Relief valve assembly and components thereof

A valve seat operable with a tapered valve pin of a relief valve assembly, the valve seat comprising:

• a valve pin receiving aperture defining a tapered engagement surface on the valve seat that is configured to sealingly mate with a portion of the tapered valve pin when the tapered valve pin is seated against the valve seat in a seated configuration;
• and
• at least one bypass passage that extends completely through a lateral side wall of the valve seat from the valve pin receiving aperture through the tapered engagement surface of the valve seat to an exterior lateral side surface of the valve seat such that, when the tapered valve pin is displaced away from the seated configuration during operation, fluid can simultaneously pass through the bypass passage and an annular space created between the tapered valve pin and the valve seat, the annular space providing a primary flow path out through a terminal end of the valve seat to an outlet of the relief valve assembly and the bypass passage providing a secondary flow path through a side of the valve seat to the outlet of the relief valve assembly that is distinct from the primary flow path.

A system comprising:

• a pump operable to supply a source of fluid at high or ultrahigh pressures;
• and
• a relief valve assembly in fluid communication with the source of fluid supplied by the pump, the relief valve assembly including a valve pin and a valve seat, the valve seat having a valve pin receiving aperture defining a tapered engagement surface on the valve seat that is configured to sealingly mate with a portion of the valve pin when the valve pin is seated against the valve seat in a seated configuration, and the valve seat having at least one bypass passage that extends completely through a lateral side wall of the valve seat from the valve pin receiving aperture through the tapered engagement surface of the valve seat to an exterior lateral side surface of the valve seat such that, when the valve pin is displaced away from the seated configuration during operation, fluid supplied by the pump can simultaneously pass through the bypass passage and a primary relief passage created between the valve pin and the valve seat, the primary relief passage providing a primary flow path out through a terminal end of the valve seat to an outlet of the relief valve assembly and the bypass passage providing a secondary flow path through a side of the valve seat to the outlet of the relief valve assembly that is distinct from the primary flow path.