Information path

Parts of a Valve Control valve sizing

Sliding stem valves Control valve
Rotary stem valves characteristics
Valve packing Control valve problems
Valve seat leakage
Control valve actuators
Valve failure mode
Pneumatic actuator
response
Valve Positioners
What will you know

Different components of a control valve

Different types of valves
Different flow characteristics
Valve sizing coefficient and valve discharge
coefficient
Sizing procedure
Flashing, cavitation of valves
Noise control, choke flow in valves
 CONTROL VALVE
A valve is a mechanical device used
for the control of fluid flow.

It consists of a fluid retaining

assembly, one or more ports between
end openings and a movable closure
member which opens, restricts or
closes the port(s).
BONNET
BONNET: It is the portion of the valve that contains the
packing box, the stem, seal and can guide the stem.
It provides the internal opening for assembling of internal
parts.
Functionally, It provides the attachment for actuators to
the valve body.
The packing box is provided in it as a part of the bonnet.
Bonnets are bolted, welded pressure seals, threaded.
The bonnet ensures the valve of its proper function as a
pressure vessel because it prevent leaks by providing a tight
seal. All parts of the bonnet are arranged in complete
concentricity.
CAGE
CAGE:
A part of a valve that surrounds the plug and
seat . It provides flow characterisation.
It facilitates assembly of other parts of valve.
It provides guiding, alignment of the valve
plug and stem, flow characterisation,
prevents flashing and cavitation related
problems.
There are openings in the cage to facilitate
flow of fluid.
TRIM
It refers to the removal internal parts of a
valve which come in contact with the flowing
fluid.
The components included in trim are
different depending on the type of valve, but
they include packing follower, lantern ring,
packing retaining ring, stem, stem lock pin,
guide bushing, valve plug, seat ring (cage)
Materials used are SS 316, 304 .
TRIM, STEM

Selection depends on temperature, pressure

differential, and corrosive conditions.
It modulates the flow of control fluid.
STEM:
It is the part connecting the diaphragm to
the final control element
Plug:

It controls the volumetric or mass flow raate

of the fluid through the cage.
There are various profiles of the plug for
linear, quick opening, =% valves.
Diaphragm

Diaphragm: it is a flexible pressure responsive

element. It transmits force to the stem.
SEAT

SEAT: It is the area of the contact between

the closed member of the cage and its mating
surface.

It is the contact area for the valve plug to

rest for shut off / tight shut off.
Port

It is the openings in the valve body from

which the fluid will flow in and controlled flow
will come out.

This portion of the valve is coupled with the

process piping. It is either flanged, bolted,
welded, screwed connection.
Control valve assembly

It houses all the accessories ie positioners, air

filter regulator, limit switch, volume booster,
position feedback transmitter, linkages,
fittings etc connected to the valve body and
bonnet all assembled as a single entity.
Sliding stem valve

The moving parts slide with a linear motion.

They can be direct acting/ or reverse acting.
In direct acting the valve opens up wider as
stem is drawn out of the body.
Port guided valve

The plug has an unusual shape, projecting into the

seat. The seat ring acts as a guide for the plug to
keep alignment with the centre of seat ring and plug.
Double ported Globe valves

Some valves use a pair of plugs on the same

stem and a matching pair of seats to throttle
flow. The pressures P1 and P2 act on the plug
and minimising the force to the stem by fluid
pressure across the plugs.
This makes for a control valve easy to actuate
The disadvantage is the proper tight seating on
the seats. Near impossibility of tight shut off.
Lapping technique may be used to ensure tight
shut off.
Cage guided valve
Rotary Stem valves

A different strategy to control flow without

much obstruction uses a rotary element in
the flow path.
This depends on the rotation of the shaft to
actuate the trim.

Butterfly valves
Packing
All stem actuated control valves require some form of sealing
allowing motion of the stem from some external device ie
actuator while sealing process fluid so no leaks occur between
the moving stem and body. This sealing mechanism is referred to
as packing.
Packing in a sliding stem fits in the valve body called the bonnet.
The packing material takes the form of concentric rings, stacked
on the valve stem. These packing rings are forced down from
above by the packing flange to apply a comprehensive force
around the circumference of the valve stem. This compressive
force generates mechanical stress in the packing material to
make it seal tight against the stem and the interior of bonnet.
Do not over tight the nuts on the flanges as it will increase the
friction and stem movement will be restricted and premature
packing failure or loose tight as fluid leakages from valve body
and bonnet can be seen .
Bellow seal packing
Flow Characteristics

The flow characteristics of a control valve is

the relationship between the valve stem
position (x axis) and flow through the valve(y
axis) expressed in % movement of stem and
% flow. .
INHERENT VS INSTALLED CHARACTERISTICS

INHERENT CHARACTERISTICS
The valve is by itself, not connected to
process or in Unit operations. P is constant
regardless of the flow through the valve.

As the valves are connected in Process lines

the INSTALLED Characteristics is different
because of Friction losses etc. P is a function
of flow rate . P = (q)
INHERENT VS INSTALLED CHARACTERISTICS

Inherent and Installed characteristics have a

great effect on selection of valves.

P in case of a flow pressure say at start is 5

psi and at end of a process is 1 psi, the P
inherent is 4 psi and P installed is < 4 psi
because of losses in energy etc.
LINEAR valves and Equal % valves are
commonly used.
INHERENT VS INSTALLED CHARACTERISTICS

Linear valves are designed such that the flow

rate is directly proportional to the lift(fraction
open) of the valve for a constant pressure
drop.
Equal % valves are designed such that there is
an equal percentage change in flow for a
particular change in the lift for a constant
pressure drop.
INHERENT VS INSTALLED CHARACTERISTICS

Desire to have a valve that has a constant gain ie df/dl =

dq/dl = constant
q= Cv.f(). Pv/gs ; f()= and f() = R^(-1 ); 20R50
f is a valve characteristic, q is a flow rate,
f and q are proportional to each other for a given lift (valve
travel)
For linear valve installed characteristics P is nearly
constant
For =% valve the P is not constant because of other
equipment in line , =% valve installed characteristics
become linear from the non linear characteristics.
INHERENT VS INSTALLED CHARACTERISTICS

Example:
Flow 200 gpm, Cv =110 gpm/psi. Determine
the lift of the valve for a linear and =% valve
if
a) Pressure drop is 10 psi independent of flow
rate
b) The pressure drop is 10-0.03q
Answer Linear valve a) 0.575 b) 0.909
=% valve (R=40) a) 0.850 b) 0.974
INHERENT VS INSTALLED CHARACTERISTICS

Is the valve gain relatively constant over the

flow range
Is the valve fully open or closed over the flow
range.
Valve Seat leakage Class
Pneumatic actuators

It uses air pressure pushing against either a

flexible diaphragm or a piston to move a valve
mechanism.
A large coil spring providing default positioning
of the valve. Air pressure acts on the top of the
diaphragm creating a force against the spring
force to lower the valve stem. (AIR TO CLOSE).
Similarly in bottom entry of air to the
diaphragm, the air pressure applied to the
bottom side of the diaphragm lifts the valve
stem against spring force. (AIR TO OPEN)
Fail Closed condition

A valve condition in which the plug moves to

a closed position when air supply fails. This is
the fail safe condition. The air supply is below
the diaphragm , if lost the valve will fail close
since the spring would push the stem and
plug assembly downwards.
Fail open condition

A condition in which the valve opens due to

failure of air supply . The air supply is above
the diaphragm and if air is lost the spring will
force the stem assembly upwards.
Rangeability

It is the ratio of maximum to minimum

controllable flow.
Valve positioner

The frictional force and unbalanced forces on the

plug , these forces conspire to reposition the
stem, so stem travel does not precisely correlate
to the actuating fluid pressure. Thus we use a
valve positioner .
It is a motion controlled device designed to
compare stem position with the control air
signal, adjusting pressure to the diaphragm, until
the correct stem position is reached. The valve
stem position is (PV), the command signal is the
(SP) and positioner signal to valve actuator is
(MV).
 The valve positioner ensures tight shut off.
The technical term for this mechanical
requirement is called seat load.
Sizing of Valves

When control valves operate between full

open and full close because of turbulence
created because of flow through constrictions
of valve trim lot of energy is dissipated in
forms of heat, vibration , noise.
Flow Characteristics LINEAR

The flow is directly proportional to the lift/

movement of the stem/plug assembly.
The change of flow rate is constant
As gain is constant it is used for liquid and
flow control applications.
FLOW CHARACTERISTICS =%

For an equal % change(of full scale) in stem

movement there shall be a equal % change
of the current flow not the full scale of flow.
The change in flow rate observed is relatively
high when the valve is full open as compared
to at the lower valve opening.
These valves are used in pressure
control application.
Flow characteristics Quick Flow opening

The quick flow characteristics resemble like

our fire hydrant system wherein a slight
opening of valve will give a large flow. It is
useful for ON/OFF valve application.
The curve is linear in the initial range and
then saturates after mid travel of the valve
plug.. The increase in flow rate is not much it
attains saturation.
Choked flow

As the pressure differential is increased a

point is reached when the flow increase is less
and finally it saturates at a particular value.
Any increase in p after a certain value has no
effect on the volumetric flow rate (Q) , it is
choked flow.