Engineered Solutions for Improving Valve Reliability and Condition Monitoring Programs	Time: 1:30 PM	Room A
Neal Este, P.E. & Zachary Leutwyler, Kalsi Engineering, Inc. Valve problems are a leading contributor to industrial plant accidents, unplanned down-time, and operational work-arounds. Unlike rotating equipment, valve predictive technologies are not as well known, particular as they apply to passive valves such as check valves. Predictive first-principals models for check valve wear and fatigue have been developed that can be used in an effective plant condition monitoring program. These wear and fatigue models have been validated by extensive flow-loop testing and take into account different check valve types, flow velocities, and upstream disturbances. In addition to providing a generic overview of the technology to predict check valve degradation, the presentation provides two examples of where these first-principles models were used to quantify the cause and to validate recommended solutions for excessive wear and spring breakage in double-disk check valves at a petrochemical and power plant.