From refineries and cooling systems to tank farms, safety valves protect plants against damage caused by overpressure. Safety valves undergo routine maintenance to make sure they always operate flawlessly. In processes where only one single safety valve is installed, the entire plant may have to be shut down for valve maintenance.
The idea behind the LESER Change-over Valve: It enables a second, identical safety valve to be connected to the piping system. Whenever the active valve requires maintenance, the Change-over Valve allows the standby valve to be activated in its place to ensure continued protection of the plant.
LESER’s stated goal when developing its Change-over Valve was to reduce the pressure drop below current typical levels, thereby optimizing the flow resistance coefficient. According to regulations, the pressure drop in the pipeline connecting a pressure vessel to a safety valve must never exceed 3%.
The result is a functional principle that is globally unique: a robust, maintenance-free, flow-optimized valve design that features minimum pressure drop and has withstood rigorous lifecycle tests. The flow resistance coefficients of the LESER Change-over Valve were determined and optimized using computational fluid dynamics simulations (CFD) as well as tests at an independent test lab.
To allow its Change-over Valves to be used in as many installation scenarios as possible, LESER developed a modular design. The Type 330 Compact is used for standard pressure drop requirements. The Type 320 Flow Change-over Valve was designed specifically for the demanding pressure drop requirements typically found in applications involving additional piping or high-capacity safety valves. As for a set of elbows and inlet body, LESER can provide custom solutions by combining various standardized components.
Since the new Change-over Valve is manufactured directly at the LESER factory in Hohenwestedt, LESER can guarantee a fast, delivery time as low as four weeks.