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What Is Fire-Safe Valve - API 607 Vs API 6FA

API 607 and API 6FA are the most widely used standards for fire testing industrial valves. API 607 provides criteria for fire testing quarter-turn valves and other valves with nonmetallic seating under pressure, while API 6FA provides requirements for fire testing API 6A and API 6D metal seated valves. The usual principle of fire testing valves involves fully enveloping the pressurized closed valve in high-temperature flames for 30 minutes, then measuring leakage and ensuring the valve can still operate after cooling. Key differences between valves are whether they are fire safe by design, fire safe tested, or fire safe approved and certified by undergoing official third-party testing.

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340 views2 pages

What Is Fire-Safe Valve - API 607 Vs API 6FA

API 607 and API 6FA are the most widely used standards for fire testing industrial valves. API 607 provides criteria for fire testing quarter-turn valves and other valves with nonmetallic seating under pressure, while API 6FA provides requirements for fire testing API 6A and API 6D metal seated valves. The usual principle of fire testing valves involves fully enveloping the pressurized closed valve in high-temperature flames for 30 minutes, then measuring leakage and ensuring the valve can still operate after cooling. Key differences between valves are whether they are fire safe by design, fire safe tested, or fire safe approved and certified by undergoing official third-party testing.

Uploaded by

sons fzra
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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What is Fire-Safe Valve?

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Written by Anup Kumar Dey

Indust rial valves are not an ent it y of fire hazards. For valves used in t he oil and gas
indust ries, t he American Pet roleum Inst it ut e(API) has developed fire t est s. Aft er years of
refinement , API 607, ISO 10497, API 6FA, BS 6755, and BS 5146 have been accept ed as
t he st andards of fire t est s of valves. There are a few ot her st andards and procedures like
API RP6F, FM 6033, Exxon BP3-14-1, OCMA FSV-1, et c. Using t hese st andards as
guidelines, many organizat ions make t heir own int ernal procedure for fire-safe valves.

A universally accept ed fire fight ing st rat egy ment ions t hat if a fire is not beat en in a one-
half hour, a wit hdrawal and cont ainment policy is inst it ut ed. St ruct ural failures like flange
bolt failures, pipe rack collapse, and concret e erupt ions will occur. Based on t his concept ,
a fire t est durat ion of a one-half hour (30 minut es) has been est ablished.

Principle of Fire Testing of Valves


The idea behind t he fire t est s is t hat any fire-safe valve under pressurized condit ions
must operat e aft er being burnt at a specified high t emperat ure for a specified period and
leakage aft er burning should be wit hin specified limit s. The usual principle of fire t est ing
of valves or fire-safe valve t est ing is as follows:

The wat er-filled pressurized closed valve is fully enveloped uniformly in high-t emperat ure
flames of around 750 °C t o 1000 °C for a period of 30 minut es. When t he valve is
complet ely enveloped in fire exposing t he seat and sealing areas t o burn t emperat ure, t he
heat int ensit y is monit ored wit h t hermocouples and calorimet er cubes. During t his period,
t he ext ernal and int ernal leakage past t he valve is measured. This leakage should be
wit hin accept able limit s. Also, once t he valve is cooled aft er t he fire t est , t he pressure-
cont aining capabilit y of t he same valve seat s, shell, and seals are t est ed.

The st em and bore are usually kept in t he horizont al posit ion. Check valves are
t est ed in t heir normal operat ing posit ion.
The t emperat ure is measured using t wo t hermocouples. One is locat ed 25 mm
below t he valve under t est and t he ot her 25 mm from t he upper st em packing box
on t he horizont al cent reline.
The piping t o valve end connect ions for joint leakage is not part of valve fire
t est ing.

API 607 vs API 6FA


The most widely used st andard for fire t est ing of indust rial valves is API 607 and API 6FA.
Bot h t he st andards are devised by t he API. So, what are t he differences?
API 607 provides fire t est crit eria for quart er-t urn valves and ot her valves wit h
nonmet allic seat ing under pressure, whereas API 6FA provides t he fire t est ing
requirement s for API 6A and API 6D valves. API 6FA is applicable for met al seat ed valves.

Fire Safe by Design vs Fire Safe Tested


There are some confusing t erms oft en used relat ed t o t he fire safe valves. They are:

Fire Safe by Design: A “fire safe by design” valve is designed t o make t he valve fire
safe. However, t he valve hasn’t been t est ed.
Fire Safe Test ed: A “fire safe t est ed” valve could have been t est ed. However, t he
valve has not been approved by a governing t hird part y.
Fire Safe Approved and Cert ified: The t erm “fire safe approved and cert ified” for
valves signifies t hat t he has been t est ed, approved, and cert ified by a governing
t hird part y following t he guidelines ment ioned in common st andards like API 607,
API 6FA, ISO 10497, et c.

Fire-Safe Ball Valves


For applicat ions involving explosive or fire-risk environment s, fire-safe ball valves are
produced. These valves are specially designed t o limit t he spread of fire. The fire-safe
ball valves are normally fire-t est ed t o API 607, API 6FA, and BS 6755-Part 2.

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