modelDynamicReliefValve

Dynamic relief valve

Information

## Copyright © EDF 2002 - 2026  
## ThermoSysPro Version 4.2  
This component model is documented in Sect. 13.13 of the ThermoSysPro book.   
# Dynamic relief valve   
   
Relief valves are used to limit the pressure in a system.  
When the set pressure level is exceeded, the relief valve opens.  
It closes again once the system pressure reaches the valve reseting pressure.s  

Following assumptions are made:  
- the fluid is subsonic and incompressible.  
- the volume inside the valve is negligible, so that inertia is neglected.  


## Modelica component model  

The equations mentioned below are implemented in the component *DynamicReliefValve*, located in the *WaterSteam.PressureLosses* sub-library.   
This component has 2 connectors:  
- C1: fluid inlet,  
- C2: fluid outlet.  
   
![modelica://ThermoSysPro/UsersGuide/Documentation/ThermoSysPro.WaterSteam.PressureLosses.DynamicReliefValve.svg](modelica://ThermoSysPro/UsersGuide/Documentation/ThermoSysPro.WaterSteam.PressureLosses.DynamicReliefValve.svg)  

## Nomenclature  

| Symbol| Description| Unit| Definition| Modelica name |  
| :----------------------------------------------- | :--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | :------------------------------- | :------------------------------------- | :----------- |  
| \\(A\_{\mathrm{i}}\\)| Clapper section at the inlet| \\(\mathrm{m}^{2}\\)|| A |  
| \\(A\_{\mathrm{o}}\\)| Clapper section at the outlet| \\(\mathrm{m}^{2}\\)|| A2 |  
| \\(C\_{\mathrm{v}}\\)| Flow coefficient of the valve| U.S. [USG/min]|| Cvmax |  
| \\(D\\)| Valve damping| \\(-\\)|| D |  
| \\(f\_{\mathrm{d}}\\)| Force acting on the clapper due to damping| \\(\mathrm{N}\\)|| Fd |  
| \\(f\_{\mathrm{h}}\\)| Hydraulic force acting on the clapper| \\(\mathrm{N}\\)|| Fh |  
| \\(f\_{\mathrm{s}}\\)| Force acting on the clapper due to the spring| \\(\mathrm{N}\\)|| Fr |  
| \\(f\_{\mathrm{t}}\\)| Total force acting on the clapper| \\(\mathrm{N}\\)|| Ft |  
| \\(f\_{\mathrm{w}}\\)| Force acting on the clapper due to the weight of the clapper| \\(\mathrm{N}\\)|| Fp |  
| \\(h\\)| Fluid specific enthalpy | \\(\mathrm{J} / \mathrm{kg}\\)|| h |  
| \\(h\_{\mathrm{c}}\\)| Valve height | \\(\mathrm{m}\\)| \\(h\_{\mathrm{c}}=z\_{\max }-z\_{\min }\\) | - |  
| \\(K\_{\mathrm{e}}\\)| Valve spring stiffness| \\(\mathrm{N} / \mathrm{m}\\)|| Ke |  
| \\(\dot{m}\\)| Fluid mass flow rate| \\(\mathrm{kg} / \mathrm{s}\\)|| Q |  
| \\(M\\)| Valve mass| \\(\mathrm{kg}\\)|| m |  
| \\(P\_{\mathrm{i}}\\)| Fluid pressure at the inlet| \\(\mathrm{Pa}\\)|| C1.P |  
| \\(P\_{\mathrm{o}}\\)| Fluid pressure at the outlet| \\(\mathrm{Pa}\\)|| C2.P |  
| \\(v\\)| Clapper velocity| \\(\mathrm{m} / \mathrm{s}\\)|| v |  
| \\(z\\)| Clapper position| \\(\mathrm{m}\\)|| z |  
| \\(z\_{\min }\\)| Clapper minimum position \(valve fully closed\)| \\(\mathrm{m}\\)|| z_min |  
| \\(z\_{\max }\\)| Clapper maximum position \(valve fully open\)| \\(\mathrm{m}\\)|| z_max |  
| \\(\delta\\)| Difference between the free spring length and the spring length when the valve is closed | \\(\mathrm{m}\\)|| - |  
| \\(\Delta P\\)| Pressure loss of the fluid between the valve inlet and outlet| \\(\mathrm{Pa}\\)| \\(P\_{\mathrm{i}}-P\_{\mathrm{o}}\\)| deltaP |  
| \\(\rho\\)| Fluid density| \\(\mathrm{kg} / \mathrm{m}^{3}\\) ||rho |  
| \\(\rho\_{\text {water, } 60^{\circ} \mathrm{F}}\\) | Density of water at \\(60^{\circ} \mathrm{F}\left\(15.5556^{\circ} \mathrm{C}\right\) .\\)| \\(\mathrm{kg} / \mathrm{m}^{3}\\) || rho60F |  
| \\(\Omega\\)| Valve position| \\(-\\)|| Ouv |  



## Governing equations  

### Static momentum balance equation  


    
    

- Validity domain:   
   
 \\(\forall \dot{m}\\) and \\(C\_{\mathrm{v}} \geq 0\\). For \\(C\_{\mathrm{v}}=0, \Delta P\\) must be defined.  

- Mathematical formulation:   
   
 $$\Delta P \cdot C\_{\mathrm{v}} \cdot\lvert C\_{\mathrm{v}}\rvert =1.732189 \times 10^{12} \cdot \frac{\dot{m} \cdot \lvert \dot{m} \rvert }{\rho \cdot \rho\_{\text {water, } 60^{\circ} F}}$$  

- Comments:   
   
 This equation is the same as the control valve \\(C\_{\mathrm{v}}=f\_{v}\(\Omega\)\\) where \\(f\_{v}\\) is the valve characteristic. It is assumed that \\(\Omega=\frac{z-z\_{\min }}{z\_{\max }-z\_{\min }}\\).  


### Clapper equation  

- Validity domain:  

\\( z\_{\min} \leq z \leq z\_{\max} \\)  

- Mathematical formulation:   

$$   M \cdot \frac{\mathrm{d} \nu}{\mathrm{d}t}=\left\{\begin{array}{l} f_{\mathrm{t}} \text{ if } z_{\min }<z<z_{\max } \\   f_{\mathrm{t}} \text{ if } z \leq z_{\min } \text{ and } f_{\mathrm{t}}>0 \\   f_{\mathrm{t}} \text{ if } z \geq z_{\max } \text{ and } f_{\mathrm{t}}<0 \\   0  \text{ else }\end{array}\right.$$  

$$   \nu =\left\{\begin{array}{l}\frac{\mathrm{d} z}{\mathrm{d} t}    \text{ when } z_{\min }<z<z_{\max } \\   0 \text{ when } z \leq z_{\min } \text{ or } z \geq z_{\max }\end{array}\right.$$  

$$   f_{\mathrm{t}} = f_{\mathrm{w}}+f_{\mathrm{s}} +f_{\mathrm{d}}+ f_{\mathrm{h}} \\   f_{\mathrm{w}} = -M \cdot g \\   f_{\mathrm{d}} = -D \cdot \frac{\mathrm{d} z}{\mathrm{d} t} \\   f_{\mathrm{s}} = -K_{\mathrm{e}} \cdot (z - z_{\min} + \delta) \\   f_{\mathrm{h}} = P_{\mathrm{i}} \cdot A_{\mathrm{i}} - P_{\mathrm{o}} \cdot A_{\mathrm{o}}$$  

- Comments:  

The velocity  and acceleration are set to zero when the clapper hits the mechanical stops. The equal sign is replaced by \\(\leq\\) or \\(\geq\\) in the transition conditions \\(z=z_{\min }\\) and \\(z=z_{\max }\\) because equal signs are not recognized by solvers to compare real values.  

## References   
   
El Hefni, Baligh and Bouskela, Daniel (2019). [Modeling and Simulation of Thermal Power Plants with ThermoSysPro](https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-05105-1), sect. 13.1. Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

Parameters

TypeNameDefaultDescription
Units.SI.AbsolutePressurePopen3e5Pressure that opens the valve
Units.SI.AbsolutePressurePout1e5Pressure at the valve outlet (for sizing)
ThermoSysPro.Units.xSI.CvCvmax8005.42Maximum Cv [USG/min]
Real[:,2]caract[0, 0; 1, Cvmax]Position vs. Cv [USG/min] characteristics (active if mode_caract=1)
Units.SI.AreaA10.1Hydraulic area upstream the clapper
Units.SI.AreaA20.125Hydraulic area downstream the clapper
Units.SI.Area[:,2]clapper_area[0, A1; 0.01, A2; 1, A2]Clapper area as a function of the clapper elevation
RealD1Damping
Units.SI.Massm1Valve mass
Units.SI.Lengthz_max0.1Maximum clapper elevation
Units.SI.Lengthz00Initial clapper elevation, between 0 and z_max. 0:valve closed - z_max: valve fully open (active if permanent_meca = false)
RealKe62500Valve spring stiffness
RealCd0Drag coefficient of the clapper
Integermode_caract00:linear characteristics - 1:characteristics is given by caract[] - 2:characteristics for conic clapper
Integeroption_interpolation11: linear interpolation - 2: spline interpolation (active if mode_caract=1)
Booleanmech_steady_statetruetrue: start from mechanical steady state - false: start from 0
Booleancontinuous_flow_reversalfalsetrue: continuous flow reversal - false: discontinuous flow reversal
Units.SI.Densityp_rho0If > 0, fixed fluid density
Integermode0IF97 region. 1:liquid - 2:steam - 4:saturation line - 0:automatic

Connectors

TypeNameDefaultDescription
Connectors.FluidInletC1
Connectors.FluidOutletC2

Components

TypeNameDefaultDescription
Booleanclapper_is_freetrue if clapper is free to move in both directions, false otherwise
Units.SI.ForceFpGravity force
Units.SI.ForceFrSpring force
Units.SI.ForceFdDamping force
Units.SI.ForceFhHydraulic force
Units.SI.ForceFdynDynamic pressure force
Units.SI.ForceFtTotal force
Units.SI.LengthzClapper elevation
Units.SI.Velocityvder(z)Clapper velocity
Units.SI.Accelerationader(v)Clapper acceleration
RealOuvValve position
Units.SI.AreaAHydraulic area upstream the clapper
Units.SI.ForceFr_minSpring force when valve is closed
ThermoSysPro.Units.xSI.CvCvCv [USG/min]
Units.SI.MassFlowRateQMass flow rate
ThermoSysPro.Units.SI.PressureDifferencedeltaPSingular pressure loss
Units.SI.DensityrhoFluid density
Units.SI.TemperatureTFluid temperature
Units.SI.AbsolutePressurePmFluid average pressure
Units.SI.SpecificEnthalpyhFluid specific enthalpy
Units.SI.AbsolutePressurePdynDynamic pressure on the clapper
Units.SI.VelocityvhFluid velocity through the valve
Units.SI.EnergyWdynDissipated fluid kinetic energy
RealRerho*(vh - v)*sqrt(4*A/pi)/ThermoSysPro.Properties.WaterSteam.IF97.DynamicViscosity_rhoT(rho, T)Clapper Reynolds

Revisions

Author  

Daniel Bouskela