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All of us at Mead O'Brien wish our customers, partners, vendors and friends a very Happy Holiday Season and a wonderful 2019!

Metal Seated High Performance Butterfly Valves

Metso Neles BW Series

The Metso Neles BW series metal seated high performance butterfly valve with one-piece body design, is designed for both control and tight shut-off applications. Multiple body options makes it particularly well suited for the refining, power, petrochemical and chemical industries.

DOWNLOAD THE BW SERIES SPECIFICATION SHEET HERE

The BW provides extended operational life in control, tight shut-off and critical applications such as high cycle, high temperature, cryogenic, oxygen and abrasive applications, etc. Rating from ASME 900 to 2500 makes the BW a sound control or shut-off valve in severe service applications.

Excellent on-off capabilities

• Uniquely functioning full metal seat design assures tightness over long time periods.
• Contact between disc and seat is mechanically induced and does not rely on assistance from differential pressure.
• Long term tightness is maintained even in high cycle rate services. Tightness in not compromised by large thermal cycling either.
• Low friction and excellent wear resistance.
• Lowered operational torque reduces actuator size
• Heavy-duty stem and ingenious bearings design extends service life and is insensitive to thermal cycles and impurities.

Excellent flow control capabilities

• Good controllability via smoothly rising installed characteristic curve at both very small openings and nearly full Cv positions. Series BW provides very wide rangeability in fairly low pressure drop services.
• Good dynamic stability in both flow directions.
• Available with a variety of actuators, positioners and accessories for single source responsibility. Mounting face according to ISO 5211.
• Abrasion resistant construction
• Solid, sturdy all metal seat design is based on metal-to- metal contact. No resilient parts are needed for seating.

Low emissions

• The live loaded gland packing is located right after the outer bearing maximizing the tightness. The emissions are well below the international standards.
• Furthermore, there are no resilient parts exposed to the medium.

Extremely wide pressure and temperature range

• Differential pressure/temperature ratings in accordance with ASME B16.34.
• Extremely wide temperature range up to +1150°C / +2100 °F.
• Low cost of ownership
• Extremely high cycle life minimizes the need for maintenance, and increases Mean Time Between Failure (MTBF) value.
• Interchangeable seat can be replaced without disassembling the disc and shaft. Seat replacement does not require any adjustment or special tools.
• Certified emission and fire safe performance
• Emission certified according to industry standard, ISO 15848-1 class B in shut-off applications.
• Fire safe certification according to API 607, 6th edition 

Certified safety performance

• SIL certification to meet IEC61508 requirements 
• Capable to SIL 3 level

Applications

The BW series butterfly valve is suitable for the following industries and applications.

• Chemical Process: Tail gas, waste water, Flue gas, styrene, acrylic acid
• Refinery: Flammable media, process, gas
• Off-shore: Flammable media, process, gas
• Steel: Gas and crude gas
• Gas: Natural gas, sour gas
• Nuclear power: Steam, gas, water
• Conventional power: Steam, gas, water

For more information about the Neles BW Series, contact Mead O'Brien at (800) 892-2769 or visit their web site at https://meadobrien.com.

Intumescent "FR Shells" Provide Passive Fire Protection for Electric Valve Actuators

According to Wikipedia, an intumescent "is a substance that swells as a result of heat exposure, thus increasing in volume and decreasing in density. Intumescents are typically used in passive fire protection."

Intumescents play a valuable role in electric valve actuation. Removable intumescent fireproof coatings referred to as "FR Shells" (from actuator manufacturer Limitorque) provide simple fireproof protection to an electric actuator quickly and easily. The construction is reinforced with wire to enhance its performance and protection of the valve actuator for at least 30 minutes against a hydrocarbon fire. Based on this design capability, the valve actuator will not require being sent to the OEM for replacement coatings in the event of a fire. The intumescent coating can be installed on-site for existing actuators without any modification. The design of the intumescent coating comes in sectional forms and is assembled/secured with external fixing screws supplied with the FR Shells. The FR Shells are protected against harmful UV rays with an approved paint.

How They Work

The intumescent coating maintains itself in a solid state until contact is made with fire. Once contact is made with flame, the intumescent coating (coating surface) is converted into a highly viscous liquid. A reaction combining combustion of the epoxy and gas liberation then takes place resulting in an expansion up to eight times the initial thickness of the original coating. The result is a low-density, carbonaceous insulation char. The layer of char absorbs most of the heat generated by the fire, thus protecting the actuator and its internal parts from exposure to the extreme temperatures of a hydrocarbon fire.

Advantages

• Lightweight design
• Can be installed on existing actuator
• No modification is required of the actuator.
• Easy installation and removal
• No special tools are required.
• Installation space is not required.
• Can be re-used in the event of actuator replacement
• If a part fails (e.g., motor), re-coating is not required.
• Excellent finishes in decorative grade
• Separate storing of intumescent coating is possible, against damage during installation of valve/actuator.

For more information, contact Mead O'Brien by calling (800) 892-2769 or visit their web site at https://meadobrien.com.

Why Measuring Differential Pressure Across a Filter or Strainer is Important

Differential pressure gauge.
(Ashcroft)

In many applications fluids passing through a pipe require filtering this results in the need for continuous differential pressure monitoring. Differential pressure gauges, switches and transmitters help monitor your processes.

Filters and strainers commonly are positioned to capture solids and particulates. The filter will obstruct the flow through the pipe lowering the pressure on the downstream side. These effects may vary depending on the filters construction. Filter media is the material that removes impurities. The smaller the pores, the larger the friction. Higher friction means greater pressure drop. Contaminants or particulates that build up in the filter will reduce media flow. As the filter becomes clogged, the downstream pressure drops. This results in an increased differential pressure, also referred to as the Delta-P. Saturated filters may also begin to shed

Differential pressure switch.
(Ashcroft)

captured particles. With the filter no longer functioning properly, the contaminants can escape into the process. This is why proper monitoring of pressure drop is crucial.

Differential pressure transmitter.
(Ashcroft)

Differential pressure is measured by placing taps both before and after the filter. A differential pressure measuring instrument can be connected to detect the high side and low-side pressures. The instrument will report the difference between the two sides. The saturation point will be indicated when the Delta P value reaches a predetermined threshold. This value was derived from a calculation that factors in the flow rate fluid viscosity and filter characteristics. The filter manufacturer can be contacted for help in identifying the optimum differential pressure value that tells you when it'stime to service the filter.

When specifying a differential pressure instrument there are two important factors to consider. The first is the DP range, which is based upon the most difference in pressure that the restriction is likely to produce. The second is the instruments ability to contain the static pressure, which is simply the pressure in the line while the differential pressure remains the same. A higher line pressure may require an instrument rated for higher static pressure.

Mead O'Brien
https://meadobrien.com
(800) 892-2769

NACE Standards - Measuring the Pressure of Sour Gas and Crude

In 1943 a group of corrosion engineers working in the pipeline industry formed the National Association of Corrosion Engineers with the goal of "protecting people, assets, and the environment from corrosion”. In the 1960s, they commenced development of control standards to define appropriate materials for a wide variety of corrosive applications, including oil and gas production and refinery facilities. In 1993, the organization was renamed “NACE International”.

Today, NACE offers over 150 standards that address metal corrosion in a vast number of applications ranging from exposed metal structures to corrosion resistant coatings on railroad cars.

The following NACE Measuring Pressure of Sour Gas and Crude White Paper (courtesy of Ashcroft) discusses NACE standards that specifically address corrosion resulting from expo- sure to sour gas or sour crude.

You can download the entire NACE Standards Sour Gas and Crude White Paper here, or review it in the embedded document below.

For more information, contact Mead O'Brien at (800) 892-2769 or visit their web site at https://meadobrien.com.

NACE Standards - Measuring the Pressure of Sour Gas and Crude from Mead O'Brien, Inc.

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Saturated Steam Table

A saturated steam table shows temperatures and pressures for water at the liquid/vapor transition (i.e. points lying along the liquid/vapor interface shown in a phase change diagram), as well as enthalpy values for the water and steam under those conditions. The sensible heat of water is the amount of thermal energy per pound necessary to raise water’s temperature from the freezing point to the boiling point. The latent heat of vapor is the amount of energy per pound necessary to convert water (liquid) into steam (vapor). The total heat is the enthalpy of steam (thermal energy per pound) between the listed condition in the table and the freezing temperature of water.

By definition a saturated steam table does not describe steam at temperatures greater than the boiling point. For such purposes, a superheated steam table is necessary.

Mead O'Brien
https://meadobrien.com
(800) 892-2769

Saturated Steam Table

Reprinted from "Lessons In Industrial Instrumentation" by Tony R. Kuphaldt – under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License.

Data for this saturated steam table was taken from Thermal Properties of Saturated and Superheated Steam by Lionel Marks and Harvey Davis, published in 1920 by Longmans, Green, and Company.