Hi
In a previous YouTube Short, we discussed the difference between the operating pressure and the design pressure of a vessel or any other piece of equipment or piping.
In this short, we explained that the operating pressure is related to the pressure of the vessel during normal operation to achieve the plant's performance figures.
So for example, if this is a separator and the pressure to achieve the required outlet liquid and vapor rates is 1 barg, then this is the pressure we are expecting the vessel to work at.
However, if we are expecting some overpressure scenario due to some blockage or valve failure from a source and the maximum source pressure is 5 barg, then, in this case, we should consider the design pressure of the vessel to be 5 barg so that it can withstand this scenario.
This is not the expected scenario at normal operation, but it is an approach we are following to ensure equipment protection. Here we are considering an inherently safe design.
This approach should be followed as much as possible for all the plants unless the gap between operating and design pressure is too high, which makes this approach impractical as it shall result in a much higher cost. In this case, we should consider other methods of protection, such as shutdown actions and pressure safety valves.
This was explained in the below YT short explaining how specifying the proper design pressure can eliminate significant overpressure scenarios leading to relaxation of other layers of protection. You can check out the video in the below link:
Best Regards
Mohamad
P.S. What if there is a large gap between design pressure of upstream and downstream systems? How shall we deal with that? You can check out this short.
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