One of the biggest challenges when it comes to relief valve manufacturing is designing valves for use at speed, such as those used with many different types of engines.
As these engines are dealing with variable loads and the effects of intense forces, relief valves need to be designed to ensure that the expanding gases that come with burning fuel loads do not cause dangerous, potentially lethal damage.
Because of this, valves are an important part of gas turbine engines, in particular, as they rely on hot gases to spin a turbine with enough force to allow vehicles to travel at intense speeds.
The results of this can be found most infamously with the MTT Y2K Turbine Motorcycle, an astonishing feat of engineering that has become one of the fastest and most expensive production motorcycles in the world.
Using a 420 horsepower turbine engine produced by Rolls-Royce, the Turbine Superbike is capable of reaching 273 mph, making it one of the fastest production vehicles of any kind and far faster than any bike that follows the Gentleman’s Agreement.
Whilst technically a production bike, the actual production run was exceptionally limited. Only five are produced a year, handmade to order based on a buyer’s specifications. Because of this, some Y2K Turbine Superbikes have sold for over £100,000.
As it is a turbine engine, it can run on nearly any fuel, with the CEO of MTT claiming it could even run on tequila. Along with this, it can run on kerosene, biofuel or even coal dust and natural gas, as long as there is a suitable delivery system for it.
All of this is made possible by the use of relief valves, as the explosive energy would blow up the engine if the expanding gases were not carefully managed.
Much like the gas turbine cars of years past, it is a remarkable achievement made possible by every component.
