In onshore and offshore oil and gas operations, Choke valves endure some of the harshest conditions in the severe service valve industry. High-velocity fluids carrying solid contaminants can cause catastrophic trim damage, leading to uncontrolled flow, production downtime, and potential significant safety hazards. Severn’s TrimGuard technology provides a highly engineered solution to offering superior impact protection, non-collapsible performance, and minimal flow disruption.

The Challenge – Preventing Choke Trim Collapse

Choke valves are essential in controlling flow and pressure in production systems. However, they are also among the most vulnerable components – susceptible to internal impact damage from fluid-borne solids such as sand, scale, or debris.

If the trim collapses under impact, the consequences can be severe:

• Loss of flow control and over-pressurisation downstream
• Potential significant safety incidents
• Expensive & logistically challenging maintenance, spares or total valve replacement
• Damage to downstream major components such as the test or level separator
• Costly production delays running into the millions

Choke valves are designed to withstand impact energies between 27J and 700J, but achieving this level of resistance in the trim itself can be prohibitively expensive depending on the material specified. This can often lead to Choke valves not being designed with the suitable internal and trim protection for green field projects.

The Severn Innovative Solution: Severn’s TrimGuard

Developed through Severn’s R&D programme, the TrimGuard represents a highly engineered solution for valve protection that has been tried and tested in the field for oil and gas operations for over 25 years. The system uses a bespoke protective cage designed to surround the Choke trim and absorb the force of high-energy impacts without compromising flow performance.

Two design configurations have been engineered to meet diverse operational needs:

TrimGuard 120

The TrimGuard 120 provides advanced protection against solid projectiles whilst maintaining maximum flow capacity. It is also custom engineered to match any Choke valve design or operation conditions, reinforcing Severn’s capabilities to engineer and design completely bespoke Choke valves suited to your application and process condition needs.

The TrimGuard 120 is ideally suited for wells with moderate risk of high-velocity impact.

TrimGuard 360

The TrimGuard 360 is an evolution of the TrimGuard 120 by encasing the entire valve trim, offering the highest level of protection. Designed for extreme conditions where impact damage is most likely which typically occurs on well start up, the TrimGuard 360 is validated through full-scale testing to withstand forces exceeding 700J, providing the ultimate trim and internal Choke valve protection.

Engineering Excellence and Validation

Severn’s engineers employed FEA and CFD modelling during development to balance strength, flow efficiency, and manufacturability.

During a rigorous witness test for a Norwegian North Sea Operator, the TrimGuard technology showcased and demonstrated outstanding performance.

Withstanding impacts of up to 700J, the TrimGuard provided the desired protection ensuring no visible or functional damage was found to the Choke valve trim. The infield performance of the TrimGuard also correlated excellently with the FEA predictions, further emphasising Severn’s ability to accurately engineer and design high performance Choke valves.

This validation positions Severn’s TrimGuard as the industry benchmark for Choke valve impact resistance.

Operational Benefits

Deploying Severn’s TrimGuard technology delivers measurable advantages across the full production lifecycle of a well.

• Enhancing Safety: Reducing premature valve failure and therefore preventing potential catastrophic failure and uncontrolled flow.
• Extended Valve Lifespan: Protects critical internal components from erosion and impact.
• Reduced Costly Downtime: Potential to significantly minimise unplanned costly downtime, maintenance and component or total valve replacement.
• Downstream Component Protection: Ensuring the protection of major downstream components such as the test and level separators.
• Optimised Performance: Maintains high flow capacity and minimal pressure loss.
• Lower Total Cost of Ownership: Delivers long-term reliability and operational efficiency for end users.

As oil and gas exploration pushes deeper and production systems face increasingly aggressive process conditions, the need for robust, impact-resistant Choke valves has never been greater.

Severn’s TrimGuard technology redefines Choke valve resilience, combining engineered impact protection with high flow efficiency and proven reliability. Tested, validated, and trusted in the existing harsh environments, TrimGuard ensures your Choke valve remains non-collapsible, operationally safe, and performance optimised – no matter the challenge.