Learning the basics can ease loop tuning frustration and ensure stability. During plant operations, it seems that tuning control loops is an ongoing task, which can be a continual frustration to ...

Flow is controlled by either throttling or diverting it. Flow is controlled by either throttling or diverting it. Throttling involves reducing orifice size until all of the flow cannot pass through ...

In process flow control, there are many factors affecting variability, but the greatest contributor is the control valve’s performance. Issues associated with control valves, such as dead band, ...

This column is moderated by Béla Lipták, who also edits the Instrument and Automation Engineers’ Handbook, 5th edition, and authored the recently published textbook, Controlling the Future, which ...

Mark Nymeyer discusses the advantages and limitations of butterfly valves, and highlights developments that are making them more suitable for flow control. Butterfly valves are lighter, smaller and ...

Feedwater control valves play a critical role in boiler operation. One important parameter of their design is the pressure drop at the rated condition as well as off-design conditions. However, ...

F low control valves control the movement or pressure of fluid. A valve is basically a mechanical device that blocks a tube or pipe either partially or completely to change the amount of fluid that ...

Terry Blevins is a principal technologist at Emerson Process Management and was elected to the Control Process Automation Hall of Fame in 2004. Kurtis Jensen is a field instruments marketing manager ...