From the Tap to the Test Line: The Technology of Steam
The National Board Testing Laboratory’s brand new boiler/steam generating system is the focus of the summer 2014 BULLETIN cover story. Since 2011, the test lab has been involved in an extensive upgrade and expansion project. Last July, work began on overhauling the boiler room. The article chronicles the sophisticated process and state-of-the-art equipment used to change ordinary city tap water to high-quality steam optimal for pressure relief device testing. Here’s an excerpt:
The lab performs an average of 40-50 steam tests a month at its facility in Columbus, Ohio. When a pressure relief device (PRD) is steam tested, lab technicians mount the valve on the test line. An operator flips a switch, which opens a control valve on a header. Steam is released from a holding tank (located out-of-sight in the steam generating room) and flows through a pipe that passes through the wall and connects to the steam test line out in the test room.
Seems simple enough – open valve; get steam; perform tests. But the conversion of city tap water to quality, dry, saturated steam optimal for testing PRDs from around the world is a lesson in engineering.
The summer issue will be released in early August.
The BULLETIN is the technical journal of the National Board and is distributed triannually. To start receiving the BULLETIN, sign up for a free subscription here. Online archives of past issues (2002 to the present) can be accessed here.