THE MANUFACTURERS VOICE

How to design process valves with adjustable speed control for the opening and closing sequence
Practically everyone of us working in the field and/or design of process equipment which includes piping systems and process valves has had the problem of finding the correct opening and closing time for the valves to be included in the system. The cause could be a hammer inside the liquid guided piping system, a need for a slow reaction of the control valve in combination with a fast action in emergency situations.

Figure 1

ets have a look at the technology available for an adjustable speed characteristic of any type of process valve either linear or rotar y actuated or if there is a request to have a different opening & closing speed (time). Basically when an engineer/designer thinks about process valve actuation the first choice is electric actuators as this has been a common solution for many decades, well approved, well implemented and accepted. In the main, if we are talking about electric actuators in the Process Industry these are 3-phase AC motors of 400V/50Hz with an enclosure rating of minimum IP67 which directly goes with a fixed output speed (see some of my previous columns). The e-drives act directly on trapezoidal threads where they are on linear actuated valves, or on shafts (reduction by internal gearboxes inside the actuator) e.g. Butterfly Valves.This goes with fixed and longer opening times. Manufacturers of those actuators offer a wide range of different output speed ratings such as 11rpm; 22rpm; 45rpm and so on. As you can

imagine this means the designer has to calculate the required speed of every single process valve plus actuator to realise perfect functionality of the process itself. A wrong assumption of the process parameters and/or changing parameters throughout the lifetime of the process equipment can lead directly to a malfunction caused by too fast or too low action of the drive train! The only solution to getting this under control is by using phase controlled electric actuators but this is an expensive choice and the electric control is more complicated. Also, it has the added problem that the fastest speed is always connected to mechanical gears which means that, for

instance, a butterfly valve of the size DN200 is not able to close with an electric drive within 1 second or less the minimum required time is around 5 seconds. In some applications there is a need for fast acting valves. Just think about discharge valves in the food processing industry with a requirement to remove contaminants like

Figure 2

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October 2009

THE MANUFACTURERS VOICE

Figure 4 Figure 3

metal parts; the faster the action is, the less product is lost. Here we are talking about 0.2 seconds for 1 circuit! Or take a water supply line with a length of 20km to avoid water hammer you might need an expensive pressure calculation to design the perfect opening / closing time of the valve. Using electric drives can be slightly problematic and some parameters cannot be matched at all! An simpler option is to use pneumatic actuators (once again) of the latest and best technology see Figure 1. (refer also to my previous contributions in Valve World Magazine) Remember that compressed air is usually fast acting inside piping systems and can be controlled easily as there will be no cavitation/erosion inside the throttles and flow control devices, and speeds of up to 25 metres/sec are achievable as standard. Both drive systems, linear as well as rotary pneumatic drives, are basically linear moving pistons pushed by an air cushion. Acting in both directions is carried out simply by putting compressed air in one of the two chambers. The only question now is how to adjust the speed of the piston movement? Some might say to control the volume of the in-flowing air, which is not a bad idea at all. The only problem here is the friction of the sealants and bearings so called slip stick effect which creates a step movement of the drives which is not acceptable. So a better idea is to control the outflowing air from the reverse side of the piston so that the piston is restrained between 2 air cushions which will eliminate the step movement and the reverse action is not throttled by this so called outlet control device.This means to control a pneumatic actuator we need always 2 outlet control devices see Figure 2. The pictured small outlet control valve as
2 October 2009

shown in detail in figure 3 is acting in one direction only the 2nd line is fully open and does not limit the flow velocity/quantity and is easily adjustable by means of a screwdriver. No electrical control or PLC system is required and it is easy to use. These small devices are available in all sizes with threads for any kind of pneumatic drive and they are available at a price which is far removed from that where we have to calculate for a phase control on an electric actuator. Figure 4 shows a part-turn-actuator with 2 of these outlet throttle devices to control both directions independently which means, for example, opening in 1 second and closing in 30 seconds.

But thats not all!

In case we need to make changes during commissioning or start-up (even years later) the closing/opening time of the process valve is just as simple by using a screw driver to re-adjust the outlet control device to the appropriate value! If there is a concern that an unauthorised person may misuse the device, it can be placed in a lockable cabinet a few metres away from the actuator and works just as well without any reduction in performance!

Next we look at a system which works on pneumatic air. Think of a safety circuit within the steam generation. The steam valve is slow moving opening in 10 seconds and closing in 25 seconds. During an emergency shutdown this valve must close in 1 sec to avoid an out-blow of hot steam and/or over pressure in the vessel. What a challenge! But now with our knowledge of pneumatic air-circuits and control possibilities we find a simple and easy solution: we just by-pass the outlet control valve for the closing circuit, which usually slows down the movement, by using an additional 3/2 way valve connected to the electric circuit and/or to the pressure line, with free outlet non-throttled, and there we go! The actuator moves in less than 1 sec. to the closed position of the process valve. As soon as the system goes back to normal working conditions the actuator, in combination with the process valve, is working as before since the solenoid valve is reset automatically.

Meet Gnter xler

Gnter xler has a long history within the valve industry. He graduated in Process Engineering and Mechanical Engineering in Stuttgart, Germany, holds a MBA degree in VWA as well as a controlling degree and is a REFA specialist. For more than 25 years, Gnter has worked for several companies in the valve business. He is also a member of the IWA, ISA and VDI German Engineer. Gnter can be contacted under OEX@DE.FESTO.COM

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