What are the benefits of using ball valves?
What Are the Benefits of Using Stainless Steel Ball Valves?
- Increased Efficiency. One of the top reasons to use a stainless steel ball valve is that it is more efficient than other options.
- Pressure Ratings. Another great thing about using stainless steel ball valves is that they typically have better tire pressure ratings compared to valves made from other materials.
- Corrosion-Resistance. ...
- Low Maintenance. ...
Can a ball valve be used as a control valve?
Let’s talk about when it’s okay to use a ball valve as a control valve. Even though ball valves aren’t the best device to control flow, they are still commonly used because of their cost effectiveness. You can get away with using a ball valve in an application that doesn’t require precise adjustability and control.
What are ball valves used for?
What are the applications of ball valves
- Flow control and pressure control
- It can be used for shut-off service
- It can handle corrosive fluids
- It can be used for high pressure and high-temperature applications
- LPG bottling plants
- Power plants
- Chemical process industries
- Petrochemical industries
- Refineries
- Oil and gas processing
What are the advantages of ball valve?
Main advantages of ball valve
- Suitable for frequent operation. It can be opened and closed quickly and easily;
- The fluid resistance is small. Its resistance coefficient is equal to that of the same length of pipe section;
- Simple structure, small relative volume, lightweight. ...
- Plastic is widely used as sealing surface material, which has good sealing performance;
What are ball valves commonly used for?
Ball valves are used in many different industries. Some of these include chemical, oil & gas, pharmaceutical, food processing, HVAC, sanitary applications, and others such as corrosive media and cryogenics. Many manufacturing processes use ball valves, and they are widely used in residential settings as well.
What is the most common application for a ball valve?
Ball valves are commonly used as fluid shutoff valves in onshore and offshore oil and gas production facilities. They are also used in fuel gas system feeding furnaces. Ball valves are designed to control the flow of high-pressure gasses and liquids with minimal pressure drop.
Where is ball valve and gate valve used?
Gate valves are used in power plants, mining and water treatment applications which are high temperature and high-pressure environments. Ball valves are commonly used in fire protection systems and marine applications.
What are the advantages of a ball valve?
Advantages of Ball ValvesHigh efficiency. Due to the size of the opening in the ball, ball valves are considered high recovery valves since they have a low-pressure drop and high flow capacity. ... Convenient usage. ... Low maintenance. ... Cost-efficient. ... Robust. ... Prone to blockages. ... Struggle with long term throttling.
Which of the following is a disadvantage of ball valves?
Disadvantages of ball valves They are not suitable for slurry type applications due to cavities around the ball and seats. Slurries or other thick liquids tend to solidify or clog inside of the cavities, greatly increasing the operating torque of the valve and in some cases rendering the valve inoperable.
Does a ball valve reduce flow?
Ball valves should be used anywhere you expect more plumbing downstream as they minimize restrictions to flow.
Should I use a ball valve or gate valve?
Ball valves are more effective at forming a tight seal and have more reliability and longevity than gate valves, but tend to be more expensive. They are often used for shutoff and control applications. Because ball valves can open and close immediately, they are more likely than gate valves to cause water hammer.
Can I use a ball valve for main water shut-off?
Ball valves may be the most reliable valve and are commonly used for main water shut offs. Similar to gate valves, ball valves should be all the way open to allow the full flow of water or all the way closed to restrict all water from flowing.
Can you use a ball valve for hot water?
The ball valve is used as shut-off valves in the distribution of hot and cold water.
Where are ball valves located?
It is attached directly to the operating handle of the valve, which is usually located above or to the side of the device, often on the outside of a pipe assembly. By rotating the handle, typically one-quarter turn through 90 degrees, the ball is physically turned on its axis within the port.
What is the advantage of a 3 piece ball valve?
Advantages of 3-Piece Ball Valves Changing seats and seals is more affordable than replacing the entire valve, and not having to remove the pipe connectors prevents a line shutdown should maintenance be required.
Are ball valves sanitary?
They're usually used in biopharmaceutical, chemical, medical, food, beverage, dairy, and other personal care applications like cosmetics. The ball valve is deemed sanitary because: The valve limits crevices and cavities which would otherwise trap media and encourage bacterial activity.
What are the applications of valves?
They can be used for a broad range of applications within water supply, wastewater treatment, fire protection and gas supply, in the chemical and oil industries, in fuel handling systems, power generation etc. These valves can be operated by handles, gears or actuators according to specific needs.
What are the types of ball valves?
There are five general body styles of ball valves: single body, three-piece body, split body, top entry, and welded. The difference is based on how the pieces of the valve—especially the casing that contains the ball itself—are manufactured and assembled.
Where are plug valves used?
Plug valves are commonly used in low-pressure-low-temperature services, although some high-pressure-high-temperature designs also exists. Plug valves are high capacity valves that can be used for directional flow control, even in moderate vacuum systems. Plug valves can efficiently handle gas and liquid fuel.
Where are gate valves used?
Gate valves are used in many industrial applications including the oil and gas industry, pharmaceuticals, manufacturing, automotive, and marine. Non-rising stem gate valves are very popular on ships, in underground applications, or where vertical space is limited because they don't take up extra space.
What is a ball valve?
Ball valves are mechanical devices capable of controlling, guiding, directing, and modulating the flow of different substances such as gas, pressure, liquids, etc. There are different ball valve types with various designs for specific uses, but basic ball valve parts are the same among them. Different ball valves can be classified based on ...
What is the disadvantage of manual ball valves?
The disadvantage is that this quick function might result in the danger of water hammer.
What are the materials ball valves are made of?
There are different materials used to create different ball valve types. Some of the more popular materials are as follows:
What is the difference between a T valve and a L valve?
T valves can connect any pair of ports and the L valve can connect the center port to side ports. Inlet in a multi-port ball valve is usually orthogonal to the plane of the outlets. 4-way ball valves have 2 L-shaped ports in their ball known as X port.
How many ports does a ball valve have?
Number of Ports: Ball valves can be easily categorized based on the number of ports. A standard ball valve type has 2 ports (1 inlet and 1 outlet). A 3-way port has also been designed with 1 inlet and 2 outlets, or 2 inlets and 1 outlet. Design: Different designs such as floating, and trunnion mounted.
Why is a ball valve oversized?
The oversized ball in the full port ball valve lowers the friction loss because the hole in this ball valve is the same size as the pipeline. Though the valve is larger, the flow is unrestricted in full port ball valve size. Full bore ball valves are usually used for throttling applications in various systems with high flow coefficients ...
What is true union valve?
True union (Trunnion) True union ball valves have a pin in place which secures the ball in place and stops its movements. Two shafts at the opposite ends of the ball in Trunnion enable the supporting of a segmented ball by the valve and enable the system to cause less friction between different parts of the true union valve.
What are the Uses of Ball Valves?
Ball valves, according to the structural type, can be divided into three categories: floating ball valves, fixed ball valves, flexible ball valves. And they, according to sealing performance, can be divided into hard sealing ball valves and soft sealing ball valves.
Which is better, hard or soft sealing ball valves?
The sealing performance of soft sealing ball valves is better, which can reach zero leakage. Soft sealing ball valves are usually used in pipelines with corrosive medium under normal temperature and pressure while hard sealing ball valves can not only be used in normal temperature and pressure conditions, but also in low temperature ...
What is a three way valve?
Usually, they are used in pipelines to cut off or adjust medium. Among them, three-way type ball valves can flexibly cut off, distribute and change the flow direction of the medium. The sealing surface of ball valves is usually in a closed status with the sphere surface, so ball valves are not prone to erosion by the medium.
How many valve seats are in a floating ball valve?
The ball body of the floating ball valve is floating, connected and supported by two valve seats. Under the pressure of the medium, the ball body can produce certain displacement and stick close to the sealing surface of the valve seat at the outlet, ensuring the sealing at the outlet.
What is the opening and closing member of a sanitary ball valve?
The opening and closing member of a sanitary ball valve is a round sphere with a hole. It uses the 0-90 degree back and forth movement of the ball core rotation around the axis of the valve stem to open or close the valve. Ball valves have many roles.
Can a ball valve move under pressure?
When the valve is closed, the ball valve won’t move even under pressure. Fixed ball valves all have floating valve seats. Under the pressure of the medium, the valve seat moves, tightly pressing the sealing circle onto the ball to ensure sealing. Fixed ball valves are suitable for high pressure or large caliber pipelines.
How does the ball valve work?
A ball valve is a form of quarter-turn valve that uses a hollow, perforated, and rotating ball (called a 'floating ball') to control the flow through it. When the ball hole is consistent with the fluid, the valve opens; when the ball hole is rotated at a 90-degree angle by the valve handle, the valve closes. When the handle is opened, the handle lies flat in alignment with the flow, and perpendicular to the fluid when closed, which is convenient for visually confirming the state of the valve.
How do gate valves open?
Gate valves open by lifting the circular or rectangular gate (or wedge gate) out of the path of the fluid. The sealing surface between the gate and the valve seat is flat, so when a straight flow of fluid and minimum restriction is required, a gate valve is usually used.
Is a ball valve good for throttling?
In other words, they do lack fine control in throttling applications.
Is a ball valve better than a gate valve?
Although ball valves tend to cost slightly more than gate valves of the same quality, the smallest savings are not worth the potential problems that are likely to follow. In addition, ball valves have a tighter seal and are therefore much less prone to leakage than gate valves because of their 100 percent shut-off characteristics. Ball valves have a longer life, a lower rate of failure, and are easier to use than gate valves. Please feel free to contact us if you need or want to know about our products.
Why are ball valves so convenient?
Unlike other types of valves, ball valves are the most convenient in usage because of their simple mechanism. Due to the small size and lightweight of the ball valves , they are easier to handle. They can be installed, removed, and operated conveniently without too much effort or skill.
What is a ball valve?
A ball valve has a cylindrical design with a ball in the middle that controls the flow of the material. It has a simple mechanism that makes it an ideal choice for a wide range of industrial applications. There are different sizes of industrial valves available according to the scope of their usage.
Why are ball valves not recommended for thick liquids?
The main reason for that is the design of the ball valve that allows the flowing liquid to get stuck. That is why ball valves are not the recommended choice for thick liquids.
What is the mechanism of a ball valve?
Mechanism of a Ball Valve: An SIO ball valve is based on the simple mechanism of opening and closing of passage by controlling the movement of a ball. When the ball covers the passage, the flow of the material is hindered. On the contrary, when the ball does not cover the passage, the material starts flowing. ...
Why do ball valves require low maintenance?
The use of pivot concentrates all the friction to one part of the valve saving the rest of the parts. Due to this reason, there is a lesser need for regular maintenance for ball valves as compared to other types of valves. In addition to that, a ball valve can be repaired easily at a minimal cost.
Why is a floating ball valve used?
However, there is a stem that is attached to the ball. Due to this reason the fluid freely moves the ball downwards according to the pressure of the flow. A floating ball valve is considered a great choice for regulating the flow of the valve.
What is the strongest type of valve?
The ball valves are considered as one of the strongest types of valves. They have an enormous ability to withstand great amounts of pressure and temperature. The material used in ball valves is less prone to corrosion and damage. That is why ball valves can be used extensively in all kinds of environmental conditions.
