Professional Certificate of Competency in Control Valve Sizing, Selection and Maintenance

Overview

Control valves are the workhorse of our facilities, continually functioning to ensure our systems work as intended. A properly specified, engineered, designed, installed, and maintained control valve can be one of the most profitable investments a facility can have, while a control valve that "does not work well" can be an increased risk of injury (more exposure of maintenance personnel working on the valve), and disruption to your system.

With today's focus on data management, the control valve is the part of the control loop that not only requires integration with modern data collection methods, but also involves mechanical features (moving parts, exposure to process fluids, material selection issues) as well as occupational health and safety issues not associated with other parts of the control loop (such as noise). Often the benefits of modern SCADA systems can be lost with inappropriate or minimal attention to the control valves.

This comprehensive certificate course covers the essentials of control valves and actuators. With this knowledge, the user is better placed to fully realize the full potential and benefit of any control system.

Selections of case studies are used to illustrate the key concepts with examples of real world working control valves. The course is aimed at those who want to get a solid appreciation of the fundamentals of their control valve design, installation and troubleshooting.

Course Outline

MODULE 1: Introduction

• Basic concepts
• Definitions

MODULE 2: Types of Control Valves

• Linear vs rotary
• Discussion of linear valves (globe valves, angle valves, etc)
• Discussion of rotary valves (butterfly valves, ball valves, etc)
• Discussion of seats and leakage

MODULE 3: Basic Sizing for Liquids

• Basic selection steps
• Key equations
• Interactive use of sizing software

MODULE 4: Basic Sizing for Gases and Vapours

• Basic selection steps
• Key equations
• Interactive use of sizing software

MODULE 5: Inherent and Installed Flow Characteristics

• Discussion of how the control valve interacts with the system

MODULE 6: Actuators

• Principles of actuators for control valves
• Pneumatic actuator types

MODULE 7: Cavitation and Flashing

• Difference between cavitation and flashing
• Managing cavitation

MODULE 8: Noise Prediction and Treatment

• Mechanical vibration
• Hydrodynamic noise
• Aerodynamic noise

MODULE 9: Materials of Construction

• Typical materials of construction for body and valve trim
• Recognise issues of corrosion and wear

MODULE 10: Maintenance Issues

• Understand the tasks involved in valve maintenance
• Develop your knowledge of important installation features relevant to good maintenance
• Know about methods for detection of backlash and stiction in the valve drive

MODULE 11 & 12: Principles of Pressure Relief Devices and Pressure Relieving Systems

• Pressure relieving systems as an independent layer of protection
• The risk reduction complemented by a functional safety system
• The risk reduction provided by hazardous area protections systems
• Fire and gas detection

NB: The course description of all EIT "Certificate" courses has been changed to "Professional Certificate of Competency". Some course brochures are not yet updated. The actual certificate received by successful students will include the new title.

Software/Hardware Used

Software

• N/A

Hardware

• N/A