PRESSURE RELIEF VALVE MONITORING

• US 20100106434A1
• Filed: 10/24/2008
• Published: 04/29/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 10/24/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Baker Hughes, a GE Company, LLC (Baker Hughes Company)
• Original Assignee: General Electric Company
• Inventors: Killion, Lane Thomas, Grant, John Wesley, Jost, William Charles, Whaley, Michael Lee JR.
• Granted Patent: US 7,711,500 B1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 702/51
• CPC Class Codes: G01M 3/002 by using thermal means
• CPC Class Codes: G01M 3/24 using infrasonic, sonic, or ultrasonic vibrations

Abstract

A pressure relief valve monitoring system and method is disclosed. In one aspect there is an online pressure relief valve monitoring system that includes at least one acoustic sensor located about a pressure relief valve that obtains ultrasonic measurements therefrom. One or more temperature sensors located about the pressure relief valve obtain temperature measurements therefrom. A data acquisition system receives the ultrasonic measurements from the at least one acoustic sensor and the temperature measurements from the one or more temperature sensors. An online monitor monitors the measurements received by the data acquisition system for detection of a leak about the pressure relief valve. The online monitor detects the presence of the leak as a function of the ultrasonic measurements and temperature measurements.

Claims

1. An online pressure relief valve monitoring system, comprising:

at least one acoustic sensor located about a pressure relief valve that obtains ultrasonic measurements therefrom;

one or more temperature sensors located about the pressure relief valve that obtain temperature measurements therefrom;

a data acquisition system that receives the ultrasonic measurements from the at least one acoustic sensor and the temperature measurements from the one or more temperature sensors; and

an online monitor that monitors the measurements received by the data acquisition system for detection of a leak about the pressure relief valve, the online monitor detecting the presence of the leak as a function of the ultrasonic measurements and temperature measurements and generating an alarm notification in response to determining the presence of the leak about the pressure relief valve.

2. The online pressure relief valve monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein the one or more temperature sensors comprise a first temperature sensor and a second temperature sensor, the first temperature sensor located on a first pipe that leads into an inlet end of the pressure relief valve and the second temperature sensor located on a second pipe that extends from an exit end of the pressure relief valve.

3. The online pressure relief valve monitoring system according to claim 2, wherein the at least one acoustic sensor is located on the second pipe that extends from the exit end of the pressure relief valve.

4. The online pressure relief valve monitoring system according to claim 3, wherein the online monitor determines if there has been a change in temperature between the temperature at the inlet end of the pressure relief valve as measured by the first temperature sensor and the temperature at the exit end of the pressure relief valve as measured by the second temperature sensor, the online monitor compares the change in temperature to ambient temperature and ascertains whether the change in temperature varies with the ambient temperature, the online monitor detects the presence of the leak in response to determining that the change in temperature varies with the ambient temperature.

5. The online pressure relief valve monitoring system according to claim 4, wherein the online monitor detects the presence of the leak in response to further determining that the ultrasonic measurements exceed a predetermined threshold value.

6. The online pressure relief valve monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein the data acquisition system transfers the ultrasonic measurements and the temperature measurements to the online monitor through a wired connection or a wireless connection.

7. The online pressure relief valve monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein the online monitor utilizes a plurality of rules to detect the presence of the leak, the plurality of rules detect the presence of the leak in response to ascertaining that there has been a change in temperature that varies with ambient conditions.

8. The online pressure relief valve monitoring system according to claim 7, wherein the online monitor detects the presence of the leak in response to further determining that the ultrasonic measurements exceed a predetermined threshold value.

10. The online pressure relief valve monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein the online monitor generates an analysis of the leak in response to determining the presence of the leak about the pressure relief valve, the analysis comprising an approximation of the amount of process material leaked as a function of the time when the leak occurred, the duration of the leak and the size of the valve.

9. (canceled)

11. A method for monitoring a pressure relief valve, comprising:

obtaining ultrasonic measurements from at least one acoustic sensor located about a pressure relief valve;

obtaining temperature measurements from one or more temperature sensors located about the pressure relief valve;

collecting the ultrasonic measurements from the at least one acoustic sensor and the temperature measurements from the one or more temperature sensors;

transferring the ultrasonic measurements and temperature measurements to a host computer;

monitoring the measurements with the host computer for detection of a leak about the pressure relief valve, the host computer detecting the presence of the leak as a function of both the ultrasonic measurements and temperature measurements; and

generating an alarm notification in response to determining the presence of the leak about the pressure relief valve.

12. The method according to claim 11, further comprising placing a first temperature sensor on a first pipe that leads into an inlet end of the pressure relief valve and placing a second temperature sensor on a second pipe that extends from an exit end of the pressure relief valve.

13. The method according to claim 12, further comprising placing the at least one acoustic sensor on a location on the second pipe that extends from the exit end of the pressure relief valve.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein the monitoring comprises determining if there has been a change in temperature between the temperature about the inlet end of the pressure relief valve as measured by the first temperature sensor and the temperature about the exit end of the pressure relief valve as measured by the second temperature sensor, comparing the change in temperature to ambient conditions, and ascertaining whether the change in temperature varies with the ambient conditions.

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein the ascertaining comprises determining if the ultrasonic measurements exceed a predetermined threshold value.

16. The method according to claim 15, further comprising generating the alarm notification in response to determining that the change in temperature varies with the ambient conditions and that the ultrasonic measurements exceed a predetermined threshold value.

17. A pressure relief valve monitoring system, comprising:

at least one acoustic sensor located about a pressure relief valve that obtains ultrasonic measurements therefrom;

one or more temperature sensors located about the pressure relief valve that each obtain temperature measurements therefrom; and

a data acquisition system that receives the ultrasonic measurements from the acoustic sensor and the temperature measurements from the one or more temperature sensors, the data acquisition system detecting for the presence of a leak about the pressure relief valve, the data acquisition system detecting the presence of the leak as a function of the ultrasonic measurements and temperature measurements, the data acquisition system generating an alarm notification in response to determining the presence of the leak about the pressure relief valve.

18. The pressure relief valve monitoring system according to claim 17, wherein the one or more temperature sensors comprise a first temperature sensor and a second temperature sensor, the first temperature sensor located on a first pipe that leads into an inlet end of the pressure relief valve and the second temperature sensor located on a second pipe that extends from an exit end of the pressure relief valve.

19. The pressure relief valve monitoring system according to claim 18, wherein the at least one acoustic sensor is located on the second pipe that extends from the exit end of the pressure relief valve.

20. The pressure relief valve monitoring system according to claim 19, wherein the data acquisition system determines if there has been a change in temperature between the temperature at the inlet end of the pressure relief valve as measured by the first temperature sensor and the temperature at the exit end of the pressure relief valve as measured by the second temperature sensor, the data acquisition system compares the change in temperature to ambient conditions and ascertains whether the change in temperature varies with the ambient conditions, the data acquisition system detects the presence of the leak in response to determining that the change in temperature varies with the ambient conditions.