Extended Sleeve Products Allow Control and Monitoring of Process Fluid Flows Inside Shielding, Behind Walls and Beneath Floors - 13041
- Flowserve Corporation, 1978 Foreman Drive Cookeville, TN 38506 (United States)
Throughout power generation, delivery and waste remediation, the ability to control process streams in difficult or impossible locations becomes increasingly necessary as the complexity of processes increases. Example applications include radioactive environments, inside concrete installations, buried in dirt, or inside a shielded or insulated pipe. In these situations, it is necessary to implement innovative solutions to tackle such issues as valve maintenance, valve control from remote locations, equipment cleaning in hazardous environments, and flow stream analysis. The Extended Sleeve family of products provides a scalable solution to tackle some of the most challenging applications in hazardous environments which require flow stream control and monitoring. The Extended Sleeve family of products is defined in three groups: Extended Sleeve (ESV), Extended Bonnet (EBV) and Instrument Enclosure (IE). Each of the products provides a variation on the same requirements: to provide access to the internals of a valve, or to monitor the fluid passing through the pipeline through shielding around the process pipe. The shielding can be as simple as a grout filled pipe covering a process pipe or as complex as a concrete deck protecting a room in which the valves and pipes pass through at varying elevations. Extended Sleeves are available between roughly 30 inches and 18 feet of distance between the pipeline centerline and the top of the surface to which it mounts. The Extended Sleeve provides features such as ± 1.5 inches of adjustment between the pipeline and deck location, internal flush capabilities, automatic alignment of the internal components during assembly and integrated actuator mounting pads. The Extended Bonnet is a shorter fixed height version of the Extended Sleeve which has a removable deck flange to facilitate installation through walls, and is delivered fully assembled. The Instrument Enclosure utilizes many of the same components as an Extended Sleeve, yet allows the installation of process monitoring instruments, such as a turbidity meter to be placed in the flow stream. The basis of the design is a valve body, which, rather than having a directly mounted bonnet has lengths of concentric pipe added, which move the bonnet away from the valve body. The pipe is conceptually similar to an oil field well, with the various strings of casing, and tubing installed. Each concentric pipe provides a required function, such as the outermost pipes, the valve sleeve and penetration sleeve, which provide structural support to the deck flange. For plug valve based designs, the next inner pipe provides compression on the environmental seals at the top of the body to bonnet joint, followed by the innermost pipe which provides rotation of the plug, in the same manner as an extended stem. Ball valve ESVs have an additional pipe to provide compressive loading on the stem packing. Due to the availability of standard pipe grades and weights, the product can be configured to fit a wide array of valve sizes, and application lengths, with current designs as short as seven inches and as tall as 18 feet. Central to the design is the requirement for no special tools or downhole tools to remove parts or configure the product. Off the shelf wrenches, sockets or other hand tools are all that is required. Compared to other products historically available, this design offers a lightweight option, which, while not as rigidly stiff, can deflect compliantly under extreme seismic loading, rather than break. Application conditions vary widely, as the base product is 316 and 304 stainless steel, but utilizes 17-4PH, and other allows as needed based on the temperature range and mechanical requirements. Existing designs are installed in applications as hot as 1400 deg. F, at low pressure, and separately in highly radioactive environments. The selection of plug versus ball valve, metal versus soft seats, and the material of the seals and seats is all dependent on the application requirements. The design of the Extended Sleeve family of products provides a platform which solves a variety of accessibility problems associated with controlling process flow streams in remote, hard to reach locations in harsh environments. Installation of the equipment described has shown to allow access to flow streams that otherwise would require exceptional means to access and control. The Extended Sleeve family of products provides a scalable solution to both control and monitor process fluid flow through shielding, walls or floors when direct connection is advantageous. (authors)
- Research Organization:
- WM Symposia, 1628 E. Southern Avenue, Suite 9-332, Tempe, AZ 85282 (United States)
- OSTI ID:
- 22224843
- Report Number(s):
- INIS-US-13-WM-13041; TRN: US14V0277045798
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: WM2013: Waste Management Conference: International collaboration and continuous improvement, Phoenix, AZ (United States), 24-28 Feb 2013; Other Information: Country of input: France
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
REACTOR REFUELING - INTERIM DECAY STORAGE (FFTF)
SEALING LARGE-DIAMETER CAST-IRON PIPE JOINTS UNDER LIVE CONDITIONS