Valve Sizing

Technical Bulletin No. 1031

Date: February 1987 Page 1 of 11

I. Introduction
When selecting a butterfly valve for a control valve application, one knows the materials of construction and
pressure- temperature ratings are very important considerations, as well as the valves inherent low characteristics in
relation to the pressure control application. Of equal importance is the selection of the proper valve size. In some
cases, individuals choose control valves which are identical in size to the pipeline. This is often a poor choice because (1)
the valve is too large and cannot properly control flow at very small control valve is substantially greater than a smaller
control valve size.
To properly select the correct valve size, one could consider all following factors:
1. Rate of flow- maximum and minimum
2. Upstream and downstream pressures at maximum and minimum flows
3. Media type
4. Media Temperature
5. Media phase- liquid, gas, mixed
6. Viscosity of liquid
7. Vapor pressure if liquid
8. Density of Media
9. Reducers with valve, if yes, rated capacity valve, C V, becomes smaller.
10. Capacity of valve size- angle of opening where control valve will be
sized (Bray recommends 60o )
11. Cost factors of each valve size.
12. Valves unique valve sizing coefficient, CV , and liquid recovery factor,
FL , and pressure drop ratio, XT .
Given this many factors, its easy to recognize why there are so many sizing equations one may use for liquids and gases,
varying from very simple to very complex. The following sections analyze some of these equation approaches.

II. Liquids- ISA Simplified and ISA Complex Valve Sizing Equations
A. ISA Simplified
The Instrument Society of America has developed liquid valve sizing equations which account for all variables in control
valve sizing. Please refer to ISA Handbook of Control Valves, Chapter 6 or ISA Publications S75.01 for further
reference. Unfortunately, the accuracy attained by this equation approach can be very complex and for most applications,
not necessary. Therefore, a simplified ISA Valve Sizing Equation for liquid is as follows:

EQ 1

All information herein is proprietary and confidential and may not be copied or reproduced without the expressed
written consent of BRAY INTERNATIONAL, Inc.
The technical data herein is for general information only. Product suitability should be based solely upon customers
detailed knowledge and experience with their application.

Valve Sizing
Technical Bulletin No. 1031
Date: February 1987 Page 2 of 11

CV = Valve sizing coefficient unique to valve size, angle of valve opening and the manufacturers valve style. Its value is
equal to the number of U.S. gallons of water at room temperature which will flow through the valve in one minute when
the pressure differential across the valve is 1 PSI. See Bray Technical Bulletin 1029 for CV valve sizing coefficients for
Bray butterfly valves.
Q = Flow capacity in U.S. gallons per minute
GS = Specific Gravity of liquid (water at room temperature = 1). See Bray Technical Bulletin 1036 for GS values of
common liquids.
P1 = Upstream absolute static pressure (approximately) two pipe diameters upstream from valve, psia.
P2 = Downstream absolute static pressure (approximately six pipe diameters downstream from valve) in psia.

P = Pressure differential across valve in psi, P1-P2.
The first step in sizing the control valve is usually to solve for CV. Once CV is solved, one chooses a valve size from the
CV Table for the appropriate Bray valve style (see Technical Bulletin 1029). The CV value chosen from the CV Table is
recommended to be from the 60 angle opening column (in any case choose an angle of opening such that: 25 < angle of
opening < 70). Other versions of Equation 1 are:
EQ 2

Solving for Pressure Differential

EQ 3

Solving for Flow Capacity

These equations are accurate and may be applied if:

1. The liquid flow is turbulent (Reynolds number greater than 4,500) and the liquid is not choked, cavitating,
or flashing. If the pressure drop,
P, is 31% or less of the body inlet pressure absolute, P1, then the liquid
will not be choked, cavitating, or flashing.
2. Valve size and pipe size are identical; that is, there are no pipe reducers on either side of the valve which
effectively reduce the CV for the valve/fitting assembly. Note, if pipe reducers are used, see Section II.B,
Application I below. Bray has already calculated adjusted C V values if pipe reducers are present (Bray
Technical Bulletin 1034).

B. ISA Complex Equations Made Easy

While the ISA complex valve sizing equation look complicated and difficult at first glance, the equations are really simple
to use once the parameters of ones valve sizing problem have been identified. The following is a step by step analysis of
which ISA equations to use for a given valve sizing application.
1. Application I
-

Flow is turbulent, Reynolds Number > 10,000

No choked flow, cavitation, or flashing
Pipe reducers present

All information herein is proprietary and confidential and may not be copied or reproduced without the expressed
written consent of BRAY INTERNATIONAL, Inc.
The technical data herein is for general information only. Product suitability should be based solely upon customers
detailed knowledge and experience with their application.

Valve Sizing
Technical Bulletin No. 1031
Date: February 1987 Page 3 of 11

EQ 4
FP = The Correction Factor applied to CV coefficients to account for pipe reducers on one or both sides of a valve,
dimensionless.
CVFP = CVP = effective CV coefficient with pipe reducer/valve assembly
One solves for FP as follows:
EQ 5

EQ 6

EQ 7

EQ 8

EQ 9
Where:
Cd = Relative Capacity at rated CV.

Cd =

d = Diameter of valve size in inches

D1 = Pipeline diameter before reducer in inches
D2 = Pipeline diameter downstream of valve and downstream reducer in inches
KB1 = Bernoulli coefficient for the inlet fitting, dimensionless
KB2 = Bernoulli coefficient for the outlet fitting, dimensionless
K1 = Resistance coefficient for inlet reducer, dimensionless
K2 = Resistance coefficient for outlet reducer, dimensionless
FP correction factors are shown in Technical Bulletin 1033. Bray Technical Bulletin 1034 shows CVP values; that is, the
adjusted CV value derived by multiplying the appropriate FP and CV values. Thus all the calculations for FP and CVP
values have been completed and are already available for ones use compliments of Bray.

All information herein is proprietary and confidential and may not be copied or reproduced without the expressed
written consent of BRAY INTERNATIONAL, Inc.
The technical data herein is for general information only. Product suitability should be based solely upon customers
detailed knowledge and experience with their application.

Valve Sizing
Technical Bulletin No. 1031
Date: February 1987 Page 4 of 11

2. Application II
-

Flow is transient, not turbulent or laminar; 100 < Reynolds Number < 10,000
No choked flow, cavitation, or flashing
Pipe reducers either present or not present

EQ 10
Where:
FR = Reynolds Number Factor, the correction factor applied to CV values to account for the fact CV values are determined
with water in turbulent flow conditions at room temperature.
CVFR = Effective CV coefficient in non-turbulent flow
FP = 1 if no pipe reducers are present
It should be recalled that in turbulent flow conditions, Q varies directly with
P. However, for non-turbulent flow, Q
varies directly with
P. To account for this relationship change, an FR factor is applied. FR is the ratio of non-turbulent
flow rate to the turbulent flow rate as determined by Figure 1.
If the Reynolds Number is 10,000 or greater, FR = 1. If the Reynolds Number is 3,500 or greater, FR corrects the CV value
by less than 10%. FR only becomes a factor when flow is laminar or transient (turbulent/laminar). In most industrial
control valve applications, liquid flows are turbulent and the Reynolds Number exceeds 10,000; therefore, F R
equals 1. FR can be determined by using the following FR versus REN graph. In observing the curve, one should note a) the
laminar flow region is a straight line; that is, linear and this agrees with the previous statement Q ~
P, b) the transient
flow region is the curved position of the line and Q ~ FR
P, and c) the turbulent flow region is the horizontal line where
FR = 1 and Q ~
P. For practical purposes, Bray has considered all Reynolds Numbers greater than 4,500 to have an F R
value equal to 1 (A stated previously in Section II.A. ISA Simplified equation assumptions, FR = 1 for REN > 4,500
because the FR correction factor becomes insignificant at this Reynolds Number).

Figure 1 Reynolds Number Factor

All information herein is proprietary and confidential and may not be copied or reproduced without the expressed
written consent of BRAY INTERNATIONAL, Inc.
The technical data herein is for general information only. Product suitability should be based solely upon customers
detailed knowledge and experience with their application.

Valve Sizing
Technical Bulletin No. 1031
Date: February 1987 Page 5 of 11

If one does not know the Reynolds Number, it may be calculated by using the following equation:

EQ 11
Where:
REN = Reynolds Number, dimensionless
FD = Factor related to valve style; for valves with 2 parallel flow paths like butterfly valves, FD = .7, dimensionless
D = Pipe Inlet Diameter in Inches (before any reducer)
v = Kinematic viscosity in centistokes
FL = Liquid pressure recovery factor for a valve with no adjacent pipe, dimensionless reducers
3. Application III
-

Flow is laminar, Reynolds Number < 100

No choked flow, cavitation or flashing
No pipe reducers

EQ 12

where:

FS = Laminar Flow Factor for correcting CV coefficient, dimensionless

u = Absolute viscosity, centipoises
FS can be determined using the following equation:
EQ 13
Application 3 rarely occurs in industrial control valve applications.
4. Application IV (Read Bray Technical Bulletin 1037 on Low/High Recovery Valves, Choked flow, Cavitation,
and Flashing before working Application IV).
-

Flow is transient or turbulent, Reynolds Number > 100

Choked flow and cavitation or flashing exists
Pipe Reducers present or not present

EQ 14
Where:
FLP = the product of FP, the pipe reducer correction factor for CV, and FL, the liquid pressure recovery factor,
dimensionless
FF = Critical Pressure Ratio Factor of the liquid, dimensionless
All information herein is proprietary and confidential and may not be copied or reproduced without the expressed
written consent of BRAY INTERNATIONAL, Inc.
The technical data herein is for general information only. Product suitability should be based solely upon customers
detailed knowledge and experience with their application.

Valve Sizing
Technical Bulletin No. 1031
Date: February 1987 Page 6 of 11

PV = Vapor Pressure of the liquid at body inlet temperature, psia

FL, the liquid pressure recovery factor, is not applicable for valve/pipe reducer combinations. In a choked flow
application, it is simpler to treat the FL and FP as a product, FLP, to represent the combined liquid pressure recovery factor
for valve/pipe reducer combinations where:
EQ 15

EQ 16

Ki = inlet pipe reducer coefficient for velocity head (Ki = 0 and therefore), dimensionless
Note, if no inlet pipe reducers are used, Ki = 0 and therefore FLP = FL.
FF, the critical pressure ratio factor of a liquid may be determined by using one of the two following graphs.
a) FF, Critical Pressure Ratio Factors, for Water Figure 2

b) FF, Critical Pressure Ratio Factors, for Liquids Other Than Water Figure 3

All information herein is proprietary and confidential and may not be copied or reproduced without the expressed
written consent of BRAY INTERNATIONAL, Inc.
The technical data herein is for general information only. Product suitability should be based solely upon customers
detailed knowledge and experience with their application.

Valve Sizing
Technical Bulletin No. 1031
Date: February 1987 Page 7 of 11

Values of PV, liquid vapor pressure, and the critical pressure, PC, for common liquids may be found by referring to Bray
Technical Bulletin 1036, Fluid Values.
As stated above, FL is the liquid pressure recovery factor for valves without adjacent pipe reducers. This factor represents
the effect the interior shape and design of the valve has on its flow capacity at choked flow. Under choked flow
conditions:
EQ 17

FL for Bray butterfly valve styles may be found by using the following graph:
Figure 4
Expected FI, Liquid Pressure Recovery Factor
For Bray Butterfly Valves

*It is shown that the Thin Profile Disc-Stem and Thru Stem Disc FL values are identical from 10 - 60 open. In
reality, the FL value of the Thin Profile Disc-Stem is slightly less than that of the Thru-Stem Disc from 10 - 60 open
because the Thin Profile Disc Stem has a less obstructive disc shape in the flow path. Since the difference is small for
angles less than 60 open, this difference is ignored.

III. Gases and Steam ISA Simplified and ISA Complex Valve Sizing Equations
A. ISA Simplified
Again, the Instrument Society of America has developed gas and steam valve sizing equations which account for all the
variables involved in control valve sizing. Please refer to ISA Handbook of Control Valves, Chapter 6 or ISA
Publication S75.01 for further reference.

All information herein is proprietary and confidential and may not be copied or reproduced without the expressed
written consent of BRAY INTERNATIONAL, Inc.
The technical data herein is for general information only. Product suitability should be based solely upon customers
detailed knowledge and experience with their application.

Valve Sizing
Technical Bulletin No. 1031
Date: February 1987 Page 8 of 11

The ISA Simplified Valve Sizing Equation for steam is:

EQ 18
where:
CV = Valve Sizing Coefficient unique to valve size, angle of valve opening, and the manufacturers valve style. Its value
is equal to the number of U.S. gallons of water at room temperature which will flow through the valve in one minute when
the pressure differential across the valve is 1 PSI. See Bray Technical Bulletin 1029 for CV valve sizing coefficients for
Bray butterfly valves.
QG = Flow SCFH for gas
GS = Specific Gravity of gas. See Bray Technical Bulletin 1036, Fluid Values, for GS values of common gases,
dimensionless
T1 = Absolute Temperature in degrees Rankin upstream of valve
P = Pressure differential across values in psi, P1-P2.
P1 = Upstream absolute static pressure (approximately two pipe diameters from the valve) in psia.
Other versions of the equation are:
EQ 19

Solving for Pressure Differential

EQ 20

Solving for Flow Capacity

The above equations can be adapted to Steam valve sizing equations as follows:
EQ 21

QS = Flow capacity in pounds per hours.

M = Molecular weight of water (18.016)
Substituting the value of M into EQ 21 results in
EQ 22
Other versions of the equation are:
EQ 23

Solving for Pressure Differential

EQ 24

Solving for Flow Capacity

All information herein is proprietary and confidential and may not be copied or reproduced without the expressed
written consent of BRAY INTERNATIONAL, Inc.
The technical data herein is for general information only. Product suitability should be based solely upon customers
detailed knowledge and experience with their application.

Valve Sizing
Technical Bulletin No. 1031
Date: February 1987 Page 9 of 11

The above gas and steam equations are valid provided:

1. No pipe reducers are on either or both sides of a valve (see Section III. B, Application 1 below if pipe reducers
are present).
2. Critical Flow: that is, choked flow does not occur. The maximum pressure drop allowable before choked flow is
reached in the above equations is when
P < .15P1. Refer to Bray Technical Bulletin 1037, Section II.B on Choked
Flow Gases for further information. If the sizing application meets the above parameters, the first step sizing the
control valve is to solve for CV and then select a valve size from the CV Table (see Bray Technical Bulletin 1029).
The 60 valve angle is recommended for sizing.
B. ISA Equations
1. Application I
-

P < .15 P1, therefore no critical flow

Pipe reducers on either or both sides of valve

a) Gas
EQ 25

EQ 26

b) Steam
EQ 27

EQ 28

FP = The Correction Factor applied to CV coefficients to account for pipe reducers on one or both sides of a valve (See
Bray Technical Bulletin 1033 for FP factors) dimensionless.
FPCV = CVP = Effective CV value with pipe reducer/valve assembly (See Bray Technical Bulletin 1034 for CVP
coefficients).
Refer to Section II.B.1, Application 1 of Liquids for further discussion of FP.
2. Application II -

Critical Flow (choked), P > .15P1

Turbulent Flow
Pipe Reducers may or may not be present

Note: The ISA equation below requires the use of published data and graphs to solve all the equation variables.
a) Gas
EQ 29

All information herein is proprietary and confidential and may not be copied or reproduced without the expressed
written consent of BRAY INTERNATIONAL, Inc.
The technical data herein is for general information only. Product suitability should be based solely upon customers
detailed knowledge and experience with their application.

Valve Sizing
Technical Bulletin No. 1031
Date: February 1987 Page 10 of 11

b) Steam
EQ 30

Where:

Y = Expansion factor, the ratio of a gas flow coefficient to its liquid flow coefficient where Reynolds Number is the same
for both, dimensionless
Z = Compressibility Factor of the gas or vapor, dimensionless
valve internal geometry, , Reynolds Number, Specific Heat Ration K and is limited in
Y = Function
value to .67 < Y < 1.0, regardless of the value attained from the following equation.
This is because when

EQ 31

= FKXT, choked flow of the gas (steam) occurs and flow QG (QS) cannot be increased.

Where:

FK = Specific Heat Ratio Factor, dimensionless, and

EQ 32
K = ratio of specific heat of fluids, dimensionless and 1.40 is K for air at average temperatures and pressures. Refer to
Physical Data Reference Handbooks and Bray Technical Bulletin 1036, Fluid Values.
XT = Pressure drop ratio factor unique to each manufacturers valve style and angle of opening, dimensionless
For Bray butterfly valves, the values for XT can be found from the following graph where XT = .664 FL2. Independent
laboratory data provided in ISAs Control Handbook shows standard butterfly valves have an X T value of .38 and .20 at
60 and 90 respectively. Bray has used this information to develop its numerical factor of .664 so XT values may be
estimated using FL2 values.
Figure 5
XT, Pressure Drop Ratio Factor for Bray Butterfly Valves

All information herein is proprietary and confidential and may not be copied or reproduced without the expressed
written consent of BRAY INTERNATIONAL, Inc.
The technical data herein is for general information only. Product suitability should be based solely upon customers
detailed knowledge and experience with their application.

Valve Sizing
Technical Bulletin No. 1031
Date: February 1987 Page 11 of 11

If pipe reducers are present, then XT of the valve by itself is different than the pressure drop ratio of the valve/pipe reducer
assembly. In this case, a new pressure drop ratio factor, XTP, must be determined and substituted into equation 31 in lieu
of XT. Therefore,
EQ 33

where:

EQ 34

and

d = Valve inlet diameter in inches

Ki = Inlet pipe reducer coefficient for velocity head and is equal to the resistance coefficient for the inlet reducer, Ki, plus
the Bernoulli coefficient for the inlet reducer to the valve, KB1.
EQ 16

D = Inlet pipe diameter before reducer in inches

The final factor in Equation 29 and 30, Z, the compressibility factor is a function of:
EQ 35

and

EQ 36

where:

P1 = Actual inlet pressure absolute, psia

PC = Absolute thermodynamic critical pressure of the fluid, psia
Pr = Ratio of P1 to PC, dimensionless
T1 = Actual inlet temperature in degrees Fahrenheit
TC = Critical Temperature of fluid in degrees Fahrenheit
Tr Ratio of T1 to TC, dimensionless
Once values for Pr and Tr are determined, one should refer to the Generalized Compressibility Charts in the ISA
Handbook of Control Valves in the Appendix, pages 488-492, or Bray Technical Bulletin 1049, Compressibility
Factors, Z.

IV. Valve Sizing Equations for Mixed Phase Fluids

Should one have a control valve application of Mixed Phase Fluids, please refer to ISA Handbook of Control Valves,
pages 191-193.

All information herein is proprietary and confidential and may not be copied or reproduced without the expressed
written consent of BRAY INTERNATIONAL, Inc.
The technical data herein is for general information only. Product suitability should be based solely upon customers
detailed knowledge and experience with their application.