What is the future of control valve technology?

Dave Busse, President, Zwick Valves North America

2552 South Battleground, Deer Park, Texas, 281.478.4701, www.zwick-valves.com

After many years of performing successfully in a wide range of isolation services, Triple
Eccentric Butterfly Valves are now universally recognized and accepted by industry for their
compactness, low weight, zero friction seating, low emissions and excellent shut-off abilities. However,
when used to modulate flow, the triple-offset valve (TOV) suffers from the same inadequacies as those
found in all butterfly valves when they are called upon to throttle flow, i.e. instability at disc angles
below approximately 25, or greater than approximately 65.
When butterfly valves are required to throttle at lower angles, just a small amount of disc
movement causes a large increase in flow; and at the higher angles of opening, a large amount of disc
movement is needed to cause a small change in flow. Another shortcoming of butterfly valves in
throttling services is that a rapid torque reversal can occur due to the sudden pressure change that
occurs on the downstream surface of the disc at about 60 to 75 of disc angle. To address these issues,
Zwick Valve, with the help of Yeary Controls, has taken their Triple Eccentric Butterfly Valves TOV to
the next level in control by adding Yearys proprietary Sharktooth Control Cartridges to their Tripe
Eccentric Butterfly Valves.

In 2005, Yeary Controls initiated a research and

development (R&D) program to develop and test a device, they
now call a Butterfly Valve Control Cartridge, that could be simply
added-on to the downstream side of triple eccentric butterfly
valves to turn them into true control valves with flow
characteristics that would be equal to the best general purpose
industrial control valves on the market. The results created a
device that has no moving parts and does not affect any of the
built-in features of the valve. The initial R&D for the technology
was sponsored by Yeary, and successfully completed by students
at the University of Illinois, Department of General Engineering,
using a triple eccentric butterfly valve as the platform for the
device.
After obtaining the consulting services of control valve
expert Dr. Hans D. Baumann, the design was further refined by
adding flow slots, or teeth, in the cartridge. The device was then
subjected to a series of flow tests at the Utah State University
Water Research Laboratory on 6 and 12 valves. The tests verified
the devices ability to produce an equal percentage flow

View of Zwick Valves TriShark

control valve.
characteristic using an off-the-shelf TOV, as well as reduce noise up to 15 dBA (FIG. 1), decrease the
effects of cavitation by up to 20% (FIG. 2), and reduce the valves running torques (FIG. 3).

FIG. 1. Reduces aerodynamic noise up to 15 dBA. As the vane turns with the Sharktooth
Throttling Trim Cartridge, multiple, optimized, throttling slots are gradually exposed to flow. Then,
at higher flows, when the vane has cleared the contoured slotted portion of the control cartridge,
the resultant lower pressure drop will alleviate any further noise problems.

FIG. 2. Anti-cavitation properties. Tri-Sharks 25% higher incipient cavitation index allows for higher
pressure drops than ordinary butterfly valves, while exhibiting much less noise, cavitation, and
damage. Even if cavitation does occur in higher pressure drop situations, the shorter vapor jets
produced by the slots will avoid the damaging effects caused by large vapor jets, referred to as
super cavitation.
 FIG. 3. More control with less torque. Tri-Sharks dynamic torque requirements are 60% less than
ordinary butterfly valves, even at high-end flow capacity, thereby providing exceptional stability
throughout its control range. Tri-Sharks Triple Eccentric Metal-to-Metal Seating requires lower
breakaway torques than either butterfly or rotary plug control valves, and its extended torque
reversal point allows for an expanded range of control.

Yeary Controls has summed it up by highlighting that the control valves design:
Has shown a predictable design for extrapolating to larger sizes;
a great flow curve;
predictable noise and cavitation levels and reductions;
a smoother operating valve that would put less wear and tear on its actuator.
Presently, Sharktooth control valves are providing satisfactory performance in sizes 3 thru 36,
on liquids, gases, and steam by converting 150, 300, 600, and 900 ASME TOVs into excellent control
valves. In 2011, Zwick Valves, USA, began offering an extensive line of control valves called TriShark
that incorporates the Yeary Controls Sharktooth technology. A detailed look at the TriShark throttling
trim cartridge and operational positions are shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5. These valves have an equal
percentage flow characteristic, and an excellent range. They are available in sizes from 3 up to 72 in
150 lbs. through 900 lbs. ANSI Pressure Classes, with API 609 Lug, ISO 5752 Flanged, and ANSI B16.10
Gate Valve Face-to-Face body configurations, and have even been built with Butt-Weld-Ends. Their
superior Metal-to-Metal/Graphite Seating gives these valves an operating temperature range from
cryogenic through 1,400F, while providing zero leakage per API 598 Resilient Seat test. Zwick is also
fire safe per ISO 10497 and API 607 5th Edition.
 FIG. 4. TriShark throttling trim cartridge. The Sharktooth throttling trim cartridge is used to turn
the Triple-Off-Set-Butterfly Valves into excellent throttling control valves. One style of valve can be
used for both on-off, and control applications.

FIG. 5. TriShark, controlling at every angle.

Since Zwicks triple offset valves are seated via their stem torque, they do not have the
interface type seating, typical of most rotary style control valves. Such valves that utilize a segmented
ball require a higher seating force than the force needed to turn them once they are more than roughly
5 to 7 open. As a consequence, when pneumatically actuated, the actuator must build-up the force
needed to open the valve, but once the ball segment has disengaged its seat, the actuator will have
built-up more force than is needed to throttle the now open valve. The sudden reduction in the
required torque will cause a rapid over-travel that must be dealt with by the control system and
actuator positioner. These high seating and breakaway torque issues are mitigated by the TriSharks
triple eccentric seating. Unlike friction seated valves, the torque seating of a TriShark allows for the
disc to freely move from the seat immediately as the stem torque force that is seating the valve is
reduced. This allows for stable control down to approximately 3 of the opening angle. This zero
friction feature also offers longer seal ring and seat life, thus reducing the need for regular
maintenance required by other rotary style control valves.
TriShark control valves have an effective control range that extends from 1% at 5 of travel to
100% at 90 of travel (FIG. 6):

FIG. 6. TriShark control valves demonstrate excellent control range.

The Sharktooth throttling trim cartridge eliminates the low angle instability inherent in most quarter-
turn control valves. For example, ordinary butterfly valves exhibit poor control at angles of opening
that are less than 30 (TABLE 1).
Sharktooth technology greatly extends the control range of quarter-turn valves to as low as 3
of valve opening while also providing noise attenuation and anti-cavitation benefits.
 TABLE 1. Zwick flow capacity (Cv) comparison with & without Sharktooth

Standard product range is denoted below:

Resistance plates. When the control valve exit velocity (UV) for gases exceeds 250 ft/sec, the
installation of a resistance plate to reduce the aerodynamic noise is recommended. Similar use of such
plates is advised for high pressure liquids to reduce excessive hydrodynamic noise, or cavitation. The
inclusion of a resistance plate is shown below:

Applications. By combining the Sharktooth throttling control cartridge with Zwicks triple eccentric
butterfly valves, just one style of valve can be used for both on-off and control applications. These
control valves are ideal for most applications. This includes:
Oil/gas production Micro-electronics
Refining storage/transmission Pharmaceutical & biotech
Electric power generation Water pumping & transport
Chemicals & petrochemicals Office buildings & hotels
Textiles Water treatment
Pulp & paper Aircraft, aerospace, military
Mining & metals Ship building & marine
Typical standard services include:
Pump by-pass control Brine well interjection
Pressure reducing Overboard discharge
Back pressure control Fire water ring control
Compressor surge control Steam
Flow control & balancing Brine blowdown
Ballast water flow control Jetty loading control
Cooling tower bypass Natural gas pressure control
Steam condenser inlet Sea-water re-circulation & drain

Typical severe and special services include:

Cavitating liquids
Noise reduction in gas, steam, and vapor
Two phase fluids
Cryogenic liquids & gases
Fire safe shut-off plus control
Metal-to-metal tight shut-off plus control

Some typical installations: