Beyond Valves

Analyzing PTFE Valve Packing for Control Valve Performance

During a power plant operating cycle, valve maintenance and reliability are key focus areas, often taking up the largest portion of an outage budget. Plant personnel responsible for maintaining the equipment must consider multiple variables present in the entire local valve “system” including: equipment such as the valve body, trim set, actuator and sub-assemblies; media parameters such as media type, temperature, pressure, piping design and environmental factors; and valve packing. Yet despite the fact packing can be a significant contributor to poor valve performance and can cause significant leakage, this part of the equipment picture is often an afterthought in the maintenance process.

Stress Wave Monitoring

Surfaces in relative motion or in contact with each other, such as bearing or gear components, produce a frequency response when they interact. This response, known as a stress wave, is an ultrasonic, structure-borne signal correlated to the natural frequency of the structural material.

Traceability

Traceability and testing of digital positioners (including the valve) is a key to process control accuracy, reliability and safety. By providing this traceability, costs are reduced and flow control systems are made safer.

Essentials of Cybersecurity for Process Controls

What used to be a problem for someone else to worry about is proving to be a concern that can no longer be ignored by anyone.

Paint & Coatings

A walk through a typical valve distributor’s warehouse will yield a contrasting view of either silver or black products. These two colors have been nearly exclusive for iron and steel valves for the last 75 years. The iron valve is painted black, while the steel valve is silver. Stainless valves are generally not painted at all, unless the end user decides to do so for some special reason.