A PRESENTATION ON CONTROL

VALVES

U K MEENA
ITE, INSTT. DEPTT.,
PANIPAT REFINERY.
TRAINING CONTENTS
 CONTROL VALVE OVERVIEW
 TYPES OF CONTROL VALVES AND FEATURES
 CONTROL VALVES CLASSIFICATION
 CONTROL VALVE FAIL SAFE POSITIONS
 VALVE POSITIONERS
 CONTROL VALVE FLOW CHARACTERISITCS
 SEAT LEAKAGE CLASSIFICATIONS
 TIPS AND TRICKS
CONTROL VALVE OVERVIEW
 FINAL CONTROL ELEMENT
 A POWER-OPERATED DEVICE USED TO
MODIFY THE FLUID FLOW RATE IN A PROCESS
SYSTEM
 DOES ONLY WHAT IT IS TOLD TO DO
TYPES OF CONTROL VALVE
 LINEAR  ROTARY
1) GLOBE 1) BALL
2) GATE 2) BUTTERFLY
3) DIAPHRAGM 3) PLUG
4) PINCH
LINEAR VALVE FEATURES
 TORTUOUS FLOW PATH
 LOW RECOVERY
 CAN THROTTLE SMALL
FLOW RATES
 OFFERS VARIETY OF
SPECIAL TRIM DESIGNS
 SUITED TO HIGH-
PRESSURE
APPLICATIONS
 USUALLY FLANGED OR
THREADED
 SEPARABLE BONNET
ROTARY VALVE FEATURES
 STREAMLINED FLOW
PATH
 HIGH RECOVERY
 MORE CAPACITY
 LESS PACKING WEAR
 CAN HANDLE SLURRY
AND ABRASIVES
 FLANGELESS
 INTEGRAL BONNET
 HIGH RANGEABILITY
CONTROL VALVE CLASSIFICATION
CONTROL VALVE “FAIL SAFE“
POSITIONS
 CAUSE OF FAIL SAFE CONDITION: LOSS OF AIR PRESSURE
 LINEAR SPRING/DIAPHRAGM ACTUATORS
1. Fixed seat ring/plug orientation. Springs are interchanged to either
above or below actuator diaphragm.
2. Fixed spring orientation. Plug and seat ring positions are reversed
relative to each other. In the Fail Open design, plug travel is above the
valve seat. In the Fail Closed design, plug travel is below the seat.
ROTARY SPRING/DIAPHRAGM ACTUATORS

 Reversing the fail mode for this type of valve is normally

accomplished by reversing the location of lever arm and plug
ACTUATORS:FEATURE COMPARISON
SPRING DIAPHRAGM ACTUATORS

ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES
 Lowest Cost  Limited Output Capability
 Can Throttle Without a  Large Size and Weight
Positioner
 Simplicity
 Inherent Fail-Safe Action
 Low Supply Pressure
Required
 Adjustability
 Easily Maintained
PNEUMATIC PISTON ACTUATORS

 ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES
 High Torque Capability  Fail-Safe Requires
 Compact Accessories or Addition of
 Lightweight Spring
 Adaptable to High Ambient  Positioner Required for
Temperature Throttling
 Fast Stroking Speed  Higher Cost
 Relatively High Actuator  High Supply Pressure
Stiffness Required
ELECTRIC MOTOR ACTUATORS

 ADVANTAGES  DISADVANTAGES
 Compactness  High Cost
 Very High Stiffness  Lack of Fail-Safe Action
 High Output Capability  Limited Duty Cycle
 Slow Stroking Speed
ELECTROHYDRAULIC ACTUATORS
 ADVANTAGES
 High Output Capability
 High Actuator Stiffness
 Excellent Throttling Ability
 Fast Stroking Speed
 DISADVANTAGES
 High Cost
 Complexity and
Maintenance Difficulty
 Large Size and Weight
 Fail-Safe Action Only With
Accessories
VALVE POSITIONERS

 a device used to increase or decrease the air pressure

operating the actuator until the valve stem reaches the
position called for by the instrument controller
 a type of air relay which is used between the controller
output and the valve diaphragm. The positioner acts to
overcome hysteresis, packing box friction, and valve plug
unbalance due to pressure drop. It assures exact
positioning of the valve stem in accordance with the
controller out
REASONS TO USE POSITIONERS
Increase control system resolution: i.e. fine control.


Allow use of characteristic cams.



Minimize packing friction effects: i.e. high-temperature packing.



Negate flow-induced reactions to higher pressure drops.



Increase speed of response to a change in process.



Allow split ranging.



Overcome seating friction in rotary valves.



Allow distances between controller and control valve.



Allow wide range of flow variation: i.e. operate at less than 10% travel
under normal conditions.
Allow increased usage of 4-20 mA electronic signal.


Increase fast venting (unloading) capability.



Permit use of piston actuators.



Facilitate operation when the higher number in the bench-set range is

greater than 15 psig: i.e. 10-30 psig, 6-30 psig, etc.
 PRINCIPLE OF OPERATION

 The positioner is
mechanically connected to
the stem of the valve. This
stem position is compared
with the position called for by
the instrument controller, i.e.
by the instrument output air
signal. A separate air supply
is brought into the positioner
for positioning the valve at
exactly the point called for by
the controller
CONTROL VALVE FLOW CHARACTERISTICS
 RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN VALVE CAPACITY AND VALVE
TRAVEL
SEAT LEAKAGE CLASSIFICATIONS

 six different seat leakage classifications as

defined by ANSI/FCI 70-2-1976
 Class I. Identical to Class II, III, and IV in construction and design
intent, but no actual shop test is made.
 Class II. Intended for double-port or balanced singe-port valves
with a metal piston ring seal and metal-to-metal seats. Air or water
at 45 to 60 psig is the test fluid. Allowable leakage is 0.5% of the
rated full open capacity.
 Class III. Intended for the same types of valves as in Class II.
Allowable leakage is limited to 0.1% of rated valve capacity.
 Class IV. Intended for single-port and balanced single-port valves
with extra-tight piston seals and metal-to-metal seats. Leakage
rate is limited to 0.01% of rated valve capacity.
 Class V. Intended for the same types of valves as Class IV. The
test fluid is water at 100 psig or operating pressure. Leakage
allowed is limited to 5 X 10 ml per minute per inch of orifice
diameter per psi differential.
 Class VI. Intended for resilient-seating valves. The test fluid is air
or nitrogen. Pressure is the lesser of 50 psig or operating
pressure. The leakage limit depends on valve size and ranges
from 0.15 to 6.75 ml per minute for valve sizes 1 through 8 inches.
CONTROL VALVE FAILURES
 MOST OF THE CONTROL VALVE FAILURES AND PROBLEMS ARE
MAINLY CAUSED DUE TO:

 INCORRECT SIZING AND MATERIAL SELECTION

 MANUFACTURING DEFECTS
 PROCESS CONDITION SEVERITIES LIKE HIGH PRESSURE,
CORROSIVE APPLICATIONS, CRYOGENIC APPLICATIONS ETC.
CASE STUDIES: CONTROL VALVE
FAILURES
 V-3 (HP SEPERATOR) BOOT LEVEL C/V IN
OHCU
 PROBLEM FACED:
 FREQUENT TRIM DAMAGE IN DRESSER MAKE C/V DUE TO
HIGHLY CORROSIVE (SOUR WATER) AND HIGH PRESSURE
DROP ACROSS C/V (160 KG/CM2)

 ACTION TAKEN:
 C/V REPLACED WITH DRESSER MAKE 78000 SERIES LINCOLN
LOG CONTROL VALVE WITH TRIM METALLURGY SPECIALLY
SUITED TO THE HIGHLY CORROSIVE SERVICE AND MULTI
STEP PRESSURE DROP TO SUSTAIN HIGH PRESSURE DROP
ACROSS THE VALVE.
 VACCUUM BOTTOM TO FRACTIONATOR FLOW
C/V
 PROBLEM FACED:
 MIL MAKE DOUBLE SEATED FLOW C/V USED TO STUCK UP
VERY FREQUENTLY EACH TIME AFTER UNIT STARTUP AND
DURING UNIT RUN BECAUSE OF SLURRY TYPE SERVICE.

 ACTION TAKEN:
 THE DOUBLE SEATED VALVE WAS REPLACED WITH DRESSER
MAKE CAMFLEX VALVE WHICH IS WORKING SATISFACTORILY
SINCE LAST TWO YEARS.
 HGU AND MUG AREA FLARE C/Vs
 PROBLEM FACED:
 HEAVY HYDROGEN FLARING LOSSES DUE TO INHERENT SEAT
LEAKAGE CHARACTERISTICS AND PASSING PROBLEMS IN
SIX NOS. OF MIL MAKE CLASS IV TYPE C/Vs.

 ACTION TAKEN:
 ALL SIX CLASS IV TYPE CONTROL VALVES WERE REPLACED
WITH MIL MAKE CLASS V (METAL TO METAL SEAT) C/Vs THUS
RESULTING IN SUBSTANTIAL HYDROGEN SAVING FOR THE
PLANT.
 OHCU F-501 AND F-502 PASS FLOW C/Vs
 PROBLEM FACED:
 FREQUENT VALVE STUCK UP AND UNRELIABLE OPERATION
DUE TO COKE TYPE MATERIAL DEPOSITION IN DOUBLE
SEATED PASS FLOW C/Vs

 ACTION TAKEN:
 ALL PASS FLOW C/Vs ARE BEING REPLACED WITH DRESSER
MAKE CAMFLEX TYPE C/Vs WHICH HAS BEEN TESTED WITH
SUCCESSFUL RESULTS FOR SIMILAR TYPE OF SERVICE IN
VACCUUM BOTTOM.
 STRIPPER REFLUX CONTROL VALVE PROBLEM
 PROBLEM FACED:
 THE C/V WAS HUNTING HEAVILY IN MANUAL MODE AND
ASLO WAS UNABLE TO PROVIDE 50% OF THE DESIGN FLOW
EVEN AT 100 % VALVE OPENING. ON CHECKING IT WAS
FOUND THAT THE ACTUATOR PLATE WAS MISSING WHICH
WAS MAKING THE C/V OPERATION UNSTABLE WITH
FLUCTUATIONS IN VALVE OPENING.
 ACTION TAKEN:
 ACTUATOR PLATE WAS PROVIDED BELOW THE DIAPHRAGM
AND VALVE PROBLEM WAS RECTIFIED.
 PROBLEMS FACED IN VALTEK VALVES IN PSA.
 ACTUATOR SPRING FAILURES DUE TO VERY HIGH FREQUENCY OF
OPERATION.
 FAULTS IN LIMIT SWITCH INDICATION FOR VALVE CLOSING WHICH
FREQUENTLY FORCED PSA OUT OF 10 BED OPERATION.

 ACTION TAKEN
 ACTUATOR SPRINGS ARE REPLACED AFTER REMOVING THE
ACTUATOR CYLINDER WITHOUT DISMANTLING VALVE BODY.
 LIMIT SWITCH ASSEMBLY HAS BEEN MODIFIED TO RESOLVE LIMIT
SWITCH INDICATION PROBLEM. ASSEMBLY MODIFICATION
SOLUTION RECOGNISED EVEN BY M/s. UOP.
 BFW SERVICE VALVES IN PROCESS UNITS
 PROBLEM FACED:
 FREQUENT VALVE BODY EROSION DUE TO INCORRECT
METALLURGY (WCB) FOR THE SERVICE.

 ACTION TAKEN:
 VALVE BODIES REPLACED WITH BODIES HAVING SUITABLE
METALLURGY (WCC) ALONG WITH STELLITED TRIMS.
THE END