Choke Valves Technical Clarification

Common Problems with Choke Valves

Corrosion Corrosion cases are generally associated with the choice of wrong materials. This is not always the result of a wrong selection by the vendor. Many companies use an in house choke valve specification based on history. The result of this approach is so called company-blindness, as an oil/gas well is a varying supply of medium. One well may produce Carbon Dioxide, while the other doesn't. A standard specification is always a threat to vendors as they may find that when non- complying disqualification results with the customer having the wrong material selected for the application. If Carbon Dioxide is present, one may want to specify other materials for example, Carbon Steel complete with 17-4ph stem. In this case a Carbon Steel Inconel cladded body with an Inconel stem can be a solution. Erosion One has to make the difference between single phase and two-phase scenarios. Velocity can cause body erosion, trim erosion and piping erosion. Although in general there are different philosophies with respect to what is and what is not acceptable, the conclusion is, that velocities in general are too high. For liquid application, the velocity has to be controlled below 5-7 m/s measured in the outlet of the flange, for two phase this is 10-15 m/s and for gas 25 - 40 m/s This statement is subject to discussion as it does not include for sand production and it also does not take the gas/liquid ratio into account for two-phase situations. Furthermore one has to bear in mind that often choke valves are reduced in size, for example a 4-Inch nominal body with 6 inch inlet and/or outlet flanges. If the velocity in the outlet flange is still within the above mentioned rule of thumb it does not automatically indicate that everything will be expected to work out, as the velocity in the so called nominal body goes up and may well exceed what is considered to be acceptable. In other words a choke should be calculated first of all with the same body and flange size before reducing the nom body size. If the velocity is lower than mentioned in the above rule of thumb, one can calculate a smaller nominal body with smaller flange. If still within the given limits a smaller body with larger flanges can be used with reduced risk of erosion. Cavitation Cavitation should not be taken lightly as it can not only lead to erosion, but it can also cause vibration. The vibration may shatter brittle materials as Tungsten Carbide often used for trim bean and plug).

Many choke designs in today's market are still not fitted with a trim style which ensures good controllability. Good controllability includes the prevention of Cavitation. This can only be achieved by pressure drop control through the trim. Based control valve experience the following is concluded: Cavitation control and good controllability can only be guaranteed by using a multiple orifice trim. Fluid has to be symmetrically distributed and energy dissipation must take place in the centre of the valve to prevent body erosion. Leaking Leaking is defined as leaking to atmosphere. This is sometimes caused by the selection of incorrect materials as described previously under corrosion, but also can be attributed to general design. Almost all available chokes in today's market have a split body design, these vary from a forged block (main body) with weld on or fitted Flange connections (adapters) to main body bolted bonnet type. A one-piece body casting is one answer to these problems. However, the process fluid has to pass through seals before it can leak to the outside world. Seals utilised on almost all designs are of the O'Ring type. As a choke is used under high pressure and pressure drop, O'Rings may be subjected to explosive decompression. This can cause them to split or deform. Should this happen the sealing property is lost. Explosive decompression often occurs when Viton material is used. This happens to be one of the most suitable resilient materials for hydrocarbon service. Hence, there is a catch two situation if we wish to utilise Viton as it is subject to explosive decompression. In addition the service of the 0'rings has to be considered as this can differ from static to dynamic applications. Most problems with O'rings occur in dynamic applications. Problem solving Corrosion Corrosion is relatively easily solved, as a choice of suitable materials is widely available. However a comprehensive knowledge of materials is required as combinations of certain materials may lead to galling. Also material selection may not meet the required standards e.g., ASTM A-216 WCB cannot be used for class API 10,000 as it will not meet the strength requirements. Therefore one should select ASTM A487 Gr 1 class C to comply with API. Please refer to appendix for typical material selections. Erosion

As described previously velocity is the most important design criteria, this in combination with a well-designed trim will limit any erosion. Calculating velocities has to be based on general calculations for gas, liquids and a combination of the two (two-phase). A calculation is made to determine the required Cv. This Cv can be achieved by fitting different trims in nominal body sizes. However different pipe diameter selection produces different velocities. Relatively low velocities are commercially not advised, as one will procure a too large size choke. Too high velocities are likely to result in erosion of the body with an associated high maintenance cost. Trim selection is of importance. Mokveld chokes are equipped with a cage provided with holes uniformly distributed over the full circumference. This design ensures that the fluid is symmetrically distributed. The many flow jets are diametrically opposed. Consequently, the energy is dissipated in the centre of the valve. This occurs in the fluid itself and not near the surface of any choke component. Also, preferential flow, the major cause of body erosion, is fully avoided. To optimise the resistance against erosion Mokveld have also enlarged the gallery area in the choke body. This again is of influence with respect to velocity. Cavitation and control problems The pressure recovery factor of Mokveld chokes is low as a result of the true cage concept.. Creating a cage with a few holes or small holes on the first couple of percent open and then changing to a ring of a few big holes makes no compromise, as this is of direct influence on the controllability of the process. Furthermore a non-true cage design will cause unnecessary wear and tear. In liquid service (oil production) flashing and high velocities in the downstream piping is reduced. The true cage concept allows for high rangeability. Well start-up can be performed at low flow rates. Also a wide range of well conditions can be controlled without the need to change the choke trim in future years. The Mokveld design is pressure balanced. As a result the operating torque is low. Therefore manually operated chokes do not require intermediate gearboxes. This improves control sensitivity. Leaking The bodies of Mokveld chokes are made of one-piece castings or forgings, this design eliminates the potential leakage path associated with split-body types. Pre-loading of the cage and seat (by piston guidance) makes it possible to use primary metal to metal seats between the cage, the seat and the body. Orings are used in a static configuration and as back-up seals (secondary) only.

The piston seal is located outside the throttling zone to eliminate the possibility of seal wear caused by erosion. As the surface of the piston, over which the piston runs, is kept outside the cage at all choke positions, wear to the piston will not result in failure of the piston seal. The design provides tight shut-off by the design of the piston and seat surface. Even after lifting the piston of the seat the minimum clearance between cage and piston limits the flow until the piston reaches the first cage holes. Sealing face washout is therefore eliminated. Other features
Complete piston guidance

Rather than having an external sleeve design, the Mokyeld design has its piston fully guided travelling through the cage. This allows for a cage to be locked in position at top and bottom. As the piston is fully guided over the total stroke it also cannot cause the brittle trim materials to fracture due to vibration- Furthermore it ensures, that all scaling areas are removed from the throttling area.
One piece body design

More compact when compared to split body design. Also less weight.
Pressure balancing

Due to pressure balancing, the required actuators can be smaller as less thrust is required. There are also weight and space savings.
Size _and ratings

The Mokveld design is available from 1 inch through to 8 inch with pressure ratings of ANSI 900 through ANSI 2500 and API 3000 through 10.000.

APPENDIX A: TYPICAL STD. MATERIAL SELECTION WL1H -CARBON MEL 1 TUNGSTEN CARBIDE INTERNALS

01.02 Body : ASTM A216 Gr. WCC 01 A3 Bean body ASTM A322 UNS G41300 01.03 Bean insert Tungsten carbide 01.05 Guidance ASTM A322 UNS G41300 01 A6 Stem ASTM A564 S17400 01.23 Piston ASTM A322 UNS G41300 01.61 Bonnet ASTM A322 UNS G41300 01.62 Bonnet nut ASTM A322 UNS G41300 02.01 Piston sleeve Tungsten Carbide 39.01 Cage Tungsten Carbide

APPENDIX A: TYPICAL MATERIAL SELECTION FOR HEAVY EROSIVE/CORROSIVE SERVICE

01.02 Body- ASTM A216 Gr. WCC 01.03 Bean body -ASTM A276 UNS S31803 (Duplex St.St.) 01.03 Bean insert -Tungsten carbide 01,05 Guidance -ASTM A276 UNS S31803 01.06 Stem ASTM -B637 N07718 (Inconel) 01.23 Piston ASTM -A276 UNS S31803 01.61 Bonnet -UNS S42400 /ASTM A276 UNS S31803 01.62 Bonnet nut -ASTM A276 UNS S31803 02.01 Piston sleeve -Tungsten Carbide 39.01 Cage -Tungsten Carbide