Valve actuator

1.1 Manual

A manual actuator employs levers, gears, or wheels to

move the valve stem. Manual actuators are powered by
hand. Manual actuators are inexpensive, typically self-
contained and easy to operate. However, some large
valves are impossible to operate manually and some
valves may be located in remote, toxic or hostile envi-
ronments that prevent manual operations. As a safety
feature, certain types of situations may require quicker
operation than manual actuators can provide to close the
valve.

Electric actuator (blue cylinder) on a valve in a power plant. A 1.2 Pneumatic

black handwheel is visible on the actuator, which allows man-
ual positioning of the valve. The blue valve body is visible in-line
Air (or other gas) pressure is the power source for pneu-
with the pipe. The valve actuator opens or closes the buttery disc
matic valve actuators. They are used on linear or quarter-
of the valve based on electrical signals sent to the actuator. An-
other valve actuator is visible in the background, with windows turn valves. Air pressure acts on a piston or bellows di-
to indicate the valve position. aphragm creating linear force on a valve stem. Alterna-
tively, a quarter-turn vane-type actuator produces torque
to provide rotary motion to operate a quarter-turn valve.
A valve actuator is the mechanism for opening and clos- A pneumatic actuator may be arranged to be spring-
ing a valve. Manually operated valves require someone in closed or spring-opened, with air pressure overcoming the
attendance to adjust them using a direct or geared mech- spring to provide movement. A double acting actuator
anism attached to the valve stem. Power-operated actua- use air applied to dierent inlets to move the valve in the
tors, using gas pressure, hydraulic pressure or electricity, opening or closing direction. A central compressed air
allow a valve to be adjusted remotely, or allow rapid op- system can provide the clean, dry, compressed air needed
eration of large valves. Power-operated valve actuators for pneumatic actuators. In some types, for example, reg-
may be the nal elements of an automatic control loop ulators for compressed gas, the supply pressure is pro-
which automatically regulates some ow, level or other vided from the process gas stream and waste gas either
process. Actuators may be only to open and close the vented to air or dumped into lower-pressure process pip-
valve, or may allow intermediate positioning; some valve ing.
actuators include switches or other ways to remotely in-
dicate the position of the valve.
Used for the automation of industrial valves, actuators 1.3 Hydraulic
can be found in all kinds of process plants. They are used
in waste water treatment plants, power plants, reneries,
Hydraulic actuators convert uid pressure into motion.
mining and nuclear processes, and pipelines. Valve ac- Similar to pneumatic actuators, they are used on linear
tuators play a major part in automating process control.or quarter-turn valves. Fluid pressure acting on a pis-
The valves to be automated vary both in design and di- ton provides linear thrust for gate or globe valves. A
mension. The diameters of the valves range from a few quarter-turn actuator produces torque to provide rotary
inches to a few feet. motion to operate a quarter-turn valve. Most types of hy-
draulic actuators can be supplied with fail-safe features
to close or open a valve under emergency circumstances.
Hydraulic pressure can be supplied by a self-contained
1 Types hydraulic pressure pump. In some applications, such as
water pumping stations, the process uid can provide hy-
There are four common types of actuators: manual, pneu- draulic pressure, although the actuators must use materi-
matic, hydraulic, and electric. als compatible with the uid.

1
2 3 FEATURES OF AN ELECTRIC ACTUATOR

1.4 Electric A diaphragm actuator is useful if the supply pressure is

moderate and the valve travel and thrust required are low.
The electric actuator uses an electric motor to provide
Piston actuators use a piston which moves along the
torque to operate a valve. They are quiet, non-toxic and
length of a cylinder. The piston rod conveys the force
energy ecient. However, electricity must be available,
on the piston to the valve stem. Piston actuators allow
which is not always the case.
higher pressures, longer travel ranges, and higher thrust
forces than diaphragm actuators.
1.5 Spring A spring is used to provide dened behavior in the case of
loss of power. This is important in safety related incidents
Spring-based actuators hold back a spring. Once any and is sometimes the driving factor in specications. An
anomaly is detected, or power is lost, the spring is re- example of loss of power is when the air compressor (the
leased, operating the valve. They can only operate once, main source of compressed air that provides the uid for
without resetting, and so are used for one-use purposes the actuator to move) shuts down. If there is a spring
such as emergencies. They have the advantage that they inside of the actuator, it will force the valve open or closed
do not require a powerful electric supply to move the and will keep it in that position while power is restored.
valve, so they can operate from restricted battery power, An actuator may be specied fail open or fail close to
or automatically when all power has been lost. describe its behavior. In the case of an electric actuator,
losing power will keep the valve stationary unless there is
a back up power supply.
2 Actuator movement A typical representative of the valves to be automated is
a plug-type control valve. Just like the plug in the bathtub
is pressed into the drain, the plug is pressed into the plug
seat by a stroke movement. The pressure of the medium
acts upon the plug while the thrust unit has to provide the
same amount of thrust to be able to hold and move the
plug against this pressure.

3 Features of an electric actuator

Gate Valve with Handwheel (L) and with Linear Pneumatic Ac-
tuator (R)

A linear actuator opens and closes valves that can be op-

erated via linear force, the type sometimes called a rising
stem valve. These types of valves include globe valves,
rising stem ball valves, control valves and gate valves.[1]
[2]
The two main types of linear actuators are diaphragm and Electric multi-turn actuator with controls
piston.
Diaphragm actuators are made out of a round piece of
rubber and squeezed around its edges between two side 3.1 Motor (1)
of a cylinder or chamber that allows air pressure to enter
either side pushing the piece of rubber one direction or the Robust asynchronous three-phase AC motors are mostly
other. A rod is connected to the center of the diaphragm used as the driving force, for some applications also
so that it moves as the pressure is applied. The rod is single-phase AC or DC motors are used. These mo-
then connected to a valve stem which allows the valve to tors are specially adapted for valve automation as they
experience the linear motion thereby opening or closing. provide higher torques from standstill than comparable
3.6 Actuator controls (6) 3

conventional motors, a necessary requirement to unseat 3.6 Actuator controls (6)

sticky valves. The actuators are expected to operate un-
der extreme ambient conditions, however they are gen-
erally not used for continuous operation since the motor
heat buildup can be excessive.
3.2 Limit and torque sensors (2)
The limit switches signal when an end position has been
reached. The torque switching measures the torque
present in the valve. When exceeding a set limit, this is
signalled in the same way. Actuators are often equipped
with a remote position transmitter which indicates the
valve position as continuous 4-20mA current or voltage
signal.
Both actuator signals and operation commands of the
DCS are processed within the actuator controls. This task
can in principle be assumed by external controls, e.g. a
PLC. Modern actuators include integral controls which
process signals locally without any delay. The controls
also include the switchgear required to control the elec-
tric motor. This can either be reversing contactors or
thyristors which, being an electric component, are not
subject to mechanic wear. Controls use the switchgear
to switch the electric motor on or o depending on the
signals or commands present. Another task of the actua-
tor controls is to provide the DCS with feedback signals,
e.g. when reaching a valve end position.

3.7 Electrical connection (7)

3.3 Gearing (3)
Often a worm gearing is used to reduce the high output
speed of the electric motor. This enables a high reduc-
tion ratio within the gear stage, leading to a low eciency
which is desired for the actuators. The gearing is there-
fore self-locking i.e. it prevents accidental and undesired
changes of the valve position by acting upon the valves
closing element.
The supply cables of the motor and the signal cables
for transmitting the commands to the actuator and send-
ing feedback signals on the actuator status are connected
to the electrical connection. The electrical connection
can be designed as a separately sealed terminal bung or
plug/socket connector. For maintenance purposes, the
wiring should be easily disconnected and reconnected.

3.8 Fieldbus connection (8)

3.4 Valve attachment (4)
Fieldbus technology is increasingly used for data trans-
The valve attachment consists of two elements. First: The mission in process automation applications. Electric ac-
ange used to rmly connect the actuator to the counter- tuators can therefore be equipped with all common eld-
part on the valve side. The higher the torque to be trans- bus interfaces used in process automation. Special con-
mitted, the larger the ange required. nections are required for the connection of eldbus data
cables.
Second: The output drive type used to transmit the torque
or the thrust from the actuator to the valve shaft. Just like
there is a multitude of valves there is also a multitude of
valve attachments. 4 Functions
Dimensions and design of valve mounting ange and
valve attachments are stipulated in the standards EN ISO
4.1 Automatic switching o in the end po-
5210 for multi-turn actuators or EN ISO 5211 for part-
turn actuators. The design of valve attachments for linear sitions
actuators is generally based on DIN 3358.
After receiving an operation command, the actuator
moves the valve in direction OPEN or CLOSE. When
reaching the end position, an automatic switch-o proce-
3.5 Manual operation (5) dure is started. Two fundamentally dierent switch-o
mechanisms can be used. The controls switch o the ac-
In their basic version most electric actuators are equipped tuator as soon as the set tripping point has been reached.
with a handwheel for operating the actuators during com- This is called limit seating. However there are valve types
missioning or power failure. The handwheel does not for which the closing element has to be moved in the end
move during motor operation. position at a dened force or a dened torque to ensure
The electronic torque limiting switches are not functional that the valve seals tightly. This is called torque seating.
during manual operation. Mechanical torque-limiting de- The controls are programmed as to ensure that the actu-
vices are commonly used to prevent torque overload dur- ator is switched o when exceeding the set torque limit.
ing manual operation. The end position is signalled by a limit switch.
4 5 DUTY TYPES

4.2 Safety functions vated tank, the actuator can assume the tasks of a PLC
which otherwise would have to be additionally installed.
The torque switching is not only used for torque seating in
the end position, but it also serves as overload protection
over the whole travel and protects the valve against ex- 4.4 Diagnosis
cessive torque. If excessive torque acts upon the closing
element in an intermediate position, e.g. due to a trapped Modern actuators have extensive diagnostic functions
object, the torque switching will trip when reaching the which can help identify the cause of a failure. They also
set tripping torque. In this situation the end position is log the operating data. Study of the logged data allows
not signalled by the limit switch. The controls can there- the operation to be optimised by changing the parameters
fore distinguish between normal operation torque switch and the wear of both actuator and valve to be reduced.
tripping in one of the end positions and switching o in
an intermediate position due to excessive torque.
Temperature sensors are required to protect the motor 5 Duty types
against overheating. For some applications by other man-
ufacturers, the increase of the motor current is also mon-
itored. Thermoswitches or PTC thermistors which are
embedded in the motor windings mostly reliably full this
task. They trip when the temperature limit has been ex-
ceeded and the controls switch o the motor.

Typical time period in open-close duty. t1 is the operating time

and may not exceed the maximum permissible running time

The positioner [1] is supplied with a setpoint [2] and an actual

value [3]. The motor is controlled until the actual value is iden-
tical to the setpoint. The DCS generally needs a feedback signal
Typical time period in modulating duty.
[4]

4.3 Process control functions 5.1 Open-close duty

If a valve is used as a shut-o valve, then it will be either

Due to increasing decentralisation in automation tech-
open or closed and intermediate positions are not held.
nology and the introduction of micro processors, more
and more functions have been transferred from the DCS
to the eld devices. The data volume to be transmitted
5.2 Positioning duty
was reduced accordingly, in particular by the introduction
of eldbus technology. Electric actuators whose func-
Dened intermediate positions are approached for setting
tions have been considerably expanded are also aected
a static ow through a pipeline. The same running time
by this development. The simplest example is the posi-
limits as in open-close duty apply.
tion control. Modern positioners are equipped with self-
adaptation i.e. the positioning behaviour is monitored
and continuously optimised via controller parameters. 5.3 Modulating duty
Meanwhile, electric actuators are equipped with fully-
edged process controllers (PID controllers). Especially The most distinctive feature of a closed-loop application
for remote installations, e.g. the ow control to an ele- is that changing conditions require frequent adjustment of
6.1 Enclosure protection
the actuator, for example, to set a certain ow rate. Sensi-
tive closed-loop applications require adjustments within
intervals of a few seconds. The demands on the actuator
are higher than in open-close or positioning duty. Actua-
tor design must be able to withstand the high number of
starts without any deterioration in control accuracy.
6 Service conditions
Actuators are used in Siberia...
...and also in the Sahara
Actuators are specied for the desired life and reliability
for a given set of application service conditions. In ad-
dition to the static and dynamic load and response time
required for the valve, the actuator must withstand the
temperature range, corrosion environment and other con-
ditions of a specic application. Valve actuator applica-
tions are often safety related, therefore the plant opera-
tors put high demands on the reliability of the devices.
Failure of an actuator may cause accidents in process-
controlled plants and toxic substances may leak into the
environment.
Process-control plants are often operated for several
decades which justies the higher demands put on the Small electric actuators can be used in a wide variety of
lifetime of the devices. assembly, packaging and testing applications. Such actu-
5
For this reason, actuators are always designed in high en-
closure protection. The manufacturers put a lot of work
and knowledge into corrosion protection.
6.1 Enclosure protection
The enclosure protection types are dened according to
the IP codes of EN 60529. The basic versions of most
electric actuators are designed to the second highest en-
closure protection IP 67. This means they are protected
against the ingress of dust and water during immersion
(30 min at a max. head of water of 1 m). Most actuator
manufacturers also supply devices to enclosure protection
IP 68 which provides protection against submersion up to
a max. head of water of 6 m.
6.2 Ambient temperatures
In Siberia, temperatures down to 60 C may occur, and
in technical process plants + 100 C may be exceeded.
Using the proper lubricant is crucial for full operation un-
der these conditions. Greases which may be used at room
temperature can become too solid at low temperatures for
the actuator to overcome the resistance within the device.
At high temperatures, these greases can liquify and lose
their lubricating power. When sizing the actuator, the
ambient temperature and the selection of the correct lu-
bricant are of major importance.
6.3 Explosion protection
Actuators are used in applications where potentially ex-
plosive atmospheres may occur. This includes among
others reneries, pipelines, oil and gas exploration or even
mining. When a potentially explosive gas-air-mixture or
gas-dust-mixture occurs, the actuator must not act as ig-
nition source. Hot surfaces on the actuator as well as ig-
nition sparks created by the actuator have to be avoided.
This can be achieved by a ameproof enclosure, where
the housing is designed to prevent ignition sparks from
leaving the housing even if there is an explosion inside.
Actuators designed for these applications, being
explosion-proof devices, have to be qualied by a test
authority (notied body). Explosion protection is not
standardized worldwide. Within the European Union,
ATEX 94/9/EC applies, in US, the NEC (approval by
FM) or the CEC in Canada (approval by the CSA).
Explosion-proof actuators have to meet the design
requirements of these directives and regulations.
7 Additional uses
6 8 REFERENCES

ators can be linear, rotary, or a combination of the two,

and can be combined to perform work in three dimen-
sions. Such actuators are often used to replace pneumatic
cylinders. [3]

8 References
[1] Etheridge, Cooper (June 2014). For Gate Valves, Actu-
ation is not Turn Turn Turn. Valve World Americas (5):
6.

[2] Baumann, Oliver "Type of documents/Cut-away draw-

ings/Actuators". auma Riester GmbH & Co. KG.
September 28, 2008.

[3] Preston, David. Actuator drawings and catalogs

 7

9 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

9.1 Text
Valve actuator Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valve_actuator?oldid=685559823 Contributors: Hooperbloob, Wtshymanski,
Woohookitty, Mandarax, BD2412, JamesBurns, Josh Parris, RussBot, IceCreamAntisocial, Mroing, SmackBot, GoodDay, Nillerdk,
DMacks, Alaibot, Nick Number, JAnDbot, CombatWombat42, Magioladitis, Dbarak, Anaxial, J.delanoy, Mike.lifeguard, Cocoaguy, M-le-
mot-dit, KylieTastic, Evb-wiki, Squids and Chips, DoorsAjar, HerbstrittM~enwiki, Andy Dingley, Thunderbird2, Fratrep, Iknowyourider,
Addbot, MrOllie, Catsquisher, RhinosoRoss, ForeverHball, Ptbotgourou, SwisterTwister, Materialscientist, Wdl1961, Davincsk, Ribot-
BOT, FrescoBot, D'ohBot, Motors on the brain, Actus123, LittleWink, 10metreh, Tucvbif, Vrenator, Minimac, Auto mations, Hullernuc,
EmausBot, Alpha Quadrant, AvicAWB, OnAzaleaPath, Khepster, Woonhocho, ClueBot NG, DieSwartzPunkt, User48365, Lee3409, Gal-
ison, Thecityofjoy and Anonymous: 72

9.2 Images
File:Actuator_positioner.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9a/Actuator_positioner.jpg License: CC BY
3.0 Contributors: Own work Original artist: Khepster (talk) (Uploads)
File:Actuator_sahara.JPG Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d5/Actuator_sahara.JPG License: CC BY 3.0
Contributors: Transferred from en.wikipedia to Commons. Original artist: Khepster at English Wikipedia
File:Actuator_siberia.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/27/Actuator_siberia.jpg License: CC BY 3.0
Contributors: Own work Original artist: Khepster (talk) (Uploads)
File:Charakteristics_modulating_duty.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/34/Charakteristics_
modulating_duty.jpg License: CC BY-SA 2.0 de Contributors: Own work Original artist: HerbstrittM
File:Charakteristics_open_close_duty.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/84/Charakteristics_open_
close_duty.jpg License: CC BY-SA 2.0 de Contributors: Own work Original artist: HerbstrittM
File:Commons-logo.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg License: ? Contributors: ? Original
artist: ?
File:Gate_Valve_with_Handwheel_(L)_and_with_Linear_Pneumatic_Actuator_(R).jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/
wikipedia/commons/8/83/Gate_Valve_with_Handwheel_%28L%29_and_with_Linear_Pneumatic_Actuator_%28R%29.jpg License:
CC BY-SA 3.0 Contributors: Own work Original artist: Galison
File:Power_plant_a.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/ff/Power_plant_a.jpg License: CC-BY-3.0 Contributors: ?
Original artist: ?
File:Question_book-new.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/99/Question_book-new.svg License: Cc-by-sa-3.0
Contributors:
Created from scratch in Adobe Illustrator. Based on Image:Question book.png created by User:Equazcion Original artist:
Tkgd2007
File:Schnittbild_drehnatrieb_01.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c5/Schnittbild_drehnatrieb_01.jpg
License: CC-BY-SA-3.0 Contributors: Own work Original artist: HerbstrittMse

9.3 Content license

Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0