What is Actuator and Actuated Valve and How Does It Work?

15 Oct 2022

What are the working principles of these systems? In this article, we will go into detail to inform you about the actuators we have in our product portfolio as Sms-Tork.

What is an Actuator?

Actuators and actuated valves, which are frequently encountered in automation systems are
among the most preferred control equipment in production lines. The use of actuators is
common in fluid control systems. Actuators used to convert energy sources into mechanical
energy are divided according to the differences in energy sources. Thus, the actuators are
divided into three groups: electric, hydraulic and pneumatic. In addition, actuators are divided
into two according to their movements. In actuators that have two different types of
movement, linear and rotary, the type of actuator in which the energy moves linearly is called
linear, and the version in which it moves circularly is called rotary.

What is an Actuated Valve?

Actuated valves are frequently used especially in the industrial area. They are the installation
elements that control the fluid by opening and closing the valve with the actuator mounted on
the valve. Valve types can be diversified, such as butterfly or ball, according to the process to
be used. The actuator is selected depending on the nature of the coupled valve and the
customer's request for flow control.

Actuator Types

As we mentioned, there are different types of actuators according to the energy sources they
use. The first of these is electric actuators. Electric actuators are power transmission
elements that convert the driving force provided by the electric motor into rotational motion.
The driving force obtained by the electric motor provides the rotational movement of the
gears inside the body. The gear system ensures constant torque throughout the entire rotation.
The second type is hydraulic. The energy source of hydraulic actuators is liquids. The
starting point of the basic principle is that liquids are incompressible. In this way, the piston,
which works thanks to the power coming from the liquid, moves using the pressure of the
liquid. Finally, pneumatic actuators operate using compressed air. A pneumatic Actuator is an
automatic control device for opening and closing rotary valves with compressed air. The
working principle we observe in hydraulic actuators is also encountered in pneumatic
actuators. Only this time, the actuator, which uses air pressure instead of liquid pressure, moves its piston thanks to this pressure. Pneumatic actuators are divided into two as single-acting and double-acting. In addition, according to the mechanism used, they are divided into two as scotch yoke pneumatic actuator and rotary pneumatic actuator.

You can visit smstork.com to purchase all these actuators with Sms-Tork assurance.