CONTROL VALVE

Overview

• A power actuated device which modifies the fluid flow rate in a

process control system
• Capable of changing the position of a closure member in the
valve in response to a signal from the controlling system
• Can be actuated hydraulically, electrically, or pneumatically
actuated
Parts of A Control Valve
Actuators (Electric vs. Pneumatic)
• The major difference between pneumatic and electric actuators
is the speed of operation. The two technologies are so different
that one cannot be a drop-in replacement for the other. Each has
inherent advantages and disadvantages.
Pneumatic Actuators
Advantages: Disadvantages:
- Failsafe action. The compressed - Maintenance and operating costs
spring can be failsafe open or can be high.
failsafe closed.
- High force and speed
- Delayed response
- Ex Zone rated
- Low cost
Actuators (Electric vs. Pneumatic)
Electric Actuators
Advantages: Disadvantages:
- Provide precise control and - No failsafe position
positioning in comparison to - Difficult and very expensive for
pneumatic EX Zone applications
- Instantaneous response time - High costs
- Low operating costs
Single Acting Actuator

• Only moves in one direction

• Only has one port for fluid entry or exit
• When pressure is released, stem will return to original
position due to spring action
Double Acting Actuator

• Moves in two directions

• Has two ports for fluid entry or exit
• Can be pressurized from either port to move the stem
in the corresponding direction
Failsafe Action in Pneumatic Control Valve

• When air supply fails, control valves will assume one

of these positions:
– Fail closed (FC) position
When air supply fails, control valve will remain closed. Usually
used to prevent overflowing or overpressurization of a tank (in the
case of nitrogen blanketing control valve)
– Fail opened (FO) position
When air supply fails, control valve will remain opened. Usually
used for temperature control valve in cooler line to prevent
overheating of material
– Fail last position
When air supply fails, control valve will remain opened based on
its last position
• Actuator spring will drive the plug of control valve to
assume the failsafe position
Failsafe Action in Pneumatic Control Valve

Air-to-Open/Fail Closed (ATO/FC)

Air-to Close/Fail Opened (ATC/FO)

Solenoid Valves

• To control the direction of fluid flow

• Converts electrical signal to open/close into flow of
air/fluid to the actuator
• Uses electricity to energize/de-energize coil to move
the valve
5/2 Solenoid Valves

• Consists of 5 ports and 2 spool positions

– Position 1: Fluid flow from supply to actuator
– Position 2: Fluid flow to exhaust port
3/2 Solenoid Valves

• Consists of 3 ports and 2 spool positions

– Position 1: Fluid flow from supply to actuator
– Position 2: Fluid flow to exhaust port
2/2 Solenoid Valves

• Consists of 2 ports and 2 spool positions

– Open position  fluid flow to actuator
– Closed position  fluid is contained in the system
Valve Type summary
Valve Type Characteristics
Globe Valve - Suitable for regulating flow
- Tight shut-off
- Pressure drop when open
- Used for high pressure / clean
fluids
Needle Valve - Suitable for regulating flow
- Fine control in small diameter
piping
- Tight shut-off
- Used for clean fluids that have
low flows
- High pressure drop when open
Valve Type summary
Valve Type Characteristics
Ball Valve - Suitable for regulating flow
- Not suitable for tight shut-off
- Low pressure drop when open
- Used for low line pressure and
large pipe line diameters
- Wide range of service: gas,
liquids and slurries
Gate Valve - Not suitable for flow regulation,
only suitable for on / off
- Tight shut-off
- Low pressure drop when open
Valve Type summary
Valve Type Characteristics
Diaphragm Valve - Suitable for on/off or narrow
range throttling control
- Tight shut-off
- Low pressure drop when open
- Used for corrosive fluids and
slurries
Plug Valve - Suitable for regulating flow
- Tight shut-off
- Quick Opening
- High pressure drop when open
Flow Characteristic
• Linear: Flow is
directly
proportional to
valve lift. Typically
used for simple on-
off control
• Equal %: Flow
changes by a
constant
percentage for
each unit of valve
lift. Often used with
non-linear
relationship
between process
variables and flow
rate
Flow Characteristic

• Quick Opening:
Flow increases
rapidly with initial
travel. Suitable
when rapid
response is
necessary (such
as in emergency
shutdowns)
• Modified
Parabolic: Fine
throttling action at
low lift, linear
profile at high lift
Trim Type
Flow Through A Control Valve
 Flow Through A Control Valve

Critical Areas:
Liquid: Above 𝑃𝑃𝑉𝑉 : no problem, normal flow
Drop below 𝑃𝑃𝑉𝑉 and recover: Cavitation, limit flowrate
Drop below 𝑃𝑃𝑉𝑉 and does not recover: Flashing, limit flowrate
Gas: Pressure drop increases till critical velocity: choking, limit flowrate
Flow Through A Control Valve

Choked Flow
As the pressure drop across the valve gets larger, more
flow will be forced through the restriction due to higher
flow velocities until it reaches the critical pressure drop
Choked flow takes place:
- When an increase in pressure drop across the valve no longer
has any effect on the flow rate through the valve.
- When the velocity of the gas reaches critical (Mach 1) velocity at
the narrowest flow restriction.
Flow Through A Control Valve

Flashing
At the point where the fluids velocity is at its highest, the
pressure is at its lowest. Assuming the fluid is
incompressible, if the pressure falls below the fluids
vapor pressure, vapor bubbles form within the narrowest
restriction and collapse into themselves as the pressure
increases downstream. (This causes noise and will ruin
the valve)
Requirements for Flashing:
- The fluid at the inlet must be in all-liquid state, but some vapor
must be present at the valve outlet
- The valve outlet pressure must be either at or below the vapor
pressure of the liquid.
Flow Through A Control Valve

Cavitation
Cavitation is similar to flashing. The liquid pressure
drops to a value below its vapor pressure, causing a
liquid to vaporize into vapor bubbles. The difference is
that with the cavitation phenomenon, the liquid pressure
increases over its vapor pressure during pressure
recovery and turns back into liquid state.
Valve Performance

𝑄𝑄 = 𝐾𝐾𝑉𝑉 ∆𝑃𝑃

𝑄𝑄 = 𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉 𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹
𝐾𝐾𝑉𝑉 (𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 𝐶𝐶𝑣𝑣 ) = 𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉 𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹 𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶
∆𝑃𝑃 = 𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃 𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡 𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣

Kv  Metric system  flow of fluid in m3/h with a pressure drop of 1 bar

Cv  Imperial system  flow of fluid in GPM with a pressure drop of 1 psi

𝑲𝑲𝒗𝒗 = 𝟎𝟎. 𝟖𝟖𝟖𝟖𝟖𝟖 𝑪𝑪𝒗𝒗

𝑪𝑪𝒗𝒗 = 𝟏𝟏. 𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏 𝑲𝑲𝒗𝒗

For Large Flow Rate -> select large KV or large pressure drop
For Small Flow Rate -> smaller KV or smaller pressure drop.
Approximation Equations for ease of calculation

𝑃𝑃𝑃 − 𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝 𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏 𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡 𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣 [𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏]

𝑃𝑃2 − 𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡 𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣 [𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏]
𝐻𝐻 − 𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠
𝑚𝑚𝑚
̇𝑉𝑉 − 𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉 𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹 𝐺𝐺𝐺𝐺𝐺𝐺
ℎ
𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘
𝑊𝑊 − 𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀 𝐿𝐿𝐿𝐿𝐿𝐿𝐿𝐿𝐿𝐿𝐿𝐿𝐿𝐿, 𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆
ℎ
𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘
𝜌𝜌 − 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 𝐺𝐺𝐺𝐺𝐺𝐺, 𝐿𝐿𝐿𝐿𝐿𝐿𝐿𝐿𝐿𝐿𝐿𝐿
𝑚𝑚𝑚
𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘
𝜌𝜌1 − 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 𝐺𝐺𝐺𝐺𝐺𝐺, 𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆 𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏 𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡 𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣
𝑚𝑚𝑚
𝜗𝜗1 − 𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡 𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏 𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡 𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣 [℃]
 Approximation Equations for ease of calculation

𝑴𝑴𝑴𝑴𝑴𝑴𝑴𝑴𝑴𝑴 Liquid Gas Steam

∆𝑷𝑷

𝑇𝑇𝑇 𝐾𝐾 − 273.15℃ + 𝜗𝜗𝜗

𝑚𝑚𝑚
𝑉𝑉𝐺𝐺 − 𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉 𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹 𝐺𝐺𝐺𝐺𝐺𝐺 0℃, 1013𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚
ℎ
𝑚𝑚𝑚
𝑣𝑣1 − 𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆 𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉 𝑣𝑣 ′ 𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆 𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 𝑃𝑃1 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 𝜗𝜗1
𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘
𝑚𝑚𝑚
𝑣𝑣2 − 𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆 𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉 𝑣𝑣 ′ 𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆 𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 𝑃𝑃2 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 𝜗𝜗2
𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘
𝑃𝑃1 𝑚𝑚𝑚
𝑣𝑣 ∗ − 𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆 𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉 𝑣𝑣 ′ 𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆 𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 𝜗𝜗1
2 𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘
Velocity Limitations

Liquid Service

Maximum Velocity (m/s)

Valve Size (in) Bronze, Cu/Ni
Carbon Steel Alloy Steel
Alloy

0,5 – 2 12,5 14 7,6

3–6 10,4 10,4 6,2

8 – 12 8,9 8,9 5,2

 Velocity Limitations

Gas/Vapor Service
Max. Outlet Mach Number for
Max. Inlet Max. Outlet Required Noise Level
Valve Size
Velocity Velocity (dBA)
(in)
(m/s) (m/s)
>95 <95 <85
0,5 – 2 104
3–6 90 253 0,65 0,5 0,3
8 – 12 81
Leakage Class
• Defined by ANSI FCI 70-2
• Minimum Leakage Class IV
Category Allowable leakage Test Medium Test Pressure

Class I - - -

Air @ 45 – 60 Service ΔP or 3.4 bar

Class II 0.5% leakage at full capacity
psig differential, whichever is lower
Air @ 45 – 60 Service ΔP or 3.4 bar
Class III 0.1% leakage at full capacity
psig differential, whichever is lower
Air @ 45 – 60 Service ΔP or 3.4 bar
Class IV 0.01% leakage at full capacity
psig differential, whichever is lower
Water @ 100
0.0005 mL/min per inch port
Class V psig or Service ΔP
diameter per psi differential
operating P
Not to exceed the amount shown 50 psig or operating P,
Class VI Air or N2
in the following table whichever is lower
Example Calculation

• A control valve is required to handle a flow rate of 500

liters per minute with a pressure drop of 3 bar. The
valve has a Cv of 3. Determine the actual flow rate
through the control valve.
Example Calculation

Use the control valve equation:

V̇ = Cv ∆P

ΔP = 3 bar = 300000 Pa
Cv =3

V̇ = 3 300000
V̇ = 1643.167 𝐿𝐿𝐿𝐿𝐿𝐿
Hence, the actual flow rate through the valve is
1643.167 LPM
Thank you – Are there any Questions?