Today’s demands about valve testing

Following industrial and economic progress the next process plants or power station planned is always dimensioned slightly bigger than the last one built. At the same time, growing demand leads to existing installations being run at their possible limit. Looking back 10 years, a DN 150 (6”) valve was typically the largest size used in chemical or petrochemical plants where as today, valves up to DN 250 (10”) are common within the same industry sector. As a direct consequence, valve manufacturers face an Increasing demand for larger valves with higher pressure ratings, leading to changing testing necessities. Within the past 24 month inquiries tabled at the test bench manufacturer METRUS GmbH show significant trends: “larger DN with larger pressure classes”, “Shell tests with gas, if possible within a fully automatic” and “proof of zero leakage”. The following article highlights the key aspects to be considered when solving those challenges.