Midland-ACS has released a high-integrity pressure regulator for pneumatic control systems used for valve actuation in the oil, gas and other processing industries. The OPD Stemsaver guards against failures of the filter regulator that controls compressed air system pressure by providing dual-redundant over-pressure protection.
It is designed to ensure that any downstream actuators for controlling process valves cannot be accidentally exposed to dangerous over-pressures that could be high enough to shear a valve stem or cause other damage. The device provides plant and automation engineers with a safeguard against a failure mechanism that could lead to a process shutdown or injury.
Pneumatic actuation is very widely used in process automation systems for controlling and sequencing valves. Automated control valves are particularly common in hazardous areas, such as offshore platforms and refineries. There may be as many as a 1,000 actuated valves on an offshore platform.
In hazardous areas, actuated valves are often elements of a plant's emergency procedures, such as the safety instrumented system that controls emergency shutdown. Depending on the emergency and type of process, valves may be automatically closed, parts of the plant may be isolated or media might be vented to atmosphere via an emergency system vent.
