Patent ID: 6920409

Claim:
Apparatus for testing an emergency valve and its associated controlling components, said emergency valve comprising a valve member ( 10 ) movable during emergency operation by an actuator ( 11 ) between a first and a second position at a normal operating speed under emergency conditions, said testing apparatus comprising means for initiating operation of the valve at emergency speed so that the valve member begins to move from the first position towards the second position at emergency speed and means ( 14 , 13 ) for initiating reversal of the valve member when it reaches a position intermediate its first and second positions whereby to partially stroke the valve, said actuator being operated by fluid, characterized in that said apparatus including means ( 21 , 51 ) to measure a parameter of the fluid applied to or exhausted from the actuator of the valve and/or associated controlling devices in the pipe-work connected to the actuator, and means ( 21 ) is provided to analyse said parameter to thereby provide information as to whether the emergency valve and/or associated controlling devices in the pipe-work connected to the actuator are operating satisfactorily, said means to analyse including stored data relating to the parameter recorded during an initial test operation of the emergency valve, and the means to analyse is adapted to compare the data measured during a subsequent test with the stored data.