Control valves regulate the flow of steam, gases, or liquids in a variety of settings. They are used to manage chemical flow in industrial processes as well as temperature and pressure in heating systems.

Operating control valves safely and effectively requires an understanding of how they operate.

We’ll go over the kinds, components, and purposes of control valves as well as their internal mechanisms in this post.

To find out more about control valves and their significance for controlling fluid flow, continue reading!

Control Valve Parts

You must be familiar with the components of a control valve before you can comprehend its purpose. Control valves are intricate devices made up of many parts that cooperate to regulate the flow of fluids.

Here’s a quick summary of each section:

Body

The control valve’s body is its external covering. The internal components that regulate fluid flow are contained and shielded by it. The body’s two main components are:

• The internal components are housed in the valve bonnet.
• The valve plug moves within the body to control blood flow.

Actuator

The valve plug is moved by the actuator. Actuators are mostly of three types:

• Pneumatic
• Electric
• Hydraulic

Positioner

To regulate fluid flow, the positioner makes sure the valve plug is in the proper position. The process control system sends it a control signal, which it uses to move the valve plug to the appropriate flow rate.

Control Signal

The control signal is the input that instructs the valve on how much fluid to allow through; it is not a physical component. The actuator being utilized determines the kind of signal.

The lack of control over the fluid flow might result in decreased efficiency or safety risks if any of these components fails.

Purpose of Control Valves

To control the flow of fluid via a pipe is the function of control valves. The valve plug’s location regulates the amount of fluid that may travel through the valve.

The positioner modifies the position of the valve plug when the valve receives a control signal. This modification modifies the fluid flow via the valve by increasing or decreasing it.

Increasing Flow: The positioner raises the valve stopper up, opening the valve and letting more fluid pass through in response to a signal requesting greater flow.

Decreasing Flow: The positioner lowers the valve stopper to limit the flow of fluid if the signal requests reduced flow.

The robust shell that makes up the valve body has ports and channels that allow fluids to pass past the valve and into the pipe. To stop leaks, the valve plug must fit tightly within the valve body.

Control valves often interface with other hardware, such as controllers and sensors. The positioner receives control signals from controllers after sensors detect the fluid flow rate. After that, the positioner modifies the valve plug to provide the required flow rate.

We hope you found this explanation of control valve operation to be helpful and educational. To choose the best control valve for their requirements, engineers and operators must be aware of the many kinds of control valves and the components that make them up.

Control valves adjust the flow of fluid via a pipe using a variety of components. In response to a control signal from the process control system, the positioner modifies the valve plug.