Dynamic Instability Analysis of a Spring-Loaded Pressure Safety Valve Connected to a Pipe by Using CFD Method

As the ultimate protection of a pressure system, pressure safety valves (PSV) can respond in an instable manner such as flutter and chatter which will affect service life, reliability and performance. In order to study the dynamic instability caused by multi-source forces including the flow force, the spring compressing force and the pressure wave force, a more realistic CFD model containing a PSV and different connected pipes as well as the pressure vessel is developed, in which advanced techniques in Fluent such as User Defined Function (UDF) and Dynamic Layering method are combined to allow the PSV to operate. Based on this model, the process of the valve’s opening and reclosing is monitored to examine the influence of design parameters on the dynamic instability of the PSV. Specifically, the propagation of pressure waves along the connecting pipes is successfully captured, which is of great help to explain the instability mechanism and optimize the design and setup of pressure relief systems.