Jim Mimlitz, NRI<\/p><\/div>In the Rural Water Industry, when a pressure or flow regulation valve is needed, the traditional choice for many years had been the diaphragm-type valve<\/strong>.\u00a0 In 2002, however, we introduced a new and improved\u00a0flow and pressure regulating valve\/telemetry technology: the electronically-controlled, high-performance butterfly valve<\/strong>.<\/p>\n The High-Performance\u00a0Butterfly Valve\u00a0offered many advantages over the diaphragm valve, especially in the area of control system integration.\u00a0 For example, when the connected controls are closely monitoring the valve’s rate-of-flow and the influent and effluent pressures, the controls may then throttle the valve actuator so as to provide a rate-of-flow and\/or upstream pressure that fits within\u00a0the operator’s\u00a0desired setpoint window.\u00a0 These flow and pressure setpoints may be digitally selected, and may even be modified remotely through a computer; whereas the vast majority of diaphragm valve setpoint modifications are performed local to the valve\u00a0by\u00a0manually adjusting the knob on a pressure regulator or needle valve.<\/p>\n High-Performance Butterfly Valve. Designed for modulating and high-pressure-drop applications, this valve’s disc seat contact axis is offset, which acts to virtually eliminate sliding contact between disc and seat.<\/p><\/div>\n The High-Performance Butterfly Valve, however, can be challenging to control.\u00a0 Because the vast majority of its flow-variation occurs between approximately 10% and 30% open,\u00a0slight turn increments can produce rather large increases in rate-of-flow — resulting in flows and pressures that are difficult to maintain with precision<\/em>.\u00a0 I liken it to “trying to drive a Corvette in a 15mph school zone”.\u00a0 The following chart, which contains actual data from a ground-storage fill valve, illustrates this point:<\/p>\n Rate-of-Flow Versus Valve Open % Measured at a Ground Storage Tank Fill Valve. Next Generation Valve\u00a0Control\u00a0Technology<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n In order to more precisely control valve flows and pressures, we recently researched the latest technologies in order to locate an improved control valve that would deliver a more linear rate-of-flow increase across the entire fully-closed to fully-open spectrum.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0If the rate-of-flow could be\u00a0throttled more evenly across the majority of the actuator movement, then much more precise control of pressure and flow would be the result. \u00a0As a result, we were led to the V-Port\/Baffled Segmented Ball Valve<\/strong>.\u00a0 Based upon the unique\u00a0shape of its V-notched segmented ball and baffle plates, it was postulated that the rate-of-flow through this quarter-turn valve would increase more evenly from 0 to 100% open.<\/p>\n V-Notched, Segmented Ball Valve with Anti-Cavitation\/Noise-Reducing Baffles.<\/p><\/div>\n V-Port\/Baffled Segmented Ball Valve – Principle of Operation Diagram.<\/p><\/div>\n Internal View of\u00a0a V-Port\/Baffled Segmented Ball Valve – On the Bench Before Installation. The following photos illustrate several\u00a0cross-sectional views of the valve throughout the actuation spectrum:<\/p>\n Application Success Story<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n At Fosterburg Water District (Fosterburg, IL), each of their two pump houses\u00a0had\u00a0a diaphragm-type ground-storage fill valve that was approaching end-of-life; and\u00a0Fosterburg had coincidentally been in search of a valve technology that could be tightly integrated into their controls.\u00a0 After a site visit to the valve distributor to see a V-Port\/Baffled Segmented Ball Valve up-close,\u00a0Fosterburg decided to proceed with an upgrade to the new valve.<\/p>\n District general manager and operator Mark Voumard provided pressure and flow datalogs to both the valve representative and the District’s consulting engineer (Heneghan & Associates, Jerseyville, IL)<\/a>, who each calculated the optimal valve diameter and baffle options based upon hydraulic computer simulations.<\/p>\n The photo below illustrates the original valve, flow meter, and piping within one of the\u00a0District’s Pump Houses:<\/p>\n Wenzel Pump House at Fosterburg Water District. Note the influent line to the ground storage tank that features a turbo meter and a solenoid-actuated, diaphragm-type fill valve.<\/p><\/div>\n The photos below illustrate the removal of the old diaphragm valve and turbo meter… followed by the installation of\u00a0the new valve and\u00a0Siemens FM Mag 8000 electromagnetic flow meter:<\/p>\n Old Valve and Meter Section Removed from Service.<\/p><\/div>\n New Valve and Flow\u00a0Meter Section Put Into Service. The Electrical Hookup to the Valve Was Relatively Straightforward: 120VAC Single-Phase Power, Grounding, 4-20mA Analog Positioning Signal from Telemetry Control System.<\/p><\/div>\n Validation Testing:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n After the valve\u00a0installations were completed,\u00a0tests were performed to\u00a0validate whether they were providing\u00a0the\u00a0desired\u00a0linear flow-versus-actuation profile.\u00a0 During the tests, each valve actuator was re-positioned at 5% increments and flow measurements\u00a0were performed.\u00a0 The performance,\u00a0as illustrated by the\u00a0following charts, was excellent:<\/p>\n Flow versus Actuation. Note that the flow variation was highly linear from 5% to 75% actuation. (75-100% open could not be tested without pulling the upstream pressure down too low.)<\/p><\/div>\n Flow versus Actuation. Note that the flow variation was highly linear from 10% to 80% actuation. (90-100% open could not be tested without pulling the upstream pressure down too low.)<\/p><\/div>\n Logic Programming and Telemetry Upgrades:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n After the installation and validation testing, the telemetry controls were updated with\u00a0sophisticated logic programming\u00a0to provide Fosterburg with tighter monitoring and control of its valve actuation process.\u00a0 The following new setpoints were added:<\/p>\n Feedback Control Test:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n As an extreme test of the telemetry control system’s new\u00a0feedback control mechanism, an upstream valve to the pump house was throttled to restrict flow.\u00a0 This restriction simulated an upstream low pressure condition, which could occur in situations where the bulk water supplier suffered from a main break.\u00a0 As the upstream valve was throttled to a near-close, the measured upstream pressure began to drop and dipped below the “Back-Pressure Sustaining Pressure” setpoint.\u00a0 The telemetry controls promptly modulated the V-Port\/Baffled Segmented Ball Valve to a position that further limited the rate-of-flow so as to maintain the target upstream pressure.<\/p>\n Telemetry Historical Trends:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n The following history charts illustrate the valve performance at the Wenzel Pump House on a typical day, as measured and logged by Fosterburg’s wireless telemetry system:<\/p>\n Ground Storage Tank Level – 24 Hour Chart.<\/p><\/div>\n Valve Position (%) – 24 Hour Chart.<\/p><\/div>\n Rate-of-Flow – 24 Hour Chart.<\/p><\/div>\n Upstream Pressure – 24 Hour Chart.<\/p><\/div>\n Totalized Gallons – 24 Hour Chart.<\/p><\/div>\n Lessons Learned:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Special Thanks:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Special thanks to General Manager Mark Voumard and the Board of Directors at Fosterburg Water District for the opportunity to perform this challenging project\u00a0\u2014 a project\u00a0which advanced the state-of-the-art in Rural Water telemetry & control.<\/p>\n Thanks also to Kurt Neuhaus, Paul Shetley, and the staff at ERTC-SIUE (Environmental Resource and Training Center – Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville)<\/a> who generously provided photos used in this article.<\/p>\n Resources on the Web:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Before initiating a new flow control valve project, it is critical that water utility personnel take care to select the appropriate valve diameter size and baffling options. \u00a0For assistance, please discuss with your consulting engineer, or utilize a valve sizing calculator:<\/p>\n Online Valve Sizing Calculator (by J Flow Controls)<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n Interested?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Would our state-of-the-art, V-Port\/Baffled Segmented Ball Valve technology help solve a control challenge in your Water District?\u00a0 Give us a call.\u00a0 Our Telemetry\/Control Systems are designed to leverage this exciting technology; and we\u2019ll be glad to discuss this with you in further detail.<\/p>\n Telemetry, SCADA, & Controls Newsletter<\/strong><\/p>\n Was this article helpful?\u00a0 Would you be interested in receiving updates such as these in our occasional email-delivered newsletter?\u00a0 If so, here’s our sign-up page:<\/p>\n Subscribe to\u00a0Navionics Research’s\u00a0“Telemetry, SCADA, & Controls Newsletter”<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In the Rural Water Industry, when a pressure or flow regulation valve is needed, the traditional choice for many years had been the diaphragm-type valve.\u00a0 In 2002, however, we introduced a new and improved\u00a0flow and pressure regulating valve\/telemetry technology: the electronically-controlled, high-performance butterfly valve. The High-Performance\u00a0Butterfly Valve\u00a0offered many advantages over the diaphragm valve, especially in …<\/span> Read More →<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1557,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,7,16,18,19],"tags":[35,63,65,83,109,128,135,145,149,158],"class_list":["post-854","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-applications","category-general","category-sensors","category-valve-actuator","category-valves","tag-baffles","tag-feedback-control","tag-flow-control","tag-j-trim","tag-pressure-control","tag-scada","tag-segmented-ball-valve","tag-telemetry","tag-throttling-valve","tag-v-port-ball-valve"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wireless-telemetry.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/854","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wireless-telemetry.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wireless-telemetry.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wireless-telemetry.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wireless-telemetry.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=854"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wireless-telemetry.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/854\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wireless-telemetry.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wireless-telemetry.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=854"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wireless-telemetry.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=854"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wireless-telemetry.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=854"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wireless-telemetry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/jamesbury_high_perf_butterfly.jpg\")
<\/a><\/a>
Note the large flow rate increase that occurs between 10% and 30% open.
(30-100% open could not be tested without pulling the upstream pressure down too low.)<\/p><\/div>\n<\/a><\/a><\/a>
Photo Courtesy of Kurt Neuhaus of ERTC-SIUE<\/p><\/div>\n<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a>
\nPhotos Courtesy of Kurt Neuhaus of ERTC-SIUE<\/strong><\/h6>\n<\/a><\/a><\/a>
Note the Shorter Lay-Lengths of the New Valve and Electromagnetic Flow Meter.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/a><\/a><\/a>\n
<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a>\n
<\/a>