Development Status of Safety Valves

Safety valves are a unique branch of the valve family. Their specialness lies in their role, unlike other valves that merely function as switches, but more importantly, in protecting equipment. With the rapid development of my country's economy, pressure-controlled equipment projects are increasing. Given the need for pressure relief, safety valves play a crucial role in protecting equipment. As of 2013, there were over 700 manufacturers and traders of various safety valves, with over 200 daily inquiries, indicating a significant increase in the supply and demand market for safety valves. Preliminary analysis of first-quarter data shows that the demand for safety valves is 20 percentage points higher than expected. Safety valves are important safety accessories for boilers, pressure vessels, and other pressure-bearing equipment. Safety valves (also known as pressure relief valves) automatically open and close based on the working pressure (or temperature) of the pressure system. They are generally installed on equipment or pipelines in closed systems to protect system safety. When the pressure or temperature inside the equipment or pipeline exceeds the safety valve's set pressure, it automatically opens to relieve pressure or cool the system, ensuring that the pressure (temperature) of the medium inside the equipment and pipeline remains below the set pressure (temperature), protecting the equipment and pipeline from accidents and minimizing losses. Safety valves are widely used in steam boilers, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) tank trucks or railway tank cars, oil wells, high-pressure bypasses in steam power generation equipment, pressure pipelines, and pressure vessels. Safety valves are generally classified by structure into spring-loaded safety valves, lever-type safety valves, and pulse-type safety valves, with spring-loaded safety valves being the most common. They are also classified by connection method into threaded safety valves and flanged safety valves. Safety valves are generally not large in diameter, commonly ranging from DN15mm to DN80mm; those exceeding 150mm are generally considered large-diameter safety valves. The expansion of the safety valve industry market in 2013 is an undeniable fact. The number of qualified safety valve manufacturers in my country is limited because safety valves belong to the special equipment industry, and the State Administration for Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) has strict requirements for qualification review. The huge market demand for safety valves undoubtedly brings more wealth opportunities to these qualified manufacturers.