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EDEXCEL HNC/D

INSTRUMENTATION AND CONTROL PRINCIPLES



OUTCOME 3

REGULATING UNITS



3 Regulating units

Regulating unit terminology: body; trim; plug guide and seat; valve; stem; bonnet; packing gland;
yoke; actuator; motor; stroke; direct and reverse action; air fail action; repeatability; CV; turndown;
flow characteristics; linear, equal percentage, quick-opening, modified parabolic, split range

Regulating units: dampers; power cylinders; louvers; valve positioners; valves (globe, ball,
diaphragm, gate, double seated, 3-way, solenoid, split bodied, butterfly)



You will find excellent tutorials on this topic at
http://www.spiraxsarco.com/resources/steam-engineering-tutorials/control-hardware-el-pn-
actuation/control-valve-actuators-and-positioners.asp

and also at
http://www.maintenanceresources.com/ReferenceLibrary/ControlValves/CashcoControlPg1.htm

A full understanding of control can only be achieved through studies of system models and the
mathematics behind it. If you want to study this you should study the tutorials at
www.freestudy.co.uk/d227.htm



D.J.Dunn www.freestudy.co.uk 1
INTRODUCTION

A regulating valve is basically a variable restrictor that opens or closes to allow more or less flow in
the pipeline or duct. The restrictor part is the valve body and there are a variety of types and sizes
that must be selected to suit the fluid and operating conditions. The valve is opened and closed by
an actuator and these are manual, pneumatic or electrical. When fitted with a positioner, the valve
becomes an automatic system with position feedback and the valve opening is regulated to the
signal (pressure or current). Three examples are illustrated below.

The purpose of this tutorial is to familiarise you with the various types and parts of the valve.

1. THE VALVE BODY

There are a large number of valve designs. Some use linear sliding motion to vary the size of the
opening and others rotate the restricting element. The main types are:

LINEAR MOVEMENT TYPES

Gate Valves
Globe Valves /Needle Valves

ADVANTAGES/DISADVANTAGES

Tortuous flow path
Low recovery
Can throttle small flow rates
Offers variety of special trim designs
Suited to high-pressure applications
Usually flanged or threaded
Separable bonnet



ROTARY MOVEMENT TYPES

Tapered Plug
Ball
Butterfly
Swinging

ADVANTAGES/DISADVANTAGES

Streamlined flow path
High recovery
More capacity
Less packing wear
Can handle slurry and abrasives
Flangeless
Integral bonnet
High rangeability
OTHERS

Amongst the many types of valves you will also find Diaphragm and Pinch valves that have the
advantages of a smooth bore when open and the fluid is completely sealed from the operating
mechanism.

You will find a full description of the valve types at this web address.
http://www.spiraxsarco.com/resources/steam-engineering-tutorials/control-hardware-el-pn-
actuation/control-valves.asp
D.J.Dunn www.freestudy.co.uk 2
GLOBE VALVES

The diagram illustrates a typical globe valve. This is a valve in which an orifice is opened or closed
by a plug. The plug may have various shapes from flat to needle in order to produce the required
flow characteristic. A double plug and seat will reduce the losses and is suitable for larger flow
rates.

GATE VALVES

There are two versions, tapered (or
wedge) and parallel. The gate slides in
the seat vertically. The passage through
the valve is straight so when the gate is
fully open there is little restriction. The
wedge forms a tighter seal when the
valve is closed.

ROTARY VALVES

These are either Ball or Disc as shown. Their main advantage is the smooth flow passage presented
when fully open and that they can be opened quickly with a 90
o
turn of the spindle. The ball valve
may have sealing rings fitted. All the spindles have a steam seal or sealing gland and there are many
types.

OTHER TYPES

Pinch valves are a flexible sleeve that
is shrunk by applying pressure around
it to close the bore. They can not be
completely closed. Diaphragm valves
are similar to globe valves but a
flexible diaphragm closes the valve
seat. In both cases the fluid is totally
sealed and only leaks if the flexible
membrane is punctured.

D.J.Dunn www.freestudy.co.uk 3
LOUVERED DAMPERS

The syllabus mentions this topic. The louvered valve is designed for large ducts rather than
pipelines. They consist of a set of plates made to rotate about a spindle. The spindles are all linked
together and rotated by an actuator. The main applications are for controlling the draft in a flue and
they are known as dampers. Butterfly designs are also used for damping. They can also be designed
to slam shut when the gas flow reverses.












2. VALVE CHARACTERISTICS - SIZE AND FLOW COEFFICIENT

Valves are manufactured to various standards and the valve is sized so that an acceptable pressure
drop over the valve occurs when fully open and full flow is passing.
The volumetric flow rate of liquid through a valve is given by the equation
d
p
K Q
v
=
K
v
is the flow coefficient that is stated by manufacturers for various sizes of their valves. d is the
relative density of the liquid and this is defined as
w
l

d = where
l
is the density of the liquid and

w
is the density of water (normally 1000 kg/m
3
).

For gas and steam the formula is much more complicated and no example is given here.

Great care must be taken when using flow coefficients because of the variety of units used for flow
rate and pressure drop and manufacturers use different symbols. K
v
is normally used when Q is in
m
3
/h and p is in bar so the units are m
3
/h bar
1/2
. It is strange that fundamental units are not used by
manufacturers and in a correct engineering formula the units would be m
4
/s N
1/2
. Other units of
pressure used are kgf/cm
2
and psi (pounds per square inch). Other units of flow rate are litres, UK
gallons and US gallons. When imperial units are used the symbol is usually C
v
.

There are available various computer programs to help with these calculations such as these:
http://detector-gas-systems.web.cern.ch/detector-gas-systems/HomePage/homePage.htm
http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/saunders-valves-flow-coefficients-d_226.html


WORKED EXAMPLE No.1

A oil pipeline passes 5 m
3
/h. A valve is fitted with a K
v
value of 14 m
3
/h bar
1/2
. What is the
pressure drop across the valve? The relative density is 0.85

SOLUTION
so bar 0.108
14
5
0.85
K
Q
d p
2
2
v
=

=
d
p
K Q
v
=
D.J.Dunn www.freestudy.co.uk 4
3. TRIM

A valve is basically a variable orifice. The preceding work showed us how to find the pressure drop
when the valve is fully open but when the valve is partially open the flow and pressure drop will be
different. Clearly the area of the orifice depends on the valve lift h defined as the linear movement
from the closed position. Manufacturers publish data relating the flow rate and valve opening for
various values of p.

The valve trim is the plug and seat and by changing the
shapes of these different relationships can be made between
Q and valve opening. The graph shows three typical
relationships for a globe valve. For a given value of p, the
flow Q is plotted against valve opening h both expressed as
% of the maximum value. The valve position may be given
in terms of angular movement for rotary valves.



GLOBE VALVE TRIMS
QUICK OPENING

Quick opening valves are mainly used for ON/OFF control and in the extreme the globe valve is a
flat disc but the shapes shown produces more controllable flow. The quick opening characteristic is
graph A and shows that the flow is more than 50% when the valve is less than 50% open.

LINEAR

The linear characteristic (graph B) is the case where flow is directly proportional to the opening so
the flow is easily calculated using h% Q% =

EQUAL PERCENTAGE

Graph C shows the equal percentage characteristic. This is of some importance because the trim is
shaped so that for each equal change in valve position the flow rate changes by the same % of the
previous flow.
The equation is
m
x
Q

e
Q = where Q
m
is the 100% flow rate.
In order to calculate the flow rate for any given pressure drop, manufacturers publish a figure called
the RANGEABILITYFACTOR or TURNDOWN RATIO. The symbol (Tau) is often used for
this. It is not good practice to control flow rates close to the fully closed and fully open positions
and this would be an indication of the valve being too big or too small. The controlled flow should
be within the rangeability of the valve.
rate flow le controllab minimum
rate flow le controllab maximum
= . A typical value is 50.
( )
n
l h x = where h is the valve opening as a decimal (50% = 0.5).
D.J.Dunn www.freestudy.co.uk 5
PARABOLIC

Another characteristic widely used for fine control at low flow is called the MODIFIED
PARABOLIC and this produces a graph somewhere between B and C.



WORKED EXAMPLE No. 2

The rangeability of an equal percentage valve is 50. Determine the % flow rate at h = 30%, 50%
and 70%. Show that the % increase is the same between each.

SOLUTION

= 50
h = 30% ( ) ( ) 1.174 50 l 3 . 0 l h x
n n
= = = % 47 . 6 100
50
Q

e
Q
174 . 1
m
x
= = =
e

h = 50% ( ) ( ) 1.956 50 l 5 . 0 l h x
n n
= = = % 14 . 14 100
50
Q

e
Q
956 . 1
m
x
= = =
e

h = 70% ( ) ( ) 2.738 50 l 7 . 0 l h x
n n
= = = % 91 . 30 100
50
Q

e
Q
738 . 2
m
x
= = =
e

Increase between 6.5 and 14.14 is (14.14 - 6.47)/6.47 = 1.185 or 118.5%

Increase between 14.14 and 30.91 = (30.91 - 14.14)/14.14 = 1.186 or 118.6%

We see that for each 20% increase in the valve opening, the flow changes by 118.5%.





SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE No. 1

1. A linear valve must pass a maximum flow rate of 8 m
3
/h of oil with relative density 0.8. The
flow coefficient is K
v
= 20 m
3
/h bar
1/2
Calculate the pressure drop when fully open and the flow
rate at 50% opening for the same pressure drop. (0.128 bar and 4 m
3
/h)

2. For the same valve described in the example No. 2, determine the equal % change in flow for
each 10% change in valve opening. (48%)

3. Determine the equal % change in flow for each 10% change in valve opening when the
rangeability is 100. (58%)

D.J.Dunn www.freestudy.co.uk 6
4. PNEUMATIC ACTUATORS

The actuator is the mechanism that moves the valve stem or spindle.

DIAPHRAGM TYPES

Movement is produced by applying pressure to a flexible diaphragm making it flex either upwards
or downwards. The other side is vented. They are designed either as direct acting or reverse acting.
Depending on the design of the plug and seat, failure of the air supply will allow the spring to either
close the valve (fail closed) or open the valve (fail open).



ROTARY TYPE

The rotary types work on the same principles with a linkage to
turn the spindle as shown.


CYLINDER TYPE

These are more likely to be used with a valve positioner and are better when a greater movement is
required. The piston and cylinder are arranged vertically in line with the stem. Pressure can be
applied to raise or lower the stem as shown. When pressure is applied below the piston, the cylinder
and stem needs sealing.

D.J.Dunn www.freestudy.co.uk 7
ROTARY TYPE

The diagram illustrates one basic design where the pistons have a rack attached that engage with a
pinion. Air pressure forces the pistons outwards and rotates the pinion that is connected to the
spindle of the rotary type valve. Springs return the pistons when air pressure is released.

5. ELECTRIC ACTUATORS

These operate on 230Vac, 110 Vac and 24 V ac or d.c. The electric motor moves the valve spindle
either linearly or rotational with a suitable mechanism. Two designs in use are called Valve Motor
Drive and Modulating. The VMD is a simple drive motor system typically using an epicyclic gear
box to reduce the speed. They can be arranged so that the motor drives the valve closed or drives
the valve open or remains stationary. Some typical designs are shown below. Note the manual
override on the illustration.

The modulating type is usually a complete actuator and positioning system working on a control
signal (4 - 20 mA and 0 - 10 V typically) with internal feedback. The word 'modulating' refers to the
electronic system used to produce the control.



SOLENOIDS

Solenoids are used for ON/OFF or TWO STEP control systems. Applying power to the solenoid
causes rapid movement of the valve stem to the open or closed position.

SOLENOID GLOBE VALVE SOLENOID DIAPHRAGM VALVE

D.J.Dunn www.freestudy.co.uk 8
6. POSITIONERS

Positioners are usually separate units that attach to the
valve stem and fits to the yoke. This ensures that the
valve position corresponds to the control signal (0.2 - 1
bar and 4 - 20 mA typically). The positioner is able to
provide the power needed to move or maintain the valve
at the correct position regardless of disturbances acting
on the mechanisms. The positioner contains a sensor that
is attached to the valve spindle and provides a signal for
comparison with the applied control signal. Depending
on the error, more or less power is applied to the actuator
to correct the position. The picture illustrates a valve
with the positioner fitted.


The positioner may be entirely pneumatic, entirely electric or a mixture. For example the actuator
may be pneumatic but the control signal may be electric and a current to pressure converter used.
The use of the positioning system has the following advantages:

Accurate control.
Faster response.
Greater actuating force (e.g. to overcome friction in the packing gland).
Control over the relationship between flow and signal (usually linear but can be otherwise
such as square root characteristic).

DIGITAL

Digital positioners (also called SMART positioner) have the same basic system but the control
signals are digital or A/D conversion is used. This enables the error to be processed digitally by the
microprocessor with all the advantages of digital control such as connection to the fieldbus.


D.J.Dunn www.freestudy.co.uk 9
SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE No. 2

1. These questions refer to the diagram.
i. How is the valve operated?
ii. Is the valve direct or reverse acting?
iii. Does the valve fail open or closed?

2. What are the reasons for using a valve positioner?

3. What are the advantages of Ball valves?

4. What are the advantages of Globe Valves?

5. If a valve is used to control cooling water to a process, should it be designed to fail closed or
open?

6. If a valve is used to control the flow of a toxic gas, which type would you select, Globe, Gate or
Diaphragm? Explain why.

7. In the event of electric power failure a gas burner must be turned off instantly. What kind of
valve actuator would be best?

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