ComparisonbetweenPneumaticSpringDiaphragm&PneumaticSpringCylinderActuator

No

Description

PneumaticSpringDiaphragmActuator

PneumaticSpringCylinderActuator

ModulatingThrust

Applicationwherefluidpressuresinthevalvearemoderateandthe Thrustisdevelopedbyhighpressureair(inmostcasesupto150
packingmaterialusedhasalowcoefficientoffriction,spring
psi)onbothsidesofadoubleactingpiston.
diaphragmactuatormaybeusedwithoutapositioner.Tothrottlethe Sizesarecurrentlyavailableupto1000in2withathrustproducing
actuatorbysupplyingsignalairdirectlytodiaphragmcaseproduce
capabilityofover100000lbs.
moderatethrusti.e.4001600lbsforasignalof315psior7004000 Forallthrottlingapplications,a4wayvalvepositionerisrequired
lbsforasignalof630psidependsonstrokelength. whichsuppliesapproximately80%ofthefullavailablesupplypressure
Ifthepackingfrictionand/orthefluidpressuresarehigh,a
tobothsidesofthepistonduringmodulatingconditions.
positionerisrequired.Modulatingthrustcanbeincreasedbyusing
positionertosupplyhigherairpressure(normally3050psi)tothe
diaphragmsideofactuatorresultingmaximumthrustofapproximately
45000lbs(450in2effectivearea).

Stiffness

Theflowthroughthevalvemustbeundertheseatring(flowunder), Thestiffnessofaspringcylinderactuatorissignificantlygreater
otherwisethedynamicforcestendtoclosethevalve(flowover)will thanforadiaphragmactuator.
causethevalvetoslamshutduetoinsufficientstiffness.Asthevolumegetssmall,thestiffnessfactorbecomeslarge.Thus
closetotheseatwherethevolumeisthesmallest,thestiffnessisthe
greatestandthereforetheactuatoroverridesthetendencytoslam
intotheseat.
Springcylinderactuatorscanbeusedoncontrolvalvewiththeflow
overtheseatwithoutincurringinstabilityorslamming.

TightShutoff

Sincepressuretodiaphragmactuatorsaregenerallylow(315psior Highseatloadingforcewhichresultsinverytightshutoffwith
630psi),theshutoffthrustfromboththespringandthediaphragmis minimalvalveleakage.
onlymoderate. Sincecylinderactuatorscanoperatewithrelativelyhighsupply
Evenwithapositionertoincreasethepressure,sometimesthe
pressure(150psimaximum),largeforcescaneasilybedevelopedeven
shutoffforceisstillinsufficient.Asaresult,oversizeddiaphragm
withrelativelysmallactuators.
actuatorswithlargespringsareoftenrequired.

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ComparisonbetweenPneumaticSpringDiaphragm&PneumaticSpringCylinderActuator
No

Description

PneumaticSpringDiaphragmActuator

PneumaticSpringCylinderActuator

PowerFailureAction

Heavyspringsareordinaryprovided. Becauseofbuiltinstiffnessinspringcylinderactuators,thefluid
Iffluidpressureishigherthananticipated,thespringmaynotbe
forceinsidethevalvecanbeusedtohelpaccomplishthevalvefailure
strongenoughtomaintainadequateseatloadingandseatleakage
mode.
mayresult. Boththespringandthefluidforceworktogethertoachievethefail
Ifthespringfailsforanyreason,thefluidpressurewillopenthe
position,thusspringsthemselvesdonotusuallyhavetobeaslargein
valve.
cylinderactuatorsastheydoindiaphragmactuators.
Byusingsmallersprings,theoverallthrustoutputofthecylinder
actuatorisincreasedbecausetherearefewerforcesagainstwhichit
mustoperate.
Whenacylinderoperatedfailclosedvalveisontheseat,thefluid
forceactstoseatratherthanunseatthevalve.
Onafailclosedvalve,evenifthespringintheactuatorbreaks(orif
theactuatoristotallyremoved)whilethevalveisclosed,thefluid
forcewillkeepitclosed.
Ifnecessary,adualspringcanbeprovidedtoassistvalvetoclose.
Onceclosedthefluidwillagainassisttheshutoff.

StrokingSpeed

Size&Weight

Diaphragmactuatorcasesusuallyhavelargevolumesandusableair Becauseoftherelativesizeandcapacityofcylinderactuatorswith
pressuresarecommonlylow,stroketimesof2030secondsarenot
respecttodiaphragm,strokingspeedareconsiderablyfastereven
unusual.
toughthestrokesaregenerallylonger.
Diaphragmactuatorsareusuallylarge&heavy.Thiscanbea
Rela velysmallandlightweight.
probleminapplicationswherefrequentmaintenancemayberequired Maintenanceismucheasierandless meconsuming.
orifspaceoroverheadclearanceisrestricted. Spareparts(orings)arealsolessexpensivethandiaphragms,they
Whenseismicrequirementapply,sizeandweightcanalsobe
aremucheasiertoinstall.
detrimental.Agoodconsidera onforseismicqualifica ons.
Typicaldiaphragmactuatorsweighupwardsof150200lbs.

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ComparisonbetweenPneumaticSpringDiaphragm&PneumaticSpringCylinderActuator
No

Description

PneumaticSpringDiaphragmActuator

PneumaticSpringCylinderActuator

Performance

Linearityandhysteresis(ordeadband)inadiaphragmactuatorare Theactuatoriscompletelylinearwithinthesensi vitycapabili esof

closelyrelated.Factoraffectingonealsoaffecttheother. thetestingequipment.
Unlessapositionerisprovided,adiaphragmoperatedvalves,while Sinceaposi onerisalwaysrequiredforathro lingapplica on,this
"benchset"ascloseaspossibletolinear,maynotoperatewithin
linearityaswellashysteresisisirrespectiveofwhetherthevalveison
acceptablelimitsonceinstalledinthesystem.thebenchoractuallyinstalledintheline.
Changesinactualfluidpressureoftenexertadditionalforceonthe Frequencyresponseisgenerallyquitehigh,usuallytwoordersof
actuatorstemcausingthebenchsettingtochange. magnitudebetterthanforacomparablediaphragmactuator.
Whileinitialhysteresismaybeaslowas5%,greaterthan
Thecustomarybreakpointfrequencyofacylinderactuatorisfour
anticipatedpackingfrictioncanincreasehysteresisdramatically.
cyclespersecond.
Addingapositionerwillnormallyreducehysteresistoaslowas1.2% Sensi vityisalsoexcellent.
aswellascorrectformuchoftheinstallednonlinearity.Ifhighresolu onforapar cularapplicatonisundesirablefor
whateverreason,itcanbedampenedbytheuseofalowgain
Sensitivityisalsoaffectedbylowoperatingpressures,large
volumes,andvariablepackingfrictions. positioner.
Whenahighdegreeofsensitivityisrequired,ahighgainpositioner
mustbeadded.

Cost

Lowini alcost. Pricediscompetitivelywithdiaphragmactuators.

Whenconsideringthecostofnecessarysparepartsand
maintenance,someofthelowinitialcostisoffset.

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