Pressure locking test results
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research, is funding the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL) in performing research to provide technical input for their use in evaluating responses to Generic Letter 95-07, {open_quotes}Pressure Locking and Thermal Binding of Safety-Related Power-Operated Gate Valves.{close_quotes} Pressure locking and thermal binding are phenomena that make a closed gate valve difficult to open. This paper discusses only the pressure locking phenomenon in a flexible-wedge gate valve; we will publish the results of our thermal binding research at a later date. Pressure locking can occur when operating sequences or temperature changes cause the pressure of the fluid in the bonnet (and, in most valves, between the discs) to be higher than the pressure on the upstream and downstream sides of the disc assembly. This high fluid pressure presses the discs against both seats, making the disc assembly harder to unseat than anticipated by the typical design calculations, which generally consider friction at only one of the two disc/seat interfaces. The high pressure of the bonnet fluid also changes the pressure distribution around the disc in a way that can further contribute to the unseating load. If the combined loads associated with pressure locking are very high, the actuator might not have the capacity to open the valve. The results of the NRC/INEL research discussed in this paper show that the relationship between bonnet pressure and pressure locking stem loads appears linear. The results also show that for this valve, seat leakage affects the bonnet pressurization rate when the valve is subjected to thermally induced pressure locking conditions.
- Research Organization:
- Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC07-94ID13223
- OSTI ID:
- 243449
- Report Number(s):
- INEL-96/00161; CONF-9607111-2; ON: DE96010439; TRN: 97:006383
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 4. NRC/ASME symposium on valve and pump testing, Washington, DC (United States), 15-18 Jul 1996; Other Information: PBD: 1996
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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