Pneumatic Actuator For Corrosive Environments

Commando XL Corrosion Resistant
Pneumatic Valve Actuator
Courtesy Hytork - Emerson

Industrial process control operations sometimes call for equipment to be placed in physical locations or environments that are not conducive to a long and productive component lifespan. Extremes of temperature, humidity, and vibration can have substantial effect on equipment performance and longevity. Deleterious impact can also arise from elements of the process itself, in the form of corrosive liquid or vapor prevalent in the processing area. While most industrial equipment is provided with some level of protection, there are instances where standard coatings and protective materials may not provide adequate resistance to the deteriorating impact of their installation environment.

Valves of many types are used throughout industrial processes to provide control of fluid flow, with quarter turn movement being one of the more prevalent.

Pneumatically powered quarter turn valves have an actuator option that provides a high level of corrosion resistance, along with the field proven performance of a recognized leading product. 

Hytork™, an Emerson brand, offers their XL line of actuators with a special treatment to withstand aggressively corrosive environments. The corrosion resistant version has been labelled "XL Commando" and, in the company's own words, has...

A durable Fluoropolymer impregnation (using CORROGARD-CG941) of the actuator body parts (inside and out) for maximum corrosion resistance. This durable impregnation can best be achieved in cast aluminum parts (all XL COMMANDO body parts are cast aluminum). As the aluminum metal grains are expanded under heat the CORROGARD-CG941 is applied, entering the grain structure and, upon cooling, is locked at the surface, integral with the grain structure. Extruded surfaces can only be coated and are more susceptible to scratches and other mechanical deterioration.

You can review the performance range, sizes, and other features of these pneumatic valve actuators through a review of the document included below. Bring your process challenges to a valve application specialist and combine your process knowledge with their product application expertise to achieve a solid practical solution.

Hytork Pneumatic Actuators for Industrial Process Control from Mountain States Engineering and Controls

Multiport Valve Block Demonstration Video

Stainless Steel Multiport Valve Block
Courtesy Gemu

Industrial fluid processing operations routinely include distribution, mixing, and dosing operations on the path to a finished product. With numerous valves, fittings, pipe sections, supports, and other components required to form the fluid path combinations needed to accomplish the process goal, designs can easily become complex and installations unwieldy. Greater parts count puts upward pressure on the probability and frequency of leakage or other types of failures that will divert resources from otherwise productive tasks.

The traditional method of fluid routing through a process may have involved one or more valve stations consisting of manually constructed piping and valve assemblies with numerous fittings, pipe sections, and support structures. These assemblies are often sizable, due to the nature of their manual assembly and required space allowances for field service and maintenance.

Designers and builders of fluid processing equipment should consider an alternative with some distinct advantages. 

A multiport valve block can combine numerous valves into a single compact unit. By doing this, large counts of fittings, pipe lengths, and supports are eliminated, substantially reducing the parts count and number of potential failure points. Of equal importance is the reduction in the required installation space provided by the compact form factor of  the valve block. There is also potential for reduction of dead leg space and volume of fluid retained in portions of the system.

Muliport valve block starts with a solid metal block
which is machined and polished to finished form.
Courtesy Gemu

There are endless configurations of multiport valve blocks that can be designed and configured to match the requirements of simple to highly complex valve networks. Materials of construction range from plastics to stainless steel. Variants are suitable for CIP and SIP operations.

The video below shows real world (not animated) functioning of a demonstration unit designed for a mixing operation. Essentially, a multiport valve block allows the installation of a whole lot of valves in a comparatively small space, reducing parts count and associated risk.

Watch the short video. Think about how this modern and effective method of valve networking can bring benefits to your operation. There is much more application detail available from product application specialists. Share your process challenges with them and work together to generate the best solutions.

Process Measurement - Tank Fluid Level Measurement

Industrial Magnetic Tank Level Indicator
Courtesy Granzow

Industrial process control often requires the storage of liquid in vessels or tanks. Continuous and accurate indication of the liquid level within the tank is an essential data point for safety and process control. There are a number of methods and instrument types utilized to provide tank level measurement, each with attributes that may be advantageous for a particular installation. Some of the selection criteria for a tank fluid level indicator may include:

• Direct or indirect measurement of level
• Tank shape, regular or irregular
• Media compatibility with measurement device
• Requirements for maintenance or calibration
• Compatibility with process temperature and pressure range
• Local display and visibility
• Level indication signal type and transmission
• Level alarm switches or other indicators

When the instrument of choice is a magnetic level indicator, also referred to as a magnetic level gauge, the selection has usually hinged upon one of this instrument's strengths. Its use for providing level indication has a number of positive attributes:

• Continuous level measurement
• Operable without electric power
• Direct visual tank fluid level indication, regardless of tank shape or profile.
• Wide range of operating temperature and pressure
• Breakage resistant construction
• Range of construction materials available to accommodate corrosive media
• Measuring indicators, switches, and transmitters mounted externally, without contacting the medium being measured.
• Low maintenance operation.
• Readable level indication from greater distance than glass sight gauges.
• Applicable to large fluid level ranges with a single instrument.

These process measurement devices have a strong position in the tank level measurement field and should be considered as a candidate for fulfilling those application requirements. I have included a technical data sheet from Granzow, one of several manufacturers of this type of instrument, so you can see more detail. Share your application challenges with a sales engineer that specializes in level measurement. Combining your process knowledge with their product application expertise will yield positive solutions.

Granzow Magnetic Level Indicator for Industrial Process Measurement from Mountain States Engineering and Controls

A Close Look at Butterfly Valve Seat

Cutaway View of Butterfly Valve With Soft Seat
Courtesy Flowseal - Crane CPE

Butterfly valves are found throughout the fluid based applications in the process control field. They are one of many common and special types of industrial valves used to regulate fluid flow in ways that are compatible with the media being controlled and the degree of precision needed to produce the desired process outcome.

The industrial process control field benefits from a large array of valve manufacturers in pursuit of the favor and business of process operators. Operators continually seek better performance and lower life cycle costs. Manufacturers respond with increasingly improved designs.

A butterfly valve has a disc that is positioned in the fluid flow path. It rotates around a central axis, the stem, through a 90 degree arc from a position parallel to the flow direction (open) to perpendicular (closed). A critical element of a butterfly valve is the seat, where the disc seals to the body in the closed position. Seat design should provide these positive operating attributes:

• Low friction to reduce valve operating torque
• Resistance to wear
• Arrangement that provides for easy replacement
• Seal or shutoff tightness appropriate for the application

Flowseal, part of the Crane, CPE group of brands, utilizes their specially designed Soft Seat valve sealing arrangement on their resilient sealed butterfly valves. The Soft Seat feature provides beneficial fulfillment of process requirements for the attributes listed above. The valve is available in a range of sizes, with options and variants to meet a wide array of industrial process requirements.

Learn more about the Flowseal Soft Seat butterfly valves by watching the short video below. You can delve deeper with a browsing of the illustrative brochure that is also included below. It provides some detailed illustrations of how the seat functions under differing operating conditions. Contact a product specialist and share your process challenges. Your process knowledge and their product application expertise, when combined, will produce a useful solution.

Flowseal Butterfly Valves For Industrial Applications from Mountain States Engineering and Controls

Cooling Tower Case Study: HDPE vs. Metal Clad

HDPE Constructed Cooling Tower
Courtesy Delta Cooling Towers

In any business venture or other organization, relying on doing things the way they have always been done can be detrimental to real progress and improvement. Certainly, incorporating change has risk, but careful consideration and planning can make deciding upon and implementing change a big win for an organization.

Cooling towers are common elements of heat rejection systems, like building HVAC and industrial process cooling. By design, cooling towers have large wetted surfaces in almost continuous contact with aggressive solutions of water and various chemicals used to maintain certain fluid conditions. Many towers are constructed using metal for the wetted parts and case of the unit. This has traditionally been an area of concern with cooling tower ownership, since the combined elements of water, treatment chemicals, and time take their inevitable toll on the equipment.

There is a good solution to the deterioration of metal clad cooling towers. Construction utilizing high-density polyethylene (HDPE). HDPE is impervious to corrosive water treatment chemicals and elements often present in the air, whether harsh chemical vapors emitted from nearby industrial plants or natural corrosives such as salt air.

Delta Cooling Towers, Inc. is a US based manufacturer of HDPE cooling towers with a substantial portfolio of completed projects. Below is a short case study showing how one industrial user benefited from installing HDPE cooling towers.

Read the case study and get more information from an application specialist. See how incorporating HDPE cooling towers into your operation can reduce maintenance burden and lead to longer machinery life.

Cooling Tower Case Study - Metal Clad Construction vs HDPE from Mountain States Engineering and Controls