Methods and apparatus for estimating useful life of a seal

摘要

Methods and apparatus for estimating useful life of a seal in a process control device are disclosed. An example method includes establishing a plurality of travel ranges of a stem or shaft of a process control device. Each travel range corresponds to different values corresponding to stresses experienced by the seal of the process control device during an operational cycle. The example further includes determining a count of operational cycles associated with each of the travel ranges and estimating a total amount of useful life of the seal consumed based on the counts.

主权项

1. A method of estimating useful life of a seal in a process control device, comprising:
determining, via a processor, a plurality of operational cycles of a stem or shaft of the process control device; determining, via the processor, a value corresponding to a stress experienced between the seal and a plug for each of the operational cycles; estimating, via the processor, a total amount of useful life of the seal consumed based on each of the values; and estimating a remaining useful life of the seal based on the estimated total amount of useful life of the seal consumed, wherein estimating the remaining useful life of the seal comprises determining a frequency of the operational cycles and calculating the remaining useful life of the seal based on the total amount of the useful life of the seal consumed and the frequency of the operational cycles.