This invention regards a hydraulic turbine (1) to operate in pressure circuits, where there is a flow of a fluid, to control the flow and pressure downstream the installation point. Even so, said turbine (1) can generate power for itself based on the difference of pressure and flow, as the remaining power can be used in public power networks or isolated. Its application field comprises sanitation companies, beverage industries, paper and cellulose industries, petrochemical companies or any places, where it is needed to control the flow and pressure in supply networks.

High strain hydraulically amplified self-healing electrostatic transducers having increased maximum theoretical and practical strains are disclosed. In particular, the actuators include electrode configurations having a zipping front created by the attraction of the electrodes that is configured orthogonally to a strain axis along which the actuators. This configuration produces increased strains. In turn, various form factors for the actuator configuration are presented including an artificial circular muscle and a strain amplifying pulley system. Other actuator configurations are contemplated that include independent and opposed electrode pairs to create cyclic activation, hybrid electrode configurations, and use of strain limiting layers for controlled deflection of the actuator.

A pneumatically controlled flow booster includes a booster valve plug position sensor that enables control of the flow booster in a feedback loop, for example by a pneumatic valve positioner, thereby providing accurate, high speed, high flow control of both small and large actuator adjustments. Embodiments can accurately control a surge suppression valve over extended valve adjustment ranges and can fully open a surge suppression valve during a trip. The flow booster valve can include a spool and sleeve valve and/or a poppet valve. Embodiments provide bimodal flow boosting, whereby the output flow is less dependent on the valve plug position in a first position range, and more strongly dependent on the valve plug position in a second range.

A process control device has an electropneumatic control unit which is used for activating a pneumatic actuating drive. The control unit has a fastening module by means of which it is fastened to a drive housing of the actuating drive. The control unit includes an interface plate which is separate from the fastening module, is mounted on a top side of the fastening module and is fluidically connected, through the fastening module, to the actuating drive. The control unit includes an electrically actuatable control valve device which is fixed to the fastening module by being mounted on the interface plate fixed to the fastening module. In this way, a process control device can be produced in an easily and variably configurable manner.

An adjustable electro-pneumatic converter or transducer based on the nozzle/baffle plate principle is proposed. A defined roughness (Rz) of the baffle plate surface can prevent the occurrence of Bernoulli forces at output pressures close to the initial pressure, i.e. when the exhaust nozzle (140) is almost completely closed by the baffle plate (100). The system thus becomes more dynamically controllable under these conditions. Such a converter can be used to control any consumer system, e.g. air power amplifiers for electro-pneumatic positioners.

An electropneumatic control apparatus, which has a carrier module, on which a control unit, which is equipped with control electronics and control valve elements, and an expansion module assembly, which has at least one expansion module, are installed independently of each other. By means of a drive fastening interface, the control apparatus can be installed on the actuating drive to be controlled, in order to form a process control device.

An arrangement includes a field device with an on/off valve, a pneumatic actuator that moves the on/off valve, when applied with compressed air, into one on/off position and when ventilated into the other on/off position, a magnetic valve that applies compressed air to the actuator during electric actuation and ventilates the actuator during non-actuation and a function monitoring device that detects at least one parameter that refers to the movement of the on/off valve, where the function monitoring device includes a magnetic field sensor detecting changes to a magnetic field, where the magnetic field sensor is arranged in the region of the magnetic valve and generates a signal awakening the function monitoring device to detect the at least one parameter.

A control device for providing a position controller mode for closed-loop position control of an actuator member of a fluidic actuator which can be driven by a pressurized fluid, wherein the control device is configured to activate a pressure controller mode in response to the actuator member being located in a position target range given by a target position value of the closed-loop position control, and, in the pressure controller mode, to carry out a closed-loop pressure control of the pressurized fluid on the basis of a target pressure value.

Hydraulically-amplified, self-healing, electrostatic transducers that harness electrostatic and hydraulic forces to achieve various actuation modes. Electrostatic forces between electrode pairs of the transducers generated upon application of a voltage to the electrode pairs draws the electrodes in each pair towards each other to displace a liquid dielectric contained within an enclosed internal cavity of the transducers to drive actuation in various manners. The electrodes and the liquid dielectric form a self-healing capacitor whereby the liquid dielectric automatically fills breaches in the liquid dielectric resulting from dielectric breakdown. Due to the resting shape of the cavity, a zipping-mechanism allows for selectively actuating the electrodes to a desired extent by controlling the voltage supplied.

A pneumatic valve arrangement for a pneumatically operated field device, such as a control device, of a processing plant, such as a chemical plant, a foodstuff processing plant, a power plant or the like is disclosed. The valve arrangement may include an air supply conduit for receiving pressurized air from a source of pressurized air, a control air conduit for aerating and venting a pneumatic actor of the field device, and a venting conduit for discharging pressurized air to a pressure sink, such as the atmosphere; a venting valve for opening and/or closing the venting conduit and an aerating valve for opening and/or closing the air supply conduit; and a pivotable carrier lever for common actuation of the aerating valve and of the venting valve, wherein the carrier lever holds the venting valve in its closed position while it opens the aerating valve from its closed position.