Characterization and Modelling of Packed-stuffing Boxes

Abstract

The global concern of the climate and environmental changes and the increase of greenhouse gases has led to the adoption of strict regulations on fugitive emissions. The industrial sector contributes significantly to the production of fugitive emissions. Aaccording to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), 60% of emissions from equipment devices are attributed to valves. As a result, standard organizations such as ISO and API developed new standard test procedures to qualify the sealing performance of valves. However, there remains lack of However, there remains lack of standard design procedure for stuffing-box valves and selection of proper materials to improve their sealing performance. The main objective of this thesis is to introduce a procedure to characterize sealing performance and develop a standard design procedure for stuffing-box valves. In order to fulfill these objectives, theoretical models supported by a series of experimental tests were constructed to characterize the sealing performance and evaluate the integrity of stuffing-boxes. The experimental investigations were carried out on a test bench equipped with high accuracy instrumentation to practically simulate real applications and to record the sealing behavior of the systems. Packing rings made of flexible graphite (which were used as a sealant), various levels of compression stress, and three different fluids (helium, argon and nitrogen) were applied in the test plan. The theoretical model for mechanical integrity was a combination of theories; thick cylinders (Lame) and the theory for beams on elastic foundations. Furthermore, three different approaches (Modified Darcy, concentric cylinders and capillary models) were used to characterize the porosity and its influence on the sealing performance of packing rings. The results, when considering the significant agreement between the theory and test measurements, proved the reliability of the proposed procedures for the characterization of mechanical integrity and sealing performance of stuffing-boxes valves. The results also demonstrated that an open and tapered angle on the internal wall of the housing is useful in improving the sealing performance of a stuffing-box.

Date	17 Feb 2017
Original language	American English
Awarding Institution	École de technologie supérieure
Supervisor	Hakim A. Bouzid (Supervisor)