High-pressure components

The purpose of this chapter is to show the variety of nowadays designs for high-pressure components. This can then be considered as the current toolbox for realizing a high-pressure process from the mechanical side. The second purpose is to illustrate the mentioned technological limits and to indicate some of the research and development work that is carried out in order to overcome these. 

Industrial Hi Pressure Applications Processes, Equipment and Safety, First Edition. Edited by Rudolf Eggers. 2012 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH Co. KGaA. Published 2012 by Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH Co. KGaA. 

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Lack of accepted stress intensity factors for internally pressurized components has, until recently, limited this appHcation. The factors are a function of the size and shape of both cracks and high pressure components as well as modes of loading (91). Stress intensity factors can be derived analytically for some simple geometries, but most require the appHcation of advanced numerical methods (105—107). Alternatively they may be deterrnined experimentally (108). 

Homogenisation processes now extend up to 1500 bar differential pressures. As the materials to be homogenized exhibit varying properties with respect to viscosity, corrosiveness and abrasiveness the high pressure components, such as homogenising pumps and valves, need very careful design and choice of materials. 

The following points should be considered for a protective design and construction of safe high-pressure components ... 

Figure 7.1-7. Load cycles for high-pressure components within 10 years.

Endurance Prediction of Thickwalled High Pressure Components under Corrosion Fatigue Conditions... 

Fig. 1 Typical features of thick-walled high pressure components a) T-intersection b) Y-intersection...

The primary system, the reactor coolant pressure boundary, the safety systems and the high-pressure components of the reactor auxiliary systems are enclosed in the primary containment, a cylindrical concrete structure with an embedded steel liner. The primary containment is a pressure-suppression type with two major compartments a drywell and wet well. The drywell includes the volume that surrounds the reactor pressure vessel and the second shutdown system rooms. A partition-floor and cylindrical wall separate the drywell from the wet well. The lower part of the wet well is filled with water that acts as the condensation pool and the upper part is a gas compression chamber. 

Synthetic measuring does not need sampling. As a consequence, this method is applicable with test cells of small volumes and it can be used up to extremely high pressures. Moreover, the synthetic measurement normally is cheaper compared to analytical measurements due to a small number of high-pressure components. 

In addition to the purely technical considerations of the steel selection, also regulatory compliance must be observed. The requirements depend on the national laws of the country where the high-pressure components are to be used. Only approved steels within the limitations of the pressure vessel code (or piping code) may be used [3, 4]. 

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