Valve assembly with low flow compensation for proportional variable deadband control

1. A system for controlling a flow rate of a fluid through a valve, the system comprising:

a valve configured to regulate a flow of fluid through a conduit;

an actuator comprising a motor and a drive device, the drive device driven by the motor and coupled to the valve for driving the valve between multiple positions;

a flow rate sensor configured to measure the flow rate of the fluid through the valve; and

a controller that is communicably coupled with the flow rate sensor and the motor, the controller configured to:

receive a first flow rate setpoint;

determine a first actuator position setpoint using a proportional variable deadband control technique based on the first flow rate setpoint and at least one flow rate measurement from the flow rate sensor;

operate the motor to drive the drive device to the first actuator position setpoint;

receive a second flow rate setpoint; and

in response to a determination that each of a plurality of low flow criteria are satisfied, determine a second actuator position setpoint using the proportional variable deadband control technique based on a low flow compensation setpoint and at least one of the at least one flow rate measurement from the flow rate sensor, wherein the low flow compensation setpoint causes the controller to set the second actuator position setpoint to a value corresponding to a fully closed position of the valve using the proportional variable deadband control technique.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the low flow compensation setpoint has a negative flow rate value.

3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the low flow compensation setpoint is calculated by subtracting a low flow compensation value from the second flow rate setpoint.

4. The system of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of low flow criteria comprises the second flow rate setpoint satisfying a low flow rate value threshold.

5. The system of claim 4 , wherein the plurality of low flow criteria comprises a first elapsed time measured by a first timer satisfying a low flow rate time threshold.

6. The system of claim 5 , wherein the plurality of low flow criteria comprises a second elapsed time measured by a second timer satisfying a steady output time threshold.

7. The system of claim 1 , wherein the flow rate sensor is an ultrasonic flow rate sensor.

8. The system of claim 1 , wherein the controller is further configured to operate the motor to drive the drive device to the second actuator position setpoint.

9. A method for controlling a flow rate of a fluid through a valve, the method comprising:

receiving a first flow rate setpoint;

determining a first actuator position setpoint using a proportional variable deadband control technique based on the first flow rate setpoint and at least one flow rate measurement from a flow rate sensor;

driving an actuator to the first actuator position setpoint, wherein the actuator is coupled to the valve in order to drive the valve between multiple positions;

receiving a second flow rate setpoint; and

in response to a determination that a low flow condition exists, determining a second actuator position setpoint using the proportional variable deadband control technique based on a low flow compensation setpoint and at least one of the at least one flow rate measurement from the flow rate sensor, wherein the low flow compensation setpoint has a negative flow rate value.

10. The method of claim 9 , further comprising calculating the low flow compensation setpoint by subtracting a low flow compensation value from the second flow rate setpoint.

11. The method of claim 9 , wherein the low flow condition is determined in response to a determination that each of a plurality of low flow criteria are satisfied, whrein the plurality of low flow criteria comprises the second flow rate setpoint satisfying a low flow rate value threshold.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the plurality of low flow criteria comprises a first elapsed time measured by a first timer satisfying a low flow rate time threshold.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the plurality of low flow criteria comprises a second elapsed time measured by a second timer satisfying a steady output time threshold.

14. The method of claim 9 , further comprising driving the actuator to the second actuator position setpoint.

15. The method of claim 9 , wherein the second actuator position setpoint corresponds with a fully closed valve position.

16. A system for controlling a flow rate of a fluid through a valve, the system comprising:

a valve configured to regulate a flow of fluid through a conduit;

an actuator comprising a motor and a drive device, the drive device driven by the motor and coupled to the valve for driving the valve between multiple positions;

a flow rate sensor configured to measure the flow rate of the fluid through the valve; and

a controller that is communicably coupled with the flow rate sensor and the motor, the controller configured to:

receive a flow rate measurement from the flow rate sensor;

receive a flow rate setpoint;

in response to a determination that the flow rate setpoint satisfies a low flow rate value threshold, begin a first timer;

in response to a determination that an output of a proportional variable deadband control technique does not exceed an output change threshold, determine whether an elapsed time of the first timer satisfies a low flow rate time threshold;

in response to a determination that the elapsed time of the first timer satisfies the low flow rate time threshold, begin a second timer;

in response to a determination that an elapsed time of the second timer satisfies a steady output time threshold, determine an actuator position setpoint using the proportional variable deadband control technique based on a low flow compensation setpoint and the flow rate measurement.

17. The system of claim 16 , wherein the proportional variable deadband control technique comprises determining whether the flow rate measurement is within a deadband range centered on the low flow compensation setpoint.

18. The system of claim 16 , wherein the low flow compensation setpoint has a negative flow rate value.