Masoneilan V-LOG EVO Low-Energy Additive Manufactured Valve Trim

Overview

The Masoneilan V-LOG EVO trim is the latest generation of low-noise energy management technology from Baker Hughes for control valves that handle high pressure drop vapor. Baker Hughes introduced it in a 2024 white paper as an evolutionary change in trim design, replacing the stacked-disk, multistage tortuous path cage with a cage whose flow-path resistors are produced by additive manufacturing. The target applications are the ones in which the gas or steam expands violently across the valve, creating extreme noise and vibration, and where the valve often protects key equipment such as compressors.

As the official trusted supplier for Masoneilan, Seven Star LLC supplies Masoneilan severe-service valves, including the V-LOG family, to oil, gas, petrochemical and power customers across the Sultanate of Oman and the GCC. The Masoneilan V-LOG EVO is relevant to gas processing plants and compressor stations where high pressure ratio letdown must meet a noise limit, and our instrumentation division in Muscat can pass your duty data to Baker Hughes for an EVO trim proposal.

Low-Energy Flow Path Principle

Traditional solutions to high pressure ratio gas letdown, including the Masoneilan V-LOG, divide the pressure drop into a series of expanding stages and turns. The white paper explains that ISA guidance limits the kinetic energy at the trim exit to 480 kPa, and that to meet this in high pressure ratio service a conventional trim can need 40 stages or more. That produces a large, heavy valve with high flow resistance, and capacity is lost. The Masoneilan V-LOG EVO addresses the problem by adding a new kind of resistor: it splits a portion of the entering flow, turns it through 180 degrees and re-mixes it with the rest of the flow, and then steers the mixture through several turning blades. This creates additional pressure drop through a consistent and more compact flow area.

Baker Hughes states that a single fluid resistor in the Masoneilan V-LOG EVO can dissipate as much energy as about eight stages of turns in a conventional tortuous path trim. The resistors route flow in three dimensions from the inside diameter to the outside diameter of the cage, using area that was previously unused or reserved for guiding, so the outlet covers a larger axial span than the inlet. That allows more than three times as many outlets in the same cage, which lets each exit jet be smaller while the total exit area doubles and exit velocity falls by half.

Engineering Design of the Masoneilan V-LOG EVO

The additive manufacturing route used for the Masoneilan V-LOG EVO removes the limits of laser or EDM cut disks. Using CFD modelling, Baker Hughes found an optimally rounded flow resistor that makes better use of the passage, replacing rectangular 90 degree turns in which the flow hugs the walls and leaves part of the area unused. Rounded outlets of smaller diameter flow more efficiently, can be spaced closer without jet-to-jet interaction, and shift the resonant frequency higher according to the Strouhal number. The Masoneilan V-LOG EVO therefore combines the V-LOG philosophy of expanding area staging with the EVO resistor and a 3D printed cage.

The capacity benefit of the Masoneilan V-LOG EVO requires an adjusted flow factor, and the white paper reports that testing supports a factor of 1.6 for the IEC 60534-2-1 Cv calculation, based on proprietary laboratory noise and flow testing as well as CFD. Noise is predicted using IEC 60534-8-3 and has been verified in acoustic flow laboratory tests. Because the trim carries more flow in a smaller area, designers can shorten the stroke and reduce plug diameter, which raises the natural frequency of the valve internals by 126 percent according to the paper, and lowers the thrust needed from the actuator.

Key Features

The following features, taken from the Baker Hughes white paper, explain why the Masoneilan V-LOG EVO trim is considered for the most demanding gas letdown duties:

• The Masoneilan V-LOG EVO offers capacity of up to 160 percent of conventional high pressure tortuous path gas trims, with up to two times the capacity in some flow tests.
• Generated sound pressure cut by half within the same valve, with a kinetic energy argument for at least 10 dB of loss.
• A similar 50:1 pressure ratio application range to conventional energy management trims.
• One EVO resistor does the work of about eight conventional stages, so fewer stages are needed for the same energy letdown.
• More than three times the number of outlets within the same cage, giving a doubled total exit area and half the exit velocity.
• Natural frequency of the valve internals raised by 126 percent, which reduces vibration damage to stem, diaphragm and accessories.
• A smaller plug and shorter stroke are possible, which helps compact valve design and fast response in compressor antisurge duty.
• The Masoneilan V-LOG EVO uses a patented flow path made possible by additive manufacturing, with rounded passages and CFD-optimised geometry.

Industrial Applications

The white paper aims the Masoneilan V-LOG EVO at vapor fluids with a high pressure drop ratio, in which flow capacity and aero-acoustic noise are the key application parameters. These are usually compressor-protection duties, gas pressure letdown at plant battery limits and high energy steam or gas service where the valve datasheet gives a noise limit of 85 dBA or less at one meter from the downstream pipe wall. In Oman the relevant locations are gas processing and compression facilities, pipeline stations and industrial steam systems at refineries and petrochemical complexes.

In Oman and the GCC, Seven Star LLC supplies the Masoneilan valve range and its spares. Engineers can review the V-LOG family through the Masoneilan 49000 V-LOG seal kit, compare the cage-guided Masoneilan 41005 Series low-noise alternative, and add the Masoneilan SVI3 digital valve positioner for the fast dynamic response that compressor antisurge duty needs.

Technical Specifications

The table below summarises the published data for the Masoneilan V-LOG EVO from the Baker Hughes white paper (document BHMN-V-LOG-EVO-Trim-WP-34715A-0924, 09/2024). Configuration for a specific valve is confirmed by Baker Hughes at the quotation stage.

Related Masoneilan severe-service valves include the Masoneilan 49000 Series V-LOG low-noise valve and Masoneilan 78400/18400 Series LincolnLog valve.

Request a Quote for Masoneilan V-LOG EVO

Seven Star LLC invites process engineers, EPC contractors and compressor-station planners across Oman and the GCC to submit a formal request for quotation for the Masoneilan V-LOG EVO trim. Please send the gas composition, mass flow, inlet and outlet pressure, temperature, noise limit and valve size, and our team will confirm feasibility with Baker Hughes, advise on regional availability and provide the Baker Hughes white paper for download from this page. In Oman and the GCC, Seven Star LLC delivers genuine products with manufacturer documentation and responsive local support.