Valve Stroke Curve Analysis for Automated Characterization
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing valve control systems rely on manual measurements for determining parameters like seating and breakout forces, which are time-consuming, labor-intensive, and prone to operator errors, affecting the accuracy of valve control and maintenance scheduling.
Innovation Solution
The system uses processor circuitry to partition valve stroke curves into bins, determine travel edges, filter data points, and fit curves to extract valve characteristics, enabling automated determination of operational conditions and predicting valve health and operational life.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If manual measurements are used to determine valve parameters, then measurement accuracy can be maintained, but time consumption and labor intensity increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual mechanical measurement methods with an automated electronic measurement system that uses a valve controller, actuator, and processor circuitry to automatically determine valve parameters through stroke curve analysis, thereby eliminating the time-consuming manual measurement process while maintaining measurement accuracy
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables self-service by allowing the valve controller to automatically perform measurements and parameter determination without requiring manual intervention, where the processor circuitry autonomously analyzes stroke curves and extracts valve characteristics
2Reliability
If manual measurements are used to determine valve parameters, then operator control is maintained, but operator errors increase the risk of measurement inaccuracies
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual measurement operations with an automated electronic system that eliminates human error sources, using processor circuitry to objectively analyze stroke curves and determine valve parameters without operator intervention, thereby improving measurement reliability
Solution Approach 2:
The system incorporates feedback mechanisms where the processor circuitry continuously monitors stroke curve data and uses this feedback to automatically adjust and refine parameter determination, ensuring consistent and reliable measurements without operator involvement
3Measurement precision
If automated curve fitting and data filtering are implemented, then valve characterization accuracy improves, but computational complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies segmentation by dividing the valve stroke curve into distinct regions (opening stroke, closing stroke, travel edges) and applying different filtering and curve fitting approaches to each segment, which improves characterization accuracy while managing computational complexity through localized processing
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary data filtering and noise reduction before curve fitting operations, preparing the data in advance to simplify subsequent computational steps and improve overall processing efficiency while maintaining accuracy
Data Source
AI summary
Methods and apparatus to analyze valve characteristics are disclosed. A disclosed example apparatus to determine at least one characteristic of a valve includes at least one memory, machine readable instructions, and processor circuitry to at least one of instantiate or execute the machine readable instructions to: partition a valve stroke curve of the valve to define bins thereof, the valve stroke curve corresponding to stroke data of the valve, determine travel edges based on the valve stroke curve, filter data points corresponding to the travel edges, define fitted curves based on data corresponding to the bins, and determine the at least one characteristic of the valve based on the fitted curves.