - W A / P w r - 3, I 9 7 4 "

2 :

9.

1 0 . Chang, I.,

1 1 . Shapiro, A.H.,

"Compressible Fluid F1ow", Vo1. 1, Ronald Press, NewYork, 1953, pp. I62-778.

f2-

Crocco, L., "One-Dimensional Treatment of Steady Gas Dynamics", Fundamentals o f G a s D y n a n i c s , E n m o n s ,H . W . , e d . , Princeton University Press, princeton, 1958, pp" I92-205. Crocco, L. "One Dimensional Treatnent of Steady Gas Dynamics", Fundamentals of G a s D y n a r n i c s , E m m o n s ,H . W . e d . , P r i n c e t o n University Press, Princeton, 1958, pp.
- 1 ) - ) O 7

(, ,a (1

13.

t/
l' !(

14.

(
n b a l ,

Chow, W.L. and Addy, A.L., "fnteraction Between Primary and Secondary Streams of Supersoni.c Ejector Systens and Their Parformance Characteristicsr', Anerican Institute of Aeronautica and Astronauti.cs Journal, Vo1. 2 No. 4, April 1964, pp. 686-695, Anderson, G.H., "C omputer Program for Calculating the Flow Field of Supersonic E j e c t o r N o z z l e s " , N A S AT N D - 7 6 0 2 , A p r i l
I q 7J

15.

. 1 li) r' l 'rt I

16. Anderson, B.H., "Assessnent of an Analytical Procedure for Predicting Supersonic Ejector Nozzle Perforrnance, NASA TN D 7601, April 1974. 17. Wick, R.S. , "The Effect of Boundary Layer on Sonlc Flow Through an Abrupt CrossSectional Area Change", Journal of the Aeronautical Sciences, Vo1. 20, No. 10, 0ctober 1953, pp. 675-682"

rl

l8 .

K o r s t , H . H . , C h o w , W .L . a n d Z u m w a l W. ; t .G. " R e s e a r c h o n T r a n s o n i c a n d S u p e r s o n i, c Flow of a Real Fluid at Abrupt Increases in Cross-Section; University of Illinois ME Techni.cal Report 392-5, December 1959. Crocco, L. , "One-Dimensional Treatment of Steady Gas Dynamics" Fundamentals of Gas Dynamigs, Enmons, H.W. ed., Princeton University Press, Princeton, 1958, pp. 1 1 0- 1 3 0.

I 9.

20. Waltrup, P.J. and Bilfig, F.S., "Structure of Shock Waves in Cylindrical Ducts", American Institute of Aeronauti-cs and Astronautics Journal, Vo1. 11, No. 10, 0ct. I973, pp 1404-1408.

12