VALVES

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. Some valves are self-operated while
others manually or with an actuator or pneumatic or hydraulic is operated. A
valve controls system or process fluid flow and pressure by performing any of
the following functions:

To slow down or stop the flow of a fluid

To reduce or increase the flow rate of a fluid.
To control the direction of a flow
To regulate process pressure.
To relieve a pipe system of a certain pressure

A. Basic Parts of Valves

1. Valve Body The valve body, sometimes called the shell, is the primary
boundary of a pressure valve. It serves as the main element
of a valve assembly because it is the framework that holds
all the parts together.
 2. Valve Bonnet The cover for the opening in the body is the bonnet, and it
is the second most important boundary of a pressure valve.
A bonnet acts as a cover on the valve body, is cast or forged
of the same material as the body. It is commonly connected
to the body by a threaded, bolted, or welded joint. The
attachment of the bonnet to the body is considered a
pressure boundary, this means that the weld joint or bolts
that connect the bonnet to the body are pressure-retaining
parts.

3. Valve Disk The disc is the part which allows, throttles, or stops flow,
depending on its position. The disk is the third most
important primary pressure boundary. With the valve
closed, full system pressure is applied across the disk, and
for this reason, the disk is a pressure related component.
Most valves are named, the design of their disks.

4. Valve Seat The seat or seal rings provide the seating surface for the
disk. A valve may have one or more seats. To improve the
wear-resistance of the seal rings, the surface is often
hardfaced by welding and then machining the contact
surface of the seal ring.

5. Valve Stem The valve stem provides the necessary movement to the
disc, plug or the ball for opening or closing the valve, and is
responsible for the proper positioning of the disk. It is
connected to the valve hand wheel, actuator, or the lever at
one end and on the other side to the valve disc. Stems are
usually forged, and connected to the disk by threaded or
other techniques. To prevent leakage, in the seal, a fine
surface finish of the stem is necessary.

6. Valve Stem Packing For a reliable seal between the stem and the bonnet, a
gasket is needed. This is called a Packing. Valve packaging
prevents damage to the stem and fluid or gas loss. When a
packing is too loose, the valve will leak. If the packing is too
tight, it will affect the movement and possible damage to the
stem.
 7. Actuator (Hand Actuator operates the stem and disk assembly. An actuator
Wheel) may be controlled manually or automatically. An actuator
in the broadest definition is a device that produces linear
and rotary motion of a source of power under the action of
a source of control. Basic actuators are used to fully open
or fully close a valve. Actuators for controlling or regulating
valves are given a positioning signal to move to any
intermediate position.
8. Yoke Yoke connects the valve body or bonnet with the actuating
mechanism. The top of the Yoke holding a Yoke nut, stem
nut, or Yoke bushing and the valve stem passes through it.
Structurally, a Yoke must be strong enough to withstand
forces, moments, and torque developed by the actuator.

B. CLASSIFICATION OF VALVES
1. BASED ON MECHANICAL MOTION

Linear Motion Valves

The valves in which the closure member, as in gate, globe, diaphragm, pinch,
and lift Check Valves, moves in a straight line to allow, stop, or throttle the
flow.

Rotary Motion Valves

When the valve-closure member travels along an angular or circular path, as
in butterfly, ball, plug, eccentric- and Swing Check Valves, the valves are
called rotary motion valves.

Quarter Turn Valves

Some rotary motion valves require approximately a quarter turn, 0 through
90, motion of the stem to go to fully open from a fully closed position or vice
versa.

VALVE TYPES LINEAR ROTARY QUARTER

MOTION MOTION TURN
Gate
Globe
Plug
Ball
Butterfly
 Swing Check
Diaphragm
Pinch
Safety
Relief

2. BASED ON PRIMARY FUNCTION:

a. Shutoff valves (Block valves/ Isolation valves)
The purpose of shut-off valves is to close on/off the flow through a pipe. The
valve is only either fully open or fully closed. A valve selected for shutoff
purposes should give a positive seal in the closed position and minimum
resistance to flow when open. Gate, plug, and ball valves are most frequently
used for this purpose.

Gate Valves
Gate valves are primarily designed to start or stop flow. The majority
of valves in the plant are of this type. In gate valves, the flow is straight
through and is regulated by raising or lowering the gate. In service, these
valves generally are either fully open or fully closed.

When the valve is fully open, gate valves are

full bore, meaning there is nothing to obstruct the
flow because the gate and pipeline diameter have
the same opening. An advantage of this full-bore
design is very low friction loss, which saves energy
and reduces total cost of ownership.

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. Several turns of the valve handle
are usually required to close the valve, so they are
best used when operated infrequently.

Gate valves are not used to regulate or throttle flow because when it
is open partially, the disk tends to vibrate from the fluid flow which causes
disk and seat to wear. When the disk becomes deform, the valve will not
seal properly and will lead to leakage when in closed position.
 Applications
Viscous liquids such as heavy oils, creams etc.
Slurries

Ball Valves
Ball valves are best used for fast- acting
stop/start applications. They are considered
quick-acting because they only require a 90 turn
from the full-closed to full-open which minimizes
operation time and decreases the possibility of
leakage due to wear.
A Ball valve is a quarter-turn rotational
motion valve that uses a ball-shaped disk to stop
or start flow. If the valve is opened, the ball rotates
to a point where the hole through the ball is in line with the valve body
inlet and outlet resulting in lower friction loss. Flow is unrestricted but the
valve is larger and more expensive. The advantage to this design is they
minimize the pressure drop across the valve and keep the flow from being
restricted as it flows.
If the valve is closed, the ball is rotated so that the hole is
perpendicular to the flow openings of the valve body and the flow is
stopped. Flow through the valve is one pipe size smaller than the valve's
pipe size resulting in flow area being smaller than pipe. Reduced port
valves have higher pressure drops.

Applications of Ball Valves

The following are some typical applications of Ball valves:
Air, gaseous, and liquid applications
Drains and vents in liquid, gaseous, and other fluid services
Steam service

Advantages
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.
 Disadvantages
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.
In slurry or other applications, the suspended particles can settle
and become trapped in body cavities causing wear, leakage, or
valve failure.

Plug Valves
A Plug Valve is a quarter-turn
rotational motion valve that uses a
tapered or cylindrical plug to stop
or start flow. In the open position,
the plug passage is in one line with
the inlet and outlet ports of the
Valve body. If the plug 90 is rotated
from the open position, the solid
part of the plug blocks the port and
stops flow.
Its advantage over gate valves is that they only require a quarter
turn to open or close. These valves are often actuated by solenoids and are
used where quick on-off switching is needed.

Applications
A Plug Valve can be used in many different fluid services and they
perform well in slurry applications. The following are some typical
applications of Plug valves:
Air, gaseous, and vapor services
Natural gas piping systems
Oil piping systems
Vacuum to high-pressure applications

Advantages
Quick quarter turn on-off operation
Minimal resistance to flow
Smaller in size than most other valves

Disadvantages
Requires a large force to actuate, due to high friction.
NPS 4 and larger valves requires the use of an actuator.
 Reduced port, due to tapered plug

Pinch Valves
Pinch valves, the simplest valve
design, include any valve with a flexible
elastomeric body that can be pinched close
to cut off flow, using a mechanism or fluid
pressure. They are linear motion valves
that can be used to start, stop and throttle
media through a system. Pinch valves are
low maintenance, low weight, and can be
used in systems requiring explosion-proof
line closure. While the design of pinch
valves provides extensive advantages for
use in sterile lines and in situations where
product purity is a high priority, these same design features do create
some disadvantages. Due to their elastomeric bodies, pinch valves are not
viable in situations where the transport media is at a high temperature.
They are also not recommended for services that require high-pressure
flow, and for use with gases.

b. Control Valve
Control valves are used to regulate flow through a pipe. The valve is
partially closed and either actively regulated or manually set so the flow
through the pipe is maintained at a certain rate. Valves for controlling
should have smooth control over the full range of flow (from fully open to
closed). Globe, diaphragm, and butterfly valves are used for this purpose.

Globe Valves
Globe valves are named for their spherical body shape with the two
halves of the body being separated by an internal baffle. This has an opening
that forms a seat onto which a movable plug can be screwed in to close the
valve. Since the flow changes direction, it results in high head loss even in
a wide open position.

Globe valves have a disk which can completely open or completely

close the flow path. This is done with the perpendicular movement of the
disk away from the seat. The annular space between the disk and seat ring
gradually changes to allow fluid flow through the valve. The gradual change
in spacing between the disk and seat ring gives the globe valve good
throttling ability.

Globe valves are used for liquids mostly water system, but it is not
suitable for handling both slurry and high purity liquids because it has
inherent cavities that easily promote contamination and allow slurry
material to become entrapped, disabling the valve operation. However, globe
valve is essential when tight shut off are needed, especially of gas flow.

There are three primary body designs for Globe valves, namely: Tee
Pattern or Z-body, Angle Pattern and Wye Pattern or Y-body body.

i. Tee Pattern Globe valve

Tee Pattern Globe Valve is the most common body type, with a
Z-shaped diaphragm. The horizontal setting of the seat allows
the stem and disk to travel perpendicular to the horizontal line.

ii. Angle Pattern Globe valves

The ends of this Globe valve are at an angle of 90 degrees, and
fluid flow occurs with a single 90 degrees turn. Angle valves
are designed so that the inlet and outlet are perpendicular.
They are used for transferring flow from vertical to horizontal.
 iii. Wye Pattern Globe valves
Wye Pattern Globe valves is an alternative for the high
pressure drop, inherent in Globe valves. Seat and stem are
angled at approximately 45 degrees, what gives a straighter
flow path at full opening and offer the least resistance to flow.

Butterfly Valves
A Butterfly valve is a quarter-turn
rotational motion valve, that is used to stop,
regulate, and start flow. Butterfly valves are
easy and fast to open. A 90 rotation of the
handle provides a complete closure or
opening of the valve.
The "butterfly" is a metal disc
mounted on a rod. Butterfly valve can be
used for both for shutting or throttling flow
through pipe. Butterfly valves are often used
for the control of gas and vapour flows. The
flow control element is a disk of approximately the same diameter as the
inside diameter of the adjoining pipe, which rotates on either a vertical or
horizontal axis.

When the disk lies parallel to the piping run, the valve is fully
opened. When the disk approaches the perpendicular position, the valve is
shut. Unlike a ball valve, the disc is always present within the flow;
therefore, a pressure drop is always induced in the flow, regardless of valve
position.
Its chief advantage is high capacity in a small package and a very
low initial cost. Much of the size and cost advantage is due to the wafer body
design, which is clamped between two pipeline flanges.

Applications
A Butterfly valve can be used in many different fluid services and
they perform well in slurry applications. The following are some
typical applications of Butterfly valves:
Cooling water, air, gases, fire protection etc.
Slurry and similar services
Vacuum service
High-pressure and high-temperature water and steam services

Diaphragm Valves

Diaphragm valves may be used for

regulation of most gases and liquids. Its
throttling characteristics are essentially
those of a quick opening valve because of the
large shutoff area along the seat.

The stem of the valve is used to push down

a flexible diaphragm, which in turn blocks
the path of the fluid. There are two different
classifications of diaphragm valve based on
the geometry of the valve body:

Weir type - A weir is cast into the body, and

when closed, the diaphragm rests on the
weir, restricting the flow.
 Straight-through type - The bore runs laterally through the body and a
wedge-shaped diaphragm is used to make the closure.

The main advantage of a diaphragm valve is the fact that the

diaphragm isolates the moving parts of the valve from the process fluid.
They are therefore suitable for handling aggressive fluids and for those
containing suspended solids. In addition, as the bonnet assembly is not
exposed to the fluid, it can be made from inexpensive materials such
as cast iron, thereby reducing the overall cost. The development of new
diaphragm materials enables diaphragms to be used on most fluids.

When operating with a diaphragm valve, one must be aware of the

operating pressures and temperatures of the process because the valve
is restricted by the physical limitations of the diaphragm membrane.
Because the material of the membrane can chemically degrade,
diaphragm valves are used under the conditions of low pressure and a
limited temperature operating range - typically less than 175C.
Diaphragm valves are particularly suited for the handling of corrosive
fluids, fibrous slurries, radioactive fluids, or other fluids that must
remain free from contamination. Since diaphragms are subject to wear
and tear, maintenance is frequently needed for valves that are used on
a regular basis.

c. Other Types

Check Valves
Check valves are valves that open with forward flow and close with
reverse flow. The pressure of the fluid passing through a system opens the
valve, while any reversal of flow will close the valve. In the forward direction,
flow forces overcome the weight of the member or a spring to open the flow
passage. With reverse pressure conditions, flow forces drive the closure
member into the valve seat, thus providing shutoff. Exact operation will vary
depending on the type of Check valve mechanism. Most common types of
Check valves are swing, and lift (piston or ball)

Types
i. Swing Check Valve
 A basic swing Check valve consists of a valve
body, a bonnet, and a disk that is connected to a
hinge. The disk swings away from the valve-seat
to allow flow in the forward direction, and returns
to valve-seat when upstream flow is stopped, to
prevent backflow. The disc in a swing type Check
valve is unguided as it fully opens or closes. The valve allows full,
unobstructed flow and automatically closes as pressure decreases.
These valves are fully closed when flow reaches zero, in order to
prevent backflow.
ii. Lift Check Valve
Lift Check valves are particularly suitable for
high-pressure service where velocity of flow is
high. Flow to lift Check valves must always
enter below the seat. As the flow enters, the
piston or ball is raised within guides from the
seat by the pressure of the upward flow. When
the flow stops or reverses, the piston is forced onto the seat of the
valve by both the backflow and gravity.

Relief and Safety Valves

Relief and safety valves prevent equipment damage by relieving
accidental over-pressurization of fluid systems. The main difference
between a relief valve and a safety valve is the extent of opening at the
setpoint pressure.

A relief valve gradually opens as the inlet pressure increases above

the setpoint. A relief valve opens only as necessary to relieve the over-
pressure condition.

A safety valve rapidly pops fully open as soon as the pressure setting
is reached. A safety valve will stay fully open until the pressure drops below
a reset pressure. Safety valves can often be distinguished by the presence
of an external lever at the top of the valve body, which is used as an
operational check.

The reset pressure is lower than the actuating pressure setpoint.

The difference between the actuating pressure setpoint and the pressure
 at which the safety valve resets is called blowdown. Blowdown is expressed
as a percentage of the actuating pressure setpoint.

Relief valves are typically used for incompressible fluids such as

water or oil. Safety valves are typically used for compressible fluids such
as steam or other gases.

Relief Valve Safety Valve

C. Rule of Thumb for Valve Selection

Control valves should always be sized for a flow rate larger than the normal
flow condition. Select a valve that operates between 10% and 80% open at
anticipated flow rates. A simple method is to calculate Cv based on the
normal flow rate and then select a valve that has twice this value of Cv, so
that in normal operation the valve will be roughly 50% open.
Choose a valve that is no smaller than half the pipe size. The valve should
be sized for a maximum flow rate 30% above the normal stream flow-rate.
The ratio between the maximum and minimum controllable flow rates is
known as the rangeability of the valve. A typical globe-type control valve
has a rangeability 50:1

REFERENCES:

Brown, G. G. (2005). Unit operations. Cbs & Distribu.

Industrial Valves. (n.d.). Retrieved September 2, 2017, from
http://www.industrialvalvestore.com/industrial-valves
What are Valves? (n.d.). Retrieved September 2, 2017, from
http://www.wermac.org/valves/valves_general.html