8
Tanks & Containers
BULKDISTRIBUTOR
Fort Vale offers tanks Hyper
relief
T
ank component manufacturer Fort Vale is launching a new
range of 80mm flanged relief valves aimed at the
intermodal market.
The Hyper Maxi valve is the result of extensive research,
development and testing and will offer users unparalleled flow
performance predictability. It is approved by Lloyd’s Register and has
patents pending on the design of a new integral safety feature.
Historically, valve manufacturers have performed accredited
witness flow testing for relief valves at third-party facilities. Testing is
a costly process and is usually carried out over the course of a week.
The test programme is pre-agreed and allows little scope for
development changes while testing is underway, nor the ability to
test every valve with a combination of gauze, bursting disc or cowl.
Furthermore, there are very few facilities around the world able to
test at the required flow rates.
For these reasons, Fort Vale made a significant financial investment
in a purpose-built test laboratory at its UK headquarters. The gas
flow rig is designed to BSEN4126 and ASME VIII Div.1 and is
approved and certified by Lloyd’s Register. Devised to test relief
valves with a maximum flow rate of 6.1 Nm3/s at 5.28 Bar, it has
allowed the company to assess accurately and quickly any
combination of relief valve and ancillary item that may affect flow,
within the limitations of the test rig. Fort Vale believes that this is an
unrivalled facility that allows it to make a unique contribution to the
universal safety of tank containers.
As part of its continual development programme, Fort Vale
conducted a detailed analysis of the operation and flow
characteristics of its entire range of relief valves. This is believed to
be the most comprehensive study ever undertaken on valves and
systems for intermodal tanks and has brought about an enhanced
practical understanding of valve operating conditions, particularly
with regard to de-ration factors for ancillary parts, such as gauzes
and burst discs.
When a tank builder is determining a relief valve flow requirement,
the calculation is based on a valve fitted with a burst disc and gauze
to allow for maximum de-ration, even if no ancillary parts will be
fitted eventually. Witness testing has proved that the flow rate of an
80mm Hyper Maxi relief valve, both with and without de-ration
factors, meets current regulatory requirements and, at the time of
going to press, exceeds all current published comparative flow rates
of relief valves by other manufacturers.
The Hyper Maxi series of 80mm relief valves will offer a range of
pressure settings from 3 psi up to 204 psi (0.21 Bar to 14.07 Bar)
and vacuum settings from 0.5”Hg to 24”Hg (0.02 Bar to 0.81 Bar).
There are three body styles; standard, short extended and long
extended, each with a slotted flange to facilitate four common
drilling patterns.
The valve body and port geometry has been optimised and now
incorporates a ‘lift stop’, which is subject to a patent application and
which enables the valve’s pressure plate lift to be precisely
controlled. This reduces turbulence and improves the valve’s
performance which means that the flow rate of the valve remains
accurate and consistent – a fact which has been proved by repeated
testing.
Fort Vale reports that, while the new 80mm flanged Hyper Maxi
will be phased in to replace the existing 80mm Super Maxi model,
the supply of the current range of 65mm bore and 65-80mm
tapered bore Super Maxi valves will continue. It is planned to
incorporate the ‘lift stop’ safety feature across Fort Vale’s range of
relief valves and this process has already started with the 65mm
Super Maxi range.
Because of the design changes, some of the components are not
interchangeable between the existing 80mm Super Maxi and the
new 80mm Hyper Maxi. However, Fort Vale states that it will
continue to supply spare parts and world-wide after-market service
and support for the Super Maxi indefinitely.
Fort Vale regularly stresses the importance of using only genuine
spare parts, ancillaries and consumables, available through its
authorised distribution network. “To accept substitute or ‘copy’
components is not merely false economy. This invalidates product
warranty and jeopardises the safety and performance characteristics
of both the Fort Vale product and the vessel to which it is fitted,”
the company comments. “Our test data corroborates that customers
will experience significantly reduced flow rates and greater derations when non-genuine components, such as springs, or
alternative ancillaries, such as gauzes, are used in conjunction with a
Fort Vale relief valve.”
www.fortvale.com
November/December 2015
New bulk