Control Valves

Selecting the Right Valve

• Our discussion will focus on:
– Capacity
– Pressure Recovery
– Valve Geometry
• Other general things, like Material
Compatibility, must be considered
 Capacity
• How big does my valve need to be?
– We need to know
• P1 – Inlet Pressure
• P2 – Outlet Pressure
• Or dP – Pressure Drop Across the Valve
• Flow Rate
• Fluid Type and its Properties
– We know all about Water and Steam
• Fluid Temperature
 Cv
• A valve’s capacity is measured in terms of
Cv
• For Liquids, Cv = gpm x √SG / dP

• Rewritten, gpm = Cv x √dP / SG

2
• Or even, dP = (gpm / Cv)
• The term Cv was invented by Masoneilan
 Pressure Recovery
• A valve’s geometry determines how well it can
take a pressure drop
• How does it get from P1 to P2?
• FL is the measure of the valve’s efficiency in
getting from P1 to P2
– 1.0 is perfect
– The best valve (Lincoln Log) will have a 0.994 FL
– Butterflys and Balls will have a 0.6 FL
• The more torturous the path, the higher the FL ss
 Valve Geometry
• Which Valve Style is Best?
– Butterfly
– Ball
– Rotary Globe (Camflex)
– Reciprocating
• Top Guided
• Cage Guided
 Resilient Seated Butterfly
– Shaft and disc at centerline of seat
– 90° rotation
• Very High Cv per line size
• Poor control performance
– Quick opening, non-linear flow characteristic
• FL= 0.60
– Non torturous path, high pressure recovery
– Potential for cavitation
– Non suited for modulating control
– Well suited for on/off control or isolation
 High Performance Butterfly
• Shaft is offset from the centerline of the seat
• Rotation limited to 60° (for control applications)
– High Cv per line size, 2” Cv = 100
– Improved control performance
• Limited rotation give more linear flow characteristic
– FL = 0.70
• Non torturous path, high pressure recovery
• Potential for cavitation
• Can be metal seated or Teflon seated
• Better suited for modulating control
• Well suited for on/off control or isolation (under
300 psig)
– Less actuator torque required than resilient seated
 Ball Valves
• Ball Valves are well suited for High
Pressure Isolation applications
– On/Off Isolation service
• Brands like Mogas can effectively isolate
in services up to 30,000 psig
• For the purposes of our discussion, we will
focus on the Control Ball Valve rather than
the Isolation Ball Valve
 Control Ball Valve
– Shaft and ball at centerline of seat
• Ball always in contact with seat
– 90° rotation
• Very High Cv per line size, 2” Cv = 105
• Moderate control performance
– Characterized Ball gives a better flow characteristic
• FL= 0.60
– Non torturous path, high pressure recovery
– Potential for cavitation
– Suited for coarse modulating control
– Well suited for on/off control or isolation
 Rotary Globe Valve - Camflex
– Plug is offset from centerline of seat
• Plug backs away from the seat like a reciprocating
valve
– 55° rotation
• Moderately High Cv per line size, 2” Cv = 50
• Excellent control performance
– Flow characteristic determined by positioner
• FL= 0.85
– Moderately torturous path, Moderate pressure recovery
– Potential for cavitation in high dP or High Pv
– Suited for 80% of modulating control services
• Cost effective valve for water, steam, chemical,
slurry services
 Reciprocating Valve – Top Guided
• Plug is guided into the seat
– Guiding can be Stem (light) or Post (heavy)
• Moderate Cv per line size, 2” Cv = 46
• Excellent control performance
– Flow characteristic determined by positioner
– FL= 0.9
• Torturous path, Low pressure recovery
• Anti-cavitation trim is available for higher FL
• Suited for more difficult services than
Rotary Globe
• Slightly Higher Cost than Rotary Globe
 Reciprocating Valve
Cage Guided
• Plug is guided into the seat by Cage
• Cage allows for
– Balanced constuction
– Flow characterization
– Anti-cavitation or Anti-noise trim
• Moderate Cv per line size, 2” Cv = 40
• Excellent control performance
– Flow characteristic determined by positioner
– FL= 0.9
• Torturous path, Low pressure recovery
• Anti-cavitation trim is available for higher FL
• Suited for more higher pressure drop services than Top
Guided because of the balance construction
• Higher Cost than Rotary Globe and Top Guided