Control Valves

&
On-Off Valves
September
By Baishakhi Bhattacharyya
2012

INDEX
Definition : Valve
Definition : Control Valves
Parts of Control Valves
Definition : On-Off Valves
Need and Application of On-off valve
Types of Valve
Globe Valve
Butterfly Valve
Ball Valve
Gate Valve
Eccentric Rotary plug

Characteristic Of Control Valves

Actuator
Accessories
Leakage
Cavitation & Flashing and their mitigation
Noise and Noise Reduction
How to make valves fire-safe?
ESD Triggers
Performance Tests
Partial Stroke test
Standards Relevant to Control Valves
Standards Relevant to On-Off Valves
Test and Certification Relevant to Control Valves
Test and Certification Relevant to On-off Valves
Control valve sizing

What is a Valve?
A valve is nothing but a restriction. A valve is a device that regulates, directs or controls
the flow of a fluid (gases, liquids, fluidized solids, or slurries) by opening, closing, or
partially obstructing various passageways.

VALVE

Control valve
A Control valve is a
restriction which is
capable of being
modulated in a conduit
that contains a flowing
fluid

On-off valve
An ON-OFF/shut down
valve (also referred to as
Emergency shutdown
valve, ESV, ESD, or
ESDV) is an actuated
valve designed to stop
the flow of a fluid

Motor Operated
valve
Motor Operated valve is a valve
where the Actuator Part is
replaced by a motor. MOV are
normally used for Larger
Process lines where the
Pneumatic pressure is not
enough to provide required
torque Valves movement.

CONTROL VALVE

Single-seat globe valve

The most common final control element in the process

control industries is the control valve.
A Control valve is a restriction which is capable of being
modulated in a conduit that contains a flowing fluid.
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.
ISA S75.05 defined control valve as a power operated
device which modifies the fluid flow rate in a process
control system.
It consists of a valve connected to an actuator
mechanism that is capable of changing the position of a
flow controlling element in the valve in response to a
signal from a controlling system.

PARTS OF CONTROL VALVE

Valve Body- The main pressure boundary of the valve that also provides the pipe connecting ends and the
fluid flow passageway, and supports the valve trim.

Bonnet Assembly- The portion of the valve that contains the packing box and stem seal and also may guide
the stem. It may also provide for the attachment of the actuator to the valve body. Typical bonnets are bolted,
threaded, welded, pressure-sealed, or integral with the body.

Trim- The internal components of a valve that modulate the flow of the controlled fluid. (In a globe valve
typically, it would include plug, seat ring, cage, stem)

Valve Plug- The movable part of the valve that is positioned in the flow path to modulate the rate of flow
through the valve.

Guide Bushing- The bushings fitted into the body, bonnet, bottom flange to guide the plug's post.

Cage- A part of a valve trim, in a globe or angle body, that surrounds the closure member and whose flow
passages may provide flow characterization and/or a seating surface. It may also provide stability, guiding,
balance, and alignment.

Seat Ring- A part of the valve body assembly that provides a seating surface for the closure member and may
provide part of the flow control orifice.

Seat- The line of contact between the closure member and its mating surface that establishes valve shutoff.

Stem Connector- The device that connects the actuator stem to the valve stem.

Yoke - The structure that rigidly connects the actuator power unit to the valve.

Actuator- The purpose of a actuator is to provide the motive force to operate a valve mechanism.

Positioner- a positioner is a device attached to an actuator that receives an electronic or pneumatic signal
from a controller and compares that signal to the actuators position. If the signal and the actuator position
differ, the positioner sends the necessary power, usually through compressed air to move the actuator until
the correct position is reached.

ESD Operated/ON-OFF
VALVES

An ON-OFF/shut down valve

(also referred to as Emergency
shutdown valve, ESV, ESD, or
ESDV) is an actuated valve
designed to stop the flow of a
hazardous fluid or external
hydrocarbons (gases) upon the
detection of a dangerous event.
ESD/ESV valves provides defense
against process miscreations.
ESD / ESV valves are connected
to Programmable Logic Controller
(PLC) and together with sensors
form the Safety Loop.
They generally have a Tag Name
starting as XV or XDV.

NEED AND APPLICATION

The lack of spring return capabilities on the
different electric actuator designs on the market
and its dependence on the supply source to
operate and react to any given situation know
makes the users vulnerable to dangerous
situations and potential environmental
catastrophes.
Also, with today's environmental standards and
required practices, the need to have ESD
capabilities becomes prevalent and changes the
operational function of sectioning valves.

Need & Application (Contd.)

This provides protection against possible
harm to people, equipment or the
environment.
Shutdown valves form part of a Safety
instrumented system (SIS).
Whenever sensors identify an abnormal
dangerous process situation, the PLC
disconnects the power to ESD solenoid valve
and the valve goes to desired fail safe mode
by means of spring force (Fail Close/Fail
Open).
The process of providing automated safety
protection upon the detection of a hazardous
event is called Functional Safety.

TYPES OF VALVES
VALVE

GLOBE

SINGLE
SEATED

BUTTERFLY

DOUBLE
SEATED

ANGLE

DIVERTING

ECCENTRIC
ROTARY PLUG

GATE

3 WAY

BALL

SEGMENTED / V-NOTCH

MIXING

DIAPHRAGM

FULL BORE

Majorly the following kind of valves are used for Control valves:
-Globe
-Butterfly
-Eccentric Rotary Plug
-Segmented / V-Notch Ball

Majorly the following kind of valves are used for ON/OFF purposes
-Ball Valve
-Butterfly Valves
-Gate Valves

GLOBE VALVE
Globe valves are named for their spherical body shape
with the two halves of the body being separated by an
internal baffle.
Globe valves restrict the flow of fluid by altering the
distance between a movable plug and a stationary
seat.
When the plug is fitted into the seat, it stops the flow of
water. The plug can be left in any position from
completely closed, to completely open, depending on
the required flow of fluid.

GLOBE VALVE

Size:

1 to 16; higher size available on request.

Application:

The globe valve design is one of the most popular valve designs
used in throttling service.

To control large range of process parameters, specially in

petrochemical, chemical, fertilizer, oil and gas, power, and other
process plants.

Globe valves are frequently used for control applications because

of their suitability for throttling flow and the ease with which they
can be given a specific 'characteristic', relating valve opening to
flow.

Control Valve Body

Single seated globe valve

Single-seated valves are the most widely used of the

globe body patterns.
There are good reasons for this:
High flow capacity
Tight shut off
High rangeability
They are available in a wide variety of
configurations, including special-purpose trims.
They are available with wide range of
interchangeable trim size.
They have good seating shut-off capability, are less
subject to vibration due to reduced plug mass, and
are generally easy to maintain.
Flow through a single seat

Features:
High flow capacity
Tight shut off
High rangeability. Valve flow rangeability, is the ratio of maximum rated flow to minimum
controllable flow. The governing parameter is Rated Cv.
Higher Turndown, is the ratio between the valves maximum and minimum controllable flow
rate at stated operating pressures.
Various type of trim e.g. contour, single stage, multi stage low noise, anti-cavitation trims, etc.
Wide range of interchangeable trim size.
Available characteristics - Quick opening, Linear & Equal percentage. The valve trim consists
of the internal parts contained within the body and wetted by the process fluid. The main
components are the plug and stem and the seat rings. The trim design also serves to
determine the inherent flow characteristics of the valve.

Valve plug shapes to produce the three

common flow characteristics:
equal percentage, linear, and quick opening.

Angle valve
Typical Features:
1. High Flow Capacity
2. Tight Shut-off
APPLICATION:
Angle valves are typically used in high pressure drop
applications and for erosive service where impingement of
solid particles is to be avoided. At high pressure drops the
velocity would be very high, therefore depending on actual
downstream velocities, these applications can require a
larger pipe size than the valve.
Where process fluid contains solid particles.
Corrosive or high viscous fluid which shall solidify at room
temperature, because the downwards output port does
not allow the solidified material to stay inside valve body.

Angle valve

3 Way valve
Three-way valves are another form of specialized globe valve body configuration that serve
two basic services:
1. Mixing service for the combination of two fluid streams passing to a common outlet port.
2. Diverting service for separating a common inlet port into two outlet ports.
Three way valves are ideal for mixing two separate flows by having two inlets and one
outlet, or dividing a flow into two proportional parts by having one common inlet and two
outlets.

Butterfly valve
The rotary valves such as butterfly, ball, and plug valves were once considered to be only on/off valves. In recent decades
the rotary valves in general and the butterfly design in particular have been used more and more as throttling control
valves.
ADVANTAGE: Relative to the traditional globe control valve, the butterfly valves have the advantages of lower cost and
weight, two to three times the flow capacity of globe valves fire-safe designs, tight shut-off and low stem leakage. Little
resistance to flow (allows smooth flow).
Optimal for automated operation with a low operating torque and 90 degrees operating angle.
DISADVANTAGE: When used for throttling service, some of their disadvantages are a direct consequence of the above
advantages. Their high-capacity design results in either using oversized valves or having small valves mounted in large
pipes. If small valves are used, this means substantial waste of pumping energy caused by the reducer pressure drops.

The vane positions of butterfly valve when closed, throttling, or open.

Butterfly Valves
Butterfly valves designed for tight shut-off (TSO) fall into two
categories:
One is the valve that is provided with an elastomer or plastic
liner.
The other tight shut-off design is the HPBV with the cammed disc
andAvailable
designs
a separate in
sealfollowing
ring clamped
into the body
Lug Type

Wafer Type

HPBV Type

Double Flanged Type

Designs on basis of connection

High Performance design

Butterfly Valves (Contd)

ZERO OFFSET

Concentric valve (zero

offset).
Disc rotates around the
centre axis allowing for
a potential 360 rotation.
Sealing is achieved by
the Disc deforming the
soft seal resulting in full
friction through the full
operating cycle.

DOUBLE OFFSET
The shaft is offset from
the centre line of the
disc seat and body
seal (offset one), and
the centre line of the
bore (offset two).

TRIPLE OFFSET
The third offset is the geometry design of the
sealing components not the shaft position.
The sealing components are each machined
into an offset conical profile resulting in a
right angled cone.
This ensures friction free stroking throughout
its operating cycle. Contact is only made at
the final point of closure with the 90 angle
acting as a mechanical stop; resulting in no
over - travel of the disc seat.

Ball valve
A ball valve is a valve with a spherical disc/ball, the part of the valve
which controls the flow through it. The sphere has a hole, or port,
through the middle so that when the port is in line with both ends of
the valve, flow will occur. When the valve is closed, the hole is
perpendicular to the ends of the valve, and flow is blocked Ball
valves are straight-through flow valves which provide positive shut
off with minimal pressure drop and flow turbulence. The barrier to
flow is a ball which is rotated 90 degrees to the direction of flow.

The ball valve is very reliable. It can be engineered to

withstand HIGH pressure. It takes a quarter turn to
open or close them fully. It is widely used for ONOff/shutdown applications and in special cases for
regulating services.

Ball Valves
Ball valves are durable and usually work to achieve perfect
shutoff even after years of disuse.
Used in steam, water, oil, gas, air, corrosive fluids, and can
also handle slurries and dusty dry fluids.
Abrasive and fibrous materials can damage the seats and the ball
surface.
Their tight shut-off characteristics correspond to ANSI Class IV and
VI.
The fire-safe design of ball valves can be certified to API-607,
which specifies the types of secondary seats that are acceptable
to control the leaking of flammable fluids, when the primary seat
(usually PTFE) sublimes during fire.

Features:
High flow capacity.
Metal to metal trim, soft seated trim.
Tight shut off (Leakage - ANSI class IV) with soft seat.
Minimum obstruction for the flowing media.
O ball and V notch construction available. The V-notch
ball provides nearly equal percentage flow characteristic.
The V-shaped notch cut into the opening lip of
the ball provides a narrower area for fluid flow at
low opening angles, providing more precise flow
control than a plain-bore ball valve. Also known as
segmented ball valve.

V-Notch Ball Design

Types Of Ball Valve

Float ball valve:
Floating ball in the ball valves means a ball
that is free to float between the seat rings.
The ball is held on two seat rings. In general
we can also say that the floating ball valves
have float ball and fixed seat.
Floating ball valves by its construction use an
upstream pressure to push the ball against its
seat.
In general practice, the floating ball valve is
used at low pressure application due to its
seat limitation (at high pressure the ball is
leaning to push and broke the seat). Floating
ball valves also used at small size only due to
its difficulties to align to seat if the ball size is
big.
In general practice for piping application, for
below 3 size at 150 or 300 ANSI class should
be use floating ball valves.

Types Of Ball Valve (Contd.)

Trunnion Mounted:
Trunnion mounted ball in the ball valves
means the ball is held by a fixed vertical
axis.
In trunnion mounted, the upstream
pressure is absorbed by a bearing and the
tightness is achieved by a spring inside the
seat. This seat is pushed by a spring to
have a tighten sealing.
The trunnion mounted is capable to use at
high pressure application and large size
ball valves without major problem.
At high pressure and large size application
the trunnion mounted is superior to the
floating ball valves type.
For sizes 3 and above (150 or 300 ANSI
class) or at ANSI class 600 and above all
size, it shall be use of trunnion mounted
ball valves.

Floating Ball v/s Trunnion

Mounted

In general application the actuated ball valves used for shutdown valve or blow down is
categorized as a critical application. It serves a Safety Instrumented System (SIS) that has
a certain requirement of Safety Integrity Level (SIL)
Due to its critical role, the ESD ball valves are usually trunnion mounted instead of
floating type.
Torque and the upstream pressure acting on the seat is the main point for choice the
type. If the pressure acting on the seat is high, the stem of the floating type can not bear
the pressure and much of it will act on the Seal seat ,This will made the seat broken ,also
when we close or open the valves, the torque will be high. We may need to choose a big
actuator.
In Trunnion type, the ball is fixed and can reduce some torque. It also protects
the seat when the valve is closed and high upstream pressure act on the ball.
But it also depends on the manufacturer capabilities. Sometimes manufacturer
capabilities to fabricate a trunnion mounted ball valves is limited to 2 smallest size. In
this case, the floating type is unavoidable.
So as a conclusion, instrument ball valves used as shutdown or blow down application
shall be trunnion mounted type and the use of floating type is only acceptable if the use
of trunnion mounted type isnt feasible.

Gate valve
The KNIFE GATE-TYPE : It works by changing the process fluids
flow rate by sliding a plate past a stationary hole.

Knife Gate valves are relatively inexpensive, have high capacity,

and are suited for slurry and dirty services.
On the other hand they have poor control characteristics, do not
provide tight shut-off, and are not suited for corrosive services.
It is a form of guillotine-type gate valve and is much used due
to its non-plugging body design.
Non-abrasive slurry services such as in the pulp & paper
industry.
For large diameter water services as found in waste water
systems.

KNIFE GATE-TYPE

POSITIONED-DISC VALVES: Rotation of a movable disc with two

holes, which if rotated can progressively cover two holes in the
stationary disc, can successfully throttle flow.
The positioned sliding disc designs are ideal for high-pressure
(up to 10,000 PSIG), cavitating, abrasive, or erosive services,
but are relatively expensive and are not suited for sludge, slurry,
viscous, or fibrous services.
POSITIONED-DISC VALVES

Slab-type knife
gate

Guillotine-type knife
Gate Valve:
Slide gate guillotine valves
are used on low pressure flue
gas or airflow service as a
block off valve. These valves
are available in bonneted or
bonnetless design.

Eccentric Rotary Plug valve

The eccentric plug rotary control valve features an eccentrically mounted plug or ball, which combines
rotary valve efficiency with globe valve ruggedness..
Excellent Flow Characteristic
High Capacity
One-Piece Body
Rugged Construction
Reliable Performance
The High Rangeability
One of the main advantages of the rotary plug valve is its free passage. Due to the flow restrictor which
moves crossways to the flow, the plug does not directly bears the brut of the flowing fluid. This confers
a special advantage on abrasive or adhesive media.

Sr. No.
1

Type of VALVE
1.
2.

Butterfly Valves
High Performance
Butterfly Valves

Area of Application
1.a.
1.b.
1.c.
2.

Control & Isolation (on-off) of Air, Gas, Toxic Chemicals,

Acids & Alkalies Etc.
Used for control application at higher valve sizes instead of
globe valves
For corrosive services, where body lining of globe valves
becomes economically unattractive.
Control & Isolation of High Temperature, High Pressure
Fluids Etc.

Ball Valves

1.
2.

Isolation (on-off) of Fluids at Moderate pressure & Temp.

Quick Opening

Diaphragm Valves

1.
2.

On/Off applications in slurry service.

Glandless Valve Hence Most Suitable for Vacuum Application

Knife Edge Gate Valves

1.
2.

Isolation Of Slurry & Pulp Applications

On-Off application

1.
2.

1.

To control large range of process parameters, specially in

petrochemical, chemical, fertilizer, oil and gas, power, and
other process plants
Control & Isolation (on-off) of Highly Toxic Fluids & Zero
Leakage to Atmosphere.

Globe valve
Below Sealed Globe
Valves

2.

Control Valves Characteristic

Characteristic : The flow characteristic of a control valve is the relationship between the flow rate through
the valve and the valve travel, as the travel is varied from 0 to 100%.

Quick Opening

Normally classified three types

of characteristics
Quick opening
Linear
Equal percentage
Square root
Modified parabolic
Hyperbolic

80

60
% Flow

Linear
100

40

Equal
Percentage

20

20

40

60
% Lift

80

100

 Quick Opening

An inherent flow characteristic in which there is maximum flow with minimum travel.
Quick opening valves are typically used for ON-OFF service.
Use for processes, where instantly large flow is needed.

Linear
The rate of change of flow is same to the rate of change of valve travel.
Linear characteristics are provided for most level control loops, and loops where the
measurement is linear and the variation in the pressure drop across the control valve
is small.

Equal percentage
Provides equal percentage increases in rate of flow for equal increments of plug movement.
The equal percentage valve offers an advantage over the linear valve at low flow rates. Consider, at a 10% flow
rate of 1 m/h, the linear valve only lifts roughly 4%, whereas the equal percentage valve lifts roughly 20%.
Although the orifice pass area of both valves will be exactly the same, the shape of the equal percentage valve
plug means that it operates further away from its seat, reducing the risk of impact damage between the valve
plug and seat due to quick reductions in load at low flow rates.
Higher rangeability.

Selecting a valve with the correct flow characteristic (the relationship between valve opening and flow
capacity) is very important.
Actually, a control valve has two characteristics, an INHERENT CHARACTERISTIC and an INSTALLED
CHARACTERISTIC.
The inherent characteristic of a valve is the characteristic published by the manufacturer, based on tests
performed in a system where great care is taken to ensure that the pressure drop across the test valve is
held constant at all valve openings and flow rates. The inherent characteristic, therefore, represents the
relationship between valve flow capacity and valve opening when there are no system effects involved.
The inherent characteristic can be determined in a flow-test lab with a constant, pressure
drop, but what if the pressure drop is not constant as is quite often the case?
The answer is because of the installed characteristic.
The Installed characteristics of a control valve refer to the relationship between the flowrate through the
valve and the valve travel, as the valve is opened from its closed position to various degree of opening,
when the pressure drop across the valve varies.
Note that, the pressure drop across the valve (DPV) varies in most actual installation, influenced also by
various pressure-reducing devices in series with the control valve, such as the pipe length, pipe fittings and
various types of valves, flowmeter and process equipment.

NOTE: In actual flow conditions (installed characteristics) the equal % moves toward linear and linear characteristics to
quick opening characteristics. Quick opening characteristics is undesirable for throttling applications since in dynamic
condition it moves toward on-off characteristics.

ACTUATORS

Definition: A pneumatic, hydraulic, or electrically powered device that supplies force and motion to position a
valves closure member at or between the open or closed position. Thus, an actuator is any device that causes
the valve stem to move.
The purpose of a control valve actuator is to provide the motive force to operate a valve
mechanism.
It may be a manually positioned device, such as a handwheel or lever.

Type:
Pneumatic - Valve is operated by pneumatic supply on the actuator. Pneumatic
valve actuators respond to an air signal by moving the valve trim into a
corresponding throttling position.
Pneumatic actuators use air pressure pushing against either a flexible diaphragm or
a piston to move a valve mechanism.
- Diaphragm
- Piston operated
Single acting
Double acting
Electric - Valve is operated by electrical motor which is couple to the valve shaft
through gear box. Electric motors have long been used to actuate large valves,
especially valves operated as on/off (shutoff) devices.
Hydraulic-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.
As shutdown valves form part of a SIS it is necessary to operate the valve by
means of an actuator.
Scotch & Yoke / Rack & Pinion are the most commonly used mechanisms in on-

Piston actuators
Linear piston actuators provide longer strokes and can operate at higher air pressures than can the
spring/diaphragm actuators. Compressed air is applied to a solid piston contained within a solid
cylinder. Piston actuators can be single acting or double acting.
Piston Actuators are used with on-off valves and also with large size valves which require longer
stroke.

Adobe Acrobat 7.0

Document

Diaphragm actuators
Diaphragm actuators have compressed air applied to a flexible
membrane called the diaphragm. Figure shows a rolling
diaphragm where the effective diaphragm area is virtually constant
throughout the actuator stroke.
The popularity of the spring/diaphragm actuator is due to its low
cost, its relatively high thrust at low air supply pressures, and its
availability with fail-safe springs.
Spring diaphragm actuators are the most widely recognized and
used by control valve suppliers.
Simplistic design ,few moving parts, and easy to maintain.

Scotch & Yoke / Rack & Pinion:

They are the

most commonly used mechanisms in on-off rotary valve
actuators because of their high torque production

Diaphragm actuator

 In addition to the fluid type, actuators also vary in the

manner in which the energy is stored to operate the valve
on demand as follows:
Single-acting cylinder/ Spring Return - Energy is
stored by means of a compressed spring
Double-acting cylinder - Energy is stored using a volume
of compressed fluid
The type of actuation required also depends upon the
application, site facilities and also the physical space
available.
Although the majority of actuators used for shutdown
valves are of the spring return type due to the fail safe
nature of spring return systems.

Rack & Pinion Actuator

The valve application engineer must choose between the two readily available fail-safe schemes for control valves,
either fail open or fail closed. This means "what position will the valve move to should the supply air or control
signal to the valve falls away". This is important to safe guard the process at various places so some valves will be
fail open and some fail close.

Fail open- A condition wherein the valve closure member moves to an open
position when the actuating energy source fails.

Fail close- A condition wherein the valve closure member moves to a closed
position when the actuating energy source fails.

Fail safe- A characteristic of a particular valve and its actuator that upon loss of
actuating energy supply will cause a valve closure member to be fully closed, fully
open, or remain in the last position, whichever position is defined as necessary to
protect the process.

Fail lock- Pneumatic lock-up systems are used with control valves to lock in
existing actuator loading pressure in the event of supply pressure failure.
This is done by installing a "lockup valve" inline with the pneumatic actuator's air
line trapping air inside the actuator under "fail" conditions. When the lockup valve
shuts, no air can enter or exit the control valve's actuator, which makes the control
valve hold its position.

Positioner
In valves without a positioner, when the valve is given a command to open to a certain point, there is no
feedback to verify that the valve has opened to that position.
With a valve positioner, the command is given and the valve positioner reads the opening, verifying the position
and readjusting until it gets it to the exact position needed. This allows for great precision in the valve adjustment
By definition, a positioner is a device attached to an actuator that receives an electronic or pneumatic signal from
a controller and compares that signal to the actuators position.
If the signal and the actuator position differ, the positioner sends the necessary powerusually through
compressed airto move the actuator until the correct position is reached.
A positioner ensures that for a given
input signal, the valve will always
attempt to maintain the same position
regardless of changes in valve
differential pressure, stem friction,
diaphragm hysteresis and so on.
A positioner may be used as a signal
amplifier or booster.
It accepts a low pressure air control
signal and, by using its own higher
pressure input, multiplies this to provide
a higher pressure output air signal to
the actuator diaphragm, if required, to
ensure that the valve reaches the
desired position.

There are four basic valve positioner types: pneumatic, electronic, electro-pneumatic and digital.
Pneumatic valve postioners communicate with air.
Electric valve positioners use electric signals; single or three-phase AC or DC current is used.
Electro-pneumatic valve positioners take an electric signal and convert it to a pneumatic (air) signal.
Digital valve actuators use a microprocessor to monitor the valve accurately.
A frequently asked question is, 'When should a positioner be fitted?
A positioner should be considered in the following circumstances:
1. When accurate valve positioning is required.
2. To speed up the valve response. The positioner uses higher pressure and greater air flow to adjust
the valve position.
3. To increase the pressure that a particular actuator and valve can close against. (To act as an
amplifier).
4. Where friction in the valve (especially the packing) would cause unacceptable hysteresis.
5. Where varying differential pressures within the fluid would cause the plug position to vary.

'When should a positioner NOT be fitted?

1. A positioner should not be used if the process
is too fast.
2. Another is a small valve with a relatively large
actuator and good available force

The response of a fast process is better without a positioner,

LIMIT SWITCH

The indication from the valve limit switches that tells the operator and the
logic when the valve is fully open or fully closed.
Switches are installed on electric motor-driven valves to open the circuit and
stop driving the motor when the valve is at its limit (fully open or closed). The
name limit switch is also used to describe switches installed to signal
when a valve is at or beyond a predetermined position.
For hazardous area, switch shall be either intrinsically safe or switch
mounted in ex-proofing housing.
When specifying the limit switches, one should specify the required contact
ratings, the contact configurations (SPDT, DPDT, and so on), and the type of
housing required. Typical choices include weatherproof, explosion proof etc.
TYPES OF LIMIT SWITCHES USED:
INDUCTIVE TYPE
SENSOR

TARGET

SENSOR
DISTANCE

SWITC
H
RATE

ENVIRONMENT
AL
SENSITIVITIES

ADVANTAGES

DISADVANT
AGES

Limit
Switch

Any

Physical
Contact
required

3Hz

Temperature,
Moisture

Simple,
Inexpensive

Physical
Contact,
Arcing

Photoelectric

Opaque

0.1-50mm

1001000Hz

Dust, Dirt,
Ambient Light

Good Resolution

Ultrasoni
c
Type

Nonporous,
large

30mm-10m

50Hz

Noise, Air Motion

Inductive
Type

Conductive
Material

Ferrous-50mm,
Non-ferrous-

3005000Hz

Other nearby
sensors

Poor
Resolution
Usually fails ON,
good Resolution

Solenoid Valves:
Solenoid valves are often found in applications in
which a control valve under certain conditions must
be quickly driven to the fail position
The solenoid valve as a control valve accessory is
used
(1) To operate on/off pneumatic actuators
(2) To interrupt the action of modulating valves by
switching air or hydraulic pressures.
In order for the system to shut down (valve to close)
in case of loss of power or emergence of an unsafe
condition, it is desirable for the solenoid valve to be
continuously energized during normal operation.
This will guarantee that any failure, loss of power, or
a broken wire will cause a fail-safe action.
We can use brass, aluminum, or even 316 SS for
the body material since all of this material is
compatible with the instrument air.
Though solenoid valve material is 316LSS as
minimum or per project specifications as it is
corrosion resistant.

2/2 way normally closed

solenoid valve

3/2 way normally closed

solenoid valve

SOLENOID VALVE COIL INSULATION

When the solenoid valve is energized, there is some heat energy generated by
this conductors winding. Since the conductors winding dissipate some heat
energy, the insulation must endure this heat.
If the insulation isnt strong enough to endure against the heat, then it will melt
or burnt. Furthermore the broken insulation will cause a short circuit and the
solenoid will fail to operate.
In general, the insulation of solenoid valve coil can be made from paper,
polyester, polyurethane, nylon, etc.
Solenoid Valve Coil Insulation Class
Maximum Temperature
B
130 deg C
F
155 deg C
H
180 deg C
In general application for shutdown valve triggering, the vendor will provide
the temperature rise data of the solenoid at full load (energized). With
this temperature rise data, they will provide standard insulation class
and state the maximum ambient temperature for that solenoid valves.
For example, the solenoid valves have an inherent temperature rise 90 0C at
full load. By providing insulation class F (max temperature 155 0C), it will be
allowed to operate at 650C ambient temperature. In most application, the
ambient temperature will not exceed 400C, therefore it will have 250C extra
thermal capabilities. This extra thermal capability can be used to extend the
solenoid valve life expectancy.

Air filter regulator

Supply pressure regulators, commonly called airsets,
reduce plant air supply to valve positioners and other
control equipment.
They perform two critical functions: providing a constant air
supply pressure to the instrument or valve, and filtering the
instrument air, that is to remove moisture, oil, and all
particles that are 5 or larger.
The pressure-reducing function is essential to a plants
performance and safety. Most plant instrument air systems
operate at pressures of 100 psi (6.9 bar) or higher, while
most control valves and other instruments are designed to
run at much lower air supply pressuresas low as 20 psi
(1.4 bar) in some cases.
Exceeding the rated supply pressure can lead to early
failure, mechanical damage, system shutdowns and
potentially unsafe conditions.
It is often purchased with the valve, mounted, and piped.
An air set must be used when the pressure rating of the
actuator or positioner is lower than the air supply pressure.
General filter material: Sintered Polypropylene, Sintered
Polyethylene

Air Filter
Regulator

Hand-wheel
Hand wheel may be supplied for manual operation of
control valves for emergency use, during start up or in the
event of the air failure.
They are used infrequently & primarily in critical services
or when block & bypass valves are not provided.

Leakage
This is the basically the fluid which passes through the valve when the valve is fully closed. So this
leakage shall depend on the contact of the valve plug seat with the seating force applied for holding
the plug over the seat.
Seat Leakage
According to ANSI B16.104-1976 (FCI 70-2)
Leakage
Class

II

III

IV

Maximum
Allowable

Test
Medium

Nominal Port
Diameter

45-60 PSIG or maximum

difference pressure,
whichever is less

0.5% of rated valve capacity

0.1% of rated valve capacity

air or water

45-60 PSIG or maximum

difference pressure,
whichever is less

air or water

45-60 PSIG or maximum

difference pressure,
whichever is less

0.0005 ml per min. per inch

orifice diameter (seat
diameter) per psi

water

100 PSI minimum or maximum

difference pressure

differential

VI

Refer to table adjacent

air or
nitro
gen

Bubbles Per
Minute

Test Pressures

air or water

0.01% of rated valve capacity

ml Per Minute

50 PSI or maximum difference

pressure, whichever is
lower

1.00

0.15

1.00

1-1/2

0.30

2.00

2.00

0.45

3.00

2-1/2

0.60

4.00

3.00

0.90

6.00

4.00

1.70

11.00

6.00

4.00

27.00

8.00

6.75

45.00

Class I. Identical to Class II, III, and IV in construction and

design intent, but no actual shop test is made.
Class II. Intended for double-port or balanced singe-port
valves with a metal piston ring seal and metal-to-metal
seats. Air or water at 45 to 60 psig is the test fluid.
Allowable leakage is 0.5% of the rated full open
capacity.
Class III. Intended for the same types of valves as in Class
II. Allowable leakage is limited to 0.1% of rated valve
capacity.
Class IV. Intended for single-port and balanced single-port
valves with extra-tight piston seals and metal-to-metal
seats. Leakage rate is limited to 0.01% of rated valve
capacity.
Class V. Intended for the same types of valves as Class IV.
The test fluid is water at 100 psig or operating pressure.
Leakage allowed is limited to 5 X 10 ml per minute per inch
of orifice diameter per psi differential.
Class VI. Intended for resilient-seating valves. The test
fluid is air or nitrogen. Pressure is the lesser of 50 psig or
operating pressure. The leakage limit depends on valve
CLASS IVsize
is alsoand
known
as metal to
metal.0.15
It is theto
kind
of leakage
rate you
can expect
a valve with a metal
ranges
from
6.75
ml per
minute
forfrom
valve
plug and metal
seat.
sizes
1 through 8 inches.
CLASS Vl is known as a soft seat classification. Soft Seat Valves are those where either the plug or seat or both
are made from some kind of composition material such as Teflon or similar.

Flashing & Cavitation Phenomena

Pipe
Flow
direction
Flow restriction

p1

Inlet pressure

p2
pv

Outlet pressure

pvc

Vena Contracta pressure

Vapor pressure

Flashing
If the pressure at the vena contracta drops below the vapour pressure of
the liquid, bubbles will form in the flowing stream. If the pressure
downstream remains below the vapour pressure, the bubbles will
remain and the process is said to have flashed. Flashing can
produce erosion damage, normally at the point of highest velocity at
or near the seat line of the valve plug and the seat ring.

When the liquid flashes into vapour, there is a increase in

volume, resulting in the increase in the velocity of the fluid.
Hence this high velocity will erode the surface.

Flashing damage can be identified as smooth polished

appearance of erode surface. It is usually at or near seat line of
the valve plug and seat. Flashing damage is marked by shiny,
smooth gouges in material.

When a liquid flashes into vapor, there is a large increase in

volume. In this circumstance, the piping downstream of a valve
needs to be much larger than the inlet piping in order to keep
the velocity of the two-phase stream low enough to prevent
erosion. The ideal valve to use for such applications is an angle
valve with an oversized outlet connection.
To protect
the valve the valve material must be hardened. If there is 100%
flashing then the valve should be slightly oversized in order to
accommodate the increased volume and keep velocity of
vapour low enough.

Cavitation
Cavitation is said to have occurred if the downstream pressure
recovery is sufficient to go above the vapour pressure,
collapsing the bubbles, releasing energy, making noise, and
causing erosion.
Choked cavitation is the point where the vaporization of the
fluid reaches sonic velocity in the valve port and limits the
flow through the valve.
Cavitation damage can be identified as rough and
pitted surface. Cavitation damage may extend to the
downstream pipeline if that is where the pressure
recovery occurs.
Destruction is due to the implosions( the bubbles
collapse ) that generate the extremely high-pressure
shock waves in the substantially non-compressible
stream. Cavitation is usually coupled with vibration
and a sound like rock fragments or gravel flowing
through the valve.

Cavitation Damage

In order to ELIMINATE CAVITATION:

Install two or more control valves in series as pressure drop is distributed.
The more treacherous the flow path through a particular valve, the less
likelihood exists for cavitation.
Inversely, the valves most likely to cavitate are the high recovery valves
(ball, butterfly, gate) as the flow path is less complicated.
Control valve designs that are less likely to cavitate are ones having
multipath and multiturn flow paths.
Labyrinth-type valves avoid cavitation by a very large series of right-angle
turns with negligible pressure recovery at each turn..

The multistep valves

The multistep / multistage valves can avoid cavitation by replacing a single

and deep vena contracta with several small vena contracta points as the
pressure drop is distributed.
Multi-Grooved Cascade trim for non-compressible fluid applications. There
are 8~9 grooves designs available depending on pressure drop and
potential for cavitation. The fluid passes through the flow path generated
by incorporating angled flats onto the surface of the plug. The pressure
drop progressively reduces as it passes through the grooves of the trim.
By proper material selection. Such as Like SS316 / COLMONOY 6 coating/
STELLITE coating / ALLOY 6 which are likely to survive longer.
MULTI PATH TRIM SECTION

Noise Theory
A random mixture of sound and pressure waves of various amplitude and frequency, which
people do not like.
Unit of noise dBA (Decibels) = 20Log (Existing sound pressure level / .0002 micro bar).
Typical noise limit is 85 dBA before some kind of action is required.

Source of valve noise

Mechanical noise It produces high mechanical stress- fatigue failure of vibration

part. Mechanical noise can be reduced by improved design to suppress vibration
by good support and rugged construction.
Vibration of valve components it is due to lateral movement of valve plug against
the guide surface. The sound level produce will normally have frequency less
than1500 Hz and is known as metallic rattling.
Hydrodynamic noise It is due to cavitation and flashing. It is because of
collapsing of vapour bubbles.
Aerodynamic Noise Aerodynamic noise is generated by the turbulence created in
the flow of vapor, gas, or steam as the fluid passes through a control valve

 Noise control
Path treatment
Insulation of pipe :
Thermal Insulation :3 to 5 dBA of noise attenuation per inch.
Acoustical Insulation: 8 to 10 dBA per inch

Heavy duty pipe

Silencer:
In-line silencers: Absorb sound energy
Applied when source treatment is insufficient
Cost effectively provide up to 25dBA attenuation

Standard
Schedule
40 Pipe

Schedule
80 Pipe

110 dBA

106 dBA

Acoustic
Insulation
(2-inches)
96 dBA

Standard
Schedule
40 Pipe

Silencer

Standard
Schedule
40 Pipe

110 dBA

85 dBA

85 dBA

 Noise control
Source treatment
Prevents noise at its source,
Minimizes turbulence.
Staging pressure drop through use of diffusers
Dividing up flow path through slots or drilled holes
Example:
Low Noise Trim Cage style (e.g. Whisper trim)
Whisper Flo (Noise reduction up to 10 dBA)
Whisper I (Noise reduction up to 18 dBA)
Whisper III (Noise reduction up to 30 dBA)
By In line diffuser
By whisper disk

Noise reduction trim

HOW TO MAKE VALVES FIRESAFE?

There are also two methods to achieve a fire-safe design, by using a
fire-proof component or by using a non fire-proof component
but supported by a special design that will prevent leakage
after the component is melt.
The first method to achieve a fire-safe design by using a fire-proof
component usually is referring as an inherently fire-safe valve. Usually
this type of valve is a metal seated valve by using a graphite
seat insert (in ball valve or butterfly valve) and graphite stem
packing. By using graphite as a seat insert and stem packing, the
graphite will remain stand even after fire exposure.
The second method to achieve a fire-safe design by using a non
fire-proof component usually is referring as fire-tested valve. This
valve is using a thermoplastic seat material and a
thermoplastic stem packing material such as PTFE. In the seat
design, even though the seat is thermoplastic, it is designed so that
when the thermoplastic is melting due to high temperature exposure

ESD Triggers
Pressure sensing High & Low
These kind of triggers provide
high and low pressure sensing on
gas or liquids and can be fitted with
either an automatic or manual
reset.
Fusible Link
Fusible links are set to melt and
activate an ESD system in the event
of fire.

PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT FOR ESD

VALVE
For ESD valves, it is essential to know that the valve is capable of
providing the required level of safety performance and that the
valve will operate on demand.
The required level of performance is dictated by the Safety
integrity level (SIL).
The metric for measuring the performance of a safety function is
called the Average Probability of failure on demand (or
PFDavg) and this correlates to the SIL level as follows:
SIL
4
3
2
1

PFDavg

105
104
103
102

to
to
to
to

<104
<103
<102
<101

Types Of Performance Tests

There are 2 types of testing methods available:

Proof test - A manual test that allows the

operator to determine whether the valve is in
the "as good as new" condition by testing for
all possible failure modes and requires a
plant shutdown. (GENERALLY DONE ONCE IN
A YEAR OR TWO YEARS)
Diagnostic Test - An automated on-line test
that will detect a percentage of the possible
failure modes of the shutdown valve. An
example of this for a shutdown valve would be

PARTIAL STROKE TESTING

(PST)
Partial stroke testing (PST) is a technique used in
SIS to allow the user to test a percentage of the
possible failure modes of a shut down valve without
the need to physically close it.
The PST is used to check the function of the safe
position of ESD valves.
A successfully executed partial stroke demonstrates
that certain unresolved errors that would otherwise go
undetected, such as spring fractures in the spring
chamber of the pneumatic actuator.
The test can be started both locally on the device in a
time-controlled manner or from remote.

How is PST performed?

The positioner evacuates an output until
the position change defined in advance
occurs. If this does not happen within the
set time (timeout value), an alarm can be
output.
At the end of the test, the positioner
moves the valve to the last valid position
and reverts to the most recently active
control mode.
For documentation purposes, the test
result is saved in the non-volatile memory.

Various PST Techniques

Mechanical Jammers
A device is inserted into the valve and
actuator assembly that physically prevents
the valve from moving past a certain point.
These are used in cases where
accidentally shutting the valve would
have severe consequences, or any
application where the end user prefers a
mechanical device.
Mechanical limiting methods are
inexpensive in terms of capital and
installation costs.
These methods are manually initiated in
the field and are manpower intensive.
A limit switch or visual inspection is used to
confirm valve movement.
One of the biggest drawbacks to these

Mechanical Partial Stroke Test Device

shown in disengaged position

Mechanical Partial Stroke Test

Device shown in engaged position.

During normal operation the device is

passive and will allow the valve to ESD
on demand.

When a partial stroke test is required, the

device is engaged and the ESD valve will
only travel to the specified percentage of
stroke. The
device mechanically prevents movement
past the interlock

PST Methodologies (Contd.)

Position Control
Position control uses a positioner to move the valve to a predetermined point. This method can be used on rising stem and
rotary valves.
Since most emergency block valves are not installed with a
positioner, this method does require installation of additional
hardware.
Positioner operation also requires an analog output, which is
typically not installed in SIS applications. Consequently, cost is a
major drawback for the position control method.
A limit switch or position transmitter can be used to determine
and document the successful completion of the tests.
If a smart positioner is used for the position control, a HART
maintenance station can collect the test information and
generate test documentation. Of course, the use of a smart
positioner and maintenance station further increases the capital cost.
The positioner does contribute to the spurious trip rate during
normal operation, since the positioner can fail and vent the air from
the valve.
But when a solenoid is installed between the positioner and
the actuator, the safety functionality is never lost during the

PST Methodologies (Contd.)

Solenoid

A partial-stroke test can be accomplished by pulsing a solenoid

valve. The solenoid can be the same solenoid used for valve
actuation, resulting in a low capital and installation costs for
the method.
If the actuation solenoid valve is used, this method will also test
the solenoid valve functionality.
Valve travel confirmation is accomplished by a limit switch
or position transmitter, allowing automatic documentation of test
status.
The test can be programmed in the SIS logic solver with the
test being implemented automatically based on a programmed
cycle time or initiated by the operator on a maintenance schedule.
Since the valve is never bypassed or disabled, the valve remains
available for shutdown during the test. As with the other partialstroke testing methods, a maintenance bypass is required to
allow maintenance to be performed on-line without a process
shutdown.
After all, the solenoid is being de-energized for the test and reenergized to stop the test.
If the solenoid valve does not reset, the test becomes a trip.

Benefits Of PST
Reducing the probability of failure on demand.
Extension of the time between compulsory plant
shutdowns.
Predicting potential valve failures facilitating the preordering of spare parts.
Prioritisation of maintenance tasks.
If the safety is of an appropriate level, the need for
costly redundant valves may be eliminated.

Standards Relevant to Control Valves

ASME B16.1 and B16.5.
ASME B16.1 : Cast Iron Pipe Flanges and Flanged Fittings. This Standard for Classes 25, 125, 250 Cast Iron
Pipe Flanges and Flanged Fittings covers.
ASME B16.5 : Pipe Flanges and Flanged Fittings. The standard includes flanges with rating class 150, 300, 400,
600, 900, 1500, and 2500 in sizes NPS 1/2 through NPS 24.
ASME B16.10-199
Defines Face-to-Face Dimensions of valve bodies
ISA S75.19
For Hydro testing of Control Valves (Latest Edition)
ASME B16.34-1996 :Valves - Flanged, Threaded and Welded End
Defines design criteria for valves with Flanged, Threaded and Welding ends
Defines minimum wall thickness requirements
Defines Pressure-Temperature Ratings for various materials
Permits Assembled Hydrostatic Pressure Tests
ANSI B16.104-1976 (FCI 70-2): Standard for Control Valve Leakage Classification (Fluid Control Institute)
Standard for Seat Leakage Classification
Establishes test procedures and seat leakage classes
Six Leakage Class Designations - Class I through VI

ANSI/ISA-75.05.01-2000 (R2005)
Control Valve Terminology
ASME/ANSI B16.47 1996
Large Diameter Steel Flanges: NPS 26 through NPS 60
American Petroleum Institute (API):
API STD 6F
Fire Test for Valves
API STD 598
Valve Inspection & Testing
API STD 599
Metal Plug Valves Flanged, Threaded and Welded Ends
API STD 602
Steel, Gate, Globe & Check Valves for Sizes DN 100 and Smaller for the
Petroleum and Natural Gas Industries
API STD 608
Metal Ball Valves Flanged, Threaded, and Welded Ends
API STD 609
Butterfly Valves: Double Flanged Lug and Wafer Type.
API STD 2000 Venting Atmospheric and Low Pressure Storage Tanks Non-refrigerated and Refrigerated
National Association of Corrosion Engineers (NACE):
NACE MR0103 and NACE MR0175 and : Petroleum and Natural Gas Industries Materials for use in H2S-Containing
Environments in Oil and Gas Production Part 1: General Principles for Selection of Cracking-Resistant Irons Part 3:
Cracking-Resistant CRAs (Corrosion-Resistant Alloys) and other Alloys

VARIOUS STANDARDS @ On-Off

valves
IEC61508: Functional safety of electrical/ electronic/ programmable

electronic safety-related systems

IEC61511: Functional safety of SIS for the process industry sector. It
imposes additional redundancy requirements to achieve high SIL rating;
these can be mitigated where diagnostics are shown to be used to
provide predictive maintenance.
TUV Certificate: The purpose of this paper is to summarize the test
and certification policies used during a TUV certification of a safety
component/subsystem. These components/subsystems are typically
electrical/electronic/ programmable electronic systems.
API 598(Valve Inspection and Testing): The standard covers
inspection, supplementary examination, and pressure test requirements
for both resilient-seated and metal-to-metal seated gate, globe, plug,
ball, check, and butterfly valves. Pertains to inspection by the purchaser
and to any supplementary examinations the purchaser may require at
the valve manufacturer's plant.
ANSI/API 607(Fire Test for Soft-Seated Quarter Turn Valves): The
standard covers the requirements for testing and evaluating the
performance of straightway, soft-seated quarter-turn valves when the
valves are exposed to certain fire conditions defined in this standard.
ASME B16.10: Face to Face and End-to-End Dimensions of Valves

TESTS and CERTIFICATION @ Control valves

1. For Sour Services and services with H2S, NACE MR-01-75 certification needed for valve material.
2. DIMENSIONAL TEST: The face-to-face dimensions of flanged globe-body control valves shall be as given in
the relevant standard ASME B16.10.
3. HYDROSTATIC TEST: Control valves shall be hydrostatically tested in accordance with the standards specified
for the particular type of valve.
4. SEAT LEAKAGE TEST: The seat leakage test shall be in accordance with ANSI/FCI 70.2 and IEC-605344,Standard for control valve leakage. The seat leakage test procedures shall be executed for all control valves
of Class V or VI.
5. PERFORMANCE AND MECHANICAL OPERATION TEST: The control valve shall be completely assembled
and fitted with all accessories.
The performance and mechanical test shall include a Hysteresis test, a dead band test etc.
The HYSTERESIS TEST shall consist of measuring the valve stem position for the following sequence of input
signals: 50%, 75%, 100%, 75%, 50%, 25%, 0%, 25% and 50%. Hysteresis shall not exceed 0.5% of maximum
valve stroke.
The DEAD BAND TEST is expressed in percentage of the input span and shall be measured at 5%, 50% and
95% of the input span. The maximum dead band found shall not exceed 1% of rated input.
6. LOW TEMPERATURE TEST: A low temperature or a cryogenic test shall be made on selected control valves
used in low temperature service (down to -50C) or in cryogenic service (below -50C).
7. CAPACITY TEST: If specified in the requisition, the actual Cv value shall be demonstrated by a test in
accordance with IEC 60534-2-3.
8. IMPACT TESTING: Is done for carbon steel components used in low temperature services (below 15 degrees)
9. NON DESTRUCTIVE TESTS(NDT): Radiography Testing, Dye Test etc.

TESTS & CERTIFICATIONS @ Onoff Valve

NACE Certification for Corrosive/Sour Services and services

with H2S, NACE MR-01-75 certification needed for valve
material.
DIMENSIONAL TEST: The face-to-face dimensions of flanged
globe-body control valves shall be as given in the relevant
standard ASME B16.10.
HYDROSTATIC TEST: Control valves shall be hydrostatically
tested in accordance with the standards specified for the
particular type of valve.
SEAT LEAKAGE TEST: The seat leakage test shall be in
accordance with ANSI/FCI 70.2 and IEC-60534-4,Standard for
control valve leakage. The seat leakage test procedures shall
be executed for all control valves of Class V or VI.
CRYOGENIC TEST: A low temperature or a cryogenic test shall
be made on selected control valves used in low temperature
service (down to -50C) or in cryogenic service (below -50C).
IMPACT TESTING: Is done for carbon steel components used
in low temperature services(below 15 degrees)
NON DESTRUCTIVE TESTS(NDT): Radiography Testing, Dye
Test

CONTROL VALVE SIZING CALCULATIONS

Control valve Sizing is extremely critical and involves a lot of calculations. Being and EPC we dont directly
calculate a valve CV, but we must be aware of each ad every governing factor and be capable of choosing the most
correct valve according to our requirements.

Flow Coefficient (CV)

The valve flow coefficient, CV is the number of U.S. gallons per minute of water at 60 degrees F which will pass through a
given flow restriction with a pressure drop of 1 psi.
For example, a control valve which has a flow coefficient, or CV, of 12 has an effective port area that it passes 12 gallons
per minute of water with 1 psi pressure drop.
Kv is the flow coefficient in metric units. It is defined as the flow rate in cubic meters per hour [m3/h] of water at a
temperature of 16 celsius with a pressure drop across the valve of 1 bar.
Now we have concept of Rated Cv and Calculated Cv.
Rated Cv is maximum Cv of valve, ie. When the valve is fully open. This is provided by the vendor.
Calculated Cv is flow coefficient calculated according to process conditions. It is always less then Rated Cv.

SIZING TERMINOLOGY
Symbol

Description

Symbol

Unit

Flow coefficient (Kv,Cv)

Various (IEC 60534)

see note 4

Cf

Assumed flow coefficient for iteritive

purposes

Various (IEC 60534)

see note 4

Description

Unit

p2

outlet absolute static presure

measured at point B

kPa or bar
See note 2

Pc

Absolute thermodynamic critical

pressure

kPa or bar

Pr

Reduced pressure (p1/pc)

pv

Absolute vapour pressure of the

liquid at inlet temperature

kPa or bar

dp

Differential pressure between

upstream and downstream pressure
taps (P1-P2)

kPa or bar

Nominal valve size

mm

Internal diameter of piping

mm

D1

Internal diameter of piping

mm

D2

Internal diameter of piping

mm

Dc

Orifice diameter

mm

Volumetric flow rate

M3/h

Fd

Valve style modifier

1
see note 4

Rev

Valve Reynolds number

T1

Inlet absolute temperature

Tc

Absolute thermodymanic critical

temperature

ts

Absolute reference temperature for

standard cu.metre

Tf

Reduced temperature (T1/Tc)

Mass flow rate

Kg/h

Ratio of pressure differential to inlet

absolute pressure(dp/p1

xT

Pressure differential ratio factor of a

control valve w/o attached fittings at
choked flow

1
See note 4

xTP

Pressure differential ratio factor of a

control valve w/o attached
fittings at choked flow

1
See note 4

FF

Liquid critical pressure ratio factor

FL

Liquid pressure recovery factor of a

control valve w/o attached fittings

1
see note 4

FLP

Combined liquid recovery factor &

piping geometry factor

FP

Piping geometry factor

FR

Reynolds number factor

Specific heat ratio factor

Molecular mass of flowing fluid

Kg/kmol

Numerical constants

Various see note 1

p1

Inlet absolute static presure

measured at point A

kPa or bar
See note 2

Symbol

Description

Unit

Expnsion factor

Compressibility factor

Kinematics viscosity

M2/sec
See note 3

Density of fluid at p1 and T1

Kg/m3

1/ 0

Relative density (1/ 0) =1 for water

at 15C

Specific heat ratio

Velocity head loss coefficient of a

reducer, expander or other fitting
attached to a a control valve

Upstream velocity head loss

coefficient of fitting

downstream velocity head loss

coefficient of fitting

B1

Inlet Bernoulli coefficient

B2

outlet Bernoulli coefficient

NOTE
1. To determine the units for the numerical constants,
dimensional analysis may be performed on the
appropriate equations using the units given in table
2.
1 bar = 102 kPa = 105 Pa
3. 1 centistokes = 10-5 m2/sec
4. These values are travel related and should be stated by
the manufacturer
5. Volumetric flow rates in cubic metres per hour, identified
by the symbol Q, refer to standard conditions. The
standard cubic metre is taken at 1013.25 mbar and either
273 K or 288K

DEFINATIONS TO REMEMBER

Sizing equations for Non-Compressible

Fluids

Where. C= Cv in USG/min.
Q flow rate in M3/h
1- density at pressure p1 and temp. T1
0 -density 1.0 at 15C
N1 -Numerical constant

To Note
DP choked flow or Pch = FL2 (p1-FF x pv)
Here P < Pch

dp p1-p2
FL Liquid pressure recovery Factor
FF Liquid critical pressure ratio factor
Pv absolute vapour pressure at inlet kPa / bar
p1 inlet absolute pressure in kPa or bar
p2 outlet absolute pressure in kPa or bar
Specific weight at inlet conditions g

(2a)

Where. C= Cv in USG/min.
Q flow rate in M3/h
1- flowing density at pressure p1 and temp. T1
0 -density 1.0 at 15C
N1,N6 -Numerical constant
dp p1-p2
FL Liquid pressure recovery Factor
FF Liquid critical pressure ratio factor
pv absolute vapour pressure at inlet kPa / bar
p1 inlet absolute pressure in kPa or bar
p2 outlet absolute pressure in kPa or bar
FLP combined pressure recovery factor and piping geometry factor
FP piping geometry factor
specific weight at inlet conditions

Choked flow
The basic liquid sizing equation tells us that the liquid flow rate through a control
valve is proportional to the square root of pressure drop. This simple relationship is
shown graphically by the green portion of the graph in Figure 1. (Note that the scale
of the horizontal axis is the square root of pressure drop.) This linear relationship
does not always hold true. As the pressure drop is increased, the flow reaches a point
where it no longer increases. Once this happens, additional increases in pressure
drop across the valve do not result in additional flow, and flow is said to be choked.
Here we will call this limiting or choking pressure drop the Terminal Pressure Drop,
pT. (The same thing is also sometimes referred to as the Allowable Pressure Drop,
pallowable, sometimes as the Maximum Pressure drop, pMax, and sometimes as the
Critical Pressure Drop, pCrit.)

To Note
DP choked flow or Pch = FL2 (p1-FF x pv)
Here P > = Pch
When above is true, the flow is choked.
Hence, for Non-Compressible fluids(liquids etc)
Pmin is taken in the denominator ie.
Smaller value between P and Pch

Where. C= Cv in USG/min.
Q flow rate in M3/h
1- density at pressure p1 and temp. T1
0 -density 1.0 at 15C
N1 -Numerical constant
dp = p1-p2
FF Liquid critical pressure ratio factor
pv absolute vapour pressure at inlet
kPa / bar
p1 inlet absolute pressure in kPa or bar
p2 outlet absolute pressure in kPa or bar
FP piping geometry factor
FL Liquid pressure recovery Factor
FF Liquid critical pressure ratio factor

Where.
C i Cv in USG/min.
Q flow rate in m3/h
1 density in kg/m3 at pressure p1 and temp. T1
1/0 =1 for water at 15C
N1 -Numerical constant
dp p1-p2
FF Liquid critical pressure ratio factor
pv absolute vapour pressure at inlet kPa / bar
p1 inlet absolute pressure in kPa or bar
p2 outlet absolute pressure in kPa or bar
FP piping geometry factor
FL Liquid pressure recovery Factor
FLP combined pressure recovery factor and piping geometry factor

Where. C= Cv in USG/min.
Q flow rate in m3/h
1- density in kg/m3 at pressure p1 and temp. T1
1/0 =1 for water at 15C
N1 -Numerical constant
dp (p1-p2 )
p1 inlet absolute pressure in kPa or bar
p2 outlet absolute pressure in kPa or bar
FR Reynolds number factor

Sizing equations for Compressible

Fluids

Where.
C= Cv in USG/min.
Q flow rate in m3/h
W mass flow rate in kg/h
expansion factor
N6,N8,N9 -Numerical constant
M molecular mass of fluid kg/kmol
p1 inlet absolute pressure in kPa or bar
p2 outlet absolute pressure in kPa or bar
T1 Inlet absolute temperature in Kelvin
Z compressibility factor
x (p1-p2)/p1

Where.
C= Cv in USG/min.
Q flow rate in m3/h
W mass flow rate in kg/h
expansion factor
N6,N8,N9 -Numerical constant
M molecular mass of fluid kg/kmol
p1 inlet absolute pressure in kPa or bar
p2 outlet absolute pressure in kPa or bar
T1 Inlet absolute temperature in Kelvin
Z compressibility factor
x (p1-p2)/p1

Where.
C= Cv in USG/min.
Q flow rate in m3/h
W mass flow rate in kg/h
expansion factor
N6,N8,N9 -Numerical constant
M molecular mass of fluid kg/kmol
p1 inlet absolute pressure in kPa or bar
p2 outlet absolute pressure in kPa or bar
T1 Inlet absolute temperature in Kelvin

To Note
X>=FyXt
When above is true, the flow is choked.
At choked flow, the gas attains sonic velocity, 1Mach

Z compressibility factor
x (p1-p2)/p1
x T pressure differential pressure factor vendor data

Where.
C Cv in USG/min.
Q flow rate in m3/h
W mass flow rate in kg/h
expansion factor
N6,N8,N9 -Numerical constant
M molecular mass of fluid kg/kmol
p1 inlet absolute pressure in kPa or bar
p2 outlet absolute pressure in kPa or bar
T1 Inlet absolute temperature in Kelvin
Z compressibility factor
FP piping geometry factor
xTP pressure differential pressure factor vendor data
F specific heat ratio factor
1- density in kg/m3 at pressure p1 and temp. T1