Australasian Boilers & HRSG Users Group Conference,

Oct 30 – Nov 2 2019, Brisbane, Australia

Severe Service Valves –

Common Problems and Their Solutions

Sanjay V. Sherikar, Principal Engineer

Nihon KOSO Co., Ltd.
Topics
 The need to discuss this subject
 Common valve problems in severe service
 Problem sources
 Solutions/ Strategies

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Koso is global
 Company history
50+ years of quality valve & control components supply
 1965: Business established as control valve manufacturing
company in Japan
 1979: Established manufacturing company in Korea
 1986: DRAG® technology license with Control Components Inc. (USA)
 1993: Acquired Rexa Inc. electro-hydraulic actuators, USA
 2001: Established Koso manufacturing in India
 2005: Acquired Kent Introl choke & control valves, UK
 2007: Established sales offices in France, Russia, UAE, etc.
 2010: Acquired Yoneki Valve, gate valves, Japan
 2014: Established new factory in Nasik India and new foundry in Wuxi China
 2018: Acquired Parcol (Italy)
 2019: 1500+ employees; 1,100,000 installed valves & controls
The need to discuss this subject
 Control valve problems continue to plague many power
stations
 Most of these valve problems are in severe service
applications
 Valve-related losses typically result in 1 – 5 %
performance penalty in steam plants
 Heat Rate
 Loss in MW-capacity
 Production loss, MW-hrs
 Other invisible losses

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Common Problem in Severe Service Valves

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Common severe service problems

Pipe Trim and

Vibration Body Wear

Downstream
Noise Piping Erosion

High
Poor
Maintenance
Control
Cost

System Lost
Shutdown Production

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Source of Problems

 The root causes in the case of severe service valves

generally can be traced to one (or more) of the following:
 Specification/ Selection
 Sizing/ Design
 Assembly/ Set-up/ Calibration
 Operation/ Control
 Maintenance

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Damage From Cavitation

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 Trim and Actuator damage

 Truly eliminating valve problems

requires an adequate understanding
of the underlying physics

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 Out-of-date solutions & fixes

 Harder materials
 Heavier pipe walls
 Downstream diffusers
 Acoustic lagging
 Silencers
 Housing around valve
 Added piping structural support
 Continuous repair or replacement

11 ©2017 KOSO. All rights

reserved
©2019 - KOSO. All rights reserved.
©2019 - KOSO. All rights reserved.
Industry experience
 Incorrect selection is a major contributor to problems
in severe service valves:
 Excessive fluid velocity/ kinetic energy in the flow-path
 Cavitation (liquids)
 High vibration and noise
 Premature erosion in the valve
 Leakage when shut
 Insufficient actuator capability
 Leakage when shut
 Poor control

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Pressure reduction in control valves
Throttling causes velocity at the vena contracta (point of
constriction) to increase ⇒ a consequent decrease in pressure
locally.

P1
PRESSURE Vvc

PRESSURE
RECOVERY
VELOCITY P2
V1
V2

Pvc

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Liquid service, cavitation condition

Vvc
P1
PRESSURE

vibration, erosion,
noise threshold PRESSURE
RECOVERY
VELOCITY P2
V1
V2
VAPOR PRESSURE

Pvc

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Control valve Selection & Sizing

 "Control Valves - Practical

Guides for Measurement and
Control”, Guy Borden, Jr., © 1998
 Provides excellent guidelines for
sizing & selecting severe service
control valves.
 Key elements
 Control of Trim exit velocity
(kinetic energy)
 Shutoff thrust loads of leak-
tightness when shut

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 Criteria for control valve trim exit velocity

Kinetic Energy Equivalent Water

Service Conditions Criteria Velocity
psi kPa ft/s m/s
Continuous Service, Single-phase Fluids 70 480 100 30

Cavitating and Multi-phase Fluid Flow 40 275 75 23

Vibration-sensitive System 11 75 40 12

Trim outlet kinetic energy criteria :

ρ = valve trim exit fluid density
V = valve trim exit fluid velocity
gc = gravitational constant

EXCESSIVE VELOCITY HEAD WILL RESULT IN UNACCEPTABLE LEVELS OF VIBRATION AND

NOISE, AND PRE-MATURE EROSION IN THE VALVE

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Velocity at the trim outlet, not valve outlet

Trim Outlet Valve Outlet

Velocity Velocity
(correct) (not correct)
Velocity control principle

P1

ΔP

P2

Multi-stage pressure Single stage pressure

drop drop

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Velocity control valve

P1
PRESSURE

vibration, erosion,
noise threshold

VELOCITY V2
V1
P2
VAPOR PRESSURE

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Velocity control principle

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Achieving Multi-stage Pressure Drop

 A tortuous flow-path consisting of a series of 90º turns

 Divides high pressure drop into many small steps and
controls fluid velocity

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Velocity control disk stack

Stacked
Disks

End
Plate
Seat
Gaskets Seat
Ring

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Velocity control valve assembly

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Achieving Fine Control of Process

 Fineness of process control depends on

 Valve trim characteristics
 Actuator resolution
 Control logic
 Stable response to signal changes
 Reaching the new position in response to a signal
change without hunting
 Quick response to small signal changes
 Critical for many applications – needs to be addressed
to prevent hunting

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Achieving Fine Control of Process

 Trim
 Cv versus stroke characterization
 Gain

 Change in gain
 Stroke length
(“Velocity control” trims generally have longer strokes
which is beneficial)
 Hydraulically balanced trim responds better to
transients (compared to unbalanced trim)

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Achieving long-term tight shutoff

 Shutoff class required depends on the application

 Class IV is typically the minimum required for severe
service valves (e.g. drum level control valves)
 Class V or MSS SP-61 is required in some applications
(e.g. turbine bypass, spraywater control, BFP Recirc)
 Tight shutoff has to be repeatable, reliable and long-
term
 Sealing surfaces must be protected from premature
damage … solution is “velocity control”
 Requires high thrust for seating, for example:
300 PLI for class IV (PLI = Pounds per Lineal Inch)
500 PLI for class IV
1000 PLI for MSS SP-61 (for DP < 3000 psi-d)
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Solutions/ Strategies

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Source of Problems

 The root causes in the case of severe service valves

generally can be traced to one (or more) of:
 Specification/ Selection
 Sizing/ Design
 Assembly/ Set-up/ Calibration
 Operation/ Control
 Maintenance

©2019 - KOSO. All rights reserved.

Begin with a good specification

 A good specification is the first step towards ensuring

good performance in the field.
 Adequate definition of the operating envelope –
 Enough pressure drop for control
 minimum flow, normal and maximum
 Minimal overcapacity - no more than what is absolutely
required
 Overcapacity is not required in some applications
 Correctly sized inlet and outlet pipes
 Use valve rating appropriate for the application

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New Valves

 Define specific desirable features in the specification

 Angle vs Globe body
 Based on application, piping layout … etc.
 Quick-change trim (for ease of maintenance)
 No welded-in or screwed-in seat rings
 Bolted bonnet (for ease of maintenance)
 Actuator type
 Orientation (vertical is for ease of maintenance)
 …

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Existing valves –
 Eliminate root cause of the problems
 Use the current/ actual operating conditions
 Valve body sub-assembly
 Modify/ upgrade or replace (internals)
 New valve
 Actuator/ controls
 Modify/ upgrade or replace
 New actuator
 System (outside of the valve envelope)
 Make modification as required

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Assembly/ Set-up/ Calibration
 Follow good engineering practices
 Cleanliness of the working fluid, air supply, and during
assembly and re-assembly
 Follow Installation/ Operations Manuals from the OEM
 Use OEM parts (or, from a party that has a strong
technology foundation)
 Ensure that the full actuator thrust acts on the seat
when the valve is shut
 Use of competent staff to handle the specific equipment
 Training

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Operation & Control

 Follow good engineering practices

 Operation of the valve close to the seat should be
avoided – the valve should be modified or replaced if
necessary in such cases
 Seek expert advice if frequent operator intervention is
required for control
 Maintain a periodic monitoring routine for performance
evaluation – use OEM or other outside expert advice
 Flag any abnormal behavior … early intervention can
help avoid bigger problems later
 Training

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Maintenance
 Follow good engineering practices
 Ensure cleanliness during assembly and re-assembly,
and of the air supply
 Follow Installation/ Operations Manuals from the OEM
 Use OEM parts (or, from a well-established source that
is recognized for severe service valve technology)
 Use of competent/ trained technicians to handle the
specific equipment
 Establish a periodic monitoring routine for performance
evaluation
 Training

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Summary
 Severe service valve problems can be avoided.
 Requires the necessary due diligence from the
specification stage to attention once in service.

 When problems occur, they are worth solving and can

be solved.
 Requires proper identification of the root causes
 Eliminating the root causes

 Training at every level is important for preventing

severe service valve problems
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Questions