Valve and Actuator Sizing

Valve and actuator sizing will be addressed together since much

of the same information is required for both.

There is lot of math involved for both these operations and there
are computer programs designed to carryout these calculations.

Focus will be on a basic understanding of both techniques.

Control valve can be modelled very simply as a variable flow restriction.

As the primary flow control element is moved within the flow stream, the flow
capacity changes in response to this movement and is the function of the actual
cross sectional flow area and the flow geometry of the valve.

Selecting and sizing a valve for a given application is to determine the required
range of capacity based on the service conditions and then select the valve that
gives the best fit to the requirements.

Essentially a standardized test is run on a particular valve and a set of flow

coefficients is developed for the different valve travels.

Given the actual service conditions such as fluid type, inlet pressure, outlet
pressure, temperature, and flow required, you can use a set of valve sizing
equations to calculate the required flow coefficient and compare it to that already
determined for a given valve type.
VALVE SIZING:

The inherent flow characteristics are based on published coefficients since the
tests done to find them are done with a constant pressure drop.

Traditional characteristics curves are shown in figure.1.

FLOW CHARACTERSTICS.
Fig1.

Identifying the actual service conditions is difficult because of all the different
system parameters that can affect flow and the interaction of the mechanical
components that make up the fluid handling system.

As a result, guesses are made and in good engineering fashion.

Problem in identifying all the different possible service conditions, including

normal, upset, and emergency conditions.

In many cases, maximum capacity of a valve may be selected based on a

theoretically possible emergency occurrence that may never happen in real life. If
this capacity is much higher than that required during normal service, the overall
performance of the valve will suffer since it will spend most of its time near the
closed position.

Throttling at low flows can increase damage to the trim due to high velocity
erosion and vibration. It can also result in poor dynamic performance.

In other words, an oversized valve might be providing full-required capacity with

an input range of only 4 to 8 mA from the controller. This can also make loop
tuning more difficult when compared to a valve where the usable input span is
wider, say 4 to 16 mA.
GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS:

Its usually necessary to pick the next larger valve, and we get more capacity
built-in.

Whenever possible, take a good, hard look at what service conditions are
really possible and try to keep the valve operating out at 75 to 80 percent of
its travel under normal maximum flow conditions.

Check minimum flow required, and make sure that valve will not operate for
any extended periods at less than 5 percent of travel.

Operation in this range can result in damage to the seat due to high velocity
flow.

A valve with high rangeability can meet the requirement for high capacity
and still be able to throttle down to relatively low flows without going under
5 percent of travel.
SIZE CONSIDERATIONS:
CAPACITY CALCULATIONS FOR LIQUIDS :
Liquid sizing forms the basis for all sizing of fluids handled by control
valves, standard equation for liquid (non compressible) flow through a
control valve (or any restriction) is as follows:
Q = C
v
P
1
- P
2


G
where Q is the flow capacity, in gallons / minute
P
1
is the inlet pressure, in psig (measured 1 diameter upstream of the valve)
P
2
is the outlet pressure, in psig (measured 6 diameters downstream of the
valve)
G is the specific gravity of the fluid; specific gravity is defined as the
dimensionless ratio of the density of the fluid in question divided by the
density of water at about 60F (62.4 lb./ft
3
)
C
v
is defined as the amount of water in gallons that will pass through a
valve in 1 minute with the valve in a given travel position and with a
pressure drop of 1 psid.
In reviewing said equation,

It is apparent that the flow through a valve varies directly with the C
v
and the square root of the specific gravity of the fluid.

Once a set of C
v
s is established for a valve at its various travels, the
flow through the valve for any travel and any service condition can
then be predicted if we know the service pressure drop and the specific
gravity of the fluid.

if the service conditions, the fluid, and the required flow are known for
a given application, we can select the valve to meet the requirements
based on the published C
v
.
. Limitations in applying this basic equation to all liquid flowing
conditions

liquids can change phase as they pass through a valve.

Liquid accelerates as it passes through the reduced cross sectional flow

area of a valve, the pressure of the liquid has to drop due to the physics of
the situation.

As the pressure drops, there is a tendency for the liquid to change to the
vapour phase.

This change in phase creates bubbles in the flow stream that can take up
more space than the equivalent liquid.

Because they take up more space, the ability of the valve to pass fluid
flow is reduced compared to no bubble condition.

In other words, the capacity of the valve no longer is maintained.

All is not lost, however. Once again, tests can be run to determine when
and if these bubbles will form, depending on valve travel, geometry and
service conditions, and then correction can be made to the equation to
permit its continued use.

Fluids flow through a valve is response to a pressure drop, P

1
- P
2
.

The critical factor in determining the degree to which the flow chokes in a
valve is how close the average pressure comes to the vapour pressure as the
fluid passes through the valve.

The degree to which the outlet pressure approaches the inlet pressure is
called the recovery coefficient and is a measure of the efficiency of the flow
path in a given valve.

Rotary valves with their line of sight flow paths are high recovery valves
when compared to globe style valves where the flow path is relatively
tortuous.
FLUID FLOW Vs PRESSURE DROP IN CONTROL VALVE

A high recovery valve will have a high outlet pressure for a given inlet
pressure.

A low recovery valve will have a low outlet pressure.

High recovery valve will be more prone to bubble formation and choking
because its minimum pressure will be closer to the vapour pressure for
the fluid

We can characterise the choking potential for a valve by looking at its

recovery characteristics.
FLASHING & CAVITATION.
Bubble formation, as just covered, is called flashing and can damage trim
and can cause problems with capacity. When the bubbles form and then
collapse due to pressure recovery, this is called cavitation and is very hard
on trim
VALVE RECOVERY CHARACTERSTICS
SIZING FOR GAS FLOW :
In many ways, gas flow is similar to liquid flow through a control valve. The major
difference is that gases are compressible, and this makes the form of the equation much
more complicated.
One approach uses the term called Cg that is analogous to the Cv term used for liquids.
Following is the equation to determine valve flowing capacity if the pressure drop, inlet
density, and inlet pressure are known. Also the same equation can be solved for the
required Cg if the required flow capacity is known :
Q = 1.06 (D1 x P1) x Cg sin 3417 xP1 - P2
C1 P1
where Q = flow, in lb./h
D1 = inlet density, in lb./ft
3
P1 = inlet pressure, in psia
C1 = Cg / Cv and is usually published for a particular valve
P2 = the outlet pressure, in psia
C1 normally varies between 15 and 40 and is a numerical indicator of the valves recovery
characteristics.

Like liquids, gases can also choke under certain circumstances but for a
different reason.

As the pressure drop is increased across a valve, the fluid accelerates,

reaching a maximum velocity where the flow cross section is the smallest
(the vena contracta).

The gas can travel no faster than the sonic velocity, and if this velocity is
approached as the pressure drop increases, the capacity increase versus
pressure drop will drop off. This is called critical flow, and the effect is
much like choked flow.
SIZING FOR TWO PHASE FLOW :
If the fluid being handled is a mixture of the two phases before it enters the
valve, the required flow coefficient C
vr
is a combination of the required C
v
for
the liquid flow and the required C
g
for the gas flow.
The equation is,
C
vr
= C
v
+ C
g
(1 + F
m
)

C
1
where F
m
is the correction factor based on the gas volume ratio V
r
.
Vr = Q
g
284 Q
1
P
1


T
1
+ Q
g
where Q
g
= gas flow, in scfh
Q
1
= liquid flow, in gpm
P
1
= the inlet pressure, in psia
T
1
= the inlet temperature, in degrees Rankine
PIPING EFFECTS ON CONTROL VALVE OPERATION:
The piping arrangements for a control valve will nearly always be different
from the perfectly straight sections used in the standard sizing test, so you
would expect that the installed flow characteristic might differ from the ideal.

The most frequent piping effects to be considered are those that result from
using reducers on the ends of the valve.

The easy way to address the change in flow capacity due to pipe reducers is
to apply a piping geometry correction factor F
P
.

The calculated flow can then be multiplied by F

P
to arrive at the actual flow
with reducers in place.

These factors obviously have a greater effect when dealing with high
capacity valves such as balls and butterflies.
ACTUATOR SIZING
Basic Principles:
An actuator should perform five basic functions :

Shut the valve and prevent leakage

Stroke the valve fully open

Respond quickly to load or set-point changes

Position the valve accurately and with good repeatability

Operate in stable fashion

SPRING AND DIAPHRAGM SIZING:

valve plug moves down into the body to shut the valve and that the force
required closing the valve is supplied by air pressure loading the top of the
diaphragm.

In same way, you can also have an actuator where the air pressure enters
under the diaphragm and forces it up to open the valve.

If we examine the valve, we can identify the moving parts within the
assembly along with the forces that act on these moving parts like diaphragm
plate, the actuator stem, the stem connector, the valve stem, and the plug etc.

In its simplest form, actuator sizing is nothing more than determining the
values for each one of these forces, depending on valve construction and
service conditions.
BENCH-SET AND STROKING RANGES :

The actuator bench-set is defined as the pressure range required to start moving
the actuator from its top travel stop to all the way through the rated travel for the
valve.

It is to be checked with no frictional or valve forces present.

It is always given as a single pressure range.

If checked with friction, stroking range would change because of the hysteresis
shift associated with the friction.

In fact, the name bench-set comes from the practice of setting the spring
adjustment on a workbench before installing the actuator on the valve.
SPECIFICATIONS : CONTROL VALVE AND ACCESSORIES.
Following are the general guideline followed by most of the designers while
specifying a control valve in general application. However, these guidelines may
face deviations depending upon application / service restrictions.
1) Generally values shall be selected to have 1.8 times of C
v
required for
normal design flow. Venting, pump and compressor minimum flow may be
considered as special cases and therefore as exceptions to the sizing criteria.
2) Butterfly valve shall be normally be sized for a maximum travel of 60
unless otherwise stated or unless the valve characteristic allows control over
a wider range of openings.
3) Material for valve body shall be as per engineering data sheets. Bonnets,
blind heads, cooling fins and extensions shall normally be of the same
material as the valve body.
4) Globe pattern body valves shall normally have top and bottom guided
construction except in case of small single seat valves.
5) For operating temperature above 230C, finned extension bonnets shall be
fitted.
6) Flange face finish shall be 125-250 AARH
7) Block and bypass control station shall normally be provided for control
valve body sizes upto and including 2 inch body size.
8) Control valve sizes 3 inch and above, hand wheels shall normally be
provided unless indicated otherwise by process licenser.
9) Hand-wheels shall not be provided for valve specified as being for
emergency or shutdown service, nor shall block and bypass control stations
be provided.
10) Pneumatic piping shall be 6 mm OD copper tubing HDPE covered.
Covering shall be heat resistant to direct strong sunlight.
11) Pneumatic connections shall be NPT female minimum.
12) Brass compression fittings where used shall be protective coated after
fitting.
13) All accessories containing electrical circuits shall be certified suitable for
use in areas classified as mentioned in engineering data sheet.
14) The permitted maximum noise level measured at one meter from the
control valve body shall be 85 dBa.
15) Valve design, body pressure, temperature rating and minimum wall
thickness shall comply with ANSI B16.34.
16) Flanges 24 and small shall comply with ASME B16.5. Flanges 30 and
larger shall comply with ASME B16.47. The gasket contact surface of
raised flanges shall be smooth finished in the range of 3.2 to 6.3 Ra in
accordance with ASME B46.1.
17) Irregular body size (e.g. 1.25, 2.5 and 5) shall not be used.
18) All valve actuators, regardless of type, shall be sized to provide sufficient
power to stroke the valve through its full travel at 1.25 times the maximum
pressure drop conditions specified for the particular valve.
19) High capacity type filter regulators with set screw adjustment and 50
micrometer filter element shall be supplied for each pneumatic actuator.
20) Electro-pneumatic valve positioner shall be provided for the following duties
:

High differential pressure

On all valve having unbalanced plugs

Valves with a trim size 4 inches and larger

All temperature applications

21) All electro-pneumatic positioners must have bypasses to allow local manual
control of the valves. If necessary, boosters shall be supplied to enable this to
be accomplished.