7 7 S Si i z zi i n ng g

LWN 754.00

edition: 13.04.2010 7.4-1
2
7.4 Sizing according to ASME Code Sect. VIII and API RP 520 and API 521
The information contained in this section is based on following editions of codes and standards:
ASME Section VIII (2008), API RP 520 (2000), API 521 (2007), API 526 (2002), API Standard 2000
(1998), API Standard 2510 (2001), ISO 23251(2007), prEN 14015-1 (2000)

7.4.1 Premise on ASME Section VIII and API RP 520

The ASME Code is a pressure vessel code that covers the certification of safety valves for the flows
of saturated steam, water, air and natural gas (Section VIII UG-131).

API RP 520 is a recommended practice to standardize the pre-selection of safety valves for gases,
vapors, liquids and two-phase flow service already in the design phase of the plant. API RP 520 uses
the same basic formulas as the ASME Code but extends them with correction factors, e.g. for back
pressure and viscosity, to make them applicable to many practical applications.

Both the ASME Code and API RP 520 apply for relieving pressures above 15 psig.

In API RP 520 the pre-selection of a safety valve requires the determination of an effective relief area
and an effective coefficient of discharge, which are nominal values and therefore independent from
the selection of either the design or the manufacturer. The effective relief areas are those listed in API
526 in increasing order from letter D to T.

Once the safety valve orifice is selected it must be proven that the certified capacity meets or
exceeds that of the preliminary sizing. For this calculation the engineer must use the actual discharge
coefficient and the actual discharge area from the manufacturers catalog. In many practical cases it
is enough to verify that the product of the actual area and the actual discharge coefficient exceeds
that of the effective area and the effective discharge coefficient, as shown in Eq. 7.4.1-1 Actual orifice
areas and discharge coefficient of LESER safety valves are documented in the ASME NB-18 (Red
Book)
3
.

effective effective d actual actual
A K A K

(Eq. 7.4.1-1)

LESER facilitates the selection of the safety valves by introducing LEO (LESER Effective Orifice). By
using LEO the engineer can select the final size of the safety valve after the preliminary sizing by
choosing a valve with a LEO larger than the effective orifice.


effective d actual actual
K K A LEO

= (Eq. 7.4.1-2)


3
ASME National Board Pressure Relief Device Certifications NB-18, Edition: Feb. 2009
http://www.nationalboard.org/SiteDocuments/NB18/PDFs/NB18ToC.pdf
7 7 S Si i z zi i n ng g



LWN 754.00

edition: 13.04.2010 7.4-2
2
The actual discharge coefficients must be certified by ASME. The application of API RP 520 formulas
with the ASME certified actual discharge coefficient and the actual relief areas from the
manufacturers catalog is commonly called Sizing acc. to ASME Section VIII.

ASME VIII and API RP 520 are interconnected with each other and it is therefore common practice to
present them together as a unique sizing procedure. All formulas are cited here in US units.

In VALVESTAR

a similar structure is present:
The option Sizing acc. to ASME VIII is a one-step sizing procedure considering the sizing
formulas in API RP 520 with their correction factors and using the actual discharge areas and
actual discharge coefficients.
The option Sizing acc. to API RP 520 considers the two-step sizing procedure discussed before.

In both cases the same safety valve will be selected.

Table 7.4.1-1 lists the effective and the actual discharge coefficients as well as the effective and
actual discharge areas for LESER API Series Type 526.

Medium
API RP 520

ASME Code Sect. VIII
LESER API Series 526

effective d
K

[-]
actual
K [-]
Gas, vapors, steam 0.975
0.455 (Orifice D)
0.801 (Orifice E-T)
Liquid 0.65
0.343 (Orifice D)
0.579 (Orifice E-T)
Two-phase flows 0.85 No certification procedure

Orifice
letter
API RP 520
Effective discharge area
ASME VIII
Actual discharge area
LESER API Series 526
[in
2
] [mm
2
] [in
2
] [mm
2
]
D 0.110 71 0.239 154
E 0.196 126 0.239 154
F 0.307 198 0.394 254
G 0.503 325 0.616 398
H 0.785 506 0.975 625
J 1.287 830 1.58 1018
K 1.838 1186 2.25 1452
L 2.853 1841 3.48 2248
M 3.600 2322 4.43 2846
N 4.340 2800 5.30 3421
P 6.380 4116 7.79 5026
Q 11.050 7129 13.55 8742
R 16.000 10322 19.48 12668
T 26.000 16774 31.75 20485
Table 7.4.1-1: Effective and actual discharge coefficients and discharge areas for LESER API Series Type 526