By There are different types of valves each having their distinct role to play in the system installed. One of the essential valves that are used in industrial, commercial and municipal sectors are the Ball Valves.
A ball valve is a mechanical device that’s capable of regulating, directing, and modulating the medium flow within the pipelines. There are different ball valve types available in various designs for specific uses, but the standard parts of all ball valves remain to be the same among them.
We at Dutco Tennant LLC are exhibiting a variety of ball valves at the ADIPEC 2022. Visitors will have the chance to explore the valve range that will be showcased by our top line-up of suppliers. You can even catch the live demonstrations of these products at the exhibition which will start from 31st October ‘22 till 3rd November ‘22. These exhibited ball valves are specifically designed to meet the needs of Oil & Gas projects.
If you are interested to learn more about ball valves and the varied types of ball valves available then keep reading this article till the end.
Overview
The different types of ball valves available are basically classified depending on their varied features. There are mainly six different features according to which the ball valve types are distinguished.
As per the number of ports, the ball valves are categorised. A standard ball valve type has 2 ports, 1 for inlet and the other for outlet. However, there is also availability of 3-way port valve design with 1 inlet and 2 outlets, or 2 inlets and 1 outlet.
Furthermore, the ball valve types are also classified as per the varied designs such as floating, and trunnion mounted. The seat type is also a feature as per which the ball valve types are determined such as Teflon and Metal.
Also, according to the body assembly of the ball valve, there are three classifications of ball valves which are – unibody, two pieces and three pieces. The ball access and bore size are some other features based on which ball valve types are classified.
Key Ball Valve Types
While there are so many types of ball valves available, the basic components of all are the same. Also, not every one of these valve types are important. In fact, there are mainly six types of ball valves that are mostly in demand and are used in varied sectors.
Full Port Ball Valve
Full port or also referred to as full bore ball valve is comparatively expensive than other types. The full port ball valve includes an oversized ball which lowers the friction loss because the hole in this ball valve is the same size as the pipeline. Despite its large construction design, the flow of the medium is unrestricted in full port ball valve size. This type of ball valve is usually used for throttling applications in different systems with low pressure drops and high flow coefficients.
V-Port Ball Valve
The V in this ball valve type represents either the shape of the ball or the shape of the seat. The V ball valve allows users to perform better control over the opening and the closing positions. The flow characteristic in this type is close to linear. The high velocities of the fluids used with such ball valves inspired the designers to develop generally more robust construction for them since such nature of the fluids rapidly damages a standard valve construction.
Standard Port Ball Valve
In comparison to the full port ball valve type, the standard port ball valve consists of a smaller port and ball. It is less expensive but comes with a slight restricted flow due to the size of the pipe. While they are cheaper, they tend to have higher pressure drops compared to other ball valve types. Standard port valves are great for systems with high flow coefficient, similar to the full port valves.
Reduced-Port Ball Valves
This is also referred to as RB, in a reduced-port ball valve or reduced bore ball valve type, the flow area is smaller than the pipe. This results in flow through the valve one pipe size smaller than the valve’s pipe size. The occurrence of pressure drop in the pipeline is pretty common when using this type of ball valve.
Multi-Port Ball Valves
Multi-port ball valves consist of three or four ways with an L to T shaped hole in the middle. T valves are capable of connecting any pair of ports whereas the L valve can enable connection of the centre port to side ports. Inlet in a multi-port ball valve is generally orthogonal to the plane of the outlets. The four-way ball valves have 2 L-shaped ports in their ball that are termed as X port.
Other In-Demand Ball Valve Types
Trunnion ball valves are some other popular types of ball valves that have a pin in place that secures the ball in place and shuts its movements. There are two shafts at the opposite ends of the trunnion ball valve that enables the supporting of a segmented ball by the valve and helps the system to deliver less friction between different parts of the trunnion valve. This valve type is generally used in systems with high velocity as they are better capable of withstanding high pressure than a standard ball valve. They can also be removed from the piping system if necessary.
If you are interested in exploring and discovering the best ball valve range then make sure to pay a visit to the Dutco Tennant LLC exhibit at the ADIPEC 2022, the registration for which is now open.
