PROCESS TECHNOLOGY LEVEL 2

Unit Title: Plant and Plant Services

Lesson 7: Valves II

PT2-6-7

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INTRODUCTION
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This is the second of two lessons on valves. Our first lesson dealt with
the general, all purpose valves, which constitute the vast majority of
valves to be found on a Chemical Plant. In this lesson you will be
introduced to valves which are mainly designed and constructed to
perform a specific job.

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YOUR AIMS
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When you have finished this lesson you should understand:

• The construction, operation and particular use of:

(i) Diaphragm valves
(ii) Pressure regulating valves
(iii) Pressure relief valves
(iv) Non-return valves
(v) Control valves
(vi) Butterfly valves.

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STUDY ADVICE
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As mentioned in our last lesson, if you are already familiar with valves
used in industry, then this lesson will be mostly a form of revision for
you. If not, you will need to concentrate on the construction and
operation of the different valves. We would remind you of the
importance of understanding the material in this lesson.

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DIAPHRAGM VALVES
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FIGURE 1 shows one type of diaphragm valve.

Operating handwheel
Screwed spindle

Bonnet

Diaphragm
Body

Flow in Flow out

Weir

FIG. 1 Diaphragm Valve

Movement of the handwheel turns a screw mechanism which forces a

flexible diaphragm downwards over a bridge structure (often called a
'weir') to form a seal.

The diaphragms are made from reinforced rubber or plastic. The valve
body and diaphragm are shaped so as to offer as little obstruction as
possible to the flow of fluid when the valve is open.

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Characteristics of Diaphragm Valves

Advantages

The diaphragm valve:

• is fairly cheap and simple to make

• provides good flow regulation

• has maximum wear located at the diaphragm, which is easily

changed

• allows slurries, i.e. liquids containing suspended solids, to be

controlled, since the flexibility of the diaphragm can give a tight
shut-off even when solids are deposited on the weir

• both the body (or casing) and the diaphragm can be made of
corrosion or erosion resistant material. Thus corrosive fluids
and abrasives can be handled.

Disadvantages

• Diaphragm valves can not be used in pipelines operating at

very high pressure, due to the relative weakness of the
diaphragm.

• They produce a pressure loss when open which is higher than

a gate valve, but lower than a globe valve. This is due to the
slight restriction of the weir section.

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PRESSURE REGULATING VALVES

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Sometimes called pressure reducing valves, pressure regulating valves

are used to control the downstream pressure in a pipeline, particularly
in steam mains. When the downstream pressure is too high the valve
closes slightly, and when the downstream pressure is too low the valve
opens slightly. FIGURE 2 shows one type of pressure regulating (or
reducing) valve. Refer to this figure when reading the following
description.

Pressure
regulating
screw

Pressure
control spring

Valve Seat Diaphragm

Upstream Downstream

Fluid in Fluid out

[uncontrolled] [pressure
controlled]

Valve plug

FIG. 2 Pressure Regulating Valve

The pressure regulating valve operates by balancing the effect of the

downstream fluid pressure acting upwards on a diaphragm, against the
downward force of the control spring. The pressure control spring is

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compressed and tends to hold the valve plug open, allowing fluid to
flow through. As the downstream pressure builds up, it acts on the
diaphragm and creates an upward acting force on the valve plug,
tending to close it against the spring action. A fall in downstream
pressure reduces the load on the diaphragm and allows the spring to
open the valve, thus allowing more flow. This in turn will allow the
pressure to build up if the load is unchanged. So despite changes in
either the upstream pressure or the process load, the downstream
pressure can be held constant.

It should be noted that this type of valve can only control the pressure
to a level below the supply pressure; it cannot raise the downstream
pressure above the inlet pressure.

The 'controlled' pressure can be changed by adjusting the

compression of the spring. The less the force in the spring, the less
the downstream pressure in the main, since the force due to the
downstream pressure acting on the diaphragm will close the valve more
easily against a lower spring force. The pressure regulating nut at the
top of the valve can be locked in position for safety by a split pin. It
should never be adjusted without prior notification from senior
personnel and without good reason.

Particular Uses

This type of valve is used extensively to control the pressure of steam

in steam distribution mains and the air pressure to individual users
when the air is supplied from a higher pressure ring main system.

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PRESSURE RELIEF VALVES

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FIGURE 3 shows one type of pressure relief valve. You will need to
refer to this figure as you read the description of its construction and
operation.

Adjusting Nut

Spindle

Spring Body
Valve Plug

Fluid escape

Renewable
Valve Seat

Internal pressure
acting on plug

FIG. 3 Pressure Relief Valve

The valve consists of a plug sitting on a seat under the influence of a

compressed spring. As long as the internal pressure, acting from below
on the area of the valve plug, is less than the downward force of the
spring, the valve will remain closed. However, as the internal pressure
increases, so will the upward force on the valve plug until the force
created exceeds the spring force. The valve will then lift allowing fluid
to escape from the vessel, thus reducing the internal pressure. The

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spring will then force the valve closed again. The compression in the
spring, and hence the pressure at which the valve will open, can be set
by screwing in or out the spring tension adjusting nut. As with pressure
reducing valves, this should not be adjusted without prior notice from
senior personnel and without good reason. The fact that the relief valve
is always opening is not a valid reason. Why the valve is opening
should be investigated first.

Particular Uses

The pressure relief valve is designed to release excess pressure inside

a pipeline or vessel before it rises above a pre-determined safe level.
The safe level will depend upon the required pressure of the fluid being
handled and the mechanical strength of the storage vessel or pipe
walls.

Legislation requires all closed vessels in which pressure could build up

to dangerous levels to be protected by a pressure relief system.
Regular inspection, testing and recording of test results is required by
law for all such pressure relief valves. This is particularly important for
steam raising plant and high pressure gas storage and processing.

Duplicate pressure relief valves are often fitted. This is done to guard
against failure of one of the two and also to permit maintenance of one
valve while the other is in service.

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NON-RETURN VALVES
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These are also called check valves or one-way valves.

Pivot
Inspection

[a]

Movement

Flow Flow

Hinged flap Seal

Pipe

Ball valve
retainer

Hinged flap
Valve seat
Movement

Flow Fluid flow Fluid flow

[c]

Pipe Valve seat

[b]

FIG. 4 Non-Return Valves

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FIGURES 4(a) and (b) show flap type non-return valves in which a
hinged flap lifts to allow fluid to flow in one direction (left to right in the
diagram), but closes against the seat if the flow reverses. FIGURE 4(c)
shows an alternative type, the ball type, where the ball valve lifts from
its conical seat under the influence of the upward flowing fluid. If,
however, the flow stops or reverses, then the ball will fall back into the
seat to seal off the flow.

The ball type valve shown is constructed to work in the vertical position,
the sealing ball falling back into the seat by gravity. There is usually a
restrictive device, such as the grid type retainer sketched, to prevent
the ball being swept away upstream by the fluid.

Operational Problems

(i) Flap type non-return valves are subject to wear and regular inspection
of this type of valve is advisable to prevent untimely failure.

(ii) The seats may crack or wear, in which case substantial leaking
could occur if the flow were to reverse.

(iii) It is difficult to ensure a tight closure of these valves in slurry lines,

as the closing pressure is limited to the upstream fluid pressure
acting on the flap or ball. Even small amounts of solids on the seat
will thus prevent a tight shut-off.

Particular Uses

The non-return valve is used in pipelines to prevent fluid returning,

which can sometimes happen when a pump is switched off; hence its
other name, the check valve, since it checks the flow from reversing.

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________________________________________________________________________________________

CONTROL VALVES
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The working of a ‘control’ valve is slightly more complex than that of the
other valves we have studied so far. Once again, study the diagrams,
FIGURES 5(a) and 5(b), as you work through the text.

Air pressure closes valve

Rubber diaphragm
moves

Plate
Sliding stem

0 Spring opens valve

10 Travel indicator

Valve plug
Valve seat

Fluid in Fluid out

FIG. 5(a) Control Valve

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Air pressure
[proportional to flow rate]

Air in Transmitter

Uncontrolled flow F Downstream [controlled flow]

Control valve Flow measuring unit

FIG. 5(b) Control Valve in Circuit

On the pneumatically operated control valve, a sliding stem is fitted with

a valve plug at its lower end. This valve plug fits tightly into a valve
seat when in the closed position.

The top of the stem is fitted with a spring resting against a plate, above
which is a flexible rubber diaphragm. The spring is fitted on the stem in
such a way that its compression tends to open the valve, i.e. to hold the
valve plug away from the valve seat. When compressed air from the
control system enters the top of the valve it fills a chamber above the
rubber diaphragm and pushes it down; this in turn pushes the plate which
is attached to the valve stem. The valve is thus pushed closed against the
compressive force of the spring. When the pressure of the control air is
reduced, the pressure on the diaphragm is reduced and the valve will
slowly open to a position in which the force due to pressure of the air on
the diaphragm is balanced by the compressive force in the spring.

The position of the valve, relative to its seat, thus depends upon the
pressure of the compressed air passed into the chamber above the
diaphragm. This type of valve operates on pressures supplied to the
diaphragm in the range of 0.3 bar to 1.5 bar; the pressure is varied by a
signal from the control system.

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The valve will be fully closed when the compressed air is at a pressure
of 1.5 bar, and fully open when the compressed air pressure is 0.3 bar.
At 0.9 bar the valve will be half open.

In the event of an air failure this valve will thus remain fully open
(referred to as AFVO – air fail, valve open). This may prove to be
dangerous in some circumstances, e.g. if this is on the feed to a reactor,
but useful in others, e.g. if on the cooling water supply to a reactor.

The valve can be designed as AFVC (air fail, valve closed) by having
the spring normally pushing the valve closed and air pressure under the
diaphragm to push the valve open. It is very important that the operator
knows which control valves will be open and which closed, in both
emergency and routine maintenance situations.

Particular Uses

These valves are used to control automatically the rate at which fluid
flows into a vessel or along a pipeline. The valves previously studied
have been manually operated, i.e. they are either opened, closed or set
by hand. If the flow of liquid has to be repeatedly adjusted, then an
operator would be needed at all times to open, close and adjust the
valve positions to match the demands of the process. A control valve is
one part of a control system and will continuously adjust the flow to a
pre-set value without the need for an operator.

We will not go into great detail here, it is sufficient to say (see

FIGURE 5(b)) that the downstream flowrate is measured by a device
which generates a signal proportional to the flowrate and passes this to
the transmitter. The transmitter is connected to a compressed air
supply and sends out to the control valve an air pressure which is
proportional to the flowrate signal it receives.

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________________________________________________________________________________________

BUTTERFLY VALVES
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FIGURE 6 shows a typical butterfly valve; refer to it as you read on.

Operating
spindle

Body

Pipe Pipe
Valve assembly Butterfly

Holes for Mating face

Side elevation of
valve and mating pipe flanges through bolts

FIG. 6 Butterfly Valve

A circular disc, or flap, the same internal diameter as the pipe, is

pivoted in the pipeline. With the flap parallel to the flow, it is fully open;
with the flap at right angles (or nearly so) to the flow, it is fully shut. The
flap thus moves through 90° from fully open to fully shut. The rim of the
flap, and the circumference of the pipe at the point of contact, are often
fitted with sealing rings for complete shut off.

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Characteristics of Butterfly Valves

Advantages

The butterfly valve:

• is a cheap, reliable valve

• is fast in operation, since only a 'quarter turn' is needed from

fully open to fully shut

• takes up very little space compared to other valves

• can be coated with material which will not corrode

• when fully open, does not impose much of a restriction to flow.

Particular Uses

Butterfly valves are widely used in the Chemical Industry, in large

diameter gas and steam mains, especially where control of gas flow is
required. With liquids, the forces created by the fast moving denser
fluids will tend to push the valve open unless it is locked in position.

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HAZARDS ASSOCIATED WITH VALVES

Valves are mainly used to minimise the hazards associated with the
transfer of fluids by providing methods of controlling or isolating the
pressure and flow of fluids. Therefore, it is mainly when valves fail that
hazards may arise, depending on the chemical and physical nature of
the fluid being handled.

Often the failure of a valve will go unnoticed as they are situated within
the pipe where their operation cannot be seen. Thus extra precautions
should be taken when performing tasks which may rely on the correct
operation of a valve. For example, when pipelines are being
dismantled for maintenance work, any isolating valves in the system
must be closed and, if possible, the pipeline drained. Adequate safety
equipment should be worn and pipelines opened slowly to prevent large
amounts of fluid leaking out in the event of an isolation valve failure.

Any valve that is stuck should not be forced open as this may cause
fluid to leak out past the stem and onto operators.

Any valves that are known to be leaking, either internally or externally,

should be reported and changed as soon as possible.

Any unusual trends in valve operation should also be reported but no

adjustments should be made without prior consultation with senior
personnel and investigations carried out to discover the reasons for the
unusual trend.

You have now completed the work on valves. Try answering the
following Self-Assessment Questions.

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SELF-ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS
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1. Under what circumstances would you choose to use a diaphragm

valve in a chemical plant ?

2. How is the controlled pressure adjusted on a pressure regulating

valve?

3. Why would a steam raising boiler be fitted with a pressure relief

valve?

4. Under what circumstances would you find a non-return valve being

used in a process plant ?

5. How does an automatic control valve differ from the other valves
you have studied so far ?

6. State three advantages of butterfly valves.

The answers to these questions are on page 18.

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NOTES
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ANSWERS TO SELF-ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS

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1. You would choose to use a diaphragm valve when the flow of liquid
to a process required flow regulation, especially when handling
corrosive fluids or those containing suuspended solids.

2. Pressure regulating valves are fitted with an adjusting screw by

which the compressive force exerted by the spring can be either
increased or decreased. Adjustment of this screw will change the
balance between the spring force and the diaphragm force (which
is proportional to the downstream pressure). This should only be
done after consultations with senior personnel.

3. It is a legal requirement that all boilers be fitted with pressure relief

valves. This is a safety precaution and ensures that, in the event
of the steam pressure becoming too high, the valve opens and
releases this excess pressure before damage is caused to the
boiler.

4. Non-return, or check valves, are used to prevent flow reversal in a

pipeline where this might create an operational or safety hazard.

5. The automatic control valve is different from the other types in that
adjustment of the valve is not done manually. Instead it uses air
pressure signals from a remote controller to adjust the valve
opening so as to maintain the required conditions.

6. Butterfly valves are compact, fairly cheap and reliable. They also
have a low pressure drop when fully open and are fast in
operation.

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________________________________________________________________________________________

SUMMARY
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This lesson has briefly dealt with some of the more specialized valves
used in industry. These are:

• Diaphragm valves for flow control of corrosive fluids or those

containing suspended solids.

• Pressure regulating valves for regulating the pressure in gas and

steam mains.

• Pressure relief valves to avoid the build-up of excessive pressure

resulting in damage to equipment

• Non-return valves which prevent back-flow of fluids in pipelines

• Control valves which form part of an automatic control loop giving

precise, continuous control.

• Butterfly valves, used in large diameter gas and steam mains.

TABLE 1 overleaf is a summary of the more important characteristics of

the main types of valve found in a chemical plant. Most of these were
discussed in the previous lesson.

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 TYPE GATE GLOBE PLUG BALL NEEDLE DIAPHRAGM
OF
VALVE

PRESSURE LOSS
Low High Low Low Very High Medium
WHEN OPEN

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FLOW
Fairly Good Good Poor Fairly Good Excellent Good
20

REGULATION

TABLE 1
ADVANTAGES Special Suitable for Cheap Tight Precise flow Variety of materials
application high Good seal shut off regulation of construction.
for large sizes pressure when closed Suitable for Good resistance to
corrosive liquids chemicals

DISADVANTAGES Difficult to Seal subject Tendency to Seal is prone Seats and Limited pressure
operate to damage bind in use to damage needle prone range
manually at to damage
high pressures Low flow rates
Tend to leak only