METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CONTROLLING FLUID FLOW RATE CHARACTERISTICS OF A VALVE ASSEMBLY

摘要

A valve assembly controller is configured with a table having a set of command signal values representing commanded positions of a valve element to obtain a desired flow rates through a fluid pathway. The table also includes a set of empirically measured drive signal values representing the actual positions of the valve element required to obtain the desired flow rates through the fluid pathway. During operation, in order to obtain a desired flow rate through the fluid pathway, the controller intercepts a command signal from a command signal source and provides the valve assembly with a corresponding drive signal based upon the table values. The controller therefore controls the positioning of the valve element such that the valve element is opened to a position either greater or less than the commanded position in order to provide the desired flow through the fluid pathway.