SELECT- THE RIGHT

CONTROL VALVE FOR DIFFICULT SERVICE

Coping with factors
such as abrasion, ·
cavitation, flashing, high
pressure drop, or noise -
either singly or in
combination - requires
special care.

Les Driskell, Consulting Engineer

ontrol valves are very forgiving. There are thou- vapor-deposited TiCN, and electrodeposited TiB 2, are highly

C sands of control loops operating acceptably today

with valves that are oversized, overstressed, and
perhaps underdesigned. They do the job because the job is
erosion resistant if applied in thickness from 60 to 75 micro-
meters. The resistance of cemented carbides varies inversely
with the metal binder content. If bearings and guides are
easy. exposed to the abrasive fluid, they must be protected by
For simple applications, the principal selection criterion is seals or flushing.
life-cycle cost- so a threaded or flangeless valve made of For less-severe services, more-readily-available and less-
cast iron or steel is usually best. In small sizes, it may be an expensive materials are 440-C stainless steel, Alloy 6 as a
eccentric spherical plug valve; in larger sizes, a simple facing or solid material, and alloys in the Inconel and Incoloy
butterfly valve may do. families. When elastomers are permissible, diaphragm
On the other hand, many control-valve services are diffi- valves are suggested. Elastomeric pinch valves ·are not
cult and even hazardous. If not properly dealt with, such recommended, except for extremely small pressure drop and
applications can result in situations that range from inconve- pressures slightly above atmospheric. Beyond the range of
nient to life-threatening. In addition, poor valve selection can elastomers, angle valves with smooth contours 'Offer a wide
lead to excessively high first cost, high maintenance cost, range of pressure classes, and trim that extends from hard
downtime, leakage, poor performance, dangerous vibration, to superhard. Price varies accordingly.
and excessive noise.
Difficult or hazardous conditions require valves with spe- Combating corrosion
cific features. Complicating selection further, if a service To resist a particular corrosive agent, a valve must be
poses two distinct problems, the engineer must often com- provided in a material that can withstand that agent. If the
promise. The most troublesome applications call for diamet- preferred material is not readily available, it is sensible to
rically opposite or mutually exclusive properties in the valve.select a valve of relatively simple design. This will likely
facilitate fabrication, shorten delivery time, and reduce the
Attacking abrasion cost of the special order.
When a fluid contains abrasive particles, the valve chosen You should start the selection process by listing the suit-
should have a flowpath with a smooth contour to minimize able corrosion-resistant materials of construction. If possi~
turbulence and impingement. No vulnerable target should ble, choose a valve type that conventionally comes in these
be in the path of the high-velocity jet downstream of the materials (see Ref. [1]). Diaphragm valves, clamp valves, and
valve orifice. For moderate pressures and temperatures, lined butterfly, plug or ball valves are suitable for some
elastomers wear well, but polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) services. Butterfly valves and some angle valves can be lined
does not. High pressures and temperatures require a metal- with tantalum or other metals. Plating with precious metals
lic valve body with hard trim. or tantalum is available, but plating is thin and vulnerable to
Material selection depends on the hardness of the flowing abrasion. Small barst.ock valves can be made from any
particles, angle of impingement, velocity, temperature, cor- machinable material.
rosion tendencies, and resilience of the trim material. Metals
are less resistant to erosion than ceramics and cermets such Contending with cavitation
as B4C, SiC, Si3 N4 , TiB 2, and WC. Coatings, such as boron Depending on its severity, cavitation can cause erosion,
diffu:;ed into molybdenum and tungsten carbide, chemical- excessive noise, or dangerous vibration. Because no engi-

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Elevation view
t
Air
Section view
Figure 1 - Air inspiration prevents implosion of vapor cavities
A thin sharp-edged
orifice (t < V• 0)
does not choke. If
the discharge is into a
free space, the vena contracta pressure is known and the flow predict-
able. If the discharge is into a pipe (broken lines), the pressure and
flowrate are problematical.
Figure 2 - Discharge into a free space
instead o f a pipe avoids flashing
neering material can withstand the continued battering of
imploding cavities, the solution is either to avoid the forma-
tion of vapor cavities or prevent their implosion. Desirable
valve characteristics are:
• Low pr essure recovery.
•An orifice discharge path that causes the vapor cavities
to implode in midstream instead of against a boundary.
• An orifice arranged for free discharge into a tank or
other pqol of liquid. · valves can be used on thick slurries near atmospheric pres-
o A shape permitting inspiration of noncondensible gas for
mixing with the vapor bubbles, to prevent sudden implosion.
Of the standard valve types, the V-port globe offers the
lowest pressure recovery· and is the least susceptible to
: . cavi~j;ion:.. Butterfly.and ball valves have an unfavorably-
high ·pres.sure tecovery aflarge openings, but some have
.flowpaths that confine µUld cavitation to midstream. Special
anticavitation valves are characterized by multiple small
flow .channels and tortuous passages. The more severe the
. prob!erp is, the more ~omple.x the shape, the greater the
valve size, and the higher the cost. · · preferred shapes is a square orifice that can retain that
124 CHEMICAL ENGINEERING/AUGUST 17, 1~87
Butterfly valves and single-stage plug valves are suited
for the introdu ction of atmospheric air or other noncondens-
ible gas at the points of vapor formation. The resulting gas/
vapor cavity then is incapable of imploding. See Fig. 1.
Fighting flashing
Flashing occurs when the pressure drop across the valve
causes part of the stream to flash to a vapor. Flashing is not
hard to handle: Either select a valve material t hat can
withstand the high-velocity two-phase discharge, or direct
the jet stream away from the valve body. The extent to wh ich
extraordinary measures must be taken depends on the ag-
gressiveness of the fluid. With clean water, it is usually
sufficient to use a chrome-moly steel in the valve body.
Besides selecting wear-resistant materials, for severe cases,
it may be desirable to include an enlarged outlet (reduced-
size trim) or free discharge, as shown in Fig. 2.
With low pressure drop, most any metal valve will suffice.
As severity increases, globe or angle valves are recommend-
ed. Avoid multistage valves (constrictions in series) such as
throttled full-ball valves or valves with both cage and port
constrictions, since the interstage may b e exposed to cavita-
tion (Fig. 3). The two-phase dischar ge from a valve in flash-
ing service should not flow upward, because the inevitable
slug flow can cause excessive vibration. The discharge pipe
should be short, straight, .and downward sloping if possible.
Grappling with gum~y fluids
Gummy or glutinous substances tend to adhere to valve
surfaces and build up in dead pockets. Bearings and guides
may jam. Deposits in ball and plug valves may increase the
torque unacceptably, and damage the seals. To prevent this,
select valve bodies that have no recesses in which deposits
can gather . When globe valves are used, they should be top
guided with PTFE bushings to serve as wipers. Bearings of
rotary-motion valves should be similarly protected. Solid or
lined PTFE valves, diaphragm or clamp type, are especially
useful. For some fluids, the self-draining feature found in
some angle valves may be helpful.
Dealing with high-viscosity liquids
The difficulties connected with exceptionally-high-viscosity
liquids are likely to be unacceptably-large pressur e drop, and
imprecise data and prediction methods for the pressure-drop
value. Non-Newtonian liquids ar e especially hard to predict.
Valves with a simple flow path help resolve both these
problems. Consider full-ball, · segmented-ball, plug, dia-
phragm, butterfly a·n d clamp valves for this service. Pinch
sure if the pressure drop is small; however, flow prediction
for these valves is highly unreliable because of their flaccid
structure.
Avoiding plugging .
If a stream contains solids, a throttled control valve will clog
at some minimum opening. To maximize the effective range
of modulation, the preferred shape of the valve orifice is
round- t he unavailable iris. Ball valves have a round orifice
when fully open, but not when throttled. Next in order of
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•:..
Pi P1

P; P;

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I
Cavities J
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Flashing/ Flashing

a. With no vaporization, pressure drops b. With the vapor pressure, Pv, c. If the vapor pressure is in the
in two stages greater than the outlet pressure, P2 , range of the interstage pressure, P;,
the discharge is flashing internal cavitation can occur

Figure 3 - Use of multistage valves may raise the possibility of interstage cavitation

shape during throttling: A diamond-port plug valve comes perature of the process fluid. From the freezing point of
closest here. Following the square comes an equilateral water down to -30°C (-20°F), the only concern is frosting of
triangle, or V-port. This shape is available in plug and the valve stem at the packing. An extension bonnet solves
segmented-ball ,valves. that. From -30°C (-20°F) to -1oo·c (-150°F), embrittlement
Despite the unfavorable lenticular shape of the throttled and heat-transfer rate become important Cryogenic tem-
ball-valve orifice, it does offer two orifices in series, dividing peratures below -100°C (-150°F) require special valves with
the pressure drop between them. The port area is about 40% such features as vacuum jacket:s, extra-long bonnet exten-
larger than that for a single orifice. Other means of reducing sions, and designs to minimize cooldown load.
the pressure drop to increase the port area are: (a) installing Extension bonnet:s are available for most types. Body
in series two or more valves operated off the same signal; (b) materials suitable for the mid-range include aluminum and
controlling the valve pressure drop by use of a constant-head bronze, but their heat-transfer properties are unfavorable.
tank (as shown in Fig. 4). Another solution to plugging for Nickel and some of it:s alloys are serviceable to -200°C
pumped streams is to eliminate the valve altogether and (-325°F), and stainless steels go to -255°C (-425°F). Cryogenic
instead use a variable-speed drive. construction is available in globe, Y-pattern, angle, butterfly,
and ball valves.
Handling high pressure-drop
'{'he risk here is wire-drawing. To avoid this, the seating Abating noise
Excessive aerodynamic noise is not only illegal but can cause
,;urfaces must be made of a hard material that will also resist
corrosion by the high-velocity streamlet:s. The seating force destructive vibration. If the predicted sound-pressure level is
must be high, to prevent leakage. The high velocities and around 105 dBA or less, the most-economical noise-abate-
large forces require good guiding and sturdy construction. ment measures are likely to be forms of path treatment:
To improve performance and reduce the cost of the actuator, distance, isolation, heavier pipe walls, insulation, or silenc-
the valve design should minimize the dynamic fluid forces. ers. The latter are usually available from the valve maker.
Yet the actuator must be stiff enough to avoid instability due If the predicted sound-pressure level exceeds 105 dBA,
to a negative slope of the fluid-force curve. some form of source treatment is generally necessary: a
diffuser to share the pressure drop, or a special antinoise
Globe, angle or Y-style valves are available with all these
features. Valves with small orifices may not need fluid-forcevalve. Path treatment, coupled with source treatment, may
be most cost effective.
balancing, but if the pressure drop is extreme, say 50,000 psi ·
(350 MPa), special high-force, short-travel actuators are Antinoise ball and butterfly valves are less noisy than the
required. standard varieties but, for severe applications, the more-
expensive antinoise globe types are needed.
Coping with extreme temperature Excessive hydrodynamic noise is always the result of
Important factors for high-temperature service are galling cavitation, and the noise is the least of the problems. (See the
resistance, clearance tolerances, and availability in high- discussion on cavitation above.) • ,. -
temperature-resistant materials. Within the temperature
range of metals, globe, angle, Y-pattern, and butterfly Maintaining exacting control
valves are most likely to be available in suitable materials. If a process is difficult to control because of serious distur-
Beyond this range, special ceramic-lined valves with cooling- bances, or if there is little tolerance for deviation from the
jacketed metal containment walls must be custom built. setpoint, the control valve must play it:s role to the hilt. If
For low temperatures, the problem varies with the tern- close control is the principal requirement, desir~ble valve
 .; t
k tL & •·•.44 ° iw wtti· *o 1
e it" d1Mt **"" ~~ A+''*· «+ ..++ t
Figure 4- Constant-head tank is used to
control low pressure drop across valve
features are stability, reproducibility, responsiveness and,
often, speed. Undesirable characteristics are friction, back-
lash, negative fluid-force gradients (which affect position
stability), and bistable-flow impairment (unstable flow coef-
ficient). The actuator should be stiff to resist fluid-force
perturbations and, along with pilots, relays and other power
auxiliaries, should have negligible deadband. . Rotary valves, because they are easier than sliding-stem
Suitable types of valves, depending on size and pther
requirements, are high-performance butterfly valves, spher-
ical eccentric-plug valves, and globe valves with flow in the
direction that tends to open the plug. Avoid contoured plugs
and tapered orifices that are subject to bistable flow. Use V-
ring PTFE packing, if possible. Rotary-motion valves should
have low-friction bearings, and linear-motion valves should
have low-friction guides. Shun the piston rings and seals of
semibalanced valves whenever possible.
Electrohydraulic valve actuators have good dynamic quali-
ties but are complicated and expensive. So, consider spring-
opposed-diaphragm or rolling-diaphragm actuators. These
should be operated at a high-pressure range and should be
provided with a high-capacity pilot and large-size air tubing
and connection ports. Valve positioners are needed on slow
processes but are usually detrimental on fast processes such
as flow control.
Close control of liquid pressure with a valve is virtually
impossible. The valve actuator is the largest time constant in
the control loop. Pressure control of a compressible fluid is
also difficult unless the control volume is large (time con-
stant much larger than that of the valve actuator). An air-
loaded packless pressure regulator can serve as a cascade
control loop to circumvent this problem. See Refs. [2,3].
Surviving on/off cycling
Frequent on/ off service implies a need for low lea~age,
durability, reliability and, often, low cost. Friction, throttling
capability and flow characteristics, all of which are crucial
for modulating valves, are of no concern. The actuator
should be rugged to withstand the wear of cyc:lical usage.
Speed may be important in batching service. Also, two-stzge
clo·s ure for dribble feed may be desirable.
126 CHEMICAL E1'GINEERING/ o\UGUST 17, 1987
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Ball valves and tight-seating butterfly \·alves are suitable
candidates. Cylinder actuators operating at high pressures
are appropriate. If dribble feed is required, a valve positioner
will be needed.
Assuring tight shutoff
If a valve must have tight seating, an elastomeric seal at the
seat is the first choice. Material selection generally depends
on temperature limits and corrosion resistance. Perfluoro-
elastomers will serve to 290°C (550°F). Next in line are
reinforced PTFE or graphite; however, these materials are
lacking in resilience and abrasion resistance, and are limited
by pressure drop. If a metal-to-metal seat is required, achiev-
ing tight sealing calls for careful guiding, a steep seating
angle, and a high seating force from the actuator.
Most valve types are available with elastomer and PTFE
seating. Reinforced-graphite seals are available in ball
valves. The globe family offers the tightest metal-to-metal
seats.
Preventing leakage to atmosphere
Problems arise here when leakage of any process fluid
presents a special situation: e.g., lethal or noxious material;
extremely valuable fluids; or low-viscosity fluids, such as
hydrogen, refrigerants or certain other heat-transfer fluids.
The focal point of leakage prevention is the valve-stem seal.
ones to seal with packing, are frequently furnished with less-
elaborate packing boxes, and so may offer no better security
than sliding-stem designs. Rotary valves must have a well-
designed packing assembly if they are to have a tight seal.
The bearings must ensure good shaft alignment and prevent
side-thrust, rocking or twisting. Bellows seals recently have
been introduced for rotary-motion hand valves; they are
available on special order for control valves. Double packing
is now available for both rotary- and linear-motion valves
(see Fig. 5).
Linear-motion valves are available with bellows . seals.
Guard packing is needed, however, because of the risk of
catastrophic failure. Reliability of a bellows is greatly im-
proved if the valve travel is short, as with quick-opening
globe valves. Dual-packing sets, independently energized
and separated by an inert viscous material, make for a
secure stem seal on both linear and rotary-motion valves.
Obtaining large or small valves
As valve size increases, cost and even availability assume
increasing importance in the selection process. The simple
construction of the butterfly valve and its various adaptions
permit almost unlimited size: Versions with diameters of
over 200 in. are available. Trunnion-type ball valves with
diameters of up to 56 in. are catalog items, and up to 72-in.-
dia. sizes have been built. Fabricated angle valves can also be
procured in large sizes. .
With any of these styles, the cost of the actuator may be
paramount. So, it may pay to explore the use of a more-
expensive. low-torque valve design, which may reduce the
demands on the actuator enough to justify the extra cost.
Valves with exceptionaEy small capacity may require spe-
cial attention. Conventional globe valves can reach a flow
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. ...... ..;f...,'4 .... - - . __.. .........-·- ···· - ~·-.
Figure 5 - Dual packing independently
energized makes a secure seal
coefficient, Cv, as low as 1.0. Below this value, miniature
globe valves use spline plugs or needle-like metering pins.
When clearance requirements limit this method, valves are
designed to operate with extremely short travel that is
""'recisely controlled by a motion-transfer mechanism.
Because small. valves have short travel, proportionately
larger importance is assumed by friction, backlash and
precise positioning. The flow coefficient, Cv, is based on
turbulent flow, but the low Reynolds number that commonly
occurs with ultra-small valves means that the turbulent flow
·equations using Cv are often meaningless for valve sizing.
Some small-capacity valves have adjustable-travel mecha-
nisms to get around the sizing problem. Miniature valves are
frequently supplied with matched sets of trim in a range of
capacities. Sizing is then a cut-and-try proce_dure that ~voids
having to deal with an ·unfamiliar laminar-flow_equation;
Counfering cavifafion and plugging
A valve designed to avo_id cavitation needs many small,
tortuous flow passages. To avoid plugging, a valve requires
a single large-diameter port. Because these designs are
mutually exclusive, other tactics are in order if both cavita-
tion and plugging are of concern. The use of valves· in series
helps address both conditions. Depending on the circum-
stances, ·air inspiration on a segmented V-ball or V-plug
valve will inhib_it the implosion of cavities, while presenting a
·favorable orifice shape for avoiding p~ugging.
'
--£,.
Addressing abrasion and flashing
If a liquid carrying abrasive particles is flashed across a
control valve, the resulting high-velocity stream will blast
any surface in its path, erode any target, ·and worsen any
corrosive situation. So, valves should have all the desirable
features that have been listed in the "Abrasion" section, and
should avoid having a vulnerable target downstream. An
angle valve with a long-radius entrance and an ample body
cavity is the valve of choice. The orifice should be located at
the very outlet of the body so that no part of the valve can be
struck by the jel The valve should discharge into a vessel
onto a pool of liquid or other indestructible targel
Regardless of design, there is a limit to the degree a valve
can be throttled without excessive erosion or plugging. ·To
. avoid operation in this forbidden zone, an auxiliary device
should be used to trip closed an on/off isolating valye ahead
of the throttle valve, or at least close the throttle valve firmly
when it approaches the forbid den zone.
In some cases, the pressure drop is so high and the fluid so
aggressive that the expected life of the valve trim is unaccep-
tably short, considering the high cost of the special trim
materials. In that event, the process must be changed to use
a fixed choke or employ some other method to avoid a
vulnerable modulating valve. For more details, co~sult Ref.
[4].
Making sure
Selection of the most-appropriate control valve for a difficult
or hazardous service is not enough to ensure success and
safety. User inspection and test witnessing of severe-service
valves is completely justifiable to assure quality (a point
made in Ref. [5]). And, the valve must be installed where it
can do its job properly- but that is another story. (See Ref.
[1].) To continue doing its job properly, the valve must be
adequately maintained. Where failure is intolerable, as with
lethal gases, a periodic testing program must be enforced.
Mark D. Rosenzweig, Editor
References
1. Driskell, L.,"Control Valve Selection and Sizing," Instrument Soc. of
America, Research Triangle Park, N.C., 1983.
2. Driskell, L., Save Money by Combining Regulators and Distributed
Control, Power, Apr. 1985, pp. 99-101.
3. Driskell, L., Remotely.Set Regulators: New Uses for Old Tools, Intech,
Nov. 1985, pp. 55-58.
4. Driskell, L., Coping with High-Pressure Letdown, Chem. Eng., Oct. 25,
1976, pp. 113-118.
5. Chowdhury, J., CPI Flutter Over Flawed Valves, Chem. Eng., Sept. 2,
1985, pp. l!Z-27. .
. The author .
Les Driskell is a consulting engineer on process
control (at 455 Greenhurst Drive, Pittsburgh, PA
15243; teleJ?hone: 412-341-4997). He has worked as a
supervisor m this field for J os. E. Seagram & Sons, E.
I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., and Dravo Corp., where
he was responsible for the design of the process-
control systems of hundreds of plants in a wide range
of industries. He has written four textbooks on final-
. control elements, and has coauthored two other books.
· · • He also has published more than 30 technical articles
and has taught over 80 courses. He did graduate work on industrial ins trumen'.
tation at the University of Louisville. He is chairma n of the Ins trument Soc. of
America's Standards Committee on Control Valves, and is also chairman of its
Subcommittee on Control-Valve Flow Equations. He is a Fellow of the
Instrument Soc. of America, and is a registered P rofessional Engineer in
Pennsylvania.
. CHEMICAL ENGINEF.R!NG/ AUGUST 17, 1987 127