Guidance on

Control Valves Selection

1. Control valve application principle

Control valves
Common design considerations

a. Factors that influence selection include:

1. Fitness for purpose.
2. Initial cost.
3. Reliability.
4. Expected life.
5. Standardisation.
6. Ease of repair.
b. Valve sizing and selection assistance provided by control valve suppliers.

Control Valve body selection

1. For general process control applications, mostly use globe style bodies with either stem or cage
guided plugs.
2. Cage guided valves cannot be used with high viscosity fluids, fluids that contain solids, or in
slurries. Cage trim in cage guided valves can plug in dirty services.
3. Angle valves are suitable for:
• Slurries.
• Prevention of solids accumulation.
• Erosive service.Angle valves are high capacity valves with outlet passages available
and a venturi
type liner that streamlines flow and reduces valve body erosion.
• Flashing liquids.
• Special piping configurations, including self draining piping systems.
d. Full bore ball valves or characterised ball valves normally used to control large
volume flows and high shutoff differential pressures. A full floating ball pattern gives
total shutoff, but requires high operating torque.
e. V notch ball valves are suitable for:
1. Viscous fluids and slurries.
2. Erosive service. V notch ball valves produce lower fluid velocity, which can
result in less erosion.
f. Butterfly valves or eccentric rotating plug valves may be used to achieve:
Large volume flow.
Low pressure drop.
 Matching valve body style and application
Valve body style Application
Globe stem guided Throttling or on/off control.

Globe cage guided Throttling or on/off control for clean liquids and gases.

Throttling or on/off control for:

- Systems that require self-draining capability.
- Liquids and gases that are gritty, sticky, or tend
Angle to produce solid particle buildup on internal
valve parts.
- Liquids and gases in high temperature or high
pressure drop service.
Standard ball On/off control.
Throttling or on/off control of liquids and gases, including
Characterised ball
those that are sticky or contain suspended particles, such
(V notch)
as slurries and gritty fluids.
- Low pressure drop throttling applications.
- Throttling or on/off control of steam.
- Level control of large volume utility service
Butterfly
tanks.
- Process flow splitting.
- Narrow rangeability requirements.
- Throttling or on/off control of liquids and gases
in situations that require quick opening.
Eccentric disc
- Throttling slurries.
- Narrow rangeability requirements.
3-way Mixing, convergent, or diverting flows.
 Valve characteristics for liquid level control service

Best inherent
Control valve pressure drop characteristic
characteristic

Constant differential pressure (DP) Linear

Decreasing DP with increasing load,

DP at maximum load > 20% of DP at minimum Linear
load

Decreasing DP with increasing load,

DP at maximum load < 20% of DP at minimum Equal percentage
load

Increasing DP with increasing load,

DP at maximum load < 200% of DP at minimum Linear
load

Increasing DP with increasing load,

DP at maximum load > 200% of DP at minimum Quick opening
load
 Valve characteristics for pressure control service

Best inherent
Control valve pressure drop characteristics
characteristic

Liquid process Equal percentage

Gas process, small volume, less than 3 m (10 ft) of pipe

Equal percentage
between control valve and load valve

Gas process, large volume (process has a receiver,

distribution system, or transmission line exceeding
30 m (100 ft) of nominal pipe volume), decreasing DP Linear
with increasing load,
DP at maximum load > 20% of DP at minimum load

Gas process, large volume, decreasing DP with increasing

load, Equal percentage
DP at maximum load < 20% of DP at minimum load
 Valve characteristics for flow control service

Best inherent characteristic

Location of control valve

Flow measurement signal
in relation to
to controller Small range of flow, but
measuring element Wide range of
large P at valve with
flow set point
increasing load

Proportional to flow In series Linear Equal percentage

Proportional to flow In parallel1 Linear Equal percentage

Proportional to flow
In series Linear Equal percentage
squared

Proportional to flow
In parallel1 Equal percentage Equal percentage
squared

Note 1: When control valve closes, flow rate increases in measuring element.
Valve trim

a. Selection of valve seat materials should take into account:

1. Process media.
2. Contaminants.
3. Particulate matter present.
d. Trim material such as Stellite faced 316 SS, 17‑4 PH SS, hardened 400 series SS, tungsten
carbide, or ceramic are suitable for the process fluids with the following conditions exists:
1. Pressure drops that exceed 1000 kPa (150 psi).
2. Erosion.
3. Cavitation.
4. Flashing service.
5. Wet steam service.
6. Streams that contain solid particles.

Shutoff class
a. Leakage rate specified in accordance with either ISO 5208 or ANSI/FCI 70 ‑2.
b. Control valve ANSI/FCI 70-2 shutoff class should be as follows:

Valve materials
Materials in contact with process fluid shall be suitable for that fluid.
All materials used in construction of valve and actuator shall be identified.
Parts exposed to process fluids that contain hydrogen sulphide shall be specified and installed to
comply with NACE MR0175.
Exposed metal surfaces (for example, cylinder liners or piston rods) shall have a corrosion resistant
layer suitable for environment at point of installation. Coating should not impair electrical
grounding and bonding.
Valve assemblies shall use corrosion resistant bolting and fasteners.
 Typical leakage for control valve applications

Application description Typical leakage

Valve normally closes only during shutdown or startup. Class II, III, or IV

Valve is in series with air operated or motor operated valve (MOV) style block
Class II, III, or IV
valve.

Double port, double seat globe type control valves. Class II

Unbalanced single seat control valves. Class IV

Critical applications. Valve installed without a blocking valve and required to

be closed for long periods of time with a high differential pressure across Class V or VI
seating surface.

Note: Classes in this table are per ANSI/FCI 70-2.

Valve packing
Valve packing shall be suitable for the process fluid. The following temperature limits should be taken
into consideration:
1. If process temperature is within a range of –40°C to 230°C (‑40°F to 446°F), packing
material should be V ring PTFE in most applications.
2. For cryogenic temperatures or temperatures above 230°C (446°F), graphite impregnated
non-asbestos packing should be considered.
Valve sizing
a. Valve sizing calculations normally completed by control valve supplier using the following
methods:
1. Control valves should be sized in accordance with IEC 60534 ‑2 ‑1.
2. Noise prediction for control valves in gas/vapour service should be in accordance with IEC
60534‑8‑3, Aerodynamic Noise Prediction method.
3. For liquid hydrodynamics, noise predictions should be in accordance with IEC 60534 ‑8 ‑4.

Actuators
Actuators are designed and rated in accordance with operating fluid pressure and service rating.
Design of actuator shall ensure that action of control valve on failure of control signal or operating
medium shall cycle to a predetermined safe position.

Diaphragm actuators
Generally, diaphragm type actuators are preferred.
“Bench setting” should be avoided by the use of adequately sized actuators.

Piston actuators
If a diaphragm actuator is not feasible, a piston type actuator may be used, as in the following
cases:
Unbalanced valves.
If the size or cost of an actuator can be reduced without sacrificing performance.
If long strokes or high forces are required.
Double acting pneumatic piston actuators that do not automatically fail to a safe position in
the event of air failure shall be supplied with a volume accumulator tank.
Electric motor actuators
a. Motor actuators should include a handwheel for emergency operation if power is lost.
b. Electric motor actuators mounted so that the motor is above the gearbox. This prevents gear oil from
saturating motor windings.

Accessories
a. All accessories specified on the Data Sheet.
b. Accessories shall be tested by the manufacturer for proper operation with the valve.

Valve positioners
a. Valve positioners shall be in direct acting mode.
b. Positioners in throttling services shall be 2 ‑stage, rather than single stage spool type.
c. Positioners shall have gauges to indicate input signal, supply pressure, and output pressure.
d. operating air pressure range is not suitable for control signal.
e. Digital valve positioners (controllers) with integral I/P transducers should be considered for all new
installations.

I/P transducers
a. If a positioner is specified, it should be integral with the I/P function.
b. If valve is subject to vibration, the I/P transducer should not be mounted on the valve.

Relays
Pressure and volume booster relays may be considered for control services under the following conditions:
Relatively fast system response to a change in valve position is desired.
Valves have controller pneumatic signal lines greater than 75 m (250 ft).
Valves have actuators with an effective diaphragm area greater than 0.13 m2 (200 in2).
Booster relays should be used for compressor antisurge protection valves if stroke from full closed to full
open is greater than 2 s.
Solenoid valves
a. 24 VDC, low power consumption solenoid valves are generally preferred.
b. To ensure satisfactory performance of low power solenoids the following considerations should be
observed:

Valve status indication

Limit switches
Switches shall be as follows:
• Non-contact.
• Directly activated by the valve stem or shaft position.
• Closed if valve is in the appropriate position.
• Operate within 3% of valve travel from respective open and closed limits.
• Protected to prevent mechanical disturbance/malfunction.
• Failure mode leads to alarm condition.

Position transmitters
Valve position transmitters provide 4 ma to 20 ma signal proportional to valve stem travel.

Manual control
Hand jacks should be used only in applications if a manually adjustable valve stop is specified.

Pressure protection
Control valves should be installed with an air supply filter regulator.
Installation

a. Control valve installations shall be in accordance with API RP 553.

b. If control valves can potentially be used to manually control the variable, indication of the
controlled variable should be visible from the control valve location.
c. Control valves shall have an indicating device to show valve position, whether under the action of
the control signal or handwheel.

Tagging
a. Control valves and pressure regulators shall have a permanently attached, stainless steel die
stamped tag.
b. Tags shall include:
1. Client’s furnished instrument tag number.
2. Manufacturer name.
3. Manufacturer model number.
4. Manufacturer serial number.
5. Spring range (as applicable).
6. Actuator bench set information (as applicable).
7. Valve packing material.
8. Materials of parts exposed to process media.
9. Actuator size and model number.
10. Valve trim type (characteristic) and size.
11. Valve sizes and flange rating.
Testing and inspection
a. Valves shall be pressure tested by manufacturer after completion of assembly and before shipment.
b. Complete assembly prior to testing should include:
1. Auxiliary components or attachments (for example, grease fittings) that will be part of final
valve
assembly and may be subjected to fluid service or to installed pressure test.
2. Type or style of packing (or seals) that is to be furnished with valve.
c. Manufacturer shall certify that valve has been pressure tested in accordance with ISO 5208.
d. Seat leakage class test shall be performed in accordance with ANSI/FCI 70.2. Test results shall be
supplied by manufacturer.
c. Cryogenic valves shall be tested in accordance with BSI BS 6364.
d. Preliminary field testing and adjustments shall be as follows:
1. Valves shall be completely tested and spring compression adjusted after being assembled,
with
packing box fully packed and made up hand tight.
2. Valve stem shall be lightly lubricated.
3. Valves with a positioner shall have preliminary tests performed with positioner bypassed,
where
applicable. Positioner and valve shall then be calibrated together.