Patent attributes
A ball valve for use in industrial pipelines is described. The ball valve includes: a valve body; an inlet closure piece attached to the valve body; an outlet closure piece, the valve body, the inlet closure piece, and the outlet closure piece together defining an interior cavity; a ball disposed in the interior cavity, the ball defining a bore extending through the ball; a valve seat adjacent the ball; a first strain sensor mounted on the inlet closure piece; a second strain sensor mounted on the outlet closure piece; a seat misalignment sensor system including a ring sensor and a magnetized insert ring disposed in the valve seat; and an electronic controller system in communication with the first strain sensor and the second strain sensor, the electronic control system configured: to estimate the position of a pig passing through the valve; and to identify valve seat misalignment.
