Apparatus and methods to characterize fluid control valves

1. An apparatus comprising:

a fluid valve having a valve seat and a flow control member to sealingly engage the valve seat;

a sensor to detect a change in position of the flow control member; and

a processor to cause movement of the flow control member and generate an acceleration curve based on the movement, the processor to determine a breakout point corresponding to the flow control member based on a peak of the-acceleration curve.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the sensor includes a hall effect sensor or a potentiometer to detect the change in position.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the processor is to further compare the acceleration curve to a respective threshold to determine the breakout point.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the processor is to further update a setting relating to the flow control member based on the breakout point.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the processor is to further analyze a trend associated with the breakout point to calculate an input setting.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the processor is disposed in a valve controller operatively coupled to the fluid valve.

7. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the processor is to further determine a portion of the acceleration curve to search for the peak of the acceleration curve.

8. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the sensor is to detect the change in position of the flow control member based on measuring a linear movement of the flow control member.

9. A method comprising:

detecting, via a sensor, a change in position of a flow control member of a fluid valve, the flow control member to sealingly engage a valve seat;

causing the flow control member to move;

generating, via instructions executed by a processor, an acceleration curve based on the movement of the flow control member; and

determining, via instructions executed by the processor, a breakout point corresponding to the flow control member based on a peak of the acceleration curve.

10. The method of claim 9 , further including monitoring changes in a position of the flow control member, and updating the breakout point based on the changes.

11. The method of claim 9 , further including comparing, via instructions executed by the processor, the acceleration curve to a threshold, and at least partially determining the breakout point based on the comparison.

12. The method of claim 9 , further including updating, via the processor, a setting relating to the flow control member based on the breakout point.

13. The method of claim 9 , further including determining a portion of the acceleration curve to search for the peak of the acceleration curve.

14. A non-transitory machine-readable storage medium comprising instructions which, when executed, cause a processor to:

detect a change in position of a flow control member via a sensor, the flow control member to sealingly engage a valve seat of a fluid valve;

cause the flow control member to move the flow control member;

generate an acceleration curve based on the movement of the flow control member; and

calculate a breakout point corresponding to the flow control member based on a peak of the acceleration curve.

15. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 14 , further including instructions which, when executed, monitor further changes in position of the flow control member, and update the breakout point based on the changes.

16. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 14 , further including instructions which, when executed, cause the processor to compare the acceleration curve to a threshold to determine the breakout point.

17. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 14 , further including instructions which, when executed, cause the processor to update a setting relating to the flow control member based on the breakout point.

18. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 14 , further including instructions which, when executed, cause the processor to determine a portion of the acceleration curve to search for the peak of the acceleration curve.