Proactive Defect Detection with Simulation Software

Through-wall leakers in cast valve bodies often can be the end result of undetected defective areas created during the metal casting process. Such failures in service are extremely undesirable for valve manufacturer as well as the end user and in many cases such failures could pose significant health and safety concerns.

This article details the challenging nature of defect detection as related to through-wall leakers in typical cast pressure containing units. A discussion of common casting defects and the limitations of common defect detection methods or nondestructive evaluation (NDE) is provided. Finally, casting process simulation is described and presented as a means of detecting and eliminating the casting defects that commonly lead to the failure of valve castings.

Improve Ethylene Conversion Part One: The Furnace

Olefin production plants use a variety of feedstocks. The type of feedstock used will impact the type of recovery technology used, but no matter the feedstock, control valve performance is an essential part of plant operations.

In this, the first of a three part series, critical control valve applications in the furnace section will be discussed. There are alternative product recovery configurations, which include front-end de-ethanizer for plants utilizing light feedstocks and front-end de-propanizer for plants using heavier feedstocks, but the focus in this article is on the front end de-methanizer configuration because of its ability to allow for a variety of feedstocks.

Five Key Criteria for Selecting Low-Temperature Valves

Specifying and consulting engineers, engineering houses, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and end users depend on valves to control the flow of compressed air or other fluids and on cylinders to control motion. But the cold truth is that low temperatures can cause problems for these fluid automation devices all along the line—from selection and delivery to operation and maintenance.

Critical Control Valve Considerations for the LNG Market

The relatively recent rise in demand for liquefied natural gas, or LNG, has fueled a boom with regards to the construction of import and export terminals. Since the early 1990’s the number of LNG exporting/importing countries has increased from 16 to 43. Couple this with the fact that large natural gas deposits are rarely located next to the huge arenas that consume them and you have the perfect storm that is the current LNG market.

Conduit Hydropower: Recovering Energy One Control Valve at a Time

All water distribution systems have one thing in common: It takes energy to move water from one location to another. The energy required to move the water can come from gravity or from pumps, both of which convert the water’s potential energy into kinetic energy. In a typical water distribution system, control valves are used at some point to manage this built-up energy, otherwise known as flow and pressure.

As water travels through a control valve, energy within the water is simply ‘burned off’ in the forms of noise, heat and vibration. Conduit hydropower installations aim to recover this lost energy by converting it into electricity while still regulating flow and pressure in a distribution system.

Improved Electric Actuator Reliability in Severe Service

As you walk onto the switching valve deck of a coker, the first thing you notice is the heat. Cokers are used in the process of upgrading bitumen to crude oil—specifically to remove the heavier hydrocarbons from the process stream.

Non-Destructive Radiographic Inspection of Steel Castings

Radiographic inspection technology has been used for industrial inspection for decades. While radiographic inspection of mission critical cast pumps and valves for nuclear power generation, offshore drilling and military applications has steadily increased since 1978, the growth rate started to change dramatically in 2010. Catastrophic failures at Fukushima and in the Gulf have caused many industries to revisit their exposure and recognize the impact and risk associated with product failure in the field.

To learn more about the actual process of ND radiographic inspection, VALVE Magazine spoke with Stan Truselo, quality assurance manager at Bradken’s Tacoma, WA facility.

What Lies Ahead for Institutional Construction?

At VMA’s annual Market Outlook event held in August 2013, Harvey Bernstein, vice president of industry insights and alliances at McGraw Hill Construction, appeared for the first time as a speaker and shared important insights into the key trends and outlook for institutional construction.

U.S. Construction Trends and Outlook

The data from which Bernstein extrapolated the industry trends came from six different sources including Dodge Construction Outlook and Forecasting Service, ENR Top Lists and the Industry Association Network.

SMRs Present Opportunities for Valve Manufacturers

In Part One of our two-part series on small modular reactors (SMRs), we introduced several projects in development, and presented a few of the situations in which SMRs could provide a reliable, economically sound solution for power production. In this final installment, we examine the challenges for these projects and the opportunities valve manufacturers could see in this sector.

Solutions to the Engineering Skills Crisis

While plans to build billions of dollars worth of petrochemical plants, gathering and transportation pipelines are set for the next decade, there is concern that labor shortages in crafts, trades and design technicians could raise costs and delay commissioning of these important projects. Among those in short supply are valve engineers, piping engineers and designers, and according to William G. Beazley, who spoke at a recent gathering of valve professionals, the shortage could be called a skills crisis.