Fluid Mechanics of Control Valves is a practical, experience-driven handbook that explains how control valves work and how to select, size and maintain them. This book covers valve types (globe, butterfly, ball and three-way), actuators and positioners, valve-sizing methods for liquids and gases, and how thermodynamic effects, such as choked flow, cavitation and auto-refrigeration, affect performance. It also guides readers on efficiency and power consumption, noise and vibration sources, practical noise-reduction strategies, sanitary valve design for food and biotech, fail-safe actions, inspection and testing, and modern concerns such as cybersecurity and loop stability.

This book also provides clear definitions, examples, tables and real‑world advice to make complex fluid and acoustic concepts accessible.

Dr. Hans D. Baumann, PE, held managerial positions in Germany, France, and the United States, before being promoted to vice president of engineering at Masoneilan and later to senior vice president at Fisher Controls. He worked as a consultant for international clients prior to starting his own valve-manufacturing company, which he subsequently sold to Fisher Controls.
Baumanns many valve designs have won awards in the United States, France, and Japan, as well as a gold medal in Germany. He is credited with over 105 US patents and many foreign patents. Baumann has published 148 articles and has written 7 books on engineering, management, and historical subjects, including Control Valve Primer (now in its fourth edition, including a Japanese translation). In addition, he is the co-author of 8 handbooks on automatic controls and acoustics.
Baumann is an honorary member of the Fluid Controls Institute (FCI) and the Spanish Engineering Society. He is also an ISA Honorary Fellow, a Life Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), and an inductee of the Automation Hall of Fame. ISA selected him as one of 50 outstanding Industrial Innovators.
Besides the above accomplishments, he continues to work as a consultant and to lead R&D projects for select clients.
Hans Baumann was 86 years old when he wrote this book. He can be contacted at hdbaumann@att.net.