Guide for Selecting Pressure Control Valves With Actuators Used in Pipeline Applications

This paper will discuss guidelines for the selection of pressure control valves (PCV) with electro-hydraulic actuators for use in liquid petroleum pipelines. The performance criteria for PCVs functioning in pipeline pressure control applications are distinct from those used in other industrial applications. Also, PCVs required for large diameter petroleum pipeline represent a relatively small number of total control valve applications. For these reasons, general practitioners of control valve selections, typically engineers at EPCs, commonly apply selection strategies that are effective in other industrial applications, but tend to be less so in pipeline applications. This paper will discuss control valve selection criteria including Critical Threshold Capacity, Effective Control Region and Valve Gain Band. Actuator selection criteria discussed in this paper includes Torque Requirements, Speed of Response, and Positioning Resolution.