Emergency release device for fluid loading device

Abstract

The purpose of the present invention is to provide an emergency release device which is for a fluid loading device and which makes it possible to efficiently discharge a residual fluid remaining in a recess formed in a lower coupler at the time of emergency release. Provided is an emergency release device for a fluid loading device, said emergency release device comprising a residual fluid discharge mechanism which uses purge gas to discharge a residual fluid remaining in an inter-valve space 6 that is formed when a first emergency shut-off valve 3 and a second emergency shut-off valve 4 are in a closed state, wherein: the residual fluid discharge mechanism includes an introduction flow path 7 through which the purge gas is introduced into the inter-valve space 6 and a discharge flow path 8 through which the residual fluid is discharged from the inter-valve space 6; and the introduction flow path 7 is provided in the state of being inclined downward toward the inside of the inter-valve space 6 at a prescribed angle so that the purge gas is ejected toward a position lower than the top 4b of a spherical surface 4a of the second emergency shut-off valve 4.

Description

Emergency disengagement device for fluid handling device

[0001] The present invention relates to an emergency disengagement device for a fluid handling device, which is provided with a residual fluid discharge mechanism for preventing the fluid remaining between the valve bodies of each coupling from being discharged to the outside during emergency disengagement.

[0002] Conventionally, a butterfly valve or a ball valve has generally been used for the emergency shut-off valve of an emergency disengagement device provided in a fluid handling device.

[0003] However, in the butterfly valve established in the emergency disengagement device provided in the fluid handling device for ammonia, since the Cv value (a coefficient representing the ease of flow) is low, it is not suitable for a large-flow handling process. When the flow rate is increased, the emergency disengagement device needs to be enlarged, and there is a concern about the enlargement of the associated equipment.

[0004] Also, conventionally, since ammonia is toxic to living organisms, in the emergency disengagement device provided in the fluid handling device for ammonia, a purge mechanism is provided to prevent the fluid remaining between the emergency shut-off valves of each coupling from being discharged to the outside during emergency disengagement.

[0005] This purge mechanism is configured to introduce a purge gas such as an inert gas or air into the space between the valve bodies formed by the emergency shut-off valves of each coupling being in the closed state after the emergency shut-off valves of each coupling are closed in the emergency disengagement operation, and to discharge the fluid remaining in the space between the valve bodies and transfer it to a predetermined location. However, when a butterfly valve is adopted in the ammonia large-flow handling process, the volume of the space between the valve bodies becomes larger than that of the ball valve, and it takes time to discharge, so the time required for emergency disengagement becomes longer, and there is a risk in the separation function.

[0006] Against such a background, in the ammonia large-flow handling process, it is considered preferable to adopt a ball valve for the emergency shut-off valve of the emergency disengagement device provided in the fluid handling device.

[0007] However, in conventional emergency release devices that use a ball valve for the emergency shut-off valve, when the emergency shut-off valve is closed, due to its structure, as shown in Figure 11, residual fluid accumulates in the recess 24 formed around the emergency shut-off valve 22 of the lower coupler 21, specifically on the outer circumference of the base (seal portion) of the spherical surface 23 (seal surface) of the emergency shut-off valve 22. In conventional purging structures (structures in which the inlet pipe 25 and discharge pipe 26 shown in Figure 11 are provided horizontally), it is difficult to create flow in the residual fluid in the recess 24. As a result, the residual fluid is difficult to discharge and tends to remain in the recess 24, and this remaining residual fluid is released to the outside when the coupler separates, which presents a problem.

[0008] The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and aims to provide an emergency release device for a fluid handling device that is equipped with an emergency shut-off valve composed of a ball valve, which can efficiently discharge residual fluid accumulated in a recess formed in the lower coupler during emergency release, and can prevent the residual fluid from being released to the outside.

[0009] The gist of the present invention will be explained with reference to the attached drawings.

[0010] A first aspect of the present invention is an emergency fluid handling device comprising: an upper coupler 1 provided with a first emergency shut-off valve 3, which is a ball valve; a lower coupler 2 provided with a second emergency shut-off valve 4, which is a ball valve, and is detachably connected to the upper coupler 1; a connecting and holding means 5 for maintaining the connected state of the upper coupler 1 and the lower coupler 2; and a valve body operating mechanism for opening and closing the first emergency shut-off valve 3 and the second emergency shut-off valve 4, wherein after the first emergency shut-off valve 3 and the second emergency shut-off valve 4 are closed by the operation of the valve body operating mechanism, the connecting and holding state of the upper coupler 1 and the lower coupler 2 by the connecting and holding means 5 is released, and the upper coupler 1 and the lower coupler 2 become detachable. The present invention relates to an emergency release device for a fluid handling device, comprising a residual fluid discharge mechanism that discharges residual fluid remaining in the space 6 between the valve bodies of the first emergency shut-off valve 3 and the second emergency shut-off valve 4 with a purge gas when the first emergency shut-off valve 3 and the second emergency shut-off valve 4 are in a closed state, wherein the residual fluid discharge mechanism includes an introduction channel 7 for introducing the purge gas into the space 6 between the valve bodies and an discharge channel 8 for discharging the residual fluid from the space 6 between the valve bodies, and the introduction channel 7 is provided in a downward inclined state at a predetermined angle toward the space 6 between the valve bodies such that the purge gas is ejected toward a position below the apex 4b of the spherical surface 4a of the second emergency shut-off valve 4.

[0011] Furthermore, a second aspect of the present invention relates to an emergency release device for a fluid handling device, characterized in that, in the first aspect, the discharge channel 8 is provided on the opposite side of the coupler central axis O from the introduction channel 7.

[0012] Furthermore, a third aspect of the present invention relates to an emergency release device for a fluid handling device, characterized in that, in the first aspect, the discharge passage 8 is provided in an upward inclined state at a predetermined angle toward the outside from the space between the valve bodies 6, and the lower end opening 8a of the discharge passage 8 is provided in a position as close as possible to a recess 9 formed on the outer circumference of the base of the spherical surface 4a of the second emergency shut-off valve 4 when the second emergency shut-off valve 4 is in a closed state.

[0013] Furthermore, a fourth aspect of the present invention relates to an emergency release device for a fluid handling device, characterized in that, in the second aspect, the discharge passage 8 is provided in an upward inclined state at a predetermined angle toward the outside from the space between the valve bodies 6, and the lower end opening 8a of the discharge passage 8 is provided in a position as close as possible to a recess 9 formed on the outer circumference of the base of the spherical surface 4a of the second emergency shut-off valve 4 when the second emergency shut-off valve 4 is in a closed state.

[0014] Furthermore, a fifth aspect of the present invention relates to an emergency release device for a fluid handling device, characterized in that, in the third aspect, the introduction channel 7 and the discharge channel 8 are provided in the upper coupler 1.

[0015] Furthermore, a sixth aspect of the present invention relates to an emergency release device for a fluid handling device, characterized in that, in the fourth aspect, the introduction channel 7 and the discharge channel 8 are provided in the upper coupler 1.

[0016] Furthermore, a seventh aspect of the present invention relates to an emergency release device for a fluid handling device, characterized in that, in the fifth aspect, the upper coupler 1 is provided with a first connecting pipe 10 that communicates with the introduction passage 7, and the upper coupler 1 is provided with a second connecting pipe 11 that communicates with the discharge passage 8, and the introduction passage 7 has a smaller cross-sectional area than the first connecting pipe 10, and the discharge passage 8 has a smaller cross-sectional area than the second connecting pipe 11.

[0017] Furthermore, an eighth aspect of the present invention relates to an emergency release device for a fluid handling device, characterized in that, in the sixth aspect, the upper coupler 1 is provided with a first connecting pipe 10 that communicates with the introduction passage 7, and the upper coupler 1 is provided with a second connecting pipe 11 that communicates with the discharge passage 8, and the introduction passage 7 has a smaller cross-sectional area than the first connecting pipe 10, and the discharge passage 8 has a smaller cross-sectional area than the second connecting pipe 11.

[0018] Furthermore, the ninth aspect of the present invention relates to an emergency release device for a fluid handling device, characterized in that, in any of the first to eighth aspects, the introduction channel 7 and the discharge channel 8 are provided in symmetrical positions with respect to the coupler central axis O.

[0019] Furthermore, the tenth aspect of the present invention relates to an emergency release device for a fluid handling device, characterized in that, in any of the first to eighth aspects, the residual fluid is configured to be transferred to a separately installed residual fluid recovery device 12.

[0020] Furthermore, an eleventh aspect of the present invention relates to an emergency release device for a fluid handling device, characterized in that, in the ninth aspect, the residual fluid is configured to be transferred to a separately installed residual fluid recovery device 12.

[0021] Furthermore, a twelfth aspect of the present invention relates to an emergency release device for a fluid handling device, characterized in that, in any of the first to eighth aspects, the residual fluid is configured to be returned to the piping upstream of the first emergency shut-off valve 3 of the upper coupler 1.

[0022] Furthermore, a thirteenth aspect of the present invention relates to an emergency release device for a fluid handling device, characterized in that, in the ninth aspect, the residual fluid is configured to be returned to the piping upstream of the first emergency shut-off valve 3 of the upper coupler 1.

[0023] As described above, the present invention provides an emergency release device for a fluid handling device equipped with an emergency shut-off valve consisting of a ball valve, which can efficiently discharge residual fluid accumulated in a recess formed in the lower coupler during emergency release and prevent the release of residual fluid to the outside.

[0024] This is an explanatory diagram showing the usage state of this embodiment. This is a reference cross-sectional view showing this embodiment. This is an explanatory diagram showing the flow of purge gas in this embodiment. This is a schematic diagram showing each residual fluid discharge mechanism in an experiment that supports the effectiveness of this embodiment. This is a simulation result showing the fluid velocity in the introduction channel and discharge channel in this embodiment. This is a graph showing the CFD analysis results in an experiment that supports the effectiveness of this embodiment. This is a graph showing the ppm evaluation results using Python code in an experiment that supports the effectiveness of this embodiment. This is a graph showing the ppm evaluation results using Python code in an experiment that supports the effectiveness of this embodiment. This is a graph showing the ppm evaluation results using Python code in an experiment that supports the effectiveness of this embodiment. This is a reference cross-sectional view showing a conventional example.

[0025] A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be briefly described with reference to the drawings, illustrating the operation of the present invention.

[0026] In this invention, the introduction channel 7 is provided in a state of downward inclination at a predetermined angle toward the space between valve bodies 6 such that the purge gas is ejected toward a position below the apex 4b of the spherical surface 4a of the second emergency shut-off valve 4. As a result, the purge gas ejected from the introduction channel 7 strikes the spherical surface 4a of the second emergency shut-off valve 4 at a position below the apex 4b of the spherical surface 4a. As shown in Figure 2, the purge gas that strikes the spherical surface 4a flows downward toward the recess 9 formed along the outer circumference of the base of the second emergency shut-off valve 4. This flow of purge gas into the recess 9 stirs up the residual fluid accumulated in the recess 9, and as shown in Figure 3, a flow is created in which the residual fluid in the recess 9 flows toward the discharge channel 8.

[0027] Thus, the present invention efficiently discharges residual fluid from the recess 9 by using a purge gas to stir up the residual fluid in the recess 9 on the introduction channel 7 side, sucking up and discharging this stirred-up residual fluid in the discharge channel 8, and sending the residual fluid in the recess 9 to the discharge channel 8 side, and then sucking up and discharging the residual fluid sent to the discharge channel 8 from the discharge channel 8.

[0028] Specific embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0029] This embodiment is an emergency release device for a fluid handling device, comprising an upper coupler 1 equipped with a first emergency shut-off valve 3 made of a ball valve, a lower coupler 2 equipped with a second emergency shut-off valve 4 made of a ball valve and detachably connected to the upper coupler 1, a connecting and holding means 5 that maintains the connected state of the upper coupler 1 and the lower coupler 2, and a valve body operating mechanism that opens and closes the first emergency shut-off valve 3 and the second emergency shut-off valve 4, wherein after the first emergency shut-off valve 3 and the second emergency shut-off valve 4 are closed by the operation of the valve body operating mechanism, the connected state between the upper coupler 1 and the lower coupler 2 by the connecting and holding means 5 is released, and the upper coupler 1 and the lower coupler 2 become detachable.

[0030] Specifically, this embodiment includes a residual fluid discharge mechanism (so-called purge mechanism) that, when the first emergency shut-off valve 3 and the second emergency shut-off valve 4 are in the closed state, discharges residual fluid remaining in the space between the valve bodies 6 formed between the first emergency shut-off valve 3 and the second emergency shut-off valve 4 from the space between the valve bodies 6 using purge gas and transfers it to a predetermined location. In an emergency, the valve body operating mechanism closes the first emergency shut-off valve 3 and the second emergency shut-off valve 4 to shut off the flow of fluid in the cargo handling piping, and after the fluid remaining in the space between the valve bodies 6 (residual fluid) is discharged (purged) to the space between the valve bodies 6, the coupling and holding means 5 releases the coupling and holding between the upper coupler 1 and the lower coupler 2, making the upper coupler 1 and the lower coupler 2 in a state where they can be detached (separated) in an emergency. In this embodiment, the device is configured as an emergency release device for a fluid handling device L (loading arm) installed on land, as shown in Figure 1. However, it may also be configured to be installed on a bunkering boom on a fuel supply vessel (tanker) such as an ammonia tanker, and the design can be modified as appropriate.

[0031] The components of this embodiment will be described in detail below.

[0032] As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the upper coupler 1 is connected to the piping on the side of the fluid handling device L installed on land, and the lower coupler 2 is connected to the piping on the side of the tanker (not shown). They are arranged side by side in the vertical direction and are connected by a connecting and holding means 5 so that they can be separated (and detached in an emergency). Note that the connecting and holding means 5 in this embodiment uses known technology (for example, the technology disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2023-132768), so a detailed explanation thereof is omitted here.

[0033] Furthermore, the upper coupler 1 and the lower coupler 2 each utilize ball valves for their emergency shut-off valves (first emergency shut-off valve 3 and second emergency shut-off valve 4), and are configured to open and close simultaneously by a valve body operating mechanism (not shown). Note that the valve body operating mechanism in this embodiment, like the connecting and holding means 5 described above, employs known technology (for example, the technology disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2023-132768), and therefore a detailed explanation is omitted here.

[0034] Next, the residual fluid discharge mechanism (purge mechanism) of this embodiment will be described.

[0035] The residual fluid discharge mechanism of this embodiment includes a purge gas supply device 13 that supplies purge gas into the space between valve bodies 6, an introduction channel 7 for introducing the purge gas supplied from the purge gas supply device 13 into the space between valve bodies 6, a discharge channel 8 for discharging residual fluid from the space between valve bodies 6, and a residual fluid recovery device 12 for recovering the residual fluid discharged from the space between valve bodies 6. As shown in Figure 1, the mechanism is configured to introduce the purge gas supplied from the purge gas supply device 13 into the space between valve bodies 6 via a purge gas transfer pipe 14, discharge (replace) the residual fluid in the space between valve bodies 6 with this purge gas, and then transfer and recover the discharged residual fluid to the residual fluid recovery device 12 via a residual fluid transfer pipe 15.

[0036] Specifically, nitrogen gas is used as the purge gas supplied by the purge gas supply device 13. However, the purge gas is not limited to nitrogen gas; other inert gases such as helium or air may also be used.

[0037] Furthermore, the residual fluid recovery device 12 is a demister and is configured to properly recover and process residual fluid mixed with purge gas (nitrogen).

[0038] In this embodiment, the residual fluid is collected in the residual fluid recovery device 12 as described above. However, the residual fluid may not be collected in the residual fluid recovery device 12, but instead returned to the piping upstream of the first emergency shut-off valve 3 of the upper coupler 1.

[0039] Furthermore, the introduction channel 7 is provided in the upper coupler 1 and is positioned at a predetermined downward angle toward the space between valve bodies 6 so that the purge gas is ejected toward a position below the apex 4b of the spherical surface 4a of the second emergency shut-off valve 4.

[0040] Specifically, the introduction channel 7 is a through-hole formed through the peripheral wall of the upper coupler 1, and is provided at an inclination angle of 40° to 50° (45° in this embodiment) with respect to the horizontal direction perpendicular to the central axis O of the upper coupler 1, and is configured to eject toward a position approximately midway between the apex 4b and the lower end (seal portion 4c) of the spherical surface 4a in the direction of the coupler's central axis O.

[0041] Furthermore, the introduction channel 7 is provided in communication with the first connecting pipe 10, which is projected horizontally outward from the circumferential surface of the upper coupler 1 and connected to the purge gas transfer pipe 14. Moreover, the introduction channel 7 is set to have a smaller cross-sectional area than the flow channel cross-section of the first connecting pipe 10 (it is set to have a smaller diameter than the pipe diameter of the first connecting pipe 10). As shown in Figure 5, the flow velocity of the purge gas in the introduction channel 7 (symbol o in the figure) is faster than the flow velocity in the first connecting pipe 10 (symbol f in the figure), so that the purge gas is ejected more forcefully into the space between the valve bodies 6.

[0042] Furthermore, the discharge passage 8 is provided in the upper coupler 1 and is positioned at an appropriate distance from the inlet passage 7, with an upward inclination at a predetermined angle toward the outside from the space between valve bodies 6. Alternatively, the discharge passage 8 may be provided in the lower coupler 2.

[0043] Specifically, the discharge channel 8 is a through-hole formed through the peripheral wall of the upper coupler 1. It is provided on the opposite side (in this embodiment, at a position symmetric with respect to the introduction channel 7 and the coupler central axis O) across the introduction channel 7 and the coupler central axis O, at an inclination angle of 40° to 50° (45° in this embodiment) with respect to the horizontal direction perpendicular to the central axis O of the upper coupler 1. Furthermore, when the second emergency shut-off valve 4 is in the closed state, the lower end opening 8a is provided at a position as close as possible to the recess 9 (recessed strip) formed along the outer periphery of the base of the spherical surface 4a of the second emergency shut-off valve 4.

[0044] That is, in this embodiment, the center of the flow path cross-section of the introduction channel 7 and the center of the flow path cross-section of the discharge channel 8 are arranged so as to be located on a straight line passing through the coupler central axis O.

[0045] Specifically, the discharge channel 8 is provided such that the center position of the lower end opening 8a is 25 mm to 40 mm from the lower end of the upper coupler 1 (the butting surface with the lower coupler 2) (it is provided at an appropriate position according to the pipe diameter of the discharge channel 8, that is, the size of the lower end opening 8a of the discharge channel 8).

[0046] Also, the discharge channel 8 is provided in a communicating state with the second connecting pipe 11 which protrudes horizontally outward from the peripheral surface of the upper coupler 1 and to which the transfer pipe 15 for residual fluid is continuously connected. The flow path cross-sectional area of the discharge channel 8 is set smaller than the flow path cross-sectional area of the second connecting pipe 11 (the pipe diameter of the discharge channel 8 is set smaller than the pipe diameter of the second connecting pipe 11).

[0047] That is, in this embodiment, by making the discharge channel 8 have a small diameter, it becomes a throttle valve with respect to the space between the valve bodies. As shown in FIG. 5, the flow velocity increases from the side of the space between the valve bodies 6 toward the side of the second connecting pipe 11 within the discharge channel 8 (the speed increases in the order of the reference numerals d→h→o→r in the figure). Thereby, an orifice effect occurs and the inside of the discharge channel 8 becomes a lower pressure than the space between the valve bodies 6, and a suction action from the space between the valve bodies 6 toward the discharge channel 8 is configured to occur in the discharge channel 8.

[0048] In addition, the introduction channel 7 and the discharge channel 8 configured as described above can set the pipe diameter (flow path cross-sectional area) as shown in Table 1 below according to the pipe diameter of the first connecting pipe 10 (second connecting pipe 11) (when the pipe diameters of the upper coupler 1 and the lower coupler 2 are of the 12-inch specification).

[0049]

[0050] In addition, with the setting of each of the above pipe diameters, the position of the lower end opening 8a of the discharge channel 8 (the distance from the opening end face of the upper coupler 1 (the joint surface with the lower coupler 2)), the valve-to-valve distance (the distance between the vertices) between the first emergency shut-off valve 3 and the second emergency shut-off valve 4, and the volume of the space 6 between the valve bodies can be set as shown in Table 2 below.

[0051]

[0052] In the present embodiment, as shown in the drawing, the introduction channel 7 and the discharge channel 8 are provided one by one in the upper coupler 1. However, as shown in Fig. 4(b), a configuration in which two introduction channels 7 and two discharge channels 8 are provided may also be adopted.

[0053] The operation and effects of the present embodiment configured as described above will be described below.

[0054] In the present embodiment, the introduction channel 7 for introducing the purge gas into the space 6 between the valve bodies is provided in a downwardly inclined state with an inclination angle of 45° toward the space 6 between the valve bodies, and the purge gas is configured to be ejected toward a position below the vertex 4b of the spherical surface 4a of the second emergency shut-off valve 4. Therefore, the purge gas hitting the spherical surface 4a of the second emergency shut-off valve 4 flows down and the residual fluid in the space 6 between the valve bodies flows into the recess 9 formed along the outer periphery of the base of the second emergency shut-off valve 4. Due to the flow of the purge gas into the recess 9, the residual fluid in the recess 9 on the introduction channel 7 side is lifted up, and a flow of the residual fluid in the recess 9 toward the discharge channel 8 side occurs.

[0055] In this embodiment, the discharge channel 8 for discharging residual fluid is provided in an upward inclined state at a 45° angle from the space between valve bodies 6 toward the outside, and the lower end opening 8a of the discharge channel 8 is provided as close as possible to the recess 9. As a result, the stirred-up residual fluid is efficiently sucked into the discharge channel 8 and discharged, and the residual fluid that has flowed to the discharge channel 8 side is sucked up through the lower end opening 8a. Through these interactions, the residual fluid in the recess 9 is efficiently discharged.

[0056] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the introduction channel 7 is set to have a smaller diameter than the first connecting pipe 10, resulting in a smaller cross-sectional area of ​​the channel. As a result, the purge gas increases in velocity within the introduction channel 7 and is ejected forcefully, which allows the aforementioned choke-up effect and the effect of residual fluid flowing towards the discharge channel 8 to occur more efficiently.

[0057] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the introduction channel 7 and the discharge channel 8 are provided in the upper coupler 1, and the discharge channel 8 is also provided in an inclined state symmetrically with respect to the introduction channel 7. This configuration makes it possible to bring the first emergency shut-off valve 3 and the second emergency shut-off valve 4 as close together as possible. Compared to the conventional example shown in Figure 11, the volume of the space between the valve bodies 6 can be significantly reduced. As a result, the amount of residual fluid is reduced, the time required to discharge the residual fluid is shortened, the time required for emergency release is shortened, and emergency release can be performed more safely. Moreover, by reducing the volume of the space between the valve bodies 6, the emergency release device itself can be made smaller and lighter, and the size of the fluid handling device can be suppressed.

[0058] The following describes experimental examples that support the effectiveness of this embodiment.

[0059] In this experiment, the residual fluid discharge performance was evaluated for residual fluid discharge mechanisms with different configurations of the introduction channel 7, discharge channel 8, first connecting pipe 10, and second connecting pipe 11 of the upper coupler 1 and lower coupler 2 with a pipe diameter of φ12 inches.

[0060] Specifically, the residual fluid discharge performance of four residual fluid discharge mechanisms with different configurations of the inlet channel 7, discharge channel 8, first connecting pipe 10, and second connecting pipe 11, as shown in Figures 4(a) to 4(d), was evaluated using CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) analysis.

[0061] Here, Figure 4(a) shows a conventional configuration without an inlet channel 7 and an outlet channel 8 (conventional example), Figure 4(b) shows the configuration of each pipe in this embodiment as shown in Table 1-B (Example 1), Figure 4(c) shows the configuration of each pipe in this embodiment as shown in Table 1-C, and also includes two inlet channels 7 and two outlet channels 8 (Example 2), and Figure 4(d) shows the configuration of each pipe in this embodiment as shown in Table 1-A (Example 3).

[0062] Furthermore, the CFD parameters were set as shown in Tables 3 (Numerical Parameter) and 4 (Physical Parameter) below.

[0063]

[0064]

[0065] The CFD analysis results from this experiment are shown in Table 5 and Figures 6-10 below. Figure 6 is a graph of the numerical data from Table 5. Figures 7-10 are graphs of ppm evaluations (changes in ammonia residual fluid concentration near the ERS) using Python code under each condition (Figure 7: Conventional example, Figure 8: Example 1, Figure 9: Example 2, Figure 10: Example 3). In this experiment, the graphs specifically show the changes immediately before the completion of purging.

[0066]

[0067] As shown in Table 5 and Figures 6-10, while the conventional example failed to eliminate residual fluid in the space between valve bodies 6 within a purging time of 7 seconds, the present examples (Examples 1-3) achieved the result that residual fluid in the space between valve bodies 6 could be eliminated within a purging time of 6 seconds or less.

[0068] In particular, in Example 3, where φ2-inch (50.8 mm) piping is used for the first connecting pipe 10 and the second connecting pipe 11, the pipe diameter of the inlet passage 7 and the discharge passage 8 is set to φ29 mm, and the position of the lower end opening 8a of the discharge passage 8 is set to 36.1 mm from the lower end of the upper coupler 1 (the abutting surface with the lower coupler 2), it was confirmed that the discharge (replacement) of residual fluid can be completed in a purging time of 2.5 seconds.

[0069] It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to this embodiment, and the specific configuration of each constituent element can be designed as appropriate.

Claims

1. Emergency release for fluid handling equipment comprising: an upper coupler equipped with a first emergency shut-off valve composed of a ball valve; a lower coupler equipped with a second emergency shut-off valve composed of a ball valve and detachably connected to the upper coupler; a connecting and holding means for maintaining the connected state of the upper coupler and the lower coupler; and a valve body operating mechanism for opening and closing the first and second emergency shut-off valves, wherein after the first and second emergency shut-off valves are closed by the operation of the valve body operating mechanism, the connecting and holding state between the upper coupler and the lower coupler is released, and the upper coupler and the lower coupler become detachable. An emergency release device for a fluid handling device, comprising a residual fluid discharge mechanism for discharging residual fluid remaining in the space between the valve bodies of the first emergency shut-off valve and the second emergency shut-off valve by purge gas when the first emergency shut-off valve and the second emergency shut-off valve are in a closed state, wherein the residual fluid discharge mechanism includes an introduction channel for introducing the purge gas into the space between the valve bodies and an discharge channel for discharging the residual fluid from the space between the valve bodies, and the introduction channel is provided in a downward inclined state at a predetermined angle toward the space between the valve bodies such that the purge gas is ejected toward a position below the apex of the spherical surface of the second emergency shut-off valve.

2. An emergency release device for a fluid handling device according to claim 1, characterized in that the discharge channel is provided on the opposite side of the coupler central axis from the introduction channel.

3. An emergency release device for a fluid handling device according to claim 1, characterized in that the discharge passage is provided in an upward inclined state at a predetermined angle toward the outside from the space between the valve bodies, and the lower end opening of the discharge passage is provided in a position as close as possible to a recess formed on the outer circumference of the base of the spherical surface of the second emergency shut-off valve when the second emergency shut-off valve is in a closed state.

4. An emergency release device for a fluid handling device according to claim 2, characterized in that the discharge passage is provided in an upward inclined state at a predetermined angle toward the outside from the space between the valve bodies, and the lower end opening of the discharge passage is provided in a position as close as possible to a recess formed on the outer circumference of the base of the spherical surface of the second emergency shut-off valve when the second emergency shut-off valve is in a closed state.

5. An emergency release device for a fluid handling device according to claim 3, characterized in that the introduction channel and the discharge channel are provided in the upper coupler.

6. An emergency release device for a fluid handling device according to claim 4, characterized in that the introduction channel and the discharge channel are provided in the upper coupler.

7. An emergency release device for a fluid handling device according to claim 5, wherein the upper coupler is provided with a first connecting pipe that communicates with the introduction channel, and the upper coupler is provided with a second connecting pipe that communicates with the discharge channel, and the introduction channel has a smaller cross-sectional area than the first connecting pipe, and the discharge channel has a smaller cross-sectional area than the second connecting pipe.

8. An emergency release device for a fluid handling device according to claim 6, wherein the upper coupler is provided with a first connecting pipe that communicates with the introduction channel, and the upper coupler is provided with a second connecting pipe that communicates with the discharge channel, and the introduction channel has a smaller cross-sectional area than the first connecting pipe, and the discharge channel has a smaller cross-sectional area than the second connecting pipe.

9. An emergency release device for a fluid handling device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the introduction channel and the discharge channel are provided in symmetrical positions with respect to the coupler's central axis.

10. An emergency release device for a fluid handling device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the residual fluid is configured to be transferred to a separately installed residual fluid recovery device.

11. An emergency release device for a fluid handling device according to claim 9, characterized in that the residual fluid is configured to be transferred to a residual fluid recovery device installed separately.

12. An emergency release device for a fluid handling device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the residual fluid is configured to be returned to the piping upstream of the first emergency shut-off valve of the upper coupler.

13. An emergency release device for a fluid handling device according to claim 9, characterized in that the residual fluid is configured to be returned to the piping upstream of the first emergency shut-off valve of the upper coupler.

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