Document Title:

Training on GET-Instrumentation

November
2014

CONTROL VALVES

Code: PI

Introduction:Process plants consist of hundreds, or even thousands, of control

loops all networked together to produce a product to be offered for sale.
Each of these control loops is designed to keep some important process
variable such as pressure, flow, level, temperature, etc. within a required
operating range to ensure the quality of the end product. Each of these
loops receives and internally creates disturbances that detrimentally
affect the process variable, and interaction from other loops in the
network provides disturbances that influence the process variable. To
reduce the effect of these load disturbances, sensors and transmitters
collect information about the process variable and its relationship to some
desired set point. A controller then processes this information and decides
what must be done to get the process variable back to where it should be
after a load disturbance occurs. When all the measuring, comparing, and
calculating are done, some type of final control element must implement
the strategy selected by the controller. The most common final control
element in the process control industries is the control valve. The control
valve manipulates a flowing fluid, such as gas, steam, water, or chemical
compounds, to compensate for the load disturbance and keep the
regulated process variable as close as possible to the desired set point.

TERMINOLGIES:Accessory: A device that is mounted on the actuator to complement the

actuators function and make it a complete operating unit. Examples
include positioners, supply pressure regulators, solenoids, and limit
switches.
Actuator*: A pneumatic, hydraulic, or electrically powered device that
supplies force and motion to open or close a valve.
Actuator Assembly: An actuator, including all the pertinent accessories
that make it a complete operating unit.
Closed Loop: The interconnection of process control components such
that information regarding the process variable is continuously fed back to
the controller set point to provide continuous, automatic corrections to the
process variable.
Controller: A device that operates automatically by use of some
established algorithm to regulate a controlled variable. The controller

Training on GET-Instrumentation

November
2014

CONTROL VALVES

Code: PI

Document Title:

input receives information about the status of the process variable and
then provides an appropriate output signal to the final control element.

Control Range: The range of valve travel over which a control valve can
maintain the installed valve gain between the normalized values of 0.5
and 2.0.
Control Valve Assembly: Includes all components normally mounted on
the valve: the valve body assembly, actuator, positioners, air sets, and
transducers, limit switches, etc.

Control Valve:Control valves are comprised of two major parts: the valve body,
which contains all the mechanical components necessary to influence fluid
flow; and the valve actuator, which provides the mechanical power
necessary to move the components within the valve body.
Often times, the major difference between an on/off control valve
and a throttling control valve is the type of actuator applied to the valve ,
on/off actuators need only position a valve mechanism two one of two
extreme positions (fully open or fully closed). Throttling actuators must be
able to accurately position a valve mechanism anywhere between those
extremes.

Sliding-stem valves:A sliding-stem valve body is one where the moving parts slide with a linear
motion. Some examples of sliding-stem valve body designs are shown here: Most
sliding-stem control valves are direct acting, which means the valve opens up
wider as the stem is drawn out of the body. Conversely, a direct-acting valve
shuts off (closes) when the stem is pushed into the body. Of course, a reverseacting valve body would behave just the opposite: opening up as the stem is
pushed in and closing off as the stem is drawn out.

Document Title:

Training on GET-Instrumentation

November
2014

CONTROL VALVES

Code: PI

Most sliding-stem control valves are direct acting, which means the valve
opens up wider as the stem is drawn out of the body. Conversely, a directacting valve shuts off (closes) when the stem is pushed into the body. Of

Training on GET-Instrumentation

November
2014

CONTROL VALVES

Code: PI

Document Title:

course, a reverse-acting valve body would behave just the opposite:

opening up as the stem is pushed in and closing off as the stem is drawn
out.

Control Valve Actuators:The purpose of a control valve actuator is to provide the motive force to operate
a valve mechanism. Both sliding-stem and rotary control valves enjoy the same
selection of actuators: pneumatic, hydraulic, electric motor, and hand (manual).

Pneumatic actuators:Pneumatic actuators use air pressure pushing against either a flexible
diaphragm or a piston to move a valve mechanism. The following
photograph shows a cut-away control valve, with a pneumatic diaphragm
actuator mounted above the valve body. You can see the large coil spring
providing default positioning of the valve (air pressure acting against the
diaphragm moves the valve against the spring) and the rubber diaphragm
at the very top. Air pressure applied to the bottom side of the diaphragm
lifts the sliding stem of the valve in the upward direction, against the
springs force which tries to push the stem down:
The air pressure required to motivate a pneumatic actuator may come
directly from the output of a pneumatic process controller, or from a signal
transducer (or converter) translating an electrical signal into an air
pressure signal. Such transducers are commonly known as I/P or I to P
converters, since they typically translate an electric current signal (I) of 4
to 20 mA DC into an air pressure signal (P) of 3 to 15 PSI.

Hydraulic actuators:Hydraulic actuators use liquid pressure rather than gas pressure to
move the valve mechanism. Nearly all hydraulic actuator designs use a
piston rather than a diaphragm to convert fluid pressure into mechanical
force. The high pressure rating of piston actuators lends itself w ell to
typical hydraulic system pressures, and the lubricating nature of hydraulic
oil helps to overcome the characteristic friction of piston-type actuators.
Given the high pressure ratings of most hydraulic pistons, it is possible to
generate tremendous actuating forces with a hydraulic actuator, even if
the piston area is modest. For example, an hydraulic pressure of 2,000 PSI

Document Title:

Training on GET-Instrumentation

November
2014

CONTROL VALVES

Code: PI

applied to one side of a 3 inch diameter piston will generate a linear thrust
of over 14,000 pounds (7 tons)!
In addition to the ability of hydraulic actuators to easily generate
extremely large forces, they also exhibit very stable positioning owing to
the non-compressibility of hydraulic oil. Unlike pneumatic actuators, where
the actuating fluid (air) is elastic, the oil inside a hydraulic actuator
cylinder does not yield appreciably under stress. If the passage of oil to
and from a hydraulic cylinder is blocked by small valves, the actuator will
become firmly locked into place. This is an important feature for certain
valve-positioning applications where the actuator must firmly hold the
valve position in one position.
Electric actuators:Electric motors have long been used to actuate large valves, especially
valves operated as on/off(shutoff) devices. Advances in motor design
and motor control circuitry have brought motor operated valve (MOV)
technology to the point where it now competes with legacy actuator
technologies such as pneumatic in actuating throttling valves as well.
Most electric valve actuators use a worm gear set to reduce the high
rotational speed of the electric motor to a slow rotation suitable for
moving a large valve mechanism.

The worm screw looks much like a threaded fastener, with its threads
properly pitched to engage with the teeth of the worm wheel gear. As the
worm screw turns, it slowly pushes or pulls the circumference of the worm
wheel, resulting in a large gear ratio (i.e. many turns of the screw are
required to produce a single turn of the wheel). This slow-turning wheel
may then be used to move a sliding-stem valve by means of a threaded
shaft (another screw) or used to directly turn a rotary valve (e.g. butterfly,
ball, plug).

Control Valve Installation:Many important factors must be considered when designing the
physical installation of the control valve. Perhaps the most important is the

Document Title:

Training on GET-Instrumentation

November
2014

CONTROL VALVES

Code: PI

design of piping for manual bypass. A control valve may require periodic
maintenance to correct leaks, noise, vibration, increasing dead band, and so
forth. Since a plant shutdown usually involves a large economic penalty, an
incentive exists to maintain plant operation while the control valve is being
repaired in many, but not all, situations. The bypass system shown in Figure
11 provides the ability to block out the control valve while the process flow
passes through the manual bypass valve.

The performance is best when the design includes 10-20 diameters of

straight run piping in the inlet and 3-5 diameters in the outlet. An operator
must close the block valves and manipulate the bypass valve to achieve
some desired operating condition, such as flow rate or temperature. For a
typical globe valve, the valve should be installed so that the stem moves
vertically with the actuator above the valve. In addition, the valve should be
located with enough clearance from other equipment so that maintenance
can be performed on the valve.