What points to be considered while selecting the safety relief valve?

The safety of the equipment is the prime concern to keep the systems running. Safety valves ensure the safety of the specific equipment and the personnel employed with the job. The fundamental purpose of the safety valves is to protect the equipment and the piping systems from excess pressure. If you do not keep a check on the pressure in the system, then it may either damage it or may even explode resulting in severe casualties. As they play an important role in the system, you must ensure that you choose the best safety relief valve that assures complete protection.
Not everyone has the proper knowledge to select the right safety relief valve. So, here’s a completion of the points that one must consider while selecting the valves. Give it a read and choose the best one.

The function
Every type of service requires a different kind of valve. The valve serves different purposes at different places. Apart from the function of the valves that it will be serving, the material of the valve too should be appropriate according to the needs. You cannot use a non-metallic valve where corrosive media is present.

The size
Not everywhere you can place the valves which you think is right. Size matters in various places. The safety relief valve must be selected according to the size of the inlet and the outlet. The opening of the inlet and discharge piping on the valve must be similar to the inlet and discharge piping, it would be connected to. Also, the types of connections required there play a crucial role. These aspects must be kept in mind to select the valve that you are going to use. Any random valve must not be connected without considering the specifications.

Backpressure
The pressure present on the outlet of the safety valve is the backpressure. It is produced because of the pressure in the discharge system and may be constant or variable. The pressure of the upstream valve may get affected and may pop open multiple times. As a result, the safety relief valve may get damaged. The criteria for selecting the safety valve is that the backpressure must not exceed 10% of the required valve pressure. It is one of the considerations while installing valves with variable backpressure. A pilot-operated valve is necessary for installations with elevated levels of constant backpressure.

The capacity
A good safety relief valve must have the potential to relieve the pressure at an unavoidable capacity. The required capacity depends on a varied number of factors that include the relief discharge area and the geometry of the valve. Mostly, the required capacity is expressed in gallons per minute.

These are some of the most essential factors that cannot be avoided while selecting the safety valves for the system. The dimensions of the equipment must also be taken into consideration apart from these factors. Also, the environment of the system in which the valve is going to be operated should also be considered.