Low power operates valves

A piezo valve from ASCO Valve, Florham Park, N.J., operates with minimal power. A piezo is a multilayer ceramic element that produces a change in state with low voltage. Applying the low voltage bends the ceramic arm which opens an orifice.

The valve line is intended for applications in intrinsically safe environments and fieldbus-based systems. The piezo operator is the first valve line suitable for fieldbus-controlled industrial processes. The piezo-ceramic technology uses only 8.4 mW to operate valves up to 1 in. in size with C_v up to 13.