DSS108: Fike Dual Flap Isolation Valve With Jim Vingerhoets and Bruce McLelland

In today’s episode, we discuss and explore the technology behind the Fike dual-flap isolation valve. To help us do that, Jim Vingerhoets and Bruce McLelland from Fike Corporation are here to help.

Jim is the Fike Global Product Manager, based out of Antwerp, Belgium. He appeared in Episode #84, talking about explosion isolation flap valves and recent test results from Fike. Bruce McLelland is the Business Development Director for Explosion Protection and he’s based out of Blue Springs, Missouri. In this interview, they discuss testing results, challenges with the placement and use of these types of valves, and how the dual-flap isolation valve compares to other isolation techniques.

Fike Flap Valve Testing- an Overview

According to Jim, flap valves have been gaining popularity since 2010 and are often seen on the inlet line of dust collectors and cyclonic separators. Fike’s testing protocols are designed to identify exactly how they work and how they function in an explosion.

“We identified several failure modes and we have several flap valves that you can buy on the market inserted in our test setup in Blue Springs,” Jim explained. “Most of them failed and they didn’t isolate the explosion. We started to think. We started to look at how others tested it and we found that the test setup used by most of the certification agencies differed from our test setup, which represents the real industrial scenario where the other test houses a simplified scenario… From there on we developed our own flap valve.”

He acknowledged that there were challenges working with passive safety systems. They need the energy of the explosion to operate and the geometry of the installation determines how the explosion develops. For example, bends in the pipeline can change the flow of the pressure and affect how fast the flap valve closes.

“So that’s why if you want a flap valve to work in a pipeline with bends, you have to test it with bends,” Jim said.

How is the Dual Flap Isolation Valve (DFI) Different?

The DFI is both strong and fast-reacting. The axis orientation is vertical instead of horizontal and has two flaps on either side. They are less than half the size of other flaps and can react faster because they have a smaller distance to close. It also has a shorter profile, which supports easier installation.

The DFI is also useful for addressing the challenges of metal dust. Mechanical isolation is better for these dusts if the seal stays intact, and the DFI has a good seal design with a high surface area.

“We would need to burn a long hole before it would penetrate that seal,” Jim said. “So we took care of that in the design and the tests have proven no problem. So even with aluminum dust, which is the most challenging, there was no sign of all of a failure.”

Bruce explained that the DFI’s compact size, smaller geometry, reduced restriction on the pipelines, horizontal links and vertical install allows the use of different kinds of applications that other flap valves could not have supported.

“That doesn’t replace the other kinds of isolation methods,” he added. “It just enhances what’s available in the marketplace.”

Are There Any Challenges for These Systems or Isolation Systems in General?

Bruce acknowledged that flap valves and isolation systems still have their challenges. If you’re flowing a high-reacting, high KST material, there are some limitations to the use of these devices.

“Once the speed gets to such that it’s too quick for a particular flap valve, then we have to look at other solutions,” he explained. ”There are a few limitations and knowing those is important to picking the right product for the installation. Now people tend to prefer the passive or flame pressure-responding isolating devices, which is very understandable. However, you need to make sure that that’s the right answer before you just arbitrarily use that solution in a pipeline.”

What are the Operation and Maintenance Considerations?

“It’s about managing nuisance dust that’s in pneumatic transport with those particular dual-flap valves,” Bruce said. “It works excellent in that case. There is a shoulder on the flap seals that is larger in diameter than the through diameter. So it allows that seal to avoid the abrasion of passing material. This makes it easier for the owner to use without needing regular service intervals. I think that’s very important as far as the differential on the dual-flap design versus a regular flap where the seal is essentially in the flow all the time, or at least abraded by the flow.”

Jim pointed out that Fike has also developed an air-purge cleaning installation capability.

“We can connect pressurized sharp air to our valve and the air will be inserted in the interiors of the valve. The perimeter of the seal will be constantly cleaned with pulse cleaning. You can program the frequency so that in principle, even if you have dust, it is constantly cleaned and you have a dust-free operation.”

Another optional upgrade is a steering cabinet where the dust layer sensor and the electro valve can be electrically steered. You can see how often the dust layer sensor seals and change the frequency of the air-purge cleaning so that you have an optimum in air consumption and keep the valve clean.

Conclusion

“One of the things I want folks to understand is there are a lot of people offering these kinds of solutions. What you want to make sure of is that the product you choose is competently placed,” Bruce said. “In other words, make sure that if you’re counting on it for life safety, that it has been tested in a real world application and someone has validated that it works with all those things in place. Minute levels of testing are what makes the difference between stopping the deflagration and missing the deflagration. So just be cautious about what you’re selecting.”

If you would like to discuss further, leave your thoughts in the comments section below. You can also reach Jim Vingerhoets and Bruce McLelland directly:

LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimvingerhoets/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/bruce-mclelland-01970a7b/

Email:
[email protected]
[email protected]

If you have questions about the contents of this or any other podcast episode, you can go to our ‘Questions from the Community’ page and submit a text message or video recording. We will then bring someone on to answer these questions in a future episode.