Patent Application
20240175518
Flow controls play a large role in many industrial facilities. Power plants and industrial process facilities, for example, use different types of flow controls to manage flow of a material, typically fluids, throughout vast networks of pipes, tanks, generators, and other equipment. Control valves are useful to accurately regulate flow to meet process parameters. In oil and gas industry, operators may deploy control valves to control flow of debris-entrained fluids in hydrocracking or related processes. However, fluids in these processes are known to be highly-erosive. The materials may cause parts of the valve found directly in the flow to degrade rapidly. Operators are keen to understand wear patterns or characteristics of these parts in order to properly maintain their devices to avoid costly repairs or untimely line shut-downs.
The subject matter of this disclosure relates to improvements that provide operators with data about the condition of devices on their process lines. Of particular interest are embodiments with sensors that can monitor wear of certain parts on valves or flow controls. These embodiments may provide real-time data to capture the effects of highly-erosive process fluids. As a result, operators may pre-emptively arrange for maintenance to occur at timely points of service, for example, before parts erode to such degree as to effect performance of the valve. This feature can save considerable costs because maintenance is done on devices that are near, but not at, catastrophic failure that would affect output, product quality, or even irreparably damage the process line.
This specification refers to the following drawings:
These drawings and any description herein represent examples that may disclose or explain the invention. The examples include the best mode and enable any person skilled in the art to practice the invention, including making and using any devices or systems and performing any incorporated methods. The drawings are not to scale unless the discussion indicates otherwise. Elements in the examples may appear in one or more of the several views or in combinations of the several views. The drawings may use like reference characters to designate identical or corresponding elements. Methods are exemplary only and may be modified by, for example, reordering, adding, removing, and/or altering individual steps or stages. The specification may identify such stages, as well as any parts, components, elements, or functions, in the singular with the word “a” or “an;” however, this should not exclude plural of any such designation, unless the specification explicitly recites or explains such exclusion. Likewise, any references to “one embodiment” or “one implementation” does not exclude the existence of additional embodiments or implementations that also incorporate the recited features.
The discussion now turns to describe features of the examples shown in the drawings noted above. These examples may embody valves, like control valves, that are setup to monitor wear of certain parts or pieces, typically in critical areas of the device. These parts may reside in locations that are generally inaccessible for ready visual inspection. For example, the proposed designs may provide quantitative data on conditions of parts that are in direct contact with flow of working fluid. The designs may offer insight not previously available through non-invasive diagnostics that a technician might perform with handheld ultrasonic equipment. Other embodiments are within the scope of this disclosure.
Broadly, the monitoring unit 100 may be configured to generate data. These configurations may operate continuously to detect conditions that prevail in service. This data may correspond with wear, erosion, or other surface defects that can result from exposure to harsh or caustic environments that prevail in, for example, oil & gas applications. The data may provide operators with physical conditions of their devices in real-time. As a result, they can make decisions concomitant with trends that point to potential problems or issues, often before the subject part fails or starts to have an adverse effect on performance of the valve.
The distribution system 102 may be configured to deliver or move resources. These configurations may embody vast infrastructure. Material 104 may comprise gases, liquids, solids, or mixes, as well. The conduit 106 may include pipes or pipelines, often that connect to pumps, compressors, vessels, boilers, and the like. The pipes may also connect to tanks or reservoirs. In many facilities, this equipment forms complex networks.
The flow control 108 may be configured to regulate flow of material 104 through the conduit 106. These configurations may embody control valves and like devices. The valve positioner 110 may be configured to process and generate signals. These configurations may connect to a control network (or “distributed control system” or “DCS”), which maintains operation of all devices on process lines to ensure that materials flow in accordance with a process. The DCS may generate control signals with operating parameters that describe or define operation of the flow control 108 for this purpose. The valve positioner 110 may have operating hardware, like electrical and computing components (e.g., processors, memory, executable instructions, etc.). These components may also include electro-pneumatic devices that operate on an incoming pneumatic supply signal to deliver a control signal, typically compressed air, at pressure that ensures the flow control 108 supplies material 104 downstream according to process parameters.
Parts of the flow control 108 may be configured to regulate flow of material 104 through the conduit 106. The valve body 112 may adopt a structure often made of cast or machined metals. This structure may form a flange at openings I, O. Adjacent pipes 106 may connect to these flanges. The actuator 114 may embody a pneumatic device. The compressed air signal may energize this device to generate a load. The valve stem 116 may embody an elongate cylinder or rod that directs this load to the valve mechanics 118, 120. This feature helps locate the closure member 120, often a “plug” made of metal or metal alloy, in a desired position relative to the seat 118. This desired position or “set point” may correspond with flow parameters for the material 104 to meet process requirements or parameters. The plug 120 may move relative to the seat 118 to meet or achieve the set point. Movement is generally along an axis of the seat 118, or “up” or “down” for those valves that orient vertically on the process line. As noted, the position of the plug 120 may correspond directly with the flow rate of natural gas (or other resource) that flows through the seat 118 (or from its upstream side to its downstream side).
The sensor unit 122 may be configured to measure conditions on the flow control 108. These configurations may include devices that are sensitive to physical conditions or changes in structure on parts, including the plug 120, that are in contact with material 104. The devices may reside inside of the flow control 108. In one implementation, the devices integrate into the structure of the valve body 112, for example, the structure that guides the plug 120. This feature provides data at locations that are in close proximity to surfaces on the plug 120 that are exposed to material 104. As a result, the data may clearly reflect physical conditions of (or on) the plug 120 that may be precursor to broader failures or issues on the flow control 108. Erosion of the plug 120, for example, may lead to changes in flow rate that are outside of process parameters, even though the plug 120 may reside at its desired position.
In view of the foregoing, the improvements herein address operator concerns about life expectancy of certain parts on their process lines. The embodiments can monitor physical conditions of these parts, in real-time, and with a level of accuracy not available through non-invasive techniques, like ultrasonics. The resulting data and diagnostic analysis can prove operators with a picture of wear characteristics. This picture can allow them to act quickly or timely to avoid catastrophic failures that might reduce produce quality or cause unfortunate (and costly) shutdowns of their process lines.
The examples below include certain elements or clauses to describe embodiments contemplated within the scope of this specification. These elements may be combined with other elements and clauses to also describe embodiments. This specification may include and contemplate other examples that occur to those skilled in the art. These other examples fall within the scope of the claims, for example, if they have structural elements that do not differ from the literal language of the claims, or if they include equivalent structural elements with insubstantial differences from the literal language of the claims.
