Pressure reducing valve upgrades at a power station in India

The Challenge

The customer approached IMI to explore how to extend the life of the installed IMI CCI auxiliary pressure reducing valve (a technology acquired from Sulzer®).

IMI CCI had over twenty such design valves installed in the auxiliary pressure reducing desuperheating system. These valves had been in operation for over 35 years.

The Solution

Over the years the IMI CCI team had upgraded many design features on the original BE model to extend the life cycle of the valve. The IMI CCI team worked closely with the customer to demonstrate the benefits of the new design features of the BE valve, including quick change trim to reduce maintenance time; a high velocity oxygen fuel chrominum carbide stem to cut down the risk of stem erosion; and graphite pre-formed packing rings to prevent packing leakage.

A significant cost benefit for the customer was that the new valves and actuators could be installed in the existing piping with the original design hydraulic control accessories.

The first valve was commissioned in February 2017. Based on the satisfactory performance of the valves, the customer placed an order for an additional three valves.​