Kinetrol Steadyline Actuators

The Kinetrol Steadyline series are precision valve actuators with built-in damping devices that give smooth rotational resistance to the actuator / valve shaft. The Kinetrol Steadyline product smoothes the standard travel of the actuator, dampens any pipeline flow-induced oscillations of the valve disks and enables the user to set a minimum amount of travel time on power failure. 

Kinetrol Steadyline is tailor-made and designed for precise, repeatable valve operation, offering superior stability and precision in opening / closing times.

Kinetrol Steadyline offers the next level of valve stability, precision, and control when there is a need to minimize or remove harmful shock or unnecessary motion, or when a valve application needs precise and repeatable closing or opening times. 

Contact Kinetrol USA by calling 972-447-9443 or email sales@kinetrolusa.com for more information.

High Pressure Steam Balancing Act in Combined-Cycle Power Plant

The most common design for managing high-pressure steam in combined-cycle power generation plants is cascading bypass systems. Balancing valves are used on the hot reheat line to respond to loop control requirements. The application is difficult due to high pressures, high temperatures and large sizes of the valve (high torque). The valves must close tightly and be able to throttle precisely as well. 

It is also difficult to equip these valves with pneumatic actuators. Due to the size of the valve and the design of the valve, the actuators must have a high torque output without taking up large amounts of space. Actuators also need to act quickly and eliminate hysteresis. 

Most pneumatic actuator designs simply can not meet operating and size limitations, and hydraulic actuators, with all their associated maintenance problems, are used instead.

A better solution is to apply Kinetrol vane actuators. They deliver high torque in a relatively small package, and combined with state-of-the-art valve positioners, provide the precision and response the application requires to eliminate oscillations and instability.

For more information contact:

Kinetrol USA

972-447-9443

https://kinetrolusa.com

WEFTEC 2017

WEFTEC is recognized as the world’s largest annual water quality technical conference and exhibition, providing extensive educational opportunities and unparalleled access to the field’s most cutting-edge technologies and services.

WEFTEC's expansive show floor provides unparalleled access to the most cutting-edge technologies in the field; serves as a forum for domestic and international business opportunities; and promotes invaluable peer-to-peer networking among registrants.

The conference provides insights and products for water and wastewater technologies including:

• Collection Systems - Management, operations and maintenance, infrastructure, overflow reduction, wet weather planning, watershed approaches, and regulations
• Energy Conservation and Management - Resource recovery, combined heat and power, biogas optimization
• Membrane Technologies - Application in wastewater and water reuse, innovations, enhanced performance, regulatory compliance
• Plant Operations and Treatment - Innovations, technologies, processes, and proven solutions in water and wastewater treatment; including nutrient removal and odor control
• Regulations - CMOM/SSO Rules, TMDL/Watershed Rules, Nutrient Trading, and NPDES Phase II
• Research - Leading edge process applications in water and wastewater treatment and recent developments
• Residuals & Biosolids - Incineration, disposal, reuse through land application, research, regulations, politics, and public perception
• Stormwater - Treatment, green infrastructure, wet weather management, modeling
• Utility Management - Asset Management and financial planning for infrastructure, technology, regulatory compliance, and security; including environmental management systems (EMS)
• Water Reuse/Recycling - Research, regulations, emerging technologies, proven processes
• Water Quality & Watershed Management - Stormwater, wet weather, and watershed issues

Kinetrol is exhibiting again this year and will be in booth 4136. Please come by and visit us if you attend.

Exhibition Details:
McCormick Place | Chicago, IL
Exhibition: October 2 - 4, 2017
Hours: 8:30 am - 5:00 pm daily
COME VISIT US AT BOOTH 4136

Kinetrol Product Line Video

A short overview of the Kinetrol product line.

For over 50 years Kinetrol has been providing trouble-free valve and damper actuators to the chemical, biofuel, food & beverage, metal, mineral, oil, gas, pharmaceutical, power generation, paper, textile, water, wastewater, and transportation industries.

A Basic Description of Valve Actuators

Automated plug valve with
actuator, limit switch, and indicator.

Valves are used to control the flow of fluids in process systems. In order to meet the needs of a process system some method of changing the positions of the valve is needed. 

Some valves can be operated with hand wheels or levers, but some valves have to be open and closed or throttled frequently. Manually positioning valves in these types of situations is not always practical. So instead of hand wheels or levers, actuators are used to position the valves. 

An actuator is a mechanism that moves or controls a device such as a valve. Actuators reduce the need for operators to go to every valve that needs repositioning and operate the valve by hand. When actuators are used, valves can be repositioned from a central remote location, such as a control room. This is very important in processes where a number of valves have to be repositioned accurately and quickly.

There are three basic types of actuators pneumatic actuators, hydraulic actuators, and electric actuators. Pneumatic actuators use air pressure to produce motion to position the valve. They're probably the most common type of actuator used in process systems. Actuators that are powered by a pressurized liquid, such as hydraulic fluid, are called hydraulic actuators. Compared to pneumatic actuators, hydraulic actuators of the same size are usually more powerful. Electric actuators use electricity to produce motion. They usually fall into one of two general classifications: solenoid actuators or motor-driven actuators. 

Regardless of the type of actuator used with valves, actuators are normally part of process control systems. From a control room, valves with actuators can be quickly and accurately positioned to deal with frequent flow changes. 

Valve actuators operate to position valves in response to signals from controllers. Controllers are part of the instrumentation systems that monitor plant processes and response to variations in the processes. Basically a controller is a device that receives an input from another part of the instrumentation system, compares that input to a set point, and sends out a corrective signal to regulate the value of a process variable such as temperature, pressure, level, or flow. 

Generally, actuators are used with valves that are designed for throttling or regulating flow. Valves that are used to automatically throttle flow are generally referred to as control valves. However some on-off or isolation valves may also require actuators. Although these isolation valves may require actuators, they're not commonly referred to as control valves. Control valves can be either linear that is the stem moves the valve disc up and down as in globe and gate valves, or they can be rotary which means that they're positioned by rotation. Butterfly valves and ball valves, which open or closed with a 90-degree turn, are examples of rotary control valves.

Kinetrol Actuators on Dilute and Dense Phase Conveying Diverters

Kinetrol actuator on dense phase diverter valves

Pneumatic conveying systems transfer powders, granules, and other dry bulk materials through an enclosed horizontal or vertical conveying line. Pressure differential and air flow is the motive force in pneumatic conveying. Through control of pressure or vacuum and the airflow inside the conveyor, the system can successfully move material.

Pneumatic conveying systems are classified into two types by their operating principle: dense phase and dilute phase.

The most common is dilute phase pressure conveying. Used for powders or granules, and most often with non-abrasive, non-fragile materials that have a light bulk density. Common examples are plastic granules, sugar,  flour, corn starch, activated carbon, zinc oxide, hydrated lime, and sodium bicarbonate. Dilute phase vacuum conveying is for materials that compress under pressure, for toxic materials, and are conveyed over short distances at low capacities.

Kinetrol on diverter valves

Dense phase pressure conveying is best for conveying fragile or abrasive materials over long distances. Commonly handled materials include feldspar, fly ash, silica sand, alumina, sorbitol, dextrose, carbon black, resins, cocoa beans, nuts, and certain cereals. Dense phase pressure conveying moves materials at a relatively low speed to reduce materials degradation, air consumption, and wear and tear on mechanical systems.

Diverters are used to direct the flow of conveyed material to branch lines. Because they are handling materials such as sand, gravel, whole grains, stone, cement, and coal, the diverter must be designed for handling very abrasive materials and for high cycles. Not only must the diverter be designed for this service, but the pneumatic actuator must also meet theses demanding requirements.

Kinetrol actuators have become the preferred quarter-turn pneumatic actuator for conveying diverters because of their dependability and ability to withstand tough operating environments. Kinetrol actuators are virtually immune to the high vibration, dusty atmospheres and provide years of maintenance free operation.