Electric actuator for a control valve

Abstract: A description is made of an electric actuator for a control valve for fluids. The acuator according to the present invention utilizes an induction motor to control the degree of opening of the valve and is provided with a control system which determines the deviation of the actual opening degree from the demand opening degree, generates a valve opening or closing speed command in accordance with the opening deviation, determines the deviation of the actual opening or closing speed from the command speed, generates a torque command in accordance with the speed deviation, and computes by means of the vector computing method the primary current to be supplied to the induction motor to enable the induction motor to output the required torque. When the valve is in the fully closed position, the control system stops the supply current to the induction motor and activates a braking device which locks the motorshaft to prevent reverse rotation of the motorshaft due to load reaction. The actuator has a means of re-starting the induction motor to optimize the thrust load should any change occur in the level of thrust acting on the valve rod. The actuator is furthermore provided with a means of diagnosing whether any abnormal performance is due to wear and/or deterioration of the induction motor, of the torque transmitting system or of the valve body.

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an actuator for an electrically actuated control valve which is suitable for use in controlling pressure and flow rate of high-pressure fluids such as high-pressure steam in a steam power plant. Description of the prior art Such an electrically actuated control valve comprises a casing containing a valve chamber; an inlet and an outlet; a valve seat which is located in the chamber; a movable valve rod supported in the casing and connected to a valve plug; and an actuator which utilizes a D.C. servo-motor to move the valve rod so as to drive the valve plug into and out of contact with the valve seat, thereby controlling the degree of opening of the control valve. The D.C servomotor in turn is under the control of a phase-control type controller, which determines the deviation of the actual opening degree from a demand opening degree and drives the D.C.servo-motor in the direction required to reduce the deviation. The controller then stops the D.C.servomotor when the deviation has been reduced to zero. When stopped at the demand opening degree, however, the D.C. servo-motor cannot produce torque to balance the load acting on the valve rod. A worm gear train which provides an automatic locking function is therefore incorporated in the system for transmitting torque from the D.C. servomotor to the valve rod. The provision of the worm gear train, however, complicates the construction of the torque-transmitting system and requires the D.C. servomotor to have a large capacity because of the low torque-transmitting efficiency of the worm gear train. A valve actuator utilizing a D.C. servomotor must also incorporate a torque limit switch in the torque-transmitting system in order to protect the valve members and the torque transmitting system itself from any excessive force which may be caused by any foreign material jammed between the valve plug and the valve seat when the valve is in the fully closed position or in an intermediate opening degree. Furthermore, the operating speed is limited and additional maintenance work is necessitated because of the brushes required by the DC motor to rectify the electric current. GB 2165372 describes a pressure reducing valve the position of which may be automatically set dependent upon the pressure of fluid detected on the secondary side of the valve. In this document the position of the valve is directly controlled by a diaphragm which is acted upon at one side by the spring force of a pressure setting spring and at the other side by the fluid pressure on the secondary side of the valve. A pressure sensor on the secondary side of the valve supplies information on the fluid pressure which is used to control an electric motor which in turn controls the spring force of the pressure setting spring. The electric motor is actuated dependent upon a difference between the measured fluid pressure and a target fluid pressure. The objective of the present invention is to provide an electric actuator which can accurately actuate a control valve without making use of a D.C. servomotor, a worm gear train to automatically lock the valve, or a torque limiter in the torque-transmitting system. To this end, according to the present invention, there is provided an electric actuator for a control valve, the electric actuator comprising an electric motor; connecting means for connecting the shaft of said electric motor to means for operating the control valve; and a control system including detection means connected to a comparator means, said comparator means generating a deviation output dependent upon the difference between the output from said detection means and a desired output and control means for controlling said electric motor dependent upon said deviation output characterised in that said electric motor is an AC induction motor, and said detection means is a position detection means for detecting the opening degree of the control valve, whereby said comparator means compares the opening degree detected with a desired opening degree to generate an opening deviation and wherein said control means includes speed command generating means for generating a desired speed in response to said opening deviation, speed command comparator means for comparing the desired speed with a measured speed and generating a speed deviation, torque command generating means for generating a torque command dependent on said speed deviation and a motor control circuit for calculating a plurality of voltage commands for respective phases of said AC induction motor dependent on said torque command and for supplying power to said AC induction motor dependent upon the respective voltage commands. According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, there may be further provided a magnetic braking device which acts on the motor shaft to prevent reverse rotation of the shaft due to load reaction when the current supply to the induction motor is stopped by the control system at the fully closed position of the valve; a thrust detector which detects the thrust level acting on the valve rod; and a thrust comparator which outputs signals to re-start the induction motor and release the braking device if the thrust level deviates from a pre-determined level when the valve is in a fully closed state. The actuator according to the present invention provides smooth control of the valve regardless of valve rod speed since the vector control ensures that the induction motor always outputs the proper torque to balance the load at any valve position. Furthermore, the vector control enables the demand opening degree to be maintained without the need for a specific mechanism to lock the valve. Consequently a spur gear train, which has a high torque transmitting efficiency, can be used in place of the worm gear train. As a result a smaller motor with lower capacity is used to reduce overall size and weight. The control system continuously monitors the current supplied to the induction motor so that the torque which is output to open or close the valve does not exceed a pre-determined level, thereby obviating the need for a mechanical torque limit switch in the torque transmitting system. Moreover, the operating speed can be increased owing to the use of a squirrel-cage type induction motor, which, being brushles, reduces maintenance work. In the actuator in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the power supply to the induction motor is stopped and the braking device simultaneously locks the motor shaft when the valve is fully closed. Thus power is conserved and no heat is generated. The thrust comparator continuously monitors the signal from the thrust detector and acts to restart the induction motor and release the braking device in the event that a change in fluid temperature should require the seating load to be adjusted, thereby ensuring that optimum thrust control is always obtained. The above and other objectives, features and advantages of the present invention will be made clear by the following description of the preferred embodiments when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Fig. 1 is a partly-sectioned front elevational view of an actuator in accordance with the present invention and of a control valve actuated by the actuator; Fig. 2 is a block diagram of the control system for the actuator shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a sectional view of a part of the actuator shown in Fig 1; and Fig. 4 is a block diagram of the thrust detection system. DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS As shown in Fig. 1, the control valve 10 has a casing 14 containing therein a valve chamber 13 and provided with an inlet passage 11 and an outlet passage 12, a valve seat 15 located in the casing 14, and a movable valve 17 which is supported in the casing 14 and is connected to a valve plug 16. The control valve 10 is designed to be actuated by an actuator which includes an A.C. servomotor 18 of the induction motor type. The servomotor 18 is connected to the valve rod 17 through a reduction gear device 19 and a ball screw device 20 and drives the valve rod 17 so as to move the valve plug 16 into and out of contact with the valve seat 15,thereby controlling the degree of opening of the control valve 10. The reduction gear device 19 comprises a spur gear train including spur gears 21A to 21D. A manual handle 22 is connected to the reduction gear device 19 through gear 21E. The valve rod 17 is composed of an upper rod section 23 connected to the ball screw device 20, a lower rod section 24 connected to the valve plug 16, and adapter 25 attached to the lower end of the upper rod section 23 and a coupling 26, which is attached to the upper end of the lower rod section 24 and which couples axially with the adapter 25. The control valve 10 has a yoke 27A on whcih is mounted a position transmitter 27, which may be of the differential transformer type. In the illustrated embodiment, the axial displacement of the lower valve rod 24 is transmitted through a linkage to the position transmitter 27 so that the transmitter 27 transmits a signal corresponding to the degree of opening of the control valve 10. An encoder 28 provided on the shaft of the motor 18 detects the degree of rotation of the motor shaft. The control valve 10 is equipped with a thrust detector 29, which detects the thrust force acting on the valve rod 17. As shown in Fig.3, the thrust detector 29 has a strain gauge 30 constructed in the form of a Wheatstone bridge and attached to the smaller diameter portion 25A of the adapter 25. As will be seen from Fig. 4, the strain gauge 30 is connected to an electric power supply circuit 30A. The output of the strain gauge 30 is transferred to the thrust comparator 36 through an amplifier 30B. As shown in Fig. 3, buffering disk springs 32 are provided between the adaptor 25 and the coupling 26 in order to absorb any axial expansion which may occur in locations 32A and 32B. The servomotor 18 is provided with an electromagnetic braking device 33 so as to prevent reverse rotation of the motor shaft due to load reaction when the current supply to the motor 18 is stopped by the control system 34. As will be seen from Fig. 2, the control system 34 incorporates a torque comparator 35 and a thrust comparator 36. The control system 34 included a speed command computing circuit 38, which receives via an amplifier 37 a demand valve opening degree K 0 and the present valve opening degree K transmitted from the position transmitter 27. The speed command computing circuit 38 computes an opening speed command OV or a closing speed command CV according to the deviation Ke of the present opening degree K from the demand opening degree K o . The opening speed command OV or the closing speed command CV are transmitted to an AC servo-amplifier 40 through an interface circuit 39. The control system 34 also incorporates a speed computing circuit 41 which receives the output of the encoder 28, which detects the degree of rotation of the motor shaft, and computes actual motor speed V. The A.C. servo-amplifier 40 computes the speed deviation Ve of the actual motor speed V from the opening or closing speed command OV 0 or CV 0 . The speed deviation Ve is input to a torque command computing circuit 42, which computes a torque command It in accordance with the speed deviation Ve. The torque command It takes the form of an electric signal and is output to a vector computing circuit 43, which computes, in accordance with the vector-computing method, the level of the primary current I 1 to be supplied to the motor 18. More specifically the vector computing circuit 43 computes the command currents lu, Iv and Iw which are to be supplied to the U, V and W phases of the servomotor 18. The AC servo-amplifier 40 determines the current deviation le,that to say the difference between the actual primary current I detected by a current detector 44 and the command primary current I 1 mentioned above. The current deviation le is supplied to a power supply control circuit 45, which computes voltage commands Eu, Ev and Ew in accordance with the current deviation le. The voltage commands Eu, Ev and Ew are then supplied to the power transistors 46, which are connected to the respective phases of the servomotro 18, thereby controlling the servomotor 18. The vector computing circuit 43 receives the torque command it computed by the torque command computing circuit 42, the angular speed ω m of the motor shaft computed by the speed computing circuit 41 and a predetermined excitation current command I 0 memorized by the A.C. servoamplifier 40, and computes the level of primary current I 1 , the phase angle , the slipping frequency ω s and the output frequency ω 0 by means of equations 1-4 below: Level of primary current: Phase angle: Slipping fequency: ωs = (1/τ)(It/I0) Output frequency: ω0 = ωs + ωm Where τ is a coefficient pre-determined individually for each motor unit. The vector computing circuit 43 then utilizes the results of equations 1~4 above to compute the primary current commands Iu, Iv and Iw for the respective phases of the servomotor 18 by means of equations 5-1, 5-2 and 5-3 below: Iu = I 1 sin(ω 0 t+) Iv = I 1 sin(ω 0 t + -2π/3) Iw = I 1 sin(ω 0 t +  + 4π/3) As a safety factor to protect the actuator, the vector computing circuit 43 also continuously receives via an interface 52 a signal corresponding to a pre-determined current value for the maximum allowable torque Tmax so that the torque output by the servomotor 18 never exceeds the maximum allowable torque Tmax. The torque comparator 35 stores various normal torque data such as valve shut-off torque and valve operation torque etc. and compares the actual output torque of the servomotor 18 with these stored data in order to detect any excessive torque which may be generated. In the event that excessive torque is generated, the torque comparator 35 outputs a stop signal SV to the power supply control circuit 45 in order to stop the servomotor 18. The thrust detector 29 continuously monitors the thrust force acting on the valve rod 17. Since the power supply to the servomotor 18 is stopped when the valve is in the fully closed position, the thrust comparator 36 monitors the signal from the thrust detector 29 and outputs a signal RV to an interface 39 and the power supply control circuit 45 in order to re-start the servomotor 18 and optimize the thrust level acting on the valve rod 17 in the event that any change in the level of thrust should occur because of, for example, a change in the temperature of the fluid. The thrust comparator 36 also outputs a signal to release the braking device 33 when the servomotor 18 is re-started. Furthermore, since the thrust comparator 36 provides constant monitoring of the thrust acting on the valve rod 17, the thrust comparator 36 serves to duplicate the function of the torque comparator 35 and acts as a secondary means of stopping the power supply to the servomotor in the event of a failure of the torque comparator 35. The actuator according to the present invention is also provided with a thrust calibration/diagnostic device 47 which stores the predetermined values for the torque comparator 35 and thrust comparator 36, calibrates the amplifier 30B incorporated in the thrust detector 29, and indicates the thrust level acting on the valve rod 17. The thrust calibration/diagnostic device 47 also compares the output torque of the servomotor 18 with the actual thrust acting on the valve rod 17 as detected by the thrust detector 29 in order to calculate the efficiency rating. The thrust calibration/diagnostic device 47 may thus be used to diagnose whether any drop in efficiency which may occur over a period of time is due to wear and/or deterioration of the servomotor (18), the various mechanical parts in the power transmitting system or the valve body. Specifically, the calibraton/diagnostic device 47 comprises an computing circuit 47A and a display circuit 47B. A signal representing the present valve opening degree detected by the position transmitter 27 and a signal representing the thrust detected by the thrust detector 29 are supplied to the computing circuit 47A. The computing circuit 47A then (1) stores as reference data the relationships between the valve opening degree and thrust in an early stage of operation of the control valve 10 (e.g., at the time of trial run), (2) computes as actual data the relationships between the valve opening degree and thrust in actual operation of the control valve 10 has elapsed, and (3) compares the actual data with the reference data. Subsequently, the computing circuit 47A diagnoses the occurence of abnormalities in the control valve on condition that thrust at each opening degree in the actual data falls outside a permissible range of thrust at each corresponding opening degree in the reference data. Incidentally, as for the permissible range of actual thrust with respect to the reference thrust at each opening degree, the one stored in a memory section of the computing circuit 47A is used. In addition, the display circuit 47B displays the thrust detected by the thrust detector 29 as well as the diagnostic result computed by the computing circuit 47A. The actuator is provided with an automatic/manual mode switch 48. When this switch is turned to the manual mode, the control valve 10 can be manually operated by means of a valve-opening button 49 or a valve-closing button 50. Manual operating speed can be adjusted within a specified range. The actuator is also provided with an emergency operation button 51, which, when pressed, engages a circuit to either open or oclose the valve according to a pre-set condition regardless of the state of the automatic/manual mode switch 50. The emergency operating speed of the servomotor (18) may be adjusted within a specified range. In the control valve 10, an AC power supply (three-phase, 200V) 61 is connected to the motor 18 via a switch 62, a rectifier 63, and an inverter rectifying circuit section 64 having a power transistor 46 for driving the motor 18. In addition, the control valve 10 has a battery backup device 65 which functions at the time of a power failure of the AC power source 61. The battery backup device 65 is capable of connecting a DC power source (110V) to the inverter rectifying circuit section 64 by a connector (e.g., an electromagnetic relay) 67, and is, at the time of a power failure of the AC power source 61, capable of allowing the motor 18 to be driven by automatically closing the connector 67. Reference numeral 68 denotes a reverse-flow-preventing device using a diode. Further more, when the connector 67 is closed, the battery backup device 65 connects the DC power source 68 to the power supply control circuit 45 via a DC/DC converter 69. The DC power source 66 connected to the power supply control circuit 45 is used as a control power source for controlling the base voltage of the power transistor 46 of the inverter rectifying circuit section 64 and for generating a three-phase alternating current corresponding to the current deviation le of the power supply control ciucuit 45. A description will be made hereinunder as to the manner in which the control valve 10 is actuated by the actuator of the present invention. (1) When there is a deviation of the present opening degree K from the demand opening degree K 0 , the speed command computing circuit 38 computes the opening or closing speed command OV 0 or CV 0 in accordance with the deviation Ke. The torque command computing circuit 42 of the A.C. servo-amplifier 40 computes the torque command It in accordance with the deviation Ve of the actual opening or closing speed V from the computed opening or closing speed command OV 0 or CV 0 . The vector computing circuit 43 of the AC servo-amplifier 40 computes the primary current I 1 which is to be supplied to the servomotor 18. The power supply control circuit 45 then supplies the primary current 11 to the servomotor 18, which drives the valve rod 17 until the deviation Ke of the present opening degree K from the demand opening degree K 0 is reduced to zero. (2) When the deviation of the present opening degree K from the demand opening degree K 0 is reduced to zero at an intermediate degree of opening of the control valve 10, the servomotor 18 is controlled to produce an output torque which balances the load acting on the valve rod 17, thereby maintaining the present opening degree of the control valve 10. (3) When the demand opening degree K 0 corresponds to a fully-closed position of the valve, the motor operates until the deviation Ke of the present opening degree K from the demand opening degree K 0 is reduced to zero, i.e. until the control valve 10 is fully closed. The torque comparator 35 compares the torque computed by the A.C. servo-amplifier 40 with a predetermined shut-off torque, and when the computed torque is equal to the predetermined shut-off torque produces a signal to stop the servomotor 18. The electromagnetic braking device 33 is simultaneously activated to prevent reverse rotation of the motor shaft due to load reaction. (4) When the control valve 10 is in a fully closed state, any thermal expansion or contraction of the valve rod 17 due to a change in the temperature of the fluid in the valve chamber causes a change in the level of the thrust acting on the valve rod 17. The thrust comparator 36 continuously monitors the level of the thrust detected by the thrust detector 29. If a decrease in the level of the thrust is detected, the thrust comparator 36 produces signals to re-start the servomotor 18 and to release the electromagnetic braking device 33, so that the torque applied to the valve rod 17 can be increased until the optimum thrust level is recovered. Conversely, if an increase in the thrust force is detected, the thrust comparator 36 produces a signal to re-start the servomotor 18 and to release the electromagnetic braking device 33 so that the torque applied to the valve rod 17 can be reduced until the optimum thrust level is recovered. (5) The torque comparator 35 stores data relating to optimum levels of operating torque and compares the torque level computed by the A.C. servo-amplifier 40 with such torque level data so as to detect any abnormal torque. If any excessive torque is detected at any valve position, the torque comparator 35 produces a signal to stop the servomotor 18 and activate the electromagnetic braking device 33. As will be understood from the foregoing description, the described embodiment of the present invention offers various advantages. By virtue of the vector control of the output torque of the A.C servomotor 18 which actuates the valve rod 17, optimum torque control can be obtained regardless of the speed of the valve rod 17. Therefore, the servomotor 18 produces a torque which balances the thrust acting on the valve rod 17, irrespective of valve position. Thus, the desired opening degree can be maintained without the need for any specific locking mechanism such as a worm gear train. Consequently a spur gear type reduction mechanism with high torque transmitting efficiancy is used in place of the worm gear train so that a smaller motor with lower capacity can be used to reduce overall size and weight. The control system 34 is provided with a function for monitoring the output torque of the servomotor 18 so as to prevent any excessive torque from being generated should the valve or torque transmitting system be accidentally locked, thereby protecting the valve members and the torque transmitting system, without the need for any mechanical torque limiter. The use of a brushless squirred-cage type induction servomotor 18 enables the valve actuator to operate at a very high speed and reduces maintenance work. When the control valve is fully-closed, the motorshaft is locked by the electromagnetic braking device 33 and the electric power supply to the servomotor 18 is stopped, thereby conserving power and preventing heat generation in the servomotor 18. In order that optimum thrust is always obtained, the thrust comparator 36 continuously monitors the load acting on the valve rod 17 as detected by the thrust detector 29 and outputs signals to re-start the servomotor 18 and release the braking device 33 if a change in the load occurs because of a change in the temperature of the fluid. As has been dscribed, the actuator according to the present invention accurately and smoothly controls the operation of a control valve without making use of a D.C. servomotor and permits valve operating torque and speed to be independently controlled. It also dispenses with the need for an automatic locking mechanism (such as a worm gear train) and a mechanical torque limiter. Furthermore, the thrust force acting on the valve rod is always optimized regardless of any thermal expansion of the valve rod due to a change in fluid temperature. Furtherly, according to the above-described embodiment, since the thrust detector 29 is provided on the valve rod 17, any thrust actually acting on the valve rod 17 can be detected continuously with high accuracy at any valve opening position. In addition, since the calibration/diagnostic device 47 diagnoses the presence of any abnormalities of the valve on the basis of the detected result of the thrust detector 29, faults such as the biting at the valve sliding portions by foreign substances contained in the liquid, as well as seizure, scording, etc. occurring in the sliding portions of the valve can be accurately and readily diagnosed from changes in the thrust of the valve rod. Furtherly, according to the above-described ambodiment, in the control valve 10 using the AC motor 18, when a power failure occurs in the AC power source 61, the connector 67 is immediately closed, the DC power source 66 is connected to the motor 18 via the inverter rectifying circuit section 64 to supply driving electric power to the motor 18. Accordingly, even at the time of a power failure, the control valve 10 can be operated stably without using a DC motor or providing a DC/AC inverter.

Claims: An electric actuator for a control valve (10), the electric actuator comprising an electric motor (18) ; connecting means (19) for connecting the shaft of said electric motor (18) to means for operating the control valve (10); and a control system (34) including detection means (27) connected to a comparator means (38), said comparator means (38) generating a deviation output dependent upon the difference between the output from said detection means (27) and a desired output and control means (39, 42, 43, 45) for controlling said electric motor (18) dependent upon said deviation output characterised in that said electric motor is an AC induction motor (18), and said detection means is a position detection means (27) for detecting the opening degree (K) of the control valve (10), whereby said comparator means (38) compares the opening degree (K) detected with a desired opening degree (K o ) to generate an opening deviation (K e ) and wherein said control means includes speed command generating means (38, 39) for generating a desired speed (V o ) in response to said opening deviation (K e ), speed command comparator means for comparing the desired speed (V o ) with a measured speed (V) and generating a speed deviation (V e ), torque command generating means (42) for generating a torque command (I t ) dependent on said speed deviation (V e ), a vector control computing circuit (43) for computing a primary current for supply to said AC induction motor, and a motor control circuit (45) for calculating from said primary current a plurality of voltage commands (Eu, Ev, Ew) for respective phases of said AC induction motor (18) dependent on said torque command (I t ) and for supplying power to said AC induction motor dependent upon the respective voltage commands (Eu, Ev, Ew). An electric actuator as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that there is further provided a braking device (33) for locking the shaft of said AC induction motor (18) when said control valve (10) is in a fully closed state so as to prevent reverse rotation of the shaft due to load reaction; a thrust detector (29) to detect the level of thrust acting on the valve rod (24) of the control valve (10); and means (36) of re-starting said AC induction motor (18) and releasing said braking device (33) in the event that any change should occur in the level of thrust acting on the valve rod (24) when the control valve (10) is in a fully closed state. An electric actuator as claimed in claim 2, characterised in that there is further provided means (47) of diagnosing whether any abnormal performance of the electric actuator and/or the control valve (10) is due to wear and/or deterioration of the AC induction motor (18), the various mechanical parts in the connecting means (19) or of the control valve (10). An electric actuator as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that there is provided an AC power source; and a battery backup device (65) which is capable of connecting a DC battery power source to a conversion circuit (64) by means of a connector and of allowing said AC induction motor (18) to be driven by closing said connector at a time of power failure of the aforementioned AC power source. A control valve in combination with the electric actuator according to any one of claims 1 to 4, the control valve (10) being of the type having a casing (14) containing a valve chamber (13) and provided with an inlet passage (11) and an outlet passage (12), a valve seat (15) located in said valve chamber (13) and a moveable valve rod (17) which is supported in said casing (14) and connected to a valve plug (16).

Inventors: ENDO TOSHIO, SAITO TAKESHI, SUGURO TAKESHI, UTSUMI YUTAKA, ENDO, TOSHIO, SAITO, TAKESHI, SUGURO, TAKESHI, UTSUMI, YUTAKA
Applicants: BAILEY JAPAN, NIPPON GIA KOGYO KK, BAILEY JAPAN CO., LTD., NIPPON GEAR CO., LTD.
Application year: 1987
Main classification: G05D16
IPC codes: G05D17, G05D3