Faster and Smarter Valve Positioners, 1997 Process Control, Electrical & Info. Conference Proceedings
Two significant improvements have been made in control valve positioners to meet the demands for higher performance of the control valve and in turn of the control loop. The first improvement was the increase in gain, sensitivity, and speed of response of the amplifying relays. The second was development of smart positioners for two-way communication with the DCS providing valve diagnostics, alarms, error codes, and preventative maintenance data.