Experiment 6

Objective: To study different types of valves

Theory:

Definition:

Valves are mechanical devices that controls the flow and pressure within a system or process.
They are essential components of a piping system that conveys liquids, gases, vapors, slurries
etc. Different types of valves are available: gate, globe, plug, ball, butterfly, check,
diaphragm, pinch, pressure relief, control valves etc. Each of these types has a number of
models, each with different features and functional capabilities. Some valves are
self-operated while others manually or with an actuator or pneumatic or hydraulic is operated.

Functions of a valve are:

1.​ Stopping and starting flow

2.​ Reduce or increase a flow
3.​ Controlling the direction of flow
4.​ Regulating a flow or process pressure
5.​ Relieve a pipe system of a certain pressure

Types of Valves:

1.​ Gate valve

A gate valve is a linear motion valve used to start or stop fluid flow; however, it does not
regulate or throttle flow. The name gate is derived from the appearance of the disk in the flow
stream. Figure below illustrates a gate valve. The disk of a gate valve is completely removed
from the flow stream when the valve is fully open. This characteristic offers virtually no
resistance to flow when the valve is open. Hence, there is little pressure drop across an open
gate valve. When the valve is fully closed, a disk-to-seal ring contact surface exists for 360°,
and good sealing is provided. With the proper mating of a disk to the seal ring, very little or
no leakage occurs across the disk when the gate valve is closed.

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Fig. Gate Valve

On opening the gate valve, the flow path is enlarged in a highly nonlinear manner with
respect to percent of opening. This means that flow rate does not change evenly with stem
travel.

Also, a partially open gate disk tends to vibrate from the fluid flow. Most of the flow change
occurs near shutoff with a relatively high fluid velocity causing disk and seat wear and
eventual leakage if used to regulate flow. For these reasons, gate valves are not used to
regulate or throttle flow.

A gate valve can be used for a wide variety of fluids and provides a tight seal when closed.

Themajor disadvantages to the use of a gate valve are:

a.​ It is not suitable for throttling applications.

b.​ It is prone to vibration in the partially open state.
c.​ It is more subject to seat and disk wear than a globe valve.
d.​ Repairs, such as lapping and grinding, are generally more difficult to accomplish
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 2.​ Globe valve

A globe valve is a linear motion valve used to stop, start, and regulate fluid flow. The globe
valve disk can be totally removed from the flow-path or it can completely close the
flow-path. The essential principle of globe valve operation is the perpendicular movement of
the disk away from the seat. This causes the annular space between the disk and seat ring to
gradually close as the valve is closed. This characteristic gives the globe valve good throttling
ability, which permits its use in regulating flow. Therefore, the globe valve may be used for
both stopping and starting fluid flow and for regulating flow.

When compared to a gate valve, a globe valve generally yields much less seat leakage. This is
because the disk-to-seat ring contact is more at right angles, which permits the force of
closing to tightly seat the disk. Globe valves can be arranged so that the disk closes against or
in the same direction of fluid flow. When the disk closes against the direction of flow, the
kinetic energy of the fluid impedes closing but aids opening of the valve. When the disk
closes in the same direction of flow, the kinetic energy of the fluid aids closing but impedes
opening. This characteristic is preferable to other designs when quick-acting stop valves are
necessary.

Globe valves also have drawbacks. The most evident shortcoming of the simple globe valve
is the high head loss from two or more right angle turns of flowing fluid. Obstructions and
discontinuities in the flow-path lead to head loss. In a large high pressure line, the fluid
dynamic effects from pulsations, impacts, and pressure drops can damage trim, stem packing,
and actuators. In addition, large valve sizes require considerable power to operate and are
especially noisy in high pressure applications.

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Fig. Globe valve

3.​ Ball valves

A ball valve is a rotational motion valve that uses a ball-shaped disk to stop or start fluid
flow. The ball, shown in figure below, performs the same function as the disk in the globe
valve. When the valve handle is turned to open the valve, the ball rotates to a point where the
hole through the ball is in line with the valve body inlet and outlet. When the valve is shut,
the ball is rotated so that the hole is perpendicular to the flow openings of the valve body and
the flow is stopped.

Most ball valve actuators are of the quick-acting type, which require a 90° turn of the valve
handle to operate the valve. Other ball valve actuators are planetary gear-operated. This type
of gearing allows the use of a relatively small hand-wheel and operating force to operate a
fairly large valve.

Some ball valves have been developed with a spherical surface coated plug that is off to one
side in the open position and rotates into the flow passage until it blocks the flow-path
completely.

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Seating is accomplished by the eccentric movement of the plug. The valve requires no
lubrication and can be used for throttling service.

A ball valve is generally the least expensive of any valve configuration and has low
maintenance costs. In addition to quick, quarter turn on-off operation, ball valves are
compact, require no lubrication, and give tight sealing with low torque.

Conventional ball valves have relatively poor throttling characteristics. In a throttling

position, the partially exposed seat rapidly erodes because of the impingement of high
velocity flow.

4.​ Plug Valve

A plug valve is a rotational motion valve used to stop or start fluid flow. The name is derived
from the shape of the disk, which resembles a plug. A plug valve is shown in Figure below.
The simplest form of a plug valve is the petcock. The body of a plug valve is machined to
receive the tapered or cylindrical plug. The disk is a solid plug with a bored passage at a right
angle to the longitudinal axis of the plug.

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In the open position, the passage in the plug lines up with the inlet and outlet ports of the
valve body. When the plug is turned 90° from the open position, the solid part of the plug
blocks the ports and stops fluid flow.

To ensure a tight valve, the plug must be seated at all times. Gland adjustment should be kept
tight enough to prevent the plug from becoming unseated and exposing the seating surfaces to
the live fluid. Care should be exercised to not over tighten the gland, which will result in a
metal-to-metal contact between the body and the plug. Such a metal-to-metal contact creates
an additional force which will require extreme effort to operate the valve.

5.​ Diaphragm Valve

A diaphragm valve is a linear motion valve that is used to start, regulate, and stop fluid flow.
The name is derived from its flexible disk, which mates with a seat located in the open area at
the top of the valve body to form a seal. A diaphragm valve is illustrated in Figure below.

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Diaphragm valves are, in effect, simple "pinch clamp" valves. A resilient, flexible diaphragm
is connected to a compressor by a stud molded into the diaphragm. The compressor is moved
up and down by the valve stem. Hence, the diaphragm lifts when the compressor is raised. As
the compressor is lowered, the diaphragm is pressed against the contoured bottom in the
straight through valve.

Diaphragm valves are particularly suited for the handling of corrosive fluids, fibrous slurries,
radioactive fluids, or other fluids that must remain free from contamination.

6.​ Butterfly Valve

A butterfly valve, illustrated in Figure below, is a rotary motion valve that is used to stop,
regulate, and start fluid flow. Butterfly valves are easily and quickly operated because a 90o
rotation of the handle moves the disk from a fully closed to fully opened position. Larger
butterfly valves are actuated by handwheels connected to the stem through gears that provide
mechanical advantage at the expense of speed.

Butterfly valves possess many advantages over gate, globe, plug, and ball valves, especially
for large valve applications. Savings in weight, space, and cost are the most obvious
advantages. The maintenance costs are usually low because there are a minimal number of
moving parts and there are no pockets to trap fluids.

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Butterfly valves are especially well-suited for the handling of large flows of liquids or gases
at relatively low pressures and for the handling of slurries or liquids with large amounts of
suspended solids.

7.​ Needle valves

A needle valve, as shown in Figure 20, is used to make relatively fine adjustments in the
amount of fluid flow. The distinguishing characteristic of a needle valve is the long, tapered,
needle like point on the end of the valve stem.

This "needle" acts as a disk. The longer part of the needle is smaller than the orifice in the
valve seat and passes through the orifice before the needle seats. This arrangement permits a
very gradual increase or decrease in the size of the opening. Needle valves are often used as
component parts of other, more complicated valves. For example, they are used in some types
of reducing valves.

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Most constant pressure pump governors have needle valves to minimize the effects of
fluctuations in pump discharge pressure. Needle valves are also used in some components of
automatic combustion control systems where very precise flow regulation is necessary.

8.​ Check Valves

Check valves are designed to prevent the reversal of flow in a piping system. These valves
are activated by the flowing material in the pipeline. The pressure of the fluid passing through
the system opens the valve, while any reversal of flow will close the valve. Closure is
accomplished by the weight of the check mechanism, by back pressure, by a spring, or by a
combination of these means. The general types of check valves are swing, tilting-disk, piston,
butterfly, and stop.

A swing check valve is illustrated in Figure below. The valve allows full, unobstructed flow
and automatically closes as pressure decreases. These valves are fully closed when the flow
reaches zero and prevent back flow. Turbulence and pressure drop within the valve are very
low.

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The tilting disk check valve, illustrated in Figure 23, is similar to the swing check valve. Like
the swing check, the tilting disk type keeps fluid resistance and turbulence low because of its
straight-through design.

Tilting disk check valves can be installed in horizontal lines and vertical lines having upward
Operation of Tilting Disk Check Valve flow. Some designs simply fit between two flange
faces and provide a compact, lightweight installation, particularly in larger diameter valves.

A lift check valve, illustrated in Figure 24, is commonly used in piping systems in which
globe valves are being used as a flow control valve. They have similar seating arrangements
as globe valves.

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Lift check valves are suitable for installation in horizontal or vertical lines with upward flow.
They are recommended for use with steam, air, gas, water, and on vapor lines with high flow
velocities. These valves are available in three body patterns: horizontal, angle, and vertical.

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