Valves maintenance

INTRODUCTION
Maintenance can be defined as the process of maintaining,
retaining or restoring it to a state in which it can perform a
required function which is considered decisive to provide the
given service.

TYPES OF MAINTENANCE
Maintenance is categorized into two main categories which
are further divided into subcategories. Given below is a chart
explaining different types of maintenances which are
employed in various industries.

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PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE
• The approach of proactively maintaining the assets in
working conditions and preventing untimely breakdown
can be termed as preventive maintenance. The intention
of this type of maintenance is increasing assets lifetime
and reducing unscheduled repairs.

• Preventive maintenance schedules may include cleaning,

lubrication, oil modifications, corrections, repairs,
inspections and replacement components, and partial or
total overhauls that are routinely performed

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Advantages of Preventive Maintenance
1. Equipment and building are checked regularly, they are
less likely to break down without notice. Hence creating
a more secure work environment for employees.
2. Tracking of all your facilities at all times and precisely
know when your device needs to be replaced.
3. Less money is spent because you don’t have to replace
equipment as much as last-minute breakdowns.
4. There will be far fewer disruptions as all the facilities
are well maintained and serviced.
5. Reliability of the equipment is greatly increased.
6. Productivity is increased as unexpected downtimes are
significantly reduced.

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Work-flow of Preventive Maintenance

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Types of Preventive Maintenance

Preventive maintenance is categorized into the following

five types:
1. Time-Based Maintenance (TBM)
2. Predictive Maintenance (PDM)
3. Failure Finding Maintenance (FFM)
4. Condition-Based Maintenance (CBM)
5. Risk-Based Maintenance (RBM)

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Time-Based Maintenance

Time-based maintenance or TBM calls for

maintenance at a fixed time. Normally, taking
guidance from the equipment manufacturer
maintenance plan a fixed interval is scheduled and
maintenance work is performed to restore
equipment efficiency and performance. Time-based
maintenance also requires the replacement of items
based on their service life capability.

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Predictive Maintenance (PDM):

As the name suggests, this type of maintenance refers to the

prediction of failure probability of an equipment and
schedule maintenance to prevent failure. To correctly predict
the equipment’s workability and perform predictive
maintenance the organization should keep and analyse the
following data:
• Equipment history
• All records of downtime, defects, performance, etc
• Equipment condition with respect to working time.

After analysis of the above data and including the experience

with similar equipment maintenance dates are fixed.
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Failure Finding Maintenance:

In failure finding maintenance (FFM), potential hidden

failures are searched at regular intervals and if discovered
are repaired to prevent major breakdowns. So basically
this is not a specific type of maintenance but a functional
check. Failure finding maintenance increases the system
reliability.

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Condition-Based Maintenance:

In Condition-based maintenance (CBM) strategy, the

actual asset condition is monitored and further
maintenance requirement is decided. In this type of
maintenance, based on visual inspection, scheduled tests,
performance data, etc the equipment condition is studied.
When some sign of decreasing performance or failure is
received, maintenance is scheduled.

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 Valves maintenance
Risk-Based Maintenance
Risk-based maintenance considers the philosophy of maintaining the
assets carrying the most risk during failure. This philosophy determines
the most economical use of the maintenance resources and optimizes
the risk of failure. Risk-based maintenance strategy works on the
following steps:
• Data Collection
• Risk Assessment and Evaluation of Consequence and Probability of
failure
• Ranking of Risks
• Creating an Inspection Plan based on those risk ranking matrices.
• Maintenance planning and Mitigation of risks.
Equipment carrying the greater risk and failure consequences are
frequently monitored and maintained. This philosophy and method
provide a systematic approach to determine the most appropriate
asset maintenance plans in the most economic way.

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Types of Corrective Maintenance:

Corrective maintenance is any maintenance task that
resolves a problem with a piece of equipment and returns it
to operational condition. This is also known as reactive
maintenance. Corrective maintenance work can be both
planned and unplanned. The following image shows the
workflow of typical corrective maintenance philosophy.

Normally there are three situations that call for corrective

maintenance:
• If a piece of equipment or part breaks down
• If any issue is identified during condition monitoring
• If routine inspection discovers any potential fault.
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Work-flow of Corrective Maintenance

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There are two types of corrective maintenance

1. Planned or Scheduled corrective maintenance and

2. Unplanned or Unscheduled corrective maintenance

Planned or Scheduled Corrective Maintenance

Planned corrective maintenance is the corrective action that

is not immediate but planned or scheduled depending on the
urgency and nature of the deficiency identified. The risks
involved and costs involved are major parameters to
determine the planned corrective maintenance schedule.
This is also known as deferred corrective maintenance.
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Unplanned or Unscheduled corrective maintenance:

Unplanned corrective maintenance needs immediate

attention due to some kind of critical failure and must be
repaired without delay as it directly relates to cost. This
philosophy is also known as Immediate Corrective
Maintenance. Major advantages of Corrective Maintenance
are:
• Minimal planning requirement
• Lower short term costs
• Simplified maintenance process
• For non-critical equipment, without much impact, this is
the best maintenance philosophy and can be cheaper.
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Valves maintenance
Valves maintenance
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Common valve problems

Leakage
–Casting leaks, due to poor casting quality.
–Leaking gaskets, due to improper joint adjustment.
–Leaking packing, due to improper compression adjustment,
stem scratched, or lack of sealant.
–Seating damage, due to incorrect trim materials or in-line
trash from construction.

Operation
–Incorrect valve sizing
–Component breakage
 Valves maintenance

STANDARD REPAIR PROCEDURE

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 Valves maintenance

PRESSURE SEAL VALVES

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packing-replacement
All valves require proper care and maintenance, as does other more
complex equipment, to ensure they are kept in optimum working
order. The principle difficulties encountered with valves are leakage
past the seat and disk, leakage at the stuffing box, sticking valve
stems, and loose valve disks.

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 Valves maintenance

Repairing seat & disc using lapping machine

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 Valves maintenance

Repairing seat & disc using lapping machine

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 Valves maintenance

Repairing seat & disc using lapping machine

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 Valves maintenance

Repairing seat & disc using lapping machine

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Valves maintenance

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 Valves maintenance

Repairing seat & disc using lapping machine

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 Valves maintenance

Why do we need to do the maintenance of

the control valve?
• The efficiency of the control valve could be improved.
• The repair of the valve can be done if we find out any damage during
the inspection.
• The cost can be reduced.
• Periodic maintenance is done by without disassembling the valve, only
if there is a loss of operating efficiency valves are taken out of service.
• Before doing any maintenance we must check the manufacturer’s
instructions.
• In certain cases, the parts of the control valves must be replaced
instead of refurbishing it, and it could be known by the inspection of
the control valve.
• By doing the maintenance the parts of the valves could be free from
dirt.

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 Valves maintenance

How to do the periodical inspection and

maintenance of the control valve?

• Air leak from the diaphragm must be checked..

• Check for any leak from flanges and bonnet.
• Yoke clamp must be tight and there should not be any air
leak from the air piping of the actuator.
• The stem connectors should be checked for a loose
connection.
• The actuator stem and valve stem must be checked.
• Check for any vibrations from the control valve.
• Gland packing must be checked, and confirm there is no
leak.
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 Valves maintenance

How to troubleshoot a control valve and

what are the preventive maintenance of the
control valve?

• Check the day to day operation of the control valve and if

there are any sudden changes in the operating conditions
then the chances of faults are high.
• By doing the visual inspection we can detect the faults in
control valves like if the fault is caused by dirt or
something.

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 Valves maintenance

How to troubleshoot a control valve and

what are the preventive maintenance of the
control valve?
• In certain cases, control valves are not able to achieve full
closure and it could be because the valve disc and seat
could have some foreign materials or other products. So in
order to prevent or remove these faults, we must polish the
seat and take preventive measures for corrosion.
• If there is cuts or scratches in certain parts of the control
valve like the disc, then it must be replaced

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 Valves maintenance

How to troubleshoot a control valve and

what are the preventive maintenance of the
control valve?
• Valve stem leak – It can be caused by worn stem seals or
because of the damaged stem. So the valve stem must be
removed or if it is a metal valve then stem packing nut can
be tightened.
• Valve leakage past ball – it could be because of damaged
stem or bore, so it can be removed by installing repair kit
or adjust the limit switches of the actuator
• .

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 Valves maintenance
How to troubleshoot a control valve and
what are the preventive maintenance of the
control valve?
• Body leak of the valve – It may be caused because of not
tightening the body bolts or due to the operating pressure.
The proper solution for this fault could be checking the bolt
and the valve should be used for the applications that
match its pressure ratings another solution is replacing the
valve or installing a repair kit
• Excessive operating torque of the valve – it can be caused
because of the over-tightening of the valve bolts or stem
nut. The solution for this fault could be the loosening of the
stem nut or valve bolts.
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 Valves maintenance
Diaphragm damage

• This problem can be removed by loosening the tubing

connection in the bonnet which would remove the residual
pressure.
• All diaphragm plates must be tightened
• Remove the diaphragm
• Spring replacement
• Control tubing reinstallation

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 Valves maintenance

Stem binding
• Tubing connection must be loosened so the residual
pressure can be removed
• Removal of the bonnet nuts
• Check the stem for cuts and scratches and polish it if
necessary
• Reinstall the spool assembly

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 Valves maintenance

How to prevent cavitation in control valves?

• In some of the control valves, the cavitation is reduced by

increasing the distance between the trim parts and
implosion of vapor bubbles, and this is done by providing
a flow aiding to close direction. In certain anti-cavitation
valves, the chances of the cavitation are reduced by
dropping the pressure by steps.

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 Valves maintenance
Four Ways to Maximize Your Valve Preventive
Maintenance Program:
1. Stick to the program

Adhere to the program and on valve servicing as recommended. You

may need to add frequent reminders for your workers to keep them from
slipping back into old habits.
2. Control the cleanliness of the flow media

For high-pressure fluid valves in particular, there is no better way of

extending the period between service intervals than controlling the
cleanliness of the flow media. Why? Contamination in the form of dirt or
particulate matter is the enemy of seals, gaskets, valve seats and any
other wetted valve component.

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3. Enforce a zero-tolerance policy for leakage

The best way to prevent contamination is to eliminate unwanted access

into the flow media.
• If material can leak out of the system, then contamination can enter the
system through that same path.
• An organization that allows a hydraulic leak to go unchecked is destined
to have a preventive maintenance program that will ultimately fail.
4. Focus on filtration

Find out more about these process steps and setting up a high-pressure
water valve preventive maintenance program by downloading our white
paper, "Realizing the Benefits of Preventive Maintenance for Hydraulic
Valves".

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 Valves maintenance
Preventative maintenance guidelines for Actuators
1. Conduct external visual inspection of all external surfaces
including paint finishes, control knobs and valve stems.
2. Check and replenish oil level.
3. Check mounting bolts, nuts, washers and screws for damage and
tightness.
4. Confirm handwheel is operating correctly and that there is
physical movement of the valve.
5. Confirm local control works in both directions and check for any
signs of deterioration, such as undue motor noise.
6. Analyse historic performance data and benchmark against
optimum torque profiles.
7. Remove terminal cover and check connections for tightness. Check
the compartment for water ingress. Replace ‘O’ ring seal. If the
actuator is explosion proof inspect the integrity of the flame path.

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 tightness.
4. Confirm handwheel is operating correctly and that there is physical
movement of Valves
the valve. maintenance
5. Confirm local control works in both directions and check for any signs
of deterioration,
Preventative such as undue
maintenance motor noise.
guidelines for Actuators
6. Analyse historic performance data and benchmark against optimum
torque profiles.
7. Remove terminal cover and check connections for tightness. Check the
compartment for water ingress. Replace ‘O’ ring seal. If the actuator is
explosion proof inspect the integrity of the flame path
8. Remove the motor cover and inspect the motor – check the case for
any ingress of moisture. Replace ‘O’ ring. If the actuator is explosion
proof, inspect the integrity of the flame path.
9. Remove the electrical cover and inspect the compartment – check for
any ingress of moisture and check the status of switches, contactors
and electrical apparel. Replace ‘O’ ring. If the actuator is explosion
proof, inspect the integrity of the flame path.
10.Replace all cover screws – use grease to enable future removal and
protect them from corrosion.
11.Finally, check both local and remote operation.

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