1

Manipal University
Department of Chemical Engineering

CHEMICAL REACTION ENGINEERING LAB

IV YEAR, 7th SEMESTER, 2020

EXPERIMENT #5
Hysteresis of valve

INSTRUCTOR:
Dr. Anees Khan

MEMBER: Madhumita Kumar

Experiment carried on: April 15th 2021

Report submitted on: April 22st 2021

PRELAB (10) _______

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY (10) _______
INTRODUCTION/OBJECTIVES/SCOPE/PROCEDURE (30) _______
RESULTS & DISCUSSION (30) _______
CONCLUSIONS (5) _______
REFERENCES (5) _______
APPENDIX
a) Original data, sample calculations, other information (5) _______
GENERAL COMPLETENESS
a) Conciseness and neatness (5) _______
TOTAL (100) ______
 2

1. Executive summary
In this experiment, we conducted the experiment and gathered the readings. From the
readings, our main objective to study hysteresis of a valve was to obtain tha valve capacity
coefficients C v for increasing and decreasing pressure in the valve. We first have to note
down the pressure drop at equal intervals of increasing pressure (increasing flow rate) and
then at equal intervals of decreasing the pressure (decreasing flow rate). We plot C v versus
Pressure, we have to plot C v on the y axis and pressure on the x axis. There are two curves
plotted on the graph, one curve is for the increasing pressure and one curve is for the
decreasing pressure. The range of C v for the increasing pressure graph is 0 to 2.43 and for
the decreasing pressure, it is 0 to 2.39. Analyzing the obtained results, we can infer from the
graph that there is a slight hysteresis present.
 3

Table of Contents
1. Executive summary................................................................................................................2
2. Nomenclature........................................................................................................................4
3. Introduction............................................................................................................................5
4. Objective................................................................................................................................8
5. Apparatus required................................................................................................................9
6. Experimental set up...............................................................................................................9
7. Experimental Procedure.........................................................................................................9
8. Results and discussion..........................................................................................................10
9. Conclusion............................................................................................................................11
10. References..........................................................................................................................11
11. Appendix A.........................................................................................................................12
 4

2. Nomenclature
Quantity Symbol SI unit
q Flow rate gal/min
∆ p valve Pressure drop across valve Psi
sg Specific gravity
Kv Valve coefficient
Cv Capacity cofficient
 5

3. Introduction
A control valve is a valve that is used to control the flow of fluid by changing the size of the
flow passage following the signal from a control. It is an important part of a control loop.The
control valve is also known as the ‘final control element’. It allows for the direct control of
the flow rate and indirect control of quantities like temperature, liquid level and pressure.
The opening or closing of automatic control valves is usually conducted by hydraulic,
pneumatic or electrical actuators.

The control valve in figure 1 shows a control valve with a pneumatic device that moves the
valve stem as the pressure on a spring loaded diaphragm changes. The stem positions a plug
in the orifice of the valve body. In the air to close valve setting, as the air pressure increases
the plug tends to move down and inhibits the flow of the fluid through the valve. In the air
to open setting, it is the complete oppostite, the valve opens and allows a larger flow as the
air pressure increases.

Figure 1: Pneumatic control valve

The choice between air to open and air to close is usually made depending on safety
considerations. If the air pressure in the intrument fails, the valve needs to present in a safe
position. Valve motors are often made in a way such that the valve stem position is
proportional to the valve top pressure.

The flow rate of a fluid through the valve mainly depends on the upstream and downstream
fluid pressures and the size of the opening through the valve. The plug and orifice can be
shaped so that different relations between the stemp position and size of the opening are
possible.
 6

For the control valve in figure 2, the control valve contains an actuator and a valve. The
valve is divided into the body and the trim. The body consists of a housing for mounting the
actuator and connections for attachment of the valve to a supply line and a delivery line.
The trim, which is enclosed within the bidy has a plug, a valve seat and a valve stem. The
actuator moves the valve stem as the pressure on a spring loaded diaphragm changes.

Figure 2: Actuator and valve

For most actuators, the motion of the stem is proportional to the pressure applied on the
diaphragm. As the pressure to the valve changes over its normal range of motion, the range
of motion of the stem varies from a fraction of an inch to several inches depending on the
size of the actuator.

A linear valve produces a linear relationship between the valve position and flow rate. The
flow through a linear valve varies directly with the position of the stem. These valves are
used in liquid level control and certain flow control operations needing constant gain.

To specify the size of valve in terms of its capacity, the following equation is used:

q=C v f (x )
√ ∆ p valve
sg
(Eqn 1)

The above equation applies to the flow of an incompressible, nonflashing liquid through the
valve. Manufacturers rate the size of a valve in terms of the capacity factor C v . It can be
described as the flow of a fluid (gal/min) of unit specific gravity through a fully open valve,
 7

across which the pressure of 1.0 psi exists. The above equation is based on the Bernoulli
equation for determining the pressure drop across valves and resistances. But nowadays,
some industries are also defining a valve coefficient K v , which can be calculated using:

q=K v
√ ∆ p valve
sg
(Eqn 2)

There also exists a relationship between C v and K v which can be defined by:
K v =0.856 C v (Eqn 3)

Replacing equation 3 in equation 2, we can calculate C v as:

C v =1.168 ×q ×
√ sg
∆ p valve
(Eqn 4)

Manufacturers of valves provide brochures, nomographs, and computer programs for sizing
valves for use with gases and steam.

In general, as the physical size of a valve body increases, the value of C v also increases. For a
sliding stem and plug type control valve, the value of C v is roughly equal to the square of
the pipe size multiplies by 10.

The coefficient C v varies with the design of the valve (shape, size, roughness) and the
Reynolds number for the flow through the valve. This relationship is analogous to the
relationship between the friction factor and roughness and the Reynolds number for flow
through a pipe. For relatively non viscous fluids, C v can be taken as a constant for a valve of
given size and type. The reason for this is that at high Reynolds numbers, the friction factor
changes very little with flow rate. Except for very viscous fluids, the flow through a valve,
which involves suddent contraction and expansion, is in the turbulent regime of fluid flow;
turbulence in the valve exists even if the flow in the supply pipe is near the critical Reynolds
number of 2100.

When we talk about hysteresis, it is caused by the friction present in the packing and guiding
surfaces of a control valve. When the air pressure increases to the valve top, the stem
position increases along the lower curve. When the air pressure decreases the stem position
decreases along the upper curve. At the moment the air pressure signal reverses, the stem
 8

position stays in the last position until the dead band H is exceeded, after which the
pressure begins to degcrease or increase. The control valve hysteresis is shown in figure 3.

Figure 3 Hysteresis curve

The net result of this behavior is that the same air pressure signal to the valve top
corresponds to two different stem positions, depending on whether the valve is opening or
closing. Hysteresis is a non linear phenomenon and cannot be expressed by a transfer
function. The presence of hysterisis in the valve can cause the controlled signal to exhibit an
oscillation or ripple caussed the limit cycle. It contributes to the wear of the valve, and
hence a method is needed to eliminate it. To reduce this harmful effect, a positioner can be
attached. It acts like a high gain proportional controller that receivs a set point signal from
the primary controller and a measurement from the valve stem position. In this case, the
addition of a valve positioner introduces a form of cascade control.

4. Objective
To study the hysteresis of the control valve

5. Apparatus required
- Control valve set up
- Pen and Paper (for noting down readings)
- Water (for sump tank)
- Stop watch
 9

6. Experimental set up

Figure 4: Experimental set up

In this apparatus, there is a pump, rotameter, overhead tank, pressure gauge and three
types of control valves- linear, quick opening and equal percentage. The pump is used to
pump the water up from the sump tank to the overhead tank. The rotameter measure thes
flow rate of water from the overhead tank to the control valve. The air regulator, which is
being provided, along with the pressure gauge controls the actuation. The outlet of the air
regulator is connected to the pressure actuator of the control valve and the vent valves are
also present in order to vent out the excess air so as to control the air pressure in the
control loop.

7. Experimental Procedure

1. Fill the sump tank with water to a level that is 3/4th complete
2. Switch on the apparatus by turning on the main power supply and turn on the pump
3. Open the linear valve and close all the other valves
4. Connect the air regulator to the pressure actuator of the control valve
5. Fix the flow rate of the water to a desired value
6. Adjust the pressure, initial stem height and flow rate of water
7. Increase the pressure and note down the flow rate and water height
 10

8. Repeat step 7 till the valve is completely opened

9. Then start decreasing the pressure and not down the flow rate and water height
10. After completing the experiment, turn off the power supply and drain the water
from the apparatus

8. Results and discussion

Cv versus Pressure
3

2.5

Cv vs pressure (Psi) for increasing

pressure
1.5
Cv

Cv vs Pressure for decreasing

pressure
1

0.5

0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20

Pressure (psi)

In this experiment, we conducted the experiment and gathered the readings. From the
readings, our main objective to study hysteresis of a valve was to obtain tha valve capacity
coefficients C v for increasing and decreasing pressure in the valve. We first have to note
down the pressure drop at equal intervals of increasing pressure (increasing flow rate) and
then at equal intervals of decreasing the pressure (decreasing flow rate). Using the pressure
drop and flow rate we can calculate the valve capacity coefficient C v . After that we plot C v
versus Pressure, we have to plot C v on the y axis and pressure on the x axis. There are two
curves plotted on the graph, one curve is for the increasing pressure and one curve is for the
decreasing pressure. The range of C v for the increasing pressure graph is 0 to 2.43 and for
the decreasing pressure, it is 0 to 2.39.
 11

Analyzing the obtained results, we can infer from the graph that there is a slight hysteresis
present. As shown in figure 3, the operation of an ideal air control valve causes the C v
versus pressure signal curve for increaing and decreasing pressure to be coincidental. But
with hysteresis present, there is a certain gap between the curves of the increasing and
decreasing pressures. When the air pressures increases to the valve top, the C v increases
along the lowercurve and when the air pressure decreases, the C v decreases along the
upper curve. The result of this behavior is that the same air pressure signal to the valve top
corresponds to two differen stem positions and hence two different C v values depending on
whether the valve is being opened or closed, It is caused due to the friction between the
stem and the packing. It can cause the controlled signal to exhibit an oscillation or ripple,
this usually causes the valve to wear out. To reduce the harmful effect of hysteresis and
increase the efficience of the response time of the valve, we can attach a control valve
positions that acts as a high gain proportional controller that recieves a set point signal from
the primary controller and a measurement from the valve stem position.

9. Conclusion
The objective of this experiment has been fulfilled. Our main objective to study hysteresis of
a valve was to obtain tha valve capacity coefficients C v for increasing and decreasing
pressure in the valve. After that we plot C v versus Pressure, we have to plot C v on the y axis
and pressure on the x axis. We can infer from the graph that there is a slight hysteresis
present. With hysteresis present, there is a certain gap between the curves of the increasing
and decreasing pressures

10. References

Coughanowr, Donald R., and Lowell B. Koppel. Process Systems Analysis and Control.
McGraw-Hill, 1991.

11. Appendix A
Pressure Flowrate Water height Flow rate delP delP Cv
psi LPH cm gal/min Pa psig
 12

14518. 2.10577
0 0 148 0 8 8 0
14518. 2.10577
3 0 148 0 8 8 0
13832.
6 36 141 0.158508 1 2.00618 0.13071
13047. 1.89235
9 90 133 0.39627 3 4 0.33646
12066. 1.75007
12 160 123 0.70448 3 2 0.62199
14224. 2.06309 1.10992
15 310 145 1.36493 5 3 5
0.71141 2.43888
18 400 50 1.7612 4905 1 4
Table 1 Raw data increasing pressure

Pressure Flowrate Water height Flow rate delP delP Cv

psi LPH cm gal/min Pa psig
0.73986 2.39152
18 400 52 1.7612 5101.2 8 2
1.01020 1.84199
15 360 71 1.58508 6965.1 4 9
11085. 0.81116
12 200 113 0.8806 3 1.60779 1
12851. 1.86389 0.41435
9 110 131 0.48433 1 8 6
0.221911 13439. 1.94926 0.18564
6 50.4 137 2 7 7 6
14518. 2.10577
3 0 148 0 8 8 0
14518. 2.10577
0 0 148 0 8 8 0
Table 2 Raw data decreasing pressure

For linear valve:

Flow rate = 400 LPH

gal
1 LPH =0.004403 Flow rate= 400 × 0.004403=1.7612 gal /min
min
water height 52
∆ P across valve=1000 × 9.81× =1000× 9.81× =5101.2 Pa
100 100
∆ P across valve ( ¿ psi )=5101.2 ×0.0001450=0.7399 psi

( )( ) ( )
0.5 0.5
gal 1 1
C v =valve coefficient =1.168× flow rate × =1.168× 1.7612× =2.3
min (
∆ P across valve ¿ psi ) 0.7399