Control Valves

Control Valves
Selection

Rising Stem
or
Quarter Turn,

Who is in Control?
Check out the valve choices that are
James W. Noel
Invensys Systems, Inc., available and make an informed decision on
Foxboro Div.
Bill Lyons,
which one is right for your application.
Invensys Flow control

O ne of the fastest changing areas

of the control loop is the final
element, which is usually a
valve. Typically, all of the em-
phasis and engineering focus are on the point
of measurement and the control system, but
little has been said about the final control ele-
ment, which for this article is a valve. Addi-
tionally, the de facto control valve has been
the globe valve, a rising-stem technology. In
recent years, there has been a wave of chal-
lengers to the reining king, including quarter-
turn products that have been modified to pro-
vide modulating control capabilities. Ball
valves have been sliced and diced, as well as
the plug valves, while the butterfly valves
have always exhibited decent control, but are
garnering more respect as good cost alterna-
tives to the globe valves. This article will dis-
cuss these valve technologies, the enhance-
ments to the positioners that have allowed for
tighter control, wide rangeability and the use
of digital communications protocols in modu-
lating service.
Let us look at the line up of valves in each
category. First, in the challengers corner, we
have the quarter turn and/or rotary valve. In
general, these valves are considered for on/off
applications. They are found in various batch
applications, especially in food, beverage, pulp
and paper, pharmaceuticals, specialty chemi-
cals and fine chemicals manufacture. One of

38 www.cepmagazine.org September 2001 CEP

the first to come out swinging is the plug valve, which
has been around since the days of the Roman Empire,
when it was used for water distribution. Then, there are
the butterfly and ball valves to consider.
In the other corner, we find the rising-stem team
made up of the traditional globe valve and its varia-
tions, which have also been in existence for a long
time. The globe valve was first used in the 3rd century
when the Ktesibios float was used as an Alexandrian
water-clock to tell time. The globe valve is found in al-
most every industry, particularly in petroleum refining,
and chemicals and specialty chemicals manufacture,
where it has been king for a long time. Then, we have
the angle valve, which is also called a Y-pattern valve,
along with the gate, diaphragm and pinch valves.
Plug valve
In reviewing the quarter-turn
contenders, the plug valve, which
can be lined with a polymer or lu-
bricated, has been used for a long
time in applications involving
wastewater treatment. It is typical-
ly employed in chemical, steam and other services,
where positive shut-off and no emissions are required.
The plug valve has grown into the control area by mod-
ifying its trim. It can have a V-shaped port, which is cut
horizontally, and adds modulating control capabilities.
The only limiting factor for plug valves is a higher
torque rating that may require a larger actuator than for
other valve technologies. Although still a good choice
for wastewater applications, it has been encroaching on
the globe valves domain.
There are a few tips and traps when considering the
use of this valve. It should be evaluated for applications
that involve viscous and corrosive fluids, where it can
provide bubble tight shut-off and is easy to maintain due
to its adjustable packing. Try and stay with bodies less
than 4 in. and less than 3 in. if you are looking for con-
trol with a V-notched trim. Some of the best control ap-
plications are for block and bypass service.
Butterfly valve
Another quarter-turn contender for
control is the butterfly valve, which is
just gaining respect as an alternative to
the rising-stem design. The butterfly has
always been good for control, as long as
the upstream shut-off pressure was not
high. The butterfly can have an elas-
tomeric seat (e.g., rubber, polytetrafluo-
roethylene/PTFE), which makes it ex-
cellent for bubble-tight shut-off at lower
pressures. Butterfly valves are also available as a high-per-
formance type, in which case it is the ANSI-rated, metal-
seated variety. This version can handle leak-proof shut-off
on larger line sizes at higher temperatures. Butterfly valves
are considered to be one of the lowest cost solutions for
line sizes greater than 3 in. at low pressures for gas and liq-
uid flows. These valves are for use in line sizes greater
than 4 in. for the resilient-seated trim and greater than 8 in.
for the high-performance type. In both cases, the process
should be low pressure for the slurries, suspended solids,
liquids and gases they are used on. Corrosives could cause
swelling of the trim unless Teflon is used and these valves
have a narrow range of control. Sizes greater than 6 in. are
considered risky where cavitation might take place.
Ball valve
The ball valve rounds out the
major quarter-turn offerings and is
considered by many to be a com-
modity item available at the local
plumbing-supply store, especially
since it outsells the other rotary
valves by a ratio of 2:1. Again, this is a valve that has
not had much respect in the processing arena. The ma-
terials of construction, such as ceramics, perfluo-
roalkoxy (PFA) copolymer resin and stainless steel that
has been coated with corrosion and abrasive resistant
materials, provide the valve with a wider range of ap-
plications. Add to that the V-notched segmentation of
the ball, and you have a modulating control valve. In
addition to the traditional floating-ball mounting, it also
comes in trunion, which finds its way into high-pres-
sure applications. As with the butterfly valve, sizing of
this valve is generally equal to the pipe size. Staying
with body sizes less than 4 in. is recommended, espe-
cially where control is desired.
A few tips and traps when considering this valve:
Besides the size limitations, the valve is not as good
for modulating control as the globe valve, but it does
handle viscous fluids, slurries and cryogenic liquids
very well due to its low pressure drop. The full-ported
versions of this valve offer almost no pressure drop,
but are not good options for corrosives or processes
where cavitation may be a problem. Watch out for vac-
uum services if you have a floating-ball valve, since it
only seals downstream.
Rotary globe valve
A valve that may be called the
transitional valve between the tradi-
tional rotary ball valve and the rising-
stem globe is the rotary globe, also
known as an eccentric plug. When re-
ferred to as a rotary globe valve, it
makes users feel good about the con-
trol capability, even though it is not a globe style at all,
but does have the capability approaching that of a
CEP September 2001 www.cepmagazine.org 39
Control Valves

globe valve. It provides the best of both worlds by of- valve with the widest range and the most forgiving, even
fering increased reliability from stem leakage that ro- with inadequate process data. Remember that all of these
tary valves offer, and the controllability and perfor- advantages come at a price and it can get costly especial-
mance that globe valves provide. The plug valve for ly in the large line sizes.
throttling control is configured to actually cam into
the seat upon closing, which extends the life of the seat Other rising-stem valves
due to the plugs not being in constant contact with the The pinch, diaphragm and gate valves round out the
seat area during operation. With design characteristics rising-stem offerings and each of these technologies
offering protection from stem leakage, similar perfor- are application specific. We find the pinch and di-
mance compared with globe valves, and reduced trim aphragm valves in similar uses such as food, wastewa-
components, this valve has a prominent position in the ter or mining processes that have large particles that do
food and chemical industries. not flow through a small port very well. The gate valve
provides an inexpensive solid shut-off, but is sluggish
Globe valve in responding to changes in the controller output.
The reining champ is still the globe
valve, which is the most visible of the Selection factors to consider
rising-stem technology. The wide Whatever technology you select, there is a price tag
rangeability, great turndown and tight associated with that decision. More to the point, the ap-
tolerance for control make it the best plication will drive the selection and the type of valve
of breed. It can be jacketed for heating defined may have so many requirements that the price
or cooling, and can be built as a divert- causes you to rethink that decision. While no ranking of
ing or blending valve. In any case, it valve types by cost is possible, there is always a rela-
has the largest installed base in modu- tive positioning to start from that puts all of the valves
lating control applications. As this on an equal footing (at least for the first pass). Let us
valve is generally the one of choice in look at Table 1, which takes the primary offerings in
critical or precise process applications, the selection order of base cost.
of trim and body materials is extensive. Stainless The reason Table 1 is difficult to apply is that each
steel, specialty alloy materials, as well as Teflon-wet- valve has so many options in the area of body material
ted internals, make this valve acceptable in a wide va- and trim. A ball valve could be made of stainless steel,
riety of industrial applications including those in the plastic or ceramic, and, while a plug valve has a polymer
light industrial, petrochemical, food, and power indus- coating to protect the body, you might find that the envi-
tries. The selection of the body size, flow capacity and ronment causes you to use something other than cast
flow characteristic of the globe valve is generally per- iron. The butterfly valve has less rangeability in price,
formed by one of many valve-sizing programs avail- since the trim is the key variable and that is driven by the
able throughout the industry. application. Each technology can use any combination of
A tip or trap in using this valve is that due to the pro- specialty metals for the body and trim and we have not
cess fluid being dragged through the packing by the even discussed the actuator that might be sized different-
stem, it is susceptible to leaks causing emissions or cor- ly for competing valves of the same size, due to torque
rosion. The best applications are for clean fluids and requirements (which impacts the total cost of the valve).
gases, not on slurries. But overall, it is the best control The final selection should not only take into account the
initial cost, but also the expected lifecy-
cle and associated maintenance cost. All
Table 1. Relative ranking of valve types by cost in all, this is not an easy decision.
Table 2 is helpful in making the first
Valve Type Ranking Comments
pass on what valve or valves might han-
Ball valve, 8 Expensive with limited use dle a specific application. We recom-
metal-seated mend that the selection process be dis-
Trunion ball valve 7 High performance, limited applications, special metals cussed with a valve application engineer
Globe valve 6 Lots of optional trim and body material
Rotary globe valve 5 Lots of optional trim and body material to ensure all points are covered. The
Plug valve 4 Many polymers for sleeve and plug next step would be to have a sizing pro-
High-performance 3 Expensive, but worth it, with few options gram run on the valve style you have se-
butterfly valve lected. This should have all the process
Floating-ball valve 2 Lots of optional materials and body material
Butterfly valve 1 Lots of soft seat material to choose from data loaded to ensure trim, wetted mate-
rials and actuator are selected as a pack-
age that meets the process requirements.

40 www.cepmagazine.org September 2001 CEP

 Table 2. General selection guidelines*

Valve On/Off Control Clean Dirty Abrasive Corrosive Clean Steam Steam
design liquid liquid slurry liquid gas (saturated) (superheated)

Angle X X X X X X
Ball X X X X X X X X X
Segmented ball X X X X X X X
Butterfly, X X X X X
high-performance
Butterfly, X X X X
soft-seat
Diaphragm X X X X X
Gate X X X X X
Globe X X X X X X
Rotary globe X X X X X
Pinch X X X X X X
Plug X X X X X X X X

*This table should only be used in making a first pass on valve selection. The authors recommend that a valve application engineer be consulted.

While there have not been many changes in the ac-
tuators (rack-and-pinion, scotch yoke, diaphragm or
hydraulic), there have been advances in the position-
er, especially with respect to the electronic version.
Here the intelligent or smart types have improved the
ability for any valve to control the process and pro-
vide diagnostics that are more meaningful. The new
breeds of positioners offer HART, Foundation Field-
bus, Profibus PA or DP and AS-I Bus, just to mention
a few. These digital communications protocols allow
operations to better understand responses to changes
in the control loop due to their instantaneous feed-
back. The ability to provide not only the output sig-
Previously, these were the mechanical engineers
turf and not looked at by the control engineer. In terms
of the valve selection, it seems that the quarter-turn
types are being used as opposed to the rising-stem ones
when the control requirements are not as stringent or
cost is a factor. We see a large swing to rotary valves
when the pressures are low, the rangeability is narrow,
response is not critical and the process is stable. It has
been stated by others that 60% of control loops can be
done with rotary valves and these can be implemented
at 60% of the cost of a rising-stem solution. It is your
choice, but make an informed decision and make it ap-
plication specific. CEP

nal, but also both position and limit stop information

on the same pair of wires that the control signal trav-
els in is a real boost to the operator. Couple this to
the feedback on hysteresis, torque and duty cycles,
and the picture gets a lot clearer as to where the prob-
lem may lie. If you wish to push the envelope, there
are control algorithms in the Foundation Fieldbus
version that place control at the point of actuation.
In summary, the debate over quarter-turn vs. ris-
ing stem has many gray areas, and maybe a lot of
holes, since it is so application-dependent. Only now
are control engineers paying attention to what the
valve technology is, and this comes about when a
positioner is added and it becomes part of the loop.
One of the driving forces in adding a positioner is
the addition of a maintenance software package to
the control system that helps predict to operations
personnel through diagnostics when a valve will
come out of service. Due to the data requirements,
even the on/off valves are now having a positioner
added to them and these valves are primarily the
quarter-turn style.
BILL LYONS has been employed for over 10 years as western regional
sales manager for Invensys Flow Control (601 Valencia Avenue, Suite
#100, Brea, CA 92823; Phone: (909) 788-7739; Fax: (909) 788-7765;
E-mail: wlyons@foxboro.com). He obtained a degree in electrical
engineering from Purdue Univ. He has over 25 years of experience
in the power, refining and process control industries. Lyons has
produced several training videos, and held seminars on safety for
the industrial marketplace. He has held past positions as a board
member of the Los Angeles chapter of ISA.
JAMES W. NOEL is the western region business development manager
for Invensys Systems, Inc., Foxboro Div. (2000 Crow Canyon Place,
Suite 360, San Ramon, CA 94583; Phone: (925) 904-2308;
Fax: (925) 830-0535; E-mail: jnoel@foxboro.com). His career with
Foxboro has spanned a 22-year period with both the instrument and
systems divisions, which included stints of duty in Salt Lake City,
UT, Media, PA, and, presently, the San Ramon, CA office. He is a
senior member of ISA in the San Francisco chapter and a past
president of the Utah section. With eight prior technical papers
published by ISA and one by TAPPI, this becomes the first topic
to cover valves. Noel graduated from Northeastern Univ. and
attended the Univ. of Utah graduate school of engineering.

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