1/13/2015 CheckvalveWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Checkvalve
FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Acheckvalve,clackvalve,nonreturnvalveoronewayvalveisavalvethat
normallyallowsfluid(liquidorgas)toflowthroughitinonlyonedirection.

Checkvalvesaretwoportvalves,meaningtheyhavetwoopeningsinthe
body,oneforfluidtoenterandtheotherforfluidtoleave.Therearevarious
typesofcheckvalvesusedinawidevarietyofapplications.Checkvalvesare
oftenpartofcommonhouseholditems.Althoughtheyareavailableinawide Tiltingdiscinconel
rangeofsizesandcosts,checkvalvesgenerallyareverysmall,simple,or checkvalve
inexpensive.Checkvalvesworkautomaticallyandmostarenotcontrolledbya
personoranyexternalcontrolaccordingly,mostdonothaveanyvalve
handleorstem.Thebodies(externalshells)ofmostcheckvalvesaremadeof
plasticormetal.

Animportantconceptincheckvalvesisthecrackingpressurewhichisthe
minimumupstreampressureatwhichthevalvewilloperate.Typicallythe
checkvalveisdesignedforandcanthereforebespecifiedforaspecific Checkvalvesymbolon
crackingpressure. P&IDs.Thearrow
showstheflow
Heartvalvesareessentiallyinletandoutletcheckvalvesfortheheart direction.
ventricles,sincetheventriclesactaspumps.

Contents
1Technicalterminology
2Typesofcheckvalves
3Applications
3.1Pumps
3.2Industrialprocesses
3.3Domesticuse
4History
5Images
6Seealso
7References
8Externallinks

Technicalterminology
Crackingpressuretheinletpressureatwhichthefirstindicationofflowoccurs(steadystreamof
bubbles).

Resealpressurethepressureatwhichthereisnoindicationofflow.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Check_valve 1/6
1/13/2015 CheckvalveWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Backpressurethedifferentialpressurebetweentheinletandoutletpressures.

Typesofcheckvalves
Aballcheckvalveisacheckvalveinwhichtheclosingmember,
themovableparttoblocktheflow,isasphericalball.Insomeball
checkvalves,theballisspringloadedtohelpkeepitshut.For
thosedesignswithoutaspring,reverseflowisrequiredtomovethe
balltowardtheseatandcreateaseal.Theinteriorsurfaceofthe
mainseatsofballcheckvalvesaremoreorlessconicallytapered
toguidetheballintotheseatandformapositivesealwhen
stoppingreverseflow.
Aballcheckvalveintheopen
Ballcheckvalvesareoftenverysmall,simple,andcheap.Theyare positiontoallowforwardflowand
commonlyusedinliquidorgelminipumpdispenserspigots,spray closedpositiontoblockreverse
devices,somerubberbulbsforpumpingair,etc.,manualairpumps flow
andsomeotherpumps,andrefillabledispensingsyringes.
Althoughtheballsaremostoftenmadeofmetal,theycanbemade
ofothermaterials,orinsomespecializedcasesoutofartificialruby.HighpressureHPLCpumpsand
similarapplicationscommonlyusesmallinletandoutletballcheckvalveswithbothballsandseats
madeofartificialruby,forbothhardnessandchemicalresistance.Afterprolongeduse,suchcheck
valvescaneventuallywearoutortheseatcandevelopacrack,requiringreplacement.Therefore,such
valvesaremadetobereplaceable,sometimesplacedinasmallplasticbodytightlyfittedinsideametal
fittingwhichcanwithstandhighpressureandwhichisscrewedintothepumphead.

Therearesimilarcheckvalveswherethediscisnotaball,butsomeothershape,suchasapoppet
energizedbyaspring.Ballcheckvalvesshouldnotbeconfusedwithballvalves,whichisadifferent
typeofvalveinwhichaballactsasacontrollablerotortostopordirectflow.

Adiaphragmcheckvalveusesaflexingrubberdiaphragmpositionedtocreateanormallyclosed
valve.Pressureontheupstreamsidemustbegreaterthanthepressureonthedownstreamsidebya
certainamount,knownasthepressuredifferential,forthecheckvalvetoopenallowingflow.Once
positivepressurestops,thediaphragmautomaticallyflexesbacktoitsoriginalclosedposition.[1]

Aswingcheckvalveortiltingdisccheckvalveischeckvalveinwhichthedisc,themovablepartto
blocktheflow,swingsonahingeortrunnion,eitherontotheseattoblockreversefloworofftheseatto
allowforwardflow.Theseatopeningcrosssectionmaybeperpendiculartothecenterlinebetweenthe
twoportsoratanangle.Althoughswingcheckvalvescancomeinvarioussizes,largecheckvalvesare
oftenswingcheckvalves.Theflappervalveinaflushtoiletmechanismisanexampleofthistypeof
valve.Tankpressureholdingitclosedisovercomebymanualliftoftheflapper.Itthenremainsopen
untilthetankdrainsandtheflapperfallsduetogravity.Anothervariationofthismechanismisthe
clappervalve,usedinapplicationssuchfirefightingandfirelifesafetysystems.Ahingedgateonly
remainsopenintheinflowingdirection.Theclappervalveoftenalsohasaspringthatkeepsthegate
shutwhenthereisnoforwardpressure.Anotherexampleisthebackwatervalve(forsanitarydrainage
system)thatprotectsagainstfloodingcausedbyreturnflowofsewagewaters.Suchriskoccursmost
ofteninsanitarydrainagesystemsconnectedtocombinedseweragesystemsandinrainwaterdrainage
systems.Itmaybecausedbyintenserainfall,thaworflood.

Astopcheckvalveisacheckvalvewithoverridecontroltostopflowregardlessofflowdirectionor
pressure.Inadditiontoclosinginresponsetobackfloworinsufficientforwardpressure(normalcheck
valvebehavior),itcanalsobedeliberatelyshutbyanexternalmechanism,therebypreventinganyflow
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Check_valve 2/6
1/13/2015 CheckvalveWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

regardlessofforwardpressure.

Aliftcheckvalveisacheckvalveinwhichthedisc,sometimescalledalift,canbeliftedupoffitsseat
byhigherpressureofinletorupstreamfluidtoallowflowtotheoutletordownstreamside.Aguide
keepsmotionofthedisconaverticalline,sothevalvecanlaterreseatproperly.Whenthepressureisno
longerhigher,gravityorhigherdownstreampressurewillcausethedisctolowerontoitsseat,shutting
thevalvetostopreverseflow.

Aninlinecheckvalveisacheckvalvesimilartotheliftcheckvalve.However,thisvalvegenerallyhas
aspringthatwill'lift'whenthereispressureontheupstreamsideofthevalve.Thepressureneededon
theupstreamsideofthevalvetoovercomethespringtensioniscalledthe'crackingpressure'.Whenthe
pressuregoingthroughthevalvegoesbelowthecrackingpressure,thespringwillclosethevalveto
preventbackflowintheprocess.[2]

Aduckbillvalveisacheckvalveinwhichflowproceedsthroughasofttubethatprotrudesintothe
downstreamside.Backpressurecollapsesthistube,cuttingoffflow.

Apneumaticnonreturnvalve.

Multiplecheckvalvescanbeconnectedinseries.Forexample,adoublecheckvalveisoftenusedasa
backflowpreventiondevicetokeeppotentiallycontaminatedwaterfromsiphoningbackintomunicipal
watersupplylines.Therearealsodoubleballcheckvalvesinwhichtherearetwoball/seatcombinations
sequentiallyinthesamebodytoensurepositiveleaktightshutoffwhenblockingreverseflowand
pistoncheckvalves,wafercheckvalves,andballandconecheckvalves.

Applications
Pumps

Checkvalvesareoftenusedwithsometypesofpumps.
Pistondrivenanddiaphragmpumpssuchasmeteringpumps
andpumpsforchromatographycommonlyuseinletand
outletballcheckvalves.Thesevalvesoftenlooklikesmall
cylindersattachedtothepumpheadontheinletandoutlet
lines.Manysimilarpumplikemechanismsformoving
volumesoffluidsaroundusecheckvalvessuchasball
checkvalves.Thefeedpumpsorinjectorswhichsupply
watertosteamboilersarefittedwithcheckvalvestoprevent
backflow. Thecheckvalvesonthissteamlocomotive
arelocatedunderthesmallcoverbetween
Industrialprocesses thechimneyandthemaindome

Checkvalvesareusedinmanyfluidsystemssuchasthoseinchemicalandpowerplants,andinmany
otherindustrialprocesses.

Typicalapplicationsinthenuclearindustryarefeedwatercontrolsystems,dumplines,makeupwater,
miscellaneousprocesssystems,N2systems,andmonitoringandsamplingsystems.[3]Inaircraftand
aerospace,checkvalvesareusedwherehigh,vibration,largetemperatureextremesandcorrosivefluids
arepresent.Forexample,spacecraftandlaunchvehiclepropulsionpropellantcontrolforreaction
controlsystems(RCS)andAttitudeControlSystems(ACS)andaircrafthydraulicsystems.[4][5]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Check_valve 3/6
1/13/2015 CheckvalveWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Checkvalvesarealsooftenusedwhenmultiplegasesaremixedintoonegasstream.Acheckvalveis
installedoneachoftheindividualgasstreamstopreventmixingofthegasesintheoriginalsource.For
example,ifafuelandanoxidizeraretobemixed,thencheckvalveswillnormallybeusedonboththe
fuelandoxidizersourcestoensurethattheoriginalgascylindersremainpureandtherefore
nonflammable.

Domesticuse

Sometypesofirrigationsprinklersanddripirrigationemittershavesmallcheckvalvesbuiltintothemto
keepthelinesfromdrainingwhenthesystemisshutoff.

Checkvalvesusedindomesticheatingsystemstopreventverticalconvection,especiallyincombination
withsolarthermalinstallations,alsoarecalledgravitybrake.

Rainwaterharvestingsystemsthatareplumbedintothemainwatersupplyofautilityprovidermaybe
requiredtohaveoneormorecheckvaluesfittedtopreventcontaminationoftheprimarysupplyby
rainwater.

Hydraulicjacksuseballcheckvalvestobuildpressureontheliftingsideofthejack.

History
FrankP.Cotterdevelopeda"simpleselfsealingcheckvalve,adaptedtobeconnectedinthepipe
connectionswithoutrequiringspecialfittingsandwhichmaybereadilyopenedforinspectionorrepair"
1907(U.S.patent#865,631).

NikolaTeslainventedadeceptivelysimpleonewayvalveforfluidsin1916,calledaTeslavalve.Itwas
patentedin1920(U.S.patent1,329,559(http://www.google.com/patents?
id=Lt1PAAAAEBAJ&printsec=abstract&zoom=4&source=gbs_overview_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=f
alse)).

Images

Hastelloycheckvalves Stainlesssteelwafer Inconelcheckvalve Insideviewofatilting

checkvalve discinconelcheck
valve

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Check_valve 4/6
1/13/2015 CheckvalveWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Flangednozzleinconel ThisSiameseclappered Insidehastelloycheck Largecarbonsteel

checkvalveoraxial inletallowsoneortwo valve,wafer swingcheckvalve
checkvalve inputsintoadeluge configuration
gun.

Discforanalloycheck Wafercheckvalve
valvealsoknownas
axialcheckvalve

Seealso
Diode,theelectricalanalogofacheckvalve
Reedvalve
Topfeed
Vacuumbreaker

References
1. ^Wright,Stephen."Norvalvalveperformance"(http://www.northvalekorting.co.uk/prodnorvalperf.asp).
NorthvaleKorting.Retrieved20090519.
2. ^Fleming,Jennifer."ValveManBlog"(http://www.valveman.com/valvemanbrandvm6800/).ValveMan
BrandVM6800InLineCheckValveProductOverview.ValveManLLC.Retrieved1August2012.
3. ^http://www.valcor.com/nuclearpower/checkexcessflowcheckvalves/
4. ^http://www.valcor.com/aircraft/aircraftcheckvalves/
5. ^http://www.valcor.com/missilesandaerospace/aerospacecheckvalves/

Externallinks

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Check_valve 5/6
1/13/2015 CheckvalveWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

WorkingPrincipleofSpringCheckValves(http://www.theflowcontrolvalves.com/springcheck
valve.html)
CheckValvesTutorial(http://www.spiraxsarco.com/resources/steamengineering
tutorials/pipelineancillaries/checkvalves.asp)Theoperation,benefits,applicationsandselection
ofdifferentdesigns,includinglift,disc,swingandwafercheckvalvesareexplainedinthistutorial
Apictureofamicroscopiccheckvalve(http://physics.ucsd.edu/~groisman/windows/win8.htm),a
scaleddownversionofTesla'soriginalfluidicdiode.
USPatent1,329,559(https://www.google.com/patents/US1329559),Tesla'soriginalfluidicdiode
(atestofadesignshowingverypoorperformance(http://www.mne.psu.edu/me415/fall04/APC2/)
n.b.thetestprotocoldidnotmatchtheconditionsdescribedinthepatent)
CheckValveInstallationandBenefits(http://www.tlv.com/global/TI/steamtheory/checkvalve
installationandbenefits.html)

Retrievedfrom"http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Check_valve&oldid=642161632"

Categories: Plumbingvalves Steamboilercomponents Firefightingequipment Valves

Thispagewaslastmodifiedon12January2015at14:54.
TextisavailableundertheCreativeCommonsAttributionShareAlikeLicenseadditionalterms
mayapply.Byusingthissite,youagreetotheTermsofUseandPrivacyPolicy.Wikipediaisa
registeredtrademarkoftheWikimediaFoundation,Inc.,anonprofitorganization.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Check_valve 6/6