Oliver Valvetek with automated PR2 test cycle rig for valves
A willingness to embrace new technologies in the design and construction of their products has secured Oliver Valvetek Limited an enviable reputation as an international leader in the field of subsea flow control solutions for the oil and gas industries. Today the Cheshire based company has applied its revolutionary thinking to the testing process as well.
All subsea valves have to have passed a level II Performance Verification Test (PR2) in accordance with the API standard but changes in design or valve materials can invalidate PR2 tests forcing the manufacture to re-qualify products a number of times throughout their development or evolution.
Historically a PR2 test takes between 48 to 56 hours to complete with the majority of the time spent temperature cycling the product. This equates to approximately six full days of work.
Using computer controlled software Oliver Valvetek have developed a fully automated cycle rig that can safely carry out an entire PR2 test without human intervention.
“This facility not only frees up manpower but also increases the repeatability of the tests,” Nick Howard, Design Engineer. “Utilising all 24hours of the day enables the overall time taken to complete the test to be reduced by as many as four working days.”
A fully programmable environmental cabinet controls the valve temperature throughout the test to an accuracy of +/- 0.5 degrees C.
Both manual and hydraulically operated valves, or a combination of the two, can be tested using Oliver Valvetek’s new facility.
State-of-the-art digital recording equipment continuously records all functions of the valve in terms of pressure, temperature and applied torque. The high accuracy of this recorded data can be used to measure any degradation of the product over the entire test making it easy to improve and develop the valves performance.
photo://Olivervalvetek
