Principal Valve Types Gate Valve

Commonly used in industrial piping, this type of valve, as a rule, should be used as a stop valve...to turn on and shut off the flow, as opposed to regulating flow. It gets its name from the gate-like disc which operates at a right angle to the path of flow. Gate valves (also known as knife valves or slide valves) are linear motion valves in which a flat closure element slides into the flow stream to provide shut-off. Gate valves and knife valves are designed to minimize pressure drop across the valve in the fully opened position and stop the flow of fluid completely. The direction of fluid flow does not change, and the diameter through which the process fluid passes is essentially equal to that of the pipe. Hence, they tend to have minimal pressure drop when opened fully. Gate valves and knife valves are advantageous in applications involving slurries, as their gates can cut right through the slurry. They are also used in applications that involve viscous liquids such as heavy oils, light grease, varnish, molasses, honey, cream and other non-flammable viscous liquids. They are available in large sizes to better handle thick flow. However, gate valves do have low-pressure limitations, and are not optimal in applications that require cleanliness or sanitary conditions. They are excellent for use anywhere a shutoff valve is needed. They can also be used where throttling capabilities are desired, although this is not generally recommended as erosion of the seat and disc occurs due to the vibrations of the disk in throttling applications. Gate valves are usually divided into two types: parallel and wedge-shaped. The parallel gate valve uses a flat disc gate between two parallel seats, upstream and downstream. Knife valves are of this type, but with a sharp edge on the bottom of the gate to shear entrained solids or separate slurries. In the double-disk parallel-seat type, the valve is closed by lowering the disks from the valve neck to a height equal to that of the valve seats. Once so positioned, an inclined plane mounted between the two disks coverts downward stem force into axial force and presses the parallel disks firmly against the valve seats sealing the two openings. These types of valve design can accommodate asymmetric or angularly misaligned valve seats. Wedge-shaped gate valves and knife valves use two inclined seats and a slightly mismatched inclined gate allowing for tight shut-off. Disk flexibility is inherent to the split wedge design. This flexibility allows the split wedge to seal more easily and it reduces stickiness between the sealing surfaces in cases where the valve seats are angularly misaligned. A Gate Valve, or Sluice Valve, as it is sometimes known, is a valve that opens by lifting a round or rectangular gate/wedge out of the path of the fluid. The distinct feature of a gate valve is the sealing surfaces between the gate and seats are planar. The gate faces can form a wedge shape or they can be parallel. Gate valves are sometimes used for regulating flow, but many are not suited

for that purpose, having been designed to be fully opened or closed. When fully open, the typical gate valve has no obstruction in the flow path, resulting in very low friction loss. Gate valves are characterised as having either a rising or a nonrising stem. Rising stems provide a visual indication of valve position. Nonrising stems are used where vertical space is limited or underground. Bonnets provide leakproof closure for the valve body. Gate valves may have a screw-in, union, or bolted bonnet. Screw-in bonnet is the simplest, offering a durable, pressure-tight seal. Union bonnet is suitable for applications requiring frequent inspection and cleaning. It also gives the body added strength. Bolted bonnet is used for larger valves and higher pressure applications. Another type of bonnet construction in a gate valve is pressure seal bonnet. This construction is adopted for valves for high pressure service, typically in excess of 15 MPa (2250 psi). The unique feature about the pressure seal bonnet is that the body - bonnet joints seals improves as the internal pressure in the valve increases, compared to other constructions where the increase in internal pressure tends to create leaks in the body-bonnet joint. Gate valves normally have flanged ends which are drilled according to pipeline compatible flange dimensional standards. Cast iron, cast carbon steel, gun metal, stainless steel, alloy steels, and forged steels are different materials from which gate valves are constructed.

Globe and Angle Valves

The flow through globe valves follow a changing course, thereby causing increased resistance to flow and considerable pressure drop. Because of the seating arrangements, globe valves are the most suitable for throttling flow. The valve is named after its globular body.Angle valves, similar in principle and a companion line to the globe, are designed to permit a 90 degree turn in piping and are less resistant to flow. Globe valves consist of the following moving parts the disk, the valve stem, and the handwheel. The stem connects the handwheel and the disk. It is threaded and fits into the threads in the valve bonnet. The location of the valve disk in relation to the valve seat allows or restricts flow. The direction of fluid flow through the valve changes several times, which increases the pressure drop across the valve. In most cases, globe valves are installed with the stem vertical and the higher-pressure fluid stream connected to the pipe side above the disk, which helps to maintain a tight seal when the valve is fully closed. When globe valves are open, the fluid flows through the space between the edge of the disk and the seat. These valves are commonly used as a fully open or fully closed on/off valves, but they may be used for throttling as long as fine adjustments are not required. Globe valves provide the following advantages: they offer precise throttling and control and have high-pressure limits. Conversely, they offer a low coefficient of flow and are not good selections in applications that require cleanliness or sterility.

Globe valves are available in three main body types (although custom designs are available as well): angle design, Y-design and multi-piece design. Angle valves are designed so that the inlet and outlet are perpendicular, for transferring flow from vertical to horizontal. Y-design valves derive linear action from the incline between the axis of the inlet and outlet ports. The bodies of multi-piece design valves are bolted together. The inlet and outlet are not of single piece construction.

Check Valve
Sometimes referred to as the non-return valve, the check valve stops backflow in the piping. Unlike the gate and globe valves, this simplest of types operates automatically.

Ball Valve
Unique in design, this valve controls the flow of a wide variety of fluids. It can be opened or closed in a quarter-turn of the operating handle. The name "ball" is derived from the ball-shaped disc located within the body. A hole through the center of this disc provides the straight-through flow which is characteristic of ball valves. Light and durable, these are the valves that are playing increasingly important roles in our nation's missile projects, as well as in industry and commercial buildings. Ball valves are used extensively in industry because they are very versatile, pressures up to 10,000 psi, temperatures up to 200 Deg C. Sizes from 1/4" to 12" are readily available They are easy to repair, operate manually or by actuators. The body of ball valves may be made of metal, ceramic, or plastic. The ball may be chrome plated to make it more durable. There are three general types of ball valves: full port, standard port, and reduced port.

A full port ball valve has an oversized ball so that the hole in the ball is the same size as the pipeline resulting in lower friction loss. Flow is unrestricted, but the valve is larger. A standard port ball valve is usually less expensive, but has a smaller ball and a correspondingly smaller port. Flow through this valve is one pipe size smaller than the valve's pipe size resulting in slightly restricted flow. In reduced port ball valves, flow through the valve is two pipe sizes smaller than the valve's pipe size resulting in restricted flow. A trunnion ball valve has a mechanical means of anchoring the ball at the top and the bottom. Manually operated ball valves can be closed quickly and thus there is a danger of water hammer. Some ball valves are equipped with an actuator that may be pneumatically or motor (electric) operated. These valves can be used either for on/off or flow control. A

pneumatic flow control valve is also equipped with a positioner which transforms the control signal into actuator position and valve opening accordingly.

Butterfly Valve
Here's a valve that is extremely durable, efficient and reliable. The butterfly valve derives its name from the wing-like action of the disc which operates at right angles to the flow. Its chief advantage is a seating surface which is not critical. The reason for this being the disc impinges against a resilient liner to provide bubble tightness with low operating torque. Butterfly valves are one of the oldest practical devices for controlling the flow of fluids. They had their beginnings in light weight, non-tight applications such as dampers. Partly because of this early history of light weight construction, and also because of a lack of adequate flow data, engineers were, for a long time, reluctant to specify butterfly valves in industrial applications. The development of a leak-tight, workable rubber seat, however, gave considerable impetus to the industrial use of the valve, and experience with it soon overcame the early objections. As the size of central station equipment increased, with mushrooming power demands, condenser circulating water pipe also increased in size bringing problems in specification of large diameter valving. By specifying the butterfly valve, power engineers secured the advantage of a compact, light weight valve which does not require the use of any supports other than those required by the pipeline itself.

Y-strainer
Y-Strainers are devices for mechanically removing unwanted solids from liquid, gas or steam lines by means of a perforated or wire mesh straining element. They are used in pipelines to protect pumps, meters, control valves, steam traps, regulators and other process equipment. Y-Strainers are very cost effective straining solutions in many applications. Where the amount of material to be removed from the flow is relatively small, resulting in long intervals between screen cleanings, the strainer screen is manually cleaned by shutting down the line and removing the strainer cap. For applications with heavier dirt loading, Y-Strainers can be fitted with a "blow-off" connection that permits the screen to be cleaned without removing it from the strainer body.

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