1166

Control Valve Selection and Sizing

Valve position

Dead
band
Controller
signal

Time

FIG. 6.9b
Dead band is defined as the amount by which the controller output
signal has to drop, before the valve position changes. This figure
illustrates the response of a valve with high packing friction.

used on the inlet of a blower, and variable speed pumps all

have dynamic characteristics similar to valves.

tion coefficient, Cv , changes in a controlled and predicted

manner. Bernoullis law states that except for losses and
energy taken from or added to the fluid, the sum of the
pressure energy, the kinetic energy, and the internal energy
within a system will remain constant.
The tortuous and varying fluid path in a control valve
converts part of the pressure energy into kinetic energy, with
a high-velocity jet and increased turbulence. Most of the
turbulence dissipates into heat (internal) energy as the flow
jet slows down into a more orderly velocity distribution
downstream of the restriction. Some of the velocity energy
will change back into pressure energy downstream of the
flow jet at a lower pressure. The energy converted into heat
will leave the valve with the flowing fluid or is lost through
the piping wall. Except for inefficiencies, the quantity of
energy lost is essentially equivalent to the energy required
for a pump to increase fluid pressure by the same amount.
The valve closure member connects to the actuator by way
of a valve stem or shaft. The valve mechanical response is a
function of the valve actuator and its various accessories and
with the forces that act to cause or restrain the motion.
The response of the process is a function of the response of
the valve and the relationship is normally not a simple one. For
difficult or sensitive applications, the valve response requirements should be determined from actual or calculated knowledge of the process response requirements rather than from a
simple specification based only on common practices or habit.

DISCUSSION
Valve System
The function of a control valve is to change the closure
member (trim) configuration in a way that the flow restric-

Valve position

Dead
band

Controller
signal

Time

FIG. 6.9c
If the packing friction of the valve is reduced, the dead band
required to initiate a change in valve position is also reduced.

2006 by Bla Liptk

The installed control valve is a system, consisting of the body

and trim, the actuator, and all the accessories. Air pressure
supplied by a pneumatic controller or current to pressure (I/P)
relay causes flow in to, or out of, the actuator and increases
or decreases the pressure on the diaphragm (see Figure 6.9d).
Information about valves and accessories is available in this
handbook (Sections 6.2 and 6.12) and from catalogs or from
various computer programs (see Table 6.2n). The manufacturers data can aid in developing practicable performance
purchase specifications. There is no point in specifying an
impossible valve or one that will require very special and
expensive attention.
Typically, a spring provides the opposing force in an
actuator to move the stem in the opposite direction when the
actuator air pressure decreases. The force is proportional to
the change in stem position; this is Hooks law. The diaphragm actuator in the typical diaphragm changes effective
area with pressure and stroke position. This results in an
imperfect conversion of pressure into force.
In the sliding stem valve, stem packing friction creates a
force that opposes motion in either direction. This is often a
large force, from hundreds to thousands of pounds. The result
is to increase the pressure (mass of gas) required in the actuator
to cause a change in stem position. Any source of friction will
have a similar effect. With ball and plug valves, the friction of
the liner and the seat is often much larger than stem packing