Modular design

www.norgren.com/rvm
REDUNDANT VALVE
MANIFOLD SYSTEMS (RVM)
MANIFOLD WISDOM
– A WHITE PAPER
You can see
our thinking
engineering advantage
Complete
system fully
SIL certified
r
Moduglan
desi
Bypass function
for online servicing
and valve testing
Reduced
installation time
Redundancy
and diversit y
EXECUTIVE
SUMMARY
Achieving the goals of process safety and reliability
in both upstream and downstream oil, gas and chemical
processing and power stations is a challenge which has
tested the resources of system designers over many years.
Redundant valve systems are widely recognised as the optimum
means of achieving this but until recent years these systems
have only been available in ‘piped’ versions, involving multiple
components and many potential problems down the line.
However, significant investment in research and development
by leading players in the valve sector has created a highly
innovative new system which brings unprecedented benefits
in performance and whole life costs.
Phil Keating, Business Development Director
– Energy Sector, Norgren
The need for
redundancy
Working with high-value but potentially dangerous materials
such as crude oil, natural gas, chemicals and petrochemicals
presents a unique set of challenges.
On the one hand there is the need to
minimise unplanned interruptions to
production, with costs of £1 million per
day in lost production alone not untypical.
Meanwhile, the health and safety
implications – and therefore the legal and
reputational considerations – associated
with mechanical problems or systems
failure are considerable, involving
operational and commercial costs
which for most companies cannot
be countenanced.
The solution in applications where
unscheduled interruptions are not
allowable is to use a “two out of two”
(2oo2) system containing two valves
which will allow media to flow even
if one of the valves fails.
In safety-critical situations, where the
need to immediately shut down processing
is paramount, a “one out of two” (1oo2)
system is normally fitted. Again, even if
one of the two valves sticks in the open
position or fails, the other can be used
to shut off production.
While most processing plants use one
of these two methods depending on their
own specific requirements, there are still
some facilities which use a single valve
for process control, which introduces a
number of issues. Not only is there no
redundancy to shut off production in the
event that the valve fails, but there is no
guarantee that production can be rapidly
restored either.
At the other end of the scale, customers
are now demanding systems which offer
the best of both worlds in terms of safety
and availability, driving the development
of the first “two out of three” (2oo3)
valve systems.
Current system options –
and the issues with them
Traditional redundant systems – whether 1oo2 or 2oo2
– tend to have the valves bolted to a backplate and
connected together using either stainless steel or hard
tubes. However, once a configuration has been chosen,
it cannot easily be altered (for example to a 2oo3) without
the costly and cumbersome addition of another backplate.
Meanwhile, these systems present a
number of safety and operational issues.
Firstly, even if a system itself uses only
SIL (Safety Integrity Level) approved
components, the final system itself will not
be SIL-approved. Poor design, incorrect
specification and sub-optimal installation
and configuration can all contribute to the
creation of a system which may be a long
way from meeting local and international
safety standards – very worrying given the
potential safety issues associated with the
system contents.
Meanwhile, the sheer volume of
components used can itself create
problems. Every additional component
included will create further potential leak
paths – even more so as distance between
those components increases. Not only is
this wasteful, but again potentially very
dangerous. And of course each system will
require a considerable time to assemble,
with testing required at each stage.
However, the issue of downtime
becomes even more pronounced when
unscheduled maintenance or replacement
is considered. It is inevitable that the
entire process will have to be shut down,
even for minor maintenance to the valve
system. In most instances, this will entail
a minimum of a day of downtime when
the time for restarting and flushing out
the system is factored in. Daily costs for
downtime can range from £100,000 to
upwards of £1 million in lost production
alone in ‘cracker’ plants where oil is being
distilled into different products – to say
nothing of, for example, damage to heating
elements which can burn out if not being
‘fed’. Of course, even these costs can pale
into insignificance when compared with
the costs of a missed order deadline and
the reputational damage that can occur
as a result of this.
Finally, with most piped 1oo2 or 2oo2
systems, there is no indication that one
of the two valves has failed until or unless
both valves fail.
Other options currently available on the
market include systems which allow
individual valves to be bolted together
– but which are far from simple to
disassemble and are generally only suited
to valve and filter regulator combinations.
Meanwhile, ‘redundant control systems’
are frequently little more than a piped
system in a cabinet. Not only does their
large footprint create mounting issues,
their operating temperature range is
lower – typically only between 0°C and
50°C – while online servicing is not an
option. Perhaps most importantly, though,
they are only available in 1oo1 or 2oo2
configurations, making them unsuitable
for safety-critical applications.
1oo2, 2oo2 and 2oo3
increased safety
and availability
The redundant valve
manifold solution
A system recently introduced to the market which addresses
all of these issues is the redundant valve manifold (RVM) system
from Norgren. Working in conjunction with lead customers,
the development of the system drew on the expertise of Norgren
engineers based at two facilities in the UK and one in Germany.
It is based around proven technology in the
form of Herion valves, with Maxseal valves
redesigned to have the same footprint
to allow for simpler integration. This is
the only system on the market which can
accommodate combinations of valves
in this way, offering unrivalled diversity.
As the name suggests, RVM is the first
true manifold system commercially
available for redundant applications in
the energy sector. Able to be supplied
in both aluminium and stainless steel,
RVM products are compact modular
units which for the first time negate
the need for pipework by incorporating
all functions governing both safety and
availability in a compact, simple to install,
low-maintenance, integrated valve
control unit. The range offers all possible
configurations – 1oo2, 2oo2 and 2oo3 –
making it suitable for virtually
all applications.
It has just one inlet and one outlet,
making installation rapid and simple,
while minimising potential leak paths.
The complete unit is SIL approved, while
it can operate at temperatures between
-60°C and 90°C, making it suitable for
the extremes of temperature commonly
found in the global oil, gas and chemical
sectors. RVM products use direct acting
valves due to their higher force friction
ratio (FFR) which gives a higher likelihood
that the valve will operate when required,
unlike some systems which use indirect
valves. Given the extremes of temperature
under which extraction occurs – friction
necessarily increases at very low
temperatures, while seals can become
more ‘adhesive’ at higher temperatures,
again increasing friction – this is a key
attribute of RVM products.
Each unit features visual valve status
indicators and/or electrical sensors
to provide information on when a fault
has occurred, allowing for quicker
maintenance and replacement.
There are also options of a manual or
electrical by-pass system to facilitate
online servicing and testing of solenoid
valves, without the need for a complete
process system shutdown.
The range incorporates both standard
flow and high flow models, meaning no
requirement for a booster which may not
itself be SIL approved, and again reducing
component count. All RVM products have
both TÜV and SIRA approval. Exhaust
guards prevent particle ingress from
the local environment, while cable
terminations are inside the coil, meaning
no additional Ex terminations are needed.
Compact
design
V81-Modular RVM
with by-pass
The way
forward
A number of other
further developments
are planned for the RVM
range to meet ever changing
customer requirements.
RVM versions with interlocks are being
introduced for applications where total
control of the system is required to meet
local requirements for operator and
maintenance engineer safety.
Meanwhile, for very high pressure
applications of up to around 400 bar,
where pneumatics systems are not
an option and hydraulic systems have
to be used, such as riser valves on oil
platforms or turbine controls within power
stations, hydraulic 2oo3 versions of RVM
are being developed. In these applications,
both process continuity and safety are
key, but pipe systems are not an option
due to the damage that could be caused
to both operatives and equipment if a
piped system were to suffer a stress
fracture at high pressure.
Find out more about RVM at
www.norgren.com/rvm
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