A thermally activatable safety valve for a pressure vessel includes i) a pressure relief unit having a valve for pressure relief of the pressure vessel; ii) at least one release line which extends away from the pressure relief unit; and iii) at least one bursting device. The release line, the bursting device and the valve are fluidically connected and form a common fluid system. The valve is designed, for pressure relief, to pass from a first closed position into a second open position if the pressure in the fluid system is less than an actuating limit pressure. The bursting device is designed to bring about pressure relief in the fluid system if the pressure in the fluid system exceeds a release pressure.

The invention is directed to a gas cylinder valve (2) comprising a body (4) with an inlet (18), an outlet (40) and a passage (20) fluidly interconnecting said inlet and outlet; a shut-off device (22) with a seat (26) formed in the passage (20) and a shutter (24) movable along a longitudinal axis (7) for cooperating with said seat; a spindle (12) rotatably mounted on the body (4) along the longitudinal axis (7) and cooperating with the shutter (24) such as to move said shutter upon rotation of said spindle; a residual pressure device (28) fluidly downstream of the shut-off device (22), with a seat (32) formed in the passage (20) and a piston (30) movable along a transversal axis (38. At least one of the shutter (24) and the piston (30) shows a recess or opening (24.4) accommodating the other of said shutter and piston.

A pressure-compensated rupture disk assembly and method for subsea protection of a pressure vessel. The assembly and method incorporate a piston device, a dynamic piston seal configured to move the piston device when a predetermined pressure is reached; and a rupture disk adjacent the piston device, the rupture disk having a first pressure on a piston side and a second pressure on a second side, the rupture disk being configured to open when a predetermined pressure is exceeded.

A method for releasing a fluid from a pressure vessel assembly, the method including the steps of providing: a pressure vessel; a piezo electric device; and an electric field generator; arranging the piezo electric device in a sealed relationship with a part of the pressure vessel, thereby providing the pressure vessel assembly, providing a fluid contained within the pressure vessel assembly under pressure, and using the electric field generator to apply an electric field to the piezo electric device, such that the piezo electric device fails, thereby releasing the fluid from the pressure vessel assembly.

A system and method of predicting impending failure of a pressure vessel include a pressure vessel, a fluid source, a line coupled to the pressure vessel and to the fluid source, an apparatus, a sensor and a controller. The apparatus includes a conduit and a containment structure. The containment structure includes a cavity separated from an interior of the conduit by a portion of a conduit wall of the conduit. The sensor is configured to determine a value of a physical property in the cavity. The controller is in signal communication with the sensor and configured to detect a change in the value. The method includes determining a first value of a physical property in the cavity, experiencing a failure of the conduit wall, determining a second value of the physical property in the cavity, and detecting a difference between the first and second values.

An actuator is disclosed herein. The actuator includes a drive body including a bottom surface, the bottom surface having a first side and an opposing second side, a magneto strictive material disposed within the drive body and contacting the first side of the bottom surface of the drive body, a solenoid disposed within the drive body and surrounding the magneto strictive material, a drive rod extending through the magneto strictive material and through the bottom surface of the drive body, and a spring disposed adjacent the second side of the bottom surface of the drive body, wherein the drive rod extends through the spring.

A hydrogen storage tank for a hydrogen fueled aircraft. The tank has a wall made of layers of aerogel sections around a hard shell layer, sealed within a flexible outer layer, and having the air removed to form a vacuum. The periphery of each layer section abuts other sections of that layer, but only overlies the periphery of the sections of other layers at individual points. The wall is characterized by a thermal conductivity that is lower near its gravitational top than its gravitational bottom. The tank has two exit passageways, one being direct, and the other passing through a vapor shield that extends through the wall between two layers of aerogel. A control system controls the relative flow through the two passages to regulate the boil-off rate of the tank.

A rupture disk assembly comprises: a single-part or multi-part body with an opening that forms an outlet for a conduit or a container; a rupture disk that closes the opening and bursts subject to the action of a rupture pressure in order to unblock the opening; an actuator to reduce the rupture pressure, wherein the actuator includes a plunger to reduce the rupture pressure on the rupture disk, the plunger being configured to strike against the rupture disk; and a housing to receive the actuator, the housing including a housing opening for the plunger.

A glass ball safety valve includes: a housing including a valve passage connecting a first and second port; a valve element provided in the housing so as to close the passage, the element being movable in an open direction so as to open the passage; a biasing spring configured to bias the element in the open direction; a glass ball provided in the housing so as to support the element against biasing force of the biasing spring with a space between the element and the housing in the open direction, the glass ball including a longitudinal-direction intermediate portion that breaks at a predetermined temperature, the glass ball in a broken state allowing a movement of the valve element in the open direction; and a holding body provided in the housing and holding at least one of a first longitudinal-direction end-side portion and second longitudinal-direction end-side portion of the glass ball.

A device (100, 100, 200, 300) for filling gas storage tanks (10) comprises a frame (110, 210, 310) and/or a housing, a gas buffer storage tank (120, 220, 320) for a gas which is movably arranged with respect to the frame and/or with respect to the housing, a first valve (130, 230, 330, 331) comprising an inlet, connected to the gas buffer storage tank (120, 220, 320), and an outlet for the connection to a gas storage tank to be filled, and a weighing device (140, 240, 340), connected to the gas buffer storage tank (120, 220, 320), for weighing the gas buffer storage tank (120, 220, 320).