Valves, Actuators & Regulators Archives

From Smart Devices to Actionable Insights

by Jim Cahill, Tom Mullins, Tinh Phan | Aug 13, 2026 | Industrial Software, Measurement Instrumentation, Valves, Actuators & Regulators

Most devices are smart, but the data is often stranded in the device. What is usually missing is written instructions, carried through procurement and design, that say which data comes out, where it lands, and what someone does with it. Without the instructions, the asset management software ships uninstalled or installed but not utilized, the input/output cards get ordered without HART capability, and the plant starts up with 4-20 milliamp signals and nothing else.

Pressure Relief Valve Innovations for Safer, More Efficient Ethylene Production

by Jim Cahill, Heeya Lee, Yong Tat Lee | Aug 6, 2026 | Chemical, Valves, Actuators & Regulators

PRVs are the last line of defense against overpressure in ethylene plants. They protect equipment and pipelines carrying flammable hydrocarbons through extreme temperature swings, high pressures, and corrosive service. When a valve leaks during normal operation, fails to reseat after relief, or suffers a bellows rupture, the consequences extend to emissions, product loss, and personnel safety.

Turning Fuel Gas Conditioning into a Path to Better Plant Performance

by Jim Cahill, Heeya Lee, Andrew Phang | Jul 12, 2026 | Valves, Actuators & Regulators

Combined-cycle power plants pair gas turbines with a steam turbine to achieve roughly 60% overall efficiency, placing them among the most efficient large-scale generation technologies available today. Those gains depend entirely on precise fuel gas conditioning.

Mastering Tank Pressure: Practical Ways to Reduce Risk, Product Loss, and Emissions

by Jim Cahill, Gerard Wittekoek | Jul 10, 2026 | Valves, Actuators & Regulators

Storage tanks may look static, but pressure inside them is constantly changing. Filling, emptying, solar heating, rain cooling, vapor generation, inert gas supply, and connected recovery systems can all affect the pressure in the vapor space above the liquid. If those pressure changes are not managed, a tank can exceed its maximum allowable working pressure or fall below its maximum allowable working vacuum.

Optimizing Power Plant Efficiency with Pressure Relief and Blowdown Valves

by Jim Cahill, Shaik Mohammad Ali, Balakrishnan B | Jul 8, 2026 | Power Generation, Valves, Actuators & Regulators

In high-pressure, high-temperature service, small deviations in valve performance translate into measurable efficiency losses and safety risk. Code-compliant selection, proven design features, and factory-verified testing help operators avoid unplanned outages, extend maintenance intervals, and protect critical assets.

Rethinking Reliability in Gold Mining: Why Run-to-Fail No Longer Pays in Critical Valve Service

by Jim Cahill, Kelly Chong, Nandha Thiyagarajan | Jun 29, 2026 | Metals, Mining, Minerals, Valves, Actuators & Regulators

Control valves sit at the center of slurry density, cyanide dosing, and recycled water duties, where small controllability problems compound directly into lost ounces. Treating those valves as commodity components rather than performance assets has become an increasingly expensive habit.

Understanding Valve Operations in Heat Recovery Steam Generators

by Jim Cahill | Jun 26, 2026 | Power Generation, Valves, Actuators & Regulators

HRSG valve applications span an unusually wide range of operating conditions. During startup, a feedwater valve may see the full discharge pressure of the boiler feed pump against an empty, atmospheric-pressure drum, creating severe cavitation potential.

Smarter Control Valves, Better Operating Decisions: A Conversation with Clint Schneider

by Jim Cahill, Clint Schneider | Jun 22, 2026 | Downstream Hydrocarbons, Valves, Actuators & Regulators

Control valves sit at the point where process decisions become physical actions. Better data from the valve, delivered to the right person in the right place, shortens the path from detection to response.

Smart Solutions for Emerging Pipeline Priorities

by Evangéline Cousot | Jun 22, 2026 | Sustainable Energy, Valves, Actuators & Regulators

Evangéline Cousot’s World Pipelines article, “Pipelines under pressure,” explains how smart technology and integrated biomethane injection stations support sustainability improvement initiatives for distribution system operators (DSOs).

Sizing a Control Valve for Liquid Flow: A Step-by-Step Walkthrough

by Jim Cahill, Reid Youngdahl | Jun 10, 2026 | Valves, Actuators & Regulators

An undersized valve cannot pass the required flow, and the correct selection depends on more than the published flow coefficient. Pipe reducers, choked flow conditions, and the interaction between pressure drop and vaporization all influence the result.

Valve Strategies to De-risk Modular LNG and Floating LNG Execution

by Jim Cahill, Joe DeMonte, George Duckworth, Jake Pittman | Jun 1, 2026 | Oil & Gas, Valves, Actuators & Regulators

The rapid growth of LNG & FLNG projects introduces valve procurement and execution complexity that traditional approaches were not designed to handle, and project teams that fail to adapt early risk schedule slips, rework, and startup delays.

Copper Emerges as the Defining Metal of the AI Era

by Jim Cahill, Venkat Sekar | May 22, 2026 | Metals, Mining, Minerals, Valves, Actuators & Regulators

Copper is undergoing a quiet but profound redefinition. Long viewed primarily as an industrial commodity, it is now rising to the level of critical infrastructure, essential to the digital, electric, and energy systems shaping the next decade.

Valves, Actuators & Regulators