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With fluorinated polymer seats, ball valves can be used for service temperatures ranging
from 450 to 500 F ( 270 to 260 C); with graphite seats, service temperatures to 1000 F
(538 C) or even higher are possible. Also, with metal backing seats, the valves can be
used in fire-safe services. Ball valves are similar to plug valves in operation. They are
nonbinding and provide leak-tight closure. The valves exhibit negligible resistance to
flow because of their smooth body and port.
Major components of the ball valve are the body, spherical plug, and seats. Ball valves
are made in three general patterns: venturi port, full port, and reduced port. The full-
port valve has an inside diameter equal to the inside diameter of the pipe. In the venturi
and reduced-port styles, the port is generally one pipe size smaller than the line size.
Stem sealing is accomplished by bolted packing glands and O-ring seals. Valves are also
available with a lubricant-seal system that is similar to that available for plug valves. A
typical lubrication system is illustrated in Fig. 2.
Ball valves are manufactured in several different body configurations: top entry, side
entry, split body, and three-piece body. The valve ends are available as butt welding,
socket welding, flanged, threaded, soldering, or brazing ends.
Ball valves are manufactured in high- and low-pressure classifications. The advances in
ball valve designs have made it possible to use these valves in high pressure and high-
temperature applications.
The split body design consists of a two-part body, a cover, ball, seat rings, stem, and
other internals. The two-part body is held together by a flange connection. One body part
is smaller than the other. The ball is inserted in the larger body part, and the smaller
body part is assembled by a bolted connection. The stuffing box is constructed integral
with the larger body part. On smaller size split-body ball valves, the two-part body is
joined by threaded connection. The flanged or threaded joint between the two-part body
is an added source of potential leakage.
Fig. 4: Ball valves, top entry, regular port, socket weld ends
Top-entry ball valves allow access to valve internals for assembly, dis-assembly, repair,
or maintenance by removal of the valve bonnet-cover. The valve is not required to be
removed from the pipeline. Refer to Fig. 4.
End-entry ball valves have a single-piece body. The ball is inserted from one end and is
retained by an insert. These valves have flange- or screwed-end connections. This design
is commonly used for inexpensive small valves. They are also available in larger sizes up
to NPS 6 (DN 150).
The middle part of the valve is the major part that holds all valve internals, and the stem
passes through a hole in the top. Two end caps are held together with the middle body by
bolts or studs and nuts. The end connections are part of the end caps, and they may be
butt-welding, socket welding, threaded, or flanged. This design is available in sizes
ranging from NPS ¹⁄₂ (DN 15) through NPS 36 (DN 900). The two end cap joints are two
additional sources of potential leakage.
In this ball-valve design, the ball is provided with two integral short-shaft extensions
called the top and the bottom trunnions. These trunnions are fitted in bearings and
rotate freely when the shaft installed in the top trunnion is turned to open or close the
valve. The ball is held firmly in place, unlike the ball in other designs where the ball is
supported by the two seat rings and is allowed to float in the direction of the slot on top
of the ball. A shaft installed in the top slot is turned to open or close the valve.
The trunnion-mounted ball-valve design is used with split-body large size valves,
whereas the floating-ball design is the most common design for all other types of ball
valves. The torque required to actuate a trunnion-mounted ball valve is substantially
smaller than the torque required for a floating-ball design.
Like other valves, the stem sealing is usually accomplished by bolted packing glands and
O-ring seals. Some valve designs are available with a lubricant-seal system similar to the
one used in plug valves. Such a design is shown in Fig. 2. The valves with lubrication seal
systems are termed lubricated ball valves, while others are called non-lubricated.