In the oil, gas and petrochemical industry, precision control of the flow of product through valves in the system is vital, and modulation of that flow depends on the valve actuator. These critical pieces of equipment must perform reliably and safely under the most extreme conditions: very high and low temperatures, drought or high-rainfall environments, remote situations in deserts or the arctic, and the corrosive effects of chemicals, high humidity or salinity for extended periods. In potentially explosive atmospheres, explosion protection is required; and in some applications, fireproof operation is critical.
In addition to the core function of opening and closing the valve, the actuator forms a crucial interface between the process and the supervisory control system, providing seamless integration into whichever distributed control system (DCS) is used in the plant network. Moreover, where the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) plays a role, electric actuators equipped with powerful electronics must serve as information hubs, providing direct access to a wide variety of both process and diagnostics data.
Plant and pipeline operations depend on a high degree of valve automation for fundamental functions. The complex processes involved with the flow of material, pumping stations, compressor stations, etc., require the valve positioning to be accurate and extremely reliable.
Actuators must operate the full range of valves—from ball valves, butterfly valves, gate valves to others—to control the flow of both gas and liquids. Typically, ball or butterfly valve actuation requires part-turn actuators that provide a swivel movement of generally 90 degrees for full travel. Gate valves, on the other hand, typically need multi-turn actuators that provide a high number of turns to operate the valve from open to close and vice versa
Another differentiation is the type of duty the actuator has to perform, whether that’s open/close or modulating. Actuators used to isolate a segment, allow maintenance or interruptions in the process, or in worst case stop a leak, are required to operate infrequently to open or close shut-off valves.
Modulating actuators, on the other hand, provide enhanced positioning accuracy for control valves to precisely modulate the flow within pipes. In the upstream segment, this is for the flow of crude oil and natural gas; in the midstream segment, it’s for the storage and transportation of resources. In the downstream segment, this is for the refining process of crude oil, as well as the sale and distribution of both the refined product (i.e., gasoline, fuel, asphalt, etc.) and to feed raw materials to a variety of petrochemical industries that use petroleum-based products to make plastics, fertilizers, pharmaceuticals and more.
- Compare various types of final control elements
- Understand a typical valve operation in a control loop
- Differentiate between various types of valves and the benefits of each
- Compare rising stem to rotary style valves
- Analyze a control system to determine control valve needs
- Use ISA standards for control valve specification and selection
- Size valves for any flow condition likely to be found in a process plant
- Evaluate and select actuators for specific applications
- Specify appropriate auxiliaries including positioners and I/P transducers
- Design control valve installations that are safe and trouble-free
- Mechanical and control valves
- Types of valves
- Control valves
- Mechanical & control valves
- Glope valves, manual valves
- Single port valves & double port valves
- Angle valves, three way valves
- Butterfly valves, ball valves, diaphragm valves
- Cage valves, low noise valves, cavitation trim valves
- Low flow valves, low tem
- Valves, eccentric valves
- Plug valves, pinch valves, axial flow valves
- Gate valves, non return valves
- Cavitation & flushing
- Suitability of valves for different applications
- High pressure drop, pressure & temperature rating
- Shut off differential pressure, high temperature
- Cryogenic temperature, very low flow
- Valve rageability
- Leakage, noise, high viscosity
- Pneumatic actuator
- Spring & diaphragm actuators
- Electro hydraulic actuators
- Electrical actuators
- Manual actuators
- Rolling & diaphragm actuators
- Safe failure
- Valve posioners
- Valve actuator sizing
Training can take place in 4 formats:
- Self-paced
- Blended learning
- Instructor-led online (webinar)
- Instructor-led offline (classroom)
Description of training formats:
- Self-paced learning or e-Learning means you can learn in your own time and control the amount of material to consume. There is no need to complete the assignments and take the courses at the same time as other learners.
- Blended learning or "hybrid learning" means you can combine Self-paced learning or e-Learning with traditional instructor-led classroom or webinar activities. This approach requires physical presence of both teacher and student in physical or virtual (webinars) classrooms or workshops. Webinar is a seminar or presentation that takes place on the internet, allowing participants in different locations to see and hear the presenter, ask questions, and sometimes answer polls.
- Instructor-led training, or ILT, means that the learning can be delivered in a lecture or classroom format, as an interactive workshop, as a demonstration under the supervision and control of qualified trainer or instructor with the opportunity for learners to practice, or even virtually, using video-conferencing tools.
When forming groups of students, special attention is paid to important criteria - the same level of knowledge and interests among all students of the course, in order to maintain stable group dynamics during training.
Group dynamics is the development of a group in time, which is caused by the interaction of participants with each other and external influence on the group. In other words, these are the stages that the training group goes through in the process of communicating with the coach and among themselves.
The optimal group size for different types of training:
- Self-paced / E-learning: 1
- Instructor-led off-line (classroom): 6 – 12
- Instructor-led on-line (webinar): 6 – 12
- Blended learning: 6 – 12
- Workshop: 6 – 12
- On-the-job: 2 – 4
- Simulator: 1 – 2
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- preliminary (base-line assessment) - to determine the current level of knowledge and adapt the personal curriculum
- intermediate - to check the progress of learning
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Conducting classes is based on the fact that the teacher demonstrates text, drawings, graphics, presentations on an interactive board, while the content appears in the student's electronic notebook. A specially designed digital notepad and pen are used to create and edit text and images that can be redirected to any surface via a projector.
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Real-life training uses the principles of game organization, which allows future professionals to rehearse and hone their skills in a virtual emergency. Learning as a game provides an opportunity to establish a connection between the learning activity and real life.
The technology provides the following learning opportunities:
- Focused on the needs of the user
- Instant feedback
- Independent decision making and choice of actions
- Better assimilation and memorization of the material
- Adaptive pace of learning tailored to the individual needs of the student
- Better transfer of skills learned in a learning situation to real conditions
Basic principles of training:
- A gradual increase in the level of difficulty in the game;
- Using a simplified version of a problem situation;
- Action in a variable gaming environment;
- The right choice is made through experimentation.
The main advantages of Game Based Learning technology:
- Low degree of physical risk and liability
- Motivation to learn while receiving positive emotions from the process;
- Practice - mirroring the real situation
- Timely feedback
- Choice of different playing roles
- Learning in collaboration
- Developing your own behavior strategy
Conducting practical classes online using remote access technologies for presentations, multimedia solutions and virtual reality:
- Laboratory workshops that simulate the operation of expensive bench equipment in real production
- Virtual experiment, which is visually indistinguishable from a remote real experiment performed
- Virtual instruments, which are an exact copy of real instruments
- Mathematical modeling to clarify the physical characteristics, chemical content of the investigated object or phenomenon.