Valve Sizing and Selection

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Sizing flow valves is a science with many rules of thumb that few people agree on. In this article I'll try to define a more standard procedure for sizing a valve as well as helping to select the appropriate type of valve. **Please note that the correlation within this article are for turbulent flow # EP ./: -efine the s!stem he system is pumping water from one tan! to another through a piping system with a total pressure drop of "#$ psi. he fluid is water at %$ $&. 'esign (ma)imum* flowrate of "#$ gpm+ operating flowrate of ""$ gpm+ and a minimum flowrate of ,# gpm. he pipe diameter is - inches. .t %$ $&+ water has a specific gravity of ".$. Key Variables: Total pressure drop, design flow, operating flow, minimum flow, pipe diameter, specific gravity # EP .0: -efine a ma1imum allo,a(le pressure %rop for the valve /hen defining the allowable pressure drop across the valve+ you should first investigate the pump. /hat is its ma)imum available head0 1emember that the system pressure drop is limited by the pump. 2ssentially the 3et Positive Suction 4ead .vailable (3PS4.* minus the 3et Positive Suction 4ead 1e5uired (3PS41* is the ma)imum available pressure drop for the valve to use and this must not be e)ceeded or another pump will be needed. It's important to remember the trade off+ larger pressure drops increase the pumping cost (operating* and smaller pressure drops increase the valve cost because a larger valve is re5uired (capital cost*. he usual rule of thumb is that a valve should be designed to use "$6"#7 of the total pressure drop or "$ psi+ whichever is greater. &or our system+ "$7 of the total pressure drop is "# psi which is what we'll use as our allowable pressure drop when the valve is wide open (the pump is our system is easily capable of the additional pressure drop*. # EP .2: Calculate the valve characteristic

&or our system+

.t this point+ some people would be tempted to go to the valve charts or characteristic curves and select a valve. 'on't ma!e this mista!e+ instead+ proceed to Step 89: # EP .3: Preliminar! valve selection 'on't ma!e the mista!e of trying to match a valve with your calculated ;v value. he ;v value should be used as a guide in the valve selection+ not a hard and fast rule. Some other considerations are: a. 3ever use a valve that is less than half the pipe size b. .void using the lower "$7 and upper ,$7 of the valve stro!e. he valve is much easier to control in the "$6<$7 stro!e range. =efore a valve can be selected+ you have to decide what type of valve will be used (#ee the list of valve t!pes later in this article*. &or our case+ we'll assume we're using an e5ual percentage+ globe valve (e5ual percentage will be e)plained later*. he valve chart for this type of valve is shown below. his is a typical chart that will be supplied by the manufacturer (as a matter of fact+ it was:*

&or our case+ it appears the , inch valve will wor! well for our ;v value at about <$6<#7 of the stro!e range. 3otice that we're not trying to s5ueeze our ;v into the " ">, valve

which would need to be at "$$7 stro!e to handle our ma)imum flow. If this valve were used+ two conse5uences would be e)perienced: the pressure drop would be a little higher than "# psi at our design (ma)* flow and the valve would be difficult to control at ma)imum flow. .lso+ there would be no room for error with this valve+ but the valve we've chosen will allow for flow surges beyond the "#$ gpm range with severe headaches: So we've selected a valve...but are we ready to order0 3ot yet+ there are still some characteristics to consider. # EP .4: Chec" the Cv an% stro"e percentage at the minimum flo, If the stro!e percentage falls below "$7 at our minimum flow+ a smaller valve may have to be used in some cases. ?udgements plays role in many cases. &or e)ample+ is your system more li!ely to operate closer to the ma)imum flowrates more often than the minimum flowrates0 @r is it more li!ely to operate near the minimum flowrate for e)tended periods of time. It's difficult to find the perfect valve+ but you should find one that operates well most of the time. Aet's chec! the valve we've selected for our system:

1eferring bac! to our valve chart+ we see that a ;v of B.# would correspond to a stro!e percentage of around -#69$7 which is certainly acceptable. 3otice that we used the ma)imum pressure drop of "# psi once again in our calculation. .lthough the pressure drop across the valve will be lower at smaller flowrates+ using the ma)imum value gives us a Cworst caseC scenario. If our ;v at the minimum flow would have been around ".#+ there would not really be a problem because the valve has a ;v of ".BB at "$7 stro!e and since we use the ma)imum pressure drop+ our estimate is conservative. 2ssentially+ at lower pressure drops+ ;v would only increase which in this case would be advantageous. # EP .5: Chec" the gain across applica(le flo,rates Dain is defined as: 3ow+ at our three flowrates: Emin F ,# gpm Eop F ""$ gpm Edes F "#$ gpm we have corresponding ;v values of B.#+ ,<+ and -G. he corresponding stro!e percentages are -#7+ %-7+ and <#7 respectively. 3ow we construct the following table: &low (gpm* ,# ""$ "#$ Stro!e ;hange in flow ;hange in Stro!e (7* (7* (gpm* -# %<# ""$6,# F <# "#$6""$ F 9$ %-6-# F -< <#6%- F ",

Dain 8" F <#>-< F ,., Dain 8, F 9$>", F -.he difference between these values should be less than #$7 of the higher value. $.# (-.-* F ".B# and -.- 6 ,., F "."$. Since "."$ is less than ".B#+ there should be no problem in controlling the valve. .lso note that the gain should never be less than $.#$. So for our case+ I believe our selected valve will do nicely: + *ER 6+ E#: .nother valve characteristic that can be e)amined is called the cho!ed flow. he relation uses the &A value found on the valve chart. I recommend chec!ing the cho!ed flow for vastly different ma)imum and minimum flowrates. &or e)ample if the difference between the ma)imum and minimum flows is above G$7 of the ma)imum flow+ you may want to chec! the cho!ed flow. Hsually+ the rule of thumb for determining the ma)imum pressure drop across the valve also helps to avoid cho!ing flow. #ELEC 768 A VALVE 9PE /hen spea!ing of valves+ it's easy to get lost in the terminology. Valve types are used to describe the mechanical characteristics and geometry (2)> gate+ ball+ globe valves*. /e'll use valve control to refer to how the valve travel or stro!e (openness* relates to the flow: ". Equal Percentage: e5ual increments of valve travel produce an e5ual percentage in flow change ,. Linear: valve travel is directly proportional to the valve sto!e -. Quic opening: large increase in flow with a small change in valve stro!e So how do you decide which valve control to use0 4ere are some rules of thumb for each one: ". Equal Percentage !most commonly used valve control" a. Hsed in processes where large changes in pressure drop are e)pected b. Hsed in processes where a small percentage of the total pressure drop is permitted by the valve c. Hsed in temperature and pressure control loops ,. Linear a. Hsed in li5uid level or flow loops b. Hsed in systems where the pressure drop across the valve is e)pected to remain fairly constant (ie. steady state systems* -. Quic #pening a. Hsed for fre5uent on6off service b. Hsed for processes where CinstantlyC large flow is needed (ie. safety systems or cooling water systems*

3ow that we've covered the various types of valve control+ we'll ta!e a loo! at the most common valve types. Date Valves $est %uited &ontrol: Euic! @pening 'ecommended (ses: ". &ully open>closed+ non6throttling ,. Infre5uent operation -. Iinimal fluid trapping in line )pplications: @il+ gas+ air+ slurries+ heavy li5uids+ steam+ noncondensing gases+ and corrosive li5uids )dvantages: ". 4igh capacity ,. ight shutoff -. Aow cost 9. Aittle resistance to flow *isadvantages: ". Poor control ,. ;avitate at low pressure drops -. ;annot be used for throttling

Dlobe Valves $est %uited &ontrol: Ainear and 25ual percentage 'ecommended (ses: ". hrottling service>flow regulation ,. &re5uent operation )pplications: Ai5uids+ vapors+ gases+ corrosive substances+ slurries )dvantages: *isadvantages: ". 2fficient throttling ". 4igh pressure drop ,. .ccurate flow control ,. Iore e)pensive than other valves -. .vailable in multiple ports

=all Valves $est %uited &ontrol: Euic! opening+ linear

'ecommended (ses: ". &ully open>closed+ limited6throttling ,. 4igher temperature fluids )pplications: Iost li5uids+ high temperatures+ slurries

)dvantages: *isadvantages: ". Aow cost ". Poor throttling characteristics ,. 4igh capacity ,. Prone to cavitation -. Aow lea!age and maint. 9. ight sealing with low tor5ue =utterfly Valves $est %uited &ontrol: Ainear+ 25ual percentage 'ecommended (ses: ". &ully open>closed or throttling services ,. &re5uent operation -. Iinimal fluid trapping in line )pplications: Ai5uids+ gases+ slurries+ li5uids with suspended solids )dvantages: ". Aow cost and maint. ,. 4igh capacity -. Dood flow control 9. Aow pressure drop *isadvantages: ". 4igh tor5ue re5uired for control ,. Prone to cavitation at lower flows

@ther Valves .nother type of valve commonly used in conJunction with other valves is called a chec! valve. ;hec! valves are designed to restrict the flow to one direction. If the flow reverses direction+ the chec! valve closes. 1elief valves are used to regulate the operating pressure of incompressible flow. Safety valves are used to release e)cess pressure in gases or compressible fluids. 'eferences: 1osaler+ 1obert ;.+ Standard 4andboo! of Plant 2ngineering+ IcDraw64ill+ 3ew Kor!+ "GG#+ pages "$6""$ through "$6",,

Purcell+ Iichael L.+ C2asily Select and Size ;ontrol ValvesC+ ;hemical 2ngineering Progress+ Iarch "GGG+ pages 9#6#$