Blog - Post List

  • Valves, Actuators & Regulators Blog: When is a SIL Suitability Rating Required for Final Control Elements?

    Jim Cahill
    Abstract Final Control Elements (Control valves or Safety Shut Down Valves) are the key components of any close loop control system, whether it is used for Basic Process Control Systems (BPCS) or for Safety Instrumented Systems (SIS). Financial constraints derive different constructions of valves suitable for throttling vs On-Off applications. However, due to past accidents, reliability has become a key criterion in…

  • Valves, Actuators & Regulators Blog: ROI Flows Through Your Valves—Why Valves Matter

    Jim Cahill
    The Valve Industry is a complex, fragmented, application-oriented category. Technology is only as good as application. Navigating the technology choices is only the starting point. Even specifying valves has become much more complex. Augmenting the specification with the right approach to digitalization, emissions compliance and other regulatory standards is a constantly evolving opportunity. Particularly as the needs…

  • Valves, Actuators & Regulators Blog: Understanding Control Valve Choked Flow

    Jim Cahill
    We’ve heard the term “choking” when it comes to athletic performance in not being able to perform in the moment. But what about choked flow when it comes to control valves? Image taken from Product Bulletin: Understanding Choked Flow in Fisher Valves Emerson’s Katherine Bartels and Adam Harmon address this question in an International Society of Automation Intech article, Choked Flow in Control Valves . Katherine…

  • Valves, Actuators & Regulators Blog: Reducing Tank Venting Equipment Fugitive Emissions

    Jim Cahill
    At the 4C Health, Safety & Environmental conference , Emerson’s Derek Kelly highlighted ways to reduce fugitive emissions from tank venting equipment. Here is the abstract of his presentation: Tank venting equipment such as blanketing regulators, thief hatches, pressure/vacuum relief valves and emergency vents are needed to safely operate AST’s. If these devices are not correctly sized and selected, excessive fugitive…

  • Valves, Actuators & Regulators Blog: More on Digital Valve Controller Travel to Pressure Fallback Mode

    Jim Cahill
    In a post last week, Valve Travel Control-Pressure Fallback , Emerson’s Riyaz Ali shared the process of how a control valve with a digital valve controller could fall back to standard pressure control upon an issue with the travel sensing mechanism. We both received a great email with some follow up questions that I thought would make a good follow on blog post. The first series of questions were, “What about friction…

  • Valves, Actuators & Regulators Blog: Valve Travel Control-Pressure Fallback

    Jim Cahill
    Valve position feedback is critical to the operation of a control valve. A Fisher Digital Valve Controller, the DVC6200 (HART or Foundation Fieldbus) can detect position feedback problems and automatically revert to I/P [current to pressure] transducer mode to keep the valve operational. This avoids costly unplanned spurious trips, which are critical for plant operational performance. The DVC6200 can change from Travel…

  • Valves, Actuators & Regulators Blog: EVALUE8 Podcast-An Avoidable Danger–Non-OEM Parts

    Jim Cahill
    In today’s complex business environment, the industrial plant owners face tremendous pressure to stay competitive. In this environment, the plant owners try to strike a proper balance between risk and reward. For a process plant, the main risks are compromised safety and/or plant downtime. Despite the high risk, not all process plant owners depend solely on OEM parts for their engineered valves. Use of non-OEM parts…

  • Valves, Actuators & Regulators Blog: PRV Digital Transformation Byte-by-Byte

    Jim Cahill
    Marcelo Dultra , Process Industry Director at Emerson, recently published the Cover Story for the June 2021 issue of Valve World. The Cover Story describes how digital technology is being applied to pressure relief valves to reduce emissions, monitor performance, and save money. It’s titled PRV Digital Transformation Byte-by-Byte and is summarized below. Pressure relief valves (PRVs) are safe, reliable, and decidedly…

  • Valves, Actuators & Regulators Blog: Fail-Safe Electric Actuators in Safety Applications

    Jim Cahill
    Valves used in safety shutdown applications require actuators to perform reliably on demand. In a recorded webinar, Smart Electric Valve Actuators for Critical Fail-Safe Applications , Emerson’s Knut Riegel and Umberto Bianchi share how these actuators are well-suited for emergency shutdown (ESD) applications. Knut provides background on ESD valves and their use and addresses the question on if ESD valve applications…

  • Valves, Actuators & Regulators Blog: Pilot-Operated Pressure Relief Valves in LNG Applications

    Jim Cahill
    Liquefied natural gas (LNG) enables natural gas to be more readily transported across the global to better match supply with demand. The cryogenic process has unique requirements for safe, reliable and efficient operations. In a Valve magazine article, Enhanced Safety in LNG Applications , Emerson’s Jean-Paul Boyer highlights the importance of pressure safety valves (PSVs) in maintaining safe operations as more of these…

  • Valves, Actuators & Regulators Blog: Pilot-Operated Safety Valves in LNG Applications

    Jim Cahill
    Liquefied natural gas (LNG) enables natural gas to be more readily transported across the global to better match supply with demand. The cryogenic process has unique requirements for safe, reliable and efficient operations. In a Valve magazine article, Enhanced Safety in LNG Applications , Emerson’s Jean-Paul Boyer highlights the importance of pressure safety valves (PSVs) in maintaining safe operations as more of these…

  • Valves, Actuators & Regulators Blog: Tailings Valve Difficult Choices

    Jim Cahill
    Figure 1: Tailing material is viscous and abrasive, creating a very difficult application for automated valves. I recently published an article in the April 2021 issue of Global Mining Review . The article describes the difficulties of tailing disposal, and it provides suggestions for choosing the proper automated isolation valves for this service. The article is titled Making the Difficult Choices and is summarized…

  • Valves, Actuators & Regulators Blog: Improving Control Valve Response Specifications

    Jim Cahill
    Control valve response is a critical factor in successful control strategies and process variability. In a ControlGlobal.com article, Responsible control valve response , Emerson’s Greg McMillan and James Beall discussed the efforts underway to include valve responsiveness into the ISA 75.25 Control Valve Dynamic Testing standard . With Greg’s many decades of experience working with pH control, and shared in his ISA…

  • Valves, Actuators & Regulators Blog: Anti-Cavitation Trim Innovation for V-Notch Ball Valves

    Jim Cahill
    Many times, we discuss how advancing technology enables breakthrough innovations in Industrial Automation. A recent Oil & Gas Engineering article, Next-gen trim cuts rotary valve cavitation , highlights a great example of this with rotary valve technology. In this article, Emerson’s Brandon Bell describes how additive manufacturing, based on 3D printing technology advancements, enabled the development and manufacturing…

  • Valves, Actuators & Regulators Blog: Electric Valve Actuator Diagnostics, Configuration and Monitoring

    Jim Cahill
    Valve actuators are the power behind valve movement. Many technologies such as hydraulics, pneumatics, and electrical energy are used to drive changes in valve position. For electric actuators, diagnostics help to assure reliable and consistent operation. They also can provide data for monitoring issues that may be developing. Emerson’s Roman Kudinov alerted me to a YouTube playlist of quick, less than 2-minute videos…

  • Valves, Actuators & Regulators Blog: Extending Final Element Proof Testing Intervals

    Jim Cahill
    I received a question from a very old post here on the blog, Credit for Partial Stroke Tests in Verification Process . The person was trying to get a better understanding about this chart showing how partial stroke tests (PSTs) can extend the intervals between full stroke tests for final elements in a safety instrumented function (SIF). I turned to Emerson’s Riyaz Ali for help with this question. Riyaz explained that…

  • Valves, Actuators & Regulators Blog: Following NACE Standards for Corrosion Mitigation

    Jim Cahill
    Excessive corrosion in process piping and vessels can lead to serious safety, environmental, and economic damage for manufacturers and producers. Global bodies such as NACE International and the American Petroleum Institute provide standards and best practices to help mitigate the effects of corrosion. In an Oil & Gas article, Using NACE standards to protect against corrosion , Emerson’s Ali Babakr and David Macedonia…

  • Valves, Actuators & Regulators Blog: IIoT for Reliability and Safety-Limited Only by the Imagination

    Jim Cahill
    One of the changes to daily life that has emerged from the pandemic is the practice of telemedicine so there are fewer visits to see a doctor in an office or clinic. These are replaced by video chats wherever possible, which are practical because of the communication technology and the ability of the doctor to access your medical records from a central database. Your history is available during the call and can enter…

  • Valves, Actuators & Regulators Blog: Diagnostics for Final Elements in Safety Applications

    Jim Cahill
    At the Emerson Exchange Americas virtual series, Emerson’s Mike Hoyme and Stanley Af demonstrated diagnostics in the final elements within a safety instrumented function. Here is their presentation abstract: In this demonstration we will show how to use the FIELDVUE DVC6200 SIS to perform diagnostics on SIS final elements. This device can run full stroke testing, partial stroke testing (PST), solenoid valve (SOV) health…

  • Valves, Actuators & Regulators Blog: Visualizing and Mitigating Control Valve Noise

    Jim Cahill
    At the Emerson Exchange Americas virtual series, Emerson’s Reid Youngdahl , Trevor Stoakes and Michael Wyatt show ways to visualize control valve noise and ways to reduce it. Here is their presentation abstract: Control Valve Noise Reduction: ‘See the Noise Around You’ session will give you a look inside the Emerson Innovation Center at our laser shadowgraph flow visualization technique, which demonstrates the principles…

  • Valves, Actuators & Regulators Blog: Protecting Final Control Elements in Corrosive Applications

    Jim Cahill
    At the Emerson Exchange Americas virtual series, Emerson’s David Macedonia and Ali Babakr describes methods of protecting final control elements in corrosive applications. Here is their presentation abstract: Corrosion is the scourge of the oil & gas industry worldwide, eating up maintenance budgets and often causing incidents. The term corrosion comes from the Latin word “corrodere” which means “to gnaw to pieces”…

  • Valves, Actuators & Regulators Blog: Safer Isolation Valves in Cryogenic Applications

    Jim Cahill
    At the Emerson Exchange Americas virtual series, Emerson’s Bryan Hodges , Jeff Gremillion and Luigi Bellan shared their expertise with ways to ensure safety in isolation valves used in cryogenic applications. Here is their presentation abstract: Join our isolation valve experts in this Meet The Experts session for a live discussion on the latest cryogenic isolation valve technology and how these modern designs can improve…

  • Valves, Actuators & Regulators Blog: Balance of Plant Valve Optimization

    Jim Cahill
    At the Emerson Exchange Americas virtual sessions, Emerson’s David van Veen shared ways to improve operational performance with balance of plant valve optimization. Here is his presentation abstract: This session offers an overview of the utility systems that are critical for best plant performance. We will review the source and effects of abrasion and corrosion issues related to your Isolation Valves and what can be…

  • Valves, Actuators & Regulators Blog: Improving Test Bench Performance

    Jim Cahill
    At the Emerson Exchange Americas Virtual Series, Emerson’s Erica Brackman shared ways to improve test bench performance using TESCOM ER5000 series electropneumatic actuator . Here is her presentation’s abstract: Burst and proof testing are integral methodologies for ensuring the long-term performance of equipment used in pressurized conditions. If a supplier’s radiator hose, pressure vessel, or gauge were to burst prematurely…

  • Valves, Actuators & Regulators Blog: Safely Test Solenoid Valves without Process Disturbances

    Jim Cahill
    At the Emerson Exchange Virtual Series, Emerson’s Joe McHugh and SIS-TECH Solutions ‘ Angela Summers presented on achieving increased safety and reliability through a redundant architecture. Here is their presentation’s abstract: In the context of production costs, something as small as a solenoid valve might not be at the top of your priority list. But the reality is that there are 100s, if not 1000s, of solenoid valves…

This is the official online community site of the Emerson Global Users Exchange, a forum for the free exchange of non-proprietary information among the global user community of all Emerson Automation Solution's products and services. Our goal is to improve the efficiency and use of automation systems and solutions employed at members’ facilities by sharing our knowledge, experiences, and application information.

User Groups | World Areas | Community Guidelines | Legal Information | Privacy Policy | Contact Community Manager

Website translation provided by Website Translator

© 2015-2020 Emerson Global Users Exchange. All rights reserved.