Kelso completes design on dual rated pressure relief valve

May 6, 2014

Kelso Technologies Inc reports that it has successfully developed its dual rated pressure relief valve (DPRV) for use on tankcars in crude oil service.

The new DPRV was designed pursuant to an industry-wide request by the Association of American Railroads (AAR) and the Rail Supply Institute (RSI) for higher performance standards for pressure relief valves used on rail tankcars carrying crude oil, ethanol, and other flammable commodities. This is a key part of ongoing regulatory efforts by the United States and Canada to provide safer DOT111 tankcars.

On February 20, 2014 Kelso announced that it had filed a patent application for its DPRV design for use on new rail tank cars and retrofits of existing rail tank cars. Kelso’s design team successfully created the DPRV based on existing patents that cover Kelso’s external constant force spring pressure relief valve ("EPRV") design.

Kelso’s DPRV features simple mechanical engineering innovations to the existing EPRV platform. The new DPRV is designed to exceed the AAR and RSI recommended safety benefits in both accident and non-accident environments.

In general terms in a rail tankcar accident involving fire the Kelso DPRV will significantly lower its operating pressure rating based on temperature only to a level that will keep the valve open in order to evacuate the tankcar in less than 100 minutes as specified by AAR recommendations. This is a dramatic change to current technology capability. In addition, Kelso believes its DPRV will provide economic advantages to the impact of the expense of retrofits facing the railroad industry. The DPRV is an extension of Kelso’s current EPRV products so that it fits seamlessly to existing tankcar designs and can be retrofitted in the field to minimize costs.

This unique approach to the DPRV will allow Kelso, in a very short time frame after final AAR approval, to deliver a proven high performance product at production capacities that exceed all North American railroad annual OEM, retrofit, and repair needs for this product. Kelso’s new 44,000-sq-foot facility in Bonham TX--in combination with Kelso’s existing 47,000-sq-ft facilities—was designed to produce the DPRV in desired volumes commencing in July 2014.

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