Volume 13, Issue 3, April 2008

VW COVER STORY RE-PRINT APRIL - OUTER A/W

At Velan, we knowwhat it takes to design andmanufacture industry-leading valvesthat stand the test of time.

After all, we’ve been doing just thatfor over half a century.

We offer a wide range of valvesdesigned to meet any industrialapplication. So next time you’re in themarket for a reliable metal-seatedvalve that features bubble-tight shutoffin both directions, why not take ourTorqseal™ triple-offset valve for a spin?

When it comes to valves that offerlow emissions, easy maintenance,and long and reliable service,Velan is the name to trust.

Velan. Quality that lasts.

1-514-748-7743www.velan.comTorqseal is a trademark of Velan Inc.

COVER STORY

Cover Story

Generation next:Velan forges

ahead innuclear

ReprintValve��World REPRINT FROM APRIL 2008 www.valve-world.net

Power, consistently producing top-quality,highly reliable valves has been business asusual for over 50 years atVelan. “Ourlongevity and consistency definitely workin our favor these days,” says Mr Bowers.“The majority of the existing nuclearplants worldwide are nearing fullmaturity, and the challenge is to properlymaintain them so they'll continueproducing safely and efficiently.When itcomes to replacing or upgradingcomponents in their plants, plantmanagers want to work withmanufacturers who are in this businessfor the long haul. Our customers knowthat when they deal withVelan theybenefit from the incremental expertisethat only a large, focused organizationthat's been around for decades canprovide. Simply put: they know they cancount on us.”The other side of the coin is embracinginnovation.Today, challenging projects arepopping up everywhere from a coalgasification and liquefaction unit in Chinato mining operations in New Caledoniaand refining in the Albertan tar sands.And theVelan relationship with the USNavy is still going full speed ahead:Velanrecently supplied valves for the Nimitzclass aircraft carrier, the USS George H.W.Bush (CVN77), and is now working onseveral projects for the new Ford-classaircraft carriers. “There are a lot of newconcepts the Navy wants to incorporateinto their next generation fleet of aircraftcarriers, such as titanium butterfly valvesand Inconel ball valves, says Don Bowers.“In a way, these projects are both acontinuation of our proven legacy and apromise for our future. It's a nice mix.”This sense of excitement is shared byTomVelan, President of the company. “Thanksto my father's technical expertise andentrepreneurial spirit, we were earlyparticipants in the birth of the nuclearvalve industry.Today, we're wellpositioned to be part of the comingresurgence.“We've gained a great deal of invaluableexperience by working in the nuclearindustry for so many years. Our R&D,design, and manufacturing processes wereall defined by the stringent standards ofthe nuclear industry and we have always

tried to apply that experience to othermarkets, be it for power generation,chemical and petrochemical, oil and gas,coal liquefaction, pulp and paper, mining,cryogenic, or the ship-building industries.It's all about ensuring consistently safeand reliable performance over time.”

Velan supplied the first contract for nuclear bellows seal valves in 1958. Today's EPR RAMA bellows globevalve is cobalt free and offers state-of-the-art fugitive emissions control and in-line repairability.

Frédéric Segault, the President of recently acquired Segault SA, a supplier to the French nuclearreactor program since the early 1960s.

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Generation next: Velan forgesahead in nuclearA leading supplier of valves to a wide range of industries for almost60 years, Velan is ready for the resurgence in nuclear powerLeaf through almost any newspaper these days, and chances are you'll find a headline announcingthe nuclear “renaissance”. Hyperbole aside, there's little doubt that the nuclear industry is comingout of a multi-decade moratorium, as nations on almost every continent look to nuclear energy as asafe and cost-effective way to address their burgeoning energy demands. With this in mind, wemet with the Velan team – a company on top of the latest trends in valve applications – to discusstheir leadership role in helping promote safety and reliability in the nuclear industry.

By David Sear and Joanne McIntyre

For Velan, the potential of nuclearpower isn't news. After all, thecompany has been designing and

manufacturing valves that meet theexacting criteria of the nuclear industrysince it began doing business in the1950s.Velan's involvement with the nuclearindustry was launched in the early 1950swith the US Navy's first nuclear-poweredsubmarine, the USS Nautilus. It was aparticularly good fit for the young

company, given founder A.K.Velan'semphasis on quality and reliability withdesign innovation.“Our relationship with the US Navy hasbeen a highly collaborative one,” says MrVelan. “Over the years, we've pioneeredmany valve technology innovations thathave later become standards in a widerange of industries. For example, theNavy was quick to standardize on forgedvalves up to 24” because of their greaterstrength and reliability.These forged

valves have since found widespreadpreference in fossil power plants,commercial nuclear power plants, and insuper-critical power plants in particular.”Emissions were a major concern in thenuclear industry long before they becamea more general environmental concern.To address zero-leakage requirements,Velan R&D developed the first bellowseal valves in the 1950s as well as the firstlive-loaded packing chamber in the early70s. In later years, the focus of the R&D

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www.valve-world.net APRIL 2008 Valve��World 17

effort was directed at minimizing thefugitive emissions from standard packingchambers.

It's all about safety and reliabilityFrom day one, the prime objective indesign and manufacture of Velan valveshas been ensuring absolute standards ofsafety and reliability. As A.K.Velanexplains, “Nuclear power generation hasalways been a particularly challengingapplication for valves.The goal in thisindustry is to maximize powerproduction while ensuring there is noexposure to the radiation andcontaminants inherent in this process thatmight pose a potential threat to publicsafety and health.Valves play a major rolein the day-to-day operations of nuclearpower plants for the generation of

Velan valves will report for duty on board thenext-generation USS Gerald R. Ford-classaircraft carrier, featuring a new nuclearpropulsion plant and technologies thatrevolutionize flight deck operations and greatlyreduce manning. (Illustration credit: NorthropGrumman Newport News.)

electricity or for propulsion of nuclearsubmarines, aircraft carriers, and othermilitary vessels that use it to producesteam. In this environment, not onlymust valves manage critical controlpoints in the process such as the flow ofthe coolant, water, steam, and otherauxiliary systems of the plant, they mustdo so reliably over a considerable periodof time – as much as 60 years in somecases.”Velan's model of collaborativedevelopment began early in the 1950sand 60s. Over the years, the company hasworked with a number of nuclearorganizations including the US Navy,Atomic Energy of Canada, AREVA, andWestinghouse and utilities such as DukeEnergy and Ontario Power Generation toestablish new levels of safety, reliability,and maintainability of nuclear valves, andelectric actuators. Recently,Velan hasbeen at the forefront of qualificationtesting to address safety issues raised bythe Nuclear Regulatory Commission(NRC) and Electric Power ResearchInstitute (EPRI).To ensure that criticalmotor-operated valves close during“worst case” scenarios,Velan workedclosely with Duke Energy and others todesign and rigorously test special gatevalves that can accommodate larger andheavier actuators that provide greateraccess for installation of thrust andtorque sensors on the stem.

A strong global playerAs Velan continued to augment itsproduct offering in the USA and Canada,it also expanded its global reach. As thenuclear industry flourished in the 70s,the company established a joint ventureto manufacture nuclear valves in Francein 1974. Alstom-Velan subsequentlyacquired the nuclear valve manufacturingplant of Sereg and combined operationsin Lyon. In 1999,Velan took over fullownership of the Alstom-Velan jointventure and also acquired Bouvier-Darling, another French nuclear valvecompany. In 2007,Velan furtherstrengthened its nuclear expertise andproduct range when it acquired amajority of Segualt, a French valvemanufacturer that has been a supplier to

the French nuclear reactor program sincethe early 1960s. Segault is also a keysupplier to the French nuclear navy forboth submarines and aircraft carriers.These last two acquisitions added mainsteam isolation valves, instrumentationvalves, solenoid valves, and safety valvesto Velan's nuclear valve offering.Today,Velan has 13 manufacturing plantsacross North America, Europe, and Asia,as well as a brand new plant that willsoon start production in China,Velan'slargest overseas export market.Velan'sapplication expertise has expanded wellbeyond the world of nuclear power toinclude power generation in general,refining and petrochemicals, chemicalsand pharmaceuticals, oil and gas, pulpand paper, mining, cryogenics, andalmost any other industry withdemanding valve applications.

Mr A.K. Velan next to one of Velan's valves.

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Welcoming in the next generationCurrently, about 85% of the world'snuclear electricity is generated byreactors derived from designs originallydeveloped for naval use.These and othersecond-generation nuclear power unitshave been found to be safe and reliable,but they are being superseded by newand more advanced designs.Among the most interesting advancescurrently underway are the Generation3+ nuclear plants.These new plantsincorporate evolutionary improvementsin fuel technology, passive safety systems

Velan’s Lyon - France plant is 15,000 sq metres in size and specializes in nuclear gate, globe,and check valves and cryogenic butterfly valves for LNG terminals and carriers.Velan’s Lyon - France plant is 15,000 sq metres in size and specializes in nuclear gate, globe,and check valves and cryogenic butterfly valves for LNG terminals and carriers.

(which do not require operator action orelectronic feedback to shut down safelyin the event of an emergency), modularconstruction protocols, and standardizeddesign.The first Generation 3+ plantsare in operation in Japan and others areunder construction or ready to beordered. Generation IV designs are stillon the drawing board and will not beoperational before 2020 at the earliest.The Velan engineering and manufacturingteam has a proud record of havingmanufactured more than 200,000 nuclearvalves over the years.Today the team,which started developing valves for thenew European Pressurized Water Reactor(EPR) valves in 1996, is hard at workfurnishing valves to the first Generation3+ EPR plants,TVO’s Olkiluoto 3 andthe new unit at EDF’s Flamanville site.Velan is producing a wide range of valvesfor these projects including three-wayglobe valves in large sizes, high-pressuregate valves, and wide use ofRADUR/RAMA bellows seal valves. Allof these valves address industry cobalt-free requirements (to reduce costs andhazards associated with potentialradiation exposure to activated cobaltwear debris), are designed to be lowmaintenance, and have a projectedlifetime of 60 years.“This is an extremely exciting time to bepart of the nuclear industry,” says MichelMonier, Nuclear Manager,Velan(France). “We're supplying valves tosome of the most advanced applicationsin the world. One of the latest is South

Africa's Pebble Bed Modular Reactor(PBMR), a High Temperature Reactor(HTR), with a closed-cycle, gas turbinepower conversion system.This project isinternationally regarded as one of themost promising technologies in nuclearpower: it offers very high efficiency andmeets the high safety levels expected ofadvanced nuclear designs.”

Putting Velan's stamp on the nuclearindustryWith an installation base covering themajority of the world's nuclear powerplants, spanning five continents, and over2,000 thermal power plants,Velan is aglobal market leader in power industryvalves. Over the years,Velan has workedwith just about every valve standard outthere.In fact, even before ASME introduced itsN stamp for nuclear valves,Velan'squality program was held to extremelystringent internal standards. In 1970,Velan became the first valve company toreceive the ASME N stamp accreditation,and is one of the very few valvecompanies to have maintained thisimportant North American nuclearstandard for the last 37 years.

Meeting the challenges of the futureTo succeed in the highly competitiveworld of valve design and manufacturing,a company must combine proven designand manufacturing expertise withadvances in technology. According toDon Bowers,Velan's US Director of Sales

A Velan bolted bonnet gate valve in a PHTtransfer system in a CANDU nuclear reactor.

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www.valve-world.net APRIL 2008 Valve��World 19

for Power, consistently producing top-quality, highly reliable valves has beenbusiness as usual for over 50 years atVelan. “Our longevity and consistencydefinitely work in our favor these days,”says Mr Bowers. “The majority of theexisting nuclear plants worldwide arenearing full maturity, and the challenge isto properly maintain them so they'llcontinue producing safely and efficiently.When it comes to replacing or upgradingcomponents in their plants, plantmanagers want to work withmanufacturers who are in this businessfor the long haul. Our customers knowthat when they deal with Velan theybenefit from the incremental expertisethat only a large, focused organizationthat's been around for decades canprovide. Simply put: they know they cancount on us.”The other side of the coin is embracinginnovation.Today, challenging projectsare popping up everywhere from a coalgasification and liquefaction unit in Chinato mining operations in New Caledoniaand refining in the Albertan tar sands.And the Velan relationship with the USNavy is still going full speed ahead:Velanrecently supplied valves for the Nimitzclass aircraft carrier, the USS George H.W.Bush (CVN77), and is now working onseveral projects for the new Ford-classaircraft carriers. “There are a lot of newconcepts the Navy wants to incorporateinto their next generation fleet of aircraftcarriers, such as titanium butterfly valvesand Inconel ball valves, says Don Bowers.“In a way, these projects are both acontinuation of our proven legacy and apromise for our future. It's a nice mix.”This sense of excitement is shared byTom Velan, President of the company.“Thanks to my father's technical expertiseand entrepreneurial spirit, we were earlyparticipants in the birth of the nuclearvalve industry.Today, we're wellpositioned to be part of the comingresurgence.“We've gained a great deal of invaluableexperience by working in the nuclearindustry for so many years. Our R&D,design, and manufacturing processeswere all defined by the stringentstandards of the nuclear industry and we

have always tried to apply thatexperience to other markets, be it forpower generation, chemical andpetrochemical, oil and gas, coalliquefaction, pulp and paper, mining,cryogenic, or the ship-buildingindustries. It's all about ensuringconsistently safe and reliableperformance over time.”

Velan supplied the first contract for nuclear bellows seal valves in 1958. Today's EPR RAMA bellows globevalve is cobalt free and offers state-of-the-art fugitive emissions control and in-line repairability.

Frédéric Segault, the President of recently acquired Segault SA, a supplier to the French nuclearreactor program since the early 1960s.