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Design and Setting of the Marine Boiler Safety Valve

written by: sureshreddy edited by: Lamar Stonecypher updated: 7/14/2010

Safety valves are fitted to protect the boiler from the effect of over pressure. At least two safety valves are fitted to
each boiler steam drum, but if there is a superheater, another safety valve should be fitted on it.

Introduction: Marine Boiler Safety Valves

The pressure setting of the superheater safety valve should be less that the designed pressure of the boiler, i.e. less
than that of the steam drum safety valve, to ensure flow of steam through the superheater under blow off conditions.
The pressure setting of one steam drum safety valve should be same as the design pressure of the boiler. The
pressure setting of another safety valve should be 2-3 % more than the designed pressure of the boiler.

Classification of Boiler Safety Valves

There are three types of safety valves used in marine boilers:

1. Improved high lift safety valve

2. Full lift safety valve
3. Full bore safety valve

Boiler Safety Valve:

Improved High Lift Safety Valve:

1. Wingless valve improves steam flow and reduces risk of seizure.

2. Waste steam pressure acting on the piston gives increasing valve lift.
3. Special shaped seat deflects steam towards lip on valve and increases
valve lift.
4. The valve lifts, the force to compress the spring increases, so the higher
valve lifts the greater the increasing in boiler pressure.
5. Waste steam pressure keeps cylinder in place while piston moves, also
by having a floating cylinder, seizure risk is reduced.
6. A lip is placed around the valve seat so that when the valve lid lifts,
escaping steam is trapped in the annular space around the valve face, the resultant buildup of pressure acting
upon the greater valve lid area causes the valve to lift sharply. This arrangement gives another advantage to
close the valve cleanly and sharply with very little blow down effect.
7. The improved high lift safety valve makes use of waste steam pressure
to increase the valve lift; this is done by allowing the pressure to act upon the lower spring carrier which fits
within a floating ring so forming in effect a piston. The pressure acts upon this piston causing it to move up,
helping to compress the spring and so increasing the valve lift.
8. Loose fitting key or pad lock is provided to ensure proper closing of
valve.
9. Loose pin is provided to secure valve lid and allow thermal expansion.
10. Adjustment of the valve is carried out by means of a compression nut
screwing down on to the top spring plate.
11. A compression ring is fitted after the final adjustment to ensure no
further movement takes place.
12. A cap is then fitted over the compression nut and the top of the valve
spindle, a cotter is passed through and padlocked to prevent tampering by unauthorized person.
13. Clearance between this cap, the valve spindle and cotter are such as to
prevent the valve being held down externally.
14. Easing gear is fitted so that in the event of an emergency the valve can
be opened by hand to a full lift D to release the boiler pressure.

Valve Area: As = A (1 + Ts / 555)

1. As- Aggregate area through the seating of valve (mm2) for superheated
steam.
2. A-Aggregate area through the seating of valve (mm2) for saturated
steam.
3. Ts- Degree of superheated steam in oC.

15. Valve Area (As) greater than (A) due to specific volume of steam increases with increases of temperature at
constant pressure and more escape area is required to avoid accumulation of pressure.

16. The area of valve chest must be at least (1/2) A.

17. The waste steam pipe and steam passage must be at least 1.1 A.

Manual Hand Trying of Boiler Safety Relief Valve:

To check the proper working condition of the boiler safety valve we carry out the Hand trying out the Boiler Safety
valve" at regular intervals. The safety valve is provided with the easing gear which manually lifts the safety valve and
releases the excess pressure in the boiler. When the easing gear is pulled, the valve will be opened by hand to a full
lift of D to release the boiler pressure. Before carrying out the process the boiler safety valve has to be drained.
 Boiler Safety Valve Drain:

Draining of the boiler safety valve is necessary as to prevent any build-up of water in the pipe line causing head of
water to form over the valve lid so increasing the blow off pressure. So at regular intervals the boiler safety valve
should be drained.

1. Drain pipe must be fitted to the lowest part of the valve chest on the
discharge side of the valve.
2. The pipe should be led clear of the boiler.
3. The pipe must have no valve or cock fitted through its length.
4. The open drain of the pipe should be regularly checked.
5. If the pipe becomes chocked, there is possibility of overloading the
valve due to hydraulic head, or damage due to water hammer.
6. The waste steam pipe of the boiler safety valve should be well secured
so that no load of the pipe is on the safety valve, which can be the cause of additional stress on the valve.

Pressure Setting of the Boiler Safety Valve:

If it is found that the boiler safety relief valve is not lifting at the designed lifting pressure, manual pressure setting of
the boiler safety valve has to be done for the proper and safe operation of the boiler. The adjustment can be carried
out on this type of valve to give the desired discharge and blow down characteristic.

1. Safety valve pressure setting can be done from high to low pressure or
vice versa.
2. Take necessary personal safety precaution and arrange tools i.e.
gagging tool and master gauges.
3. Slowly raise the boiler pressure and blow off the safety valves manually
few times for thermal expansion and to reduce the thermal stress on the valves.
4. Then screw down all the safety valves higher than the setting pressure
at which you are going to set.
5. Raise the boiler steam pressure 2-3 % more than the designed pressure
of the boiler, then stop firing and unscrew the first valve slowly, when it blows off at 2-3 % more than the
designed pressure then note this opening and closing pressure of the valve and finally gag it.
6. Raise the boiler pressure at the designed pressure of the boiler and
unscrew the 2nd valve, when it blows off at designed pressure then note this opening pressure and check the
closing pressure also. Recheck the setting pressure and gag the valve.
7. Then set the superheater safety valve lower than the designed pressure
of the boiler in same procedure.
8. Finally take out the gagging tools. Pressure setting should be done in
presence of surveyor.

Boiler safety valve examination and attention during overhauling ?

 Checked its valve and valve seat for wear, cavity corrosion and any fault.

They should be grounded properly but makers limit must be maintained such as width of
seating, clearance between valve lip and seat.

Valve chest must be cleaned condition and drain line clear.

The spring should be hammer tested for any fracture and check for corrosion. Free length
is limited to 0.5 % of original free length.

The spindle should be hammer tested for any crack and its straightness.

The guide plates and bushes are checked for uneven wear and have sufficient clearance to
allow free movement of spindle.

The compression nut and cover bushs threads are carefully checked it for any sign of
wear and tear.

The easing gear should be checked in good order including bearings, cable pulley,
and connecting links.

Connecting pin should be a free fit in the lid and pin should not bent or pinhole gone out
of shape.

All safety valves are to be set to operate under steam a little above working pressure not
greater than 3% above the approve working pressure of the boiler.

Why safety valve is fitted in two numbers ?

To make sure that the positive discharging of higher steam pressure from boiler
efficiency.

Why fitted in one valve chest ?

To reduce stress by hole on pressure vessel (boiler)

To minimize the numbers of cutting hole on boiler to save its strength.

SAFETY VALVES
At least two safety valves have to be fitted to the boiler. They may be both mounted
on a common manifold with a single connection to the boiler. The safety valve size
must not be less than 38mm in diameter and the area of the valve can be
calculated from the following formula C x A x P = 9.81 x H x E
where
H= Total heating surface in m3
E = Evaporative rate in Kg steam per m2 of heating surface per hour
P = Working pressure of safety valves in MN/m2 absolute
A = Aggregate area through the seating of the valves in mm 2
C = the discharge coefficient whose value depends upon the type of valve.
C=4.8 for ordinary spring loaded valves
C=7.2 for high lift spring loaded valves
C= 9.6 for improved high lift spring loaded valves
C= 19.2 for full lift safety valves
C= 30 for full bore relay operated safety valves

LIFT PRESSURE

The safety v/v must be set at a pressure not exceeding 3% of the approved boiler
working pressure. It is normal to set the suphtr safety below that of the drum to
ensure an adequate flow of stm for cooling purposes under fault conditions.
Similarly the superheater should be set to close last.

10% ACCUMULATION OF PRESSURE RULE.

With all the flames in full firing the stm stop is closed, the boiler pressure must not
increase by more than 10% in 7 minutes for water tube of 15 mins for tank boilers
with the safety lifted. this is normally waivered for superheater boilers. Instead
calculations and previous experience used.

BLOWDOWN

The pressure drop below the lifting pressure for a safety v/v is set at 5% by
regulation although it is more normal to set v/v's at 3% to prevent excessive loss of
stm. For boilers with a superheater it is important that the superheater v/v not only
lifts first but closes last. Adjustement of the blowdown may be necessary following
adjustment of the popping setpoint (Increaseing set point lengthens blowdown).
Adjustment is achieved by altering the height of the 'adjusting guide ring' on the full
lift safety valve design shown below. Over raise adjustment of this ring can lead to
mal-operation with the valve not fully opening

SETTING

Must be set with the surveyor present except when on the waste heat unit. A chief
engineer with three years experience may then set the safety valve but must
submit information to surveyor for issue of certificate.
Superheated steam safety valves should be set as close to operating temperature
as possible as expansion can alter the relationships between valve trim and
guide/nozzle rings which can effect the correct operation of the valve.
 1. Two safety valves- each set independently

2. Each safety valve must release entire steam flow in pressure

accumulation test

3. Surveyor uses specially checked gauge

4. One valve gagged

5. valve initially set to approximately the correct position then steam

pressure increased to set pressure

6. adjust valve to lift

7. raise and lower pressure to check

8. fit locks to both valves on completion

Easing gear to be checked free before setting valves. Steam should not be released
as this can damage seat.
Improved high lift safety valve

Differences in the ordinary and high lift designs

Ordinary High Lift Improved high lift

Winged valve Winged valve Wingless valve

No waste piston Waste piston Waste piston

No floating ring Floating ring

For superheated steam the aggregate area through the seating of the valves is
increased, the formula is
As = A(1 + Ts/555)
where
As = Aggregate area through the seating of the valves in mm 2 for superheated
steam
A = Aggregate area through the seating of the valves in mm 2 for sat steam
Ts = degrees of superheat in oC
As is greater than A due to the higher specific volume of superheated steam
requiring more escape area.
The manifold pipe must have an area equal to at least of A, the exhaust must
have a diameter dependent on the type of valve but up to 3 x A for a full bore relay
operated valve.
A drain pipe must be fitted to the lowest part of the valve, it should have no valve or
cock and should be checked clear on regular occasions.

Materials

Materials for all parts must be non corrodible. Common materials are Bronze,
Stainless steel or Monel metal, depending on the conditions of service. The valve
chest is normally made of cast steel.

Full lift safety valve

This is a modern version of the high lift safety valve incorporating the piston and
reaction force effects to improve valve lift. In addition the inlet pipe is tapered to
give a nozzle effect increasing the reaction on the lid.
The initial lift is produced when the steam pressure under the disc exceeds the
spring pressure. As the valve begins to open a thin jet of steam escapes and is
deflected by a small angle on the nozzle ring. As the lift increase the steam begins
to react against upper guide ring increasing to 'full bore'lift. Full Bore lift is defined
as that point where the area of the nozzle, rather than the lift, limits the discharge
capacity of the valve. The form of the valve offers an increased area to the steam
jet stream and the design allows for a piston effect of the valve trim assembly as it
enters in the guide ring cylinder, both these effects increase lift and improve action
of the valve
The guide sleeve is adjustable allowing alteration of the blowdown.
With boiler pressure dropping the valve begins to close. When the lid just exits the
guide sleeve there is a loss of the reaction and piston effect and the valve tends to
snap shut cleanly.
Blowdown adjustment is achieved by altering the height of the adjusting Guide
Ring. On some designs a second adjustable ring is mounted on the nozzle, this
allows adjustment of the 'warn' or 'simmering'period and increases the popping
power. Adjustment of this ring is critical to operation, after factory setting it is
generally unnecessary and no attempt should be made to remove slight 'warn'

Full lift safety valve

Seen fitted to large high pressure boilers.

This design offers sveral advantages over simple high lift valves

o Complicated design to achieve high lift is obviated

o Pilot valve may be mounted on the drum and the main valve maounted
on the superheater thus making the system more sensitive to load
changes (over pressurisation will first be seen in the steam drum
before the superheater. In addition the pilot valve and main valve
piston arrangements are subject to lower steam temperatures

o Boiler pressure will assist to close the main valve rapidly leading to
very small blowdown

Easing gear
This is fitted to safety valves to allow manual operation of the valve in an
emergency.

What is procedure of safety valve setting?

There are generally three safety valves provided in boiler two in

drum and one in main steam line . Each safety valve are designed
with different setting pressure. Summation of three has reliving
capacity of 100 % of peak load steam generation. Generally line
safety valve is setting with low set pressure because if drum safety
valve will lift first then there may be chances of starvation in boiler and
drum level will be disturbed .Generally safety valve setting pressure is
fixed with blow down of the valve within 3% - 5% of the set value.
Safety valve with higher set pressure will be floated first followed by
other valves in descending order of set valves. Boiler will be kept
under steaming or running condition for safety valve floating. The
safety valves in a boiler are so selected that the capacity of safety
valves on drum and super heater put together will be more than the
100% generation of the boiler.

Objective of the safety valve setting:-

The objective of the Testing Schedule is to test the safety valves by
actually floating and ensure that safety valves lift at
recommended/designed values.
Precaution during safety valve setting:-
1) During safety valve floating, exhaust pipes, silencer, drip pans,
drain lines are kept available.
2) Gag other safety valve so that only one valve is able to lift.
3) observed and if any abnormality found, the same attended.
4) Use proper PPE and Ear plug during safety valve setting.
5) Skilled person should be involved with the procedure.
6) Proper approach should be provided in safety valve area.
7) All people near that area should be aware about safety valve
setting.

Procedure for safety valve setting:-

1) Take necessary safety precaution and arrange gagging tool and
recently calibrated master gauge and gag other safety valve.
2) The set pressure of the safety valve will be given by class and it
will be same as previous set pressure.
3) Safety valve pressure setting can be done from high to low
pressure or vice-versa.
4) Raise the boiler pressure by modulating the firing. When the
pressure reaches nearer to the set pressure maintain the pressure by
operating start up vent or dumping steam.
5) Slowly raise the boiler pressure and blow off the safety valve
manually few times for thermal expansion and to reduce the thermal
stress on the valves.
6) When the boiler pressure reaches to safety valve set pressure
observe the safety valve is lifted or not.
7) When the valve sits back, note down the reset pressure. Control of
drum level is important to avoid possibility of water carry over from
drum into the super heater.
8) The set pressure is adjusted by either tightening or loosening the
adjusting nut. Tightening the nut increases the set pressure and vice
versa. Blow down which is the difference between set & reset
pressure should normally be within 5% of the set pressure.
9) Measure distance between compression ring and valve body.

10) Same way set the other valve.

11) Remove the gagging of safety valve.