• The most common mechanical device used din industrial
plants
• Designed to control flow
• Made of different types, shapes and materials.
Control of the flow
Start the flow ON
Stop the flow OFF
Regulate the flow THROTTLE
Types of Valve
1) Butterfly valve
2) Globe valve
3) Ball valve
4) Gate valve
5) Check valve
6) Safety Relief valve
Other types:
• Piston valve
• Pinch Valve
• Diaphragm valve
• Double Block and Bleed valve (Isolation valve)
Major components of the valve:
1. Butterfly Valves:
• Used as control valves in low pressure gas pipelines
• Are not used for high pressure pipelines because they don’t
provide complete shutoff.
• The opening element is a disc.
• Fully open or closed conditions only
• Small pressure difference
• Little resistance to flow
• Optimal for automated operation with a low operating
pressure.
2. Glove valve
o Most economic for throttling purpose
o Provides high shutoff
o Best for clean fluids including gases
o Not good for slurries
o Used primarily as throttling device and to control rate of
flow
o Have a round ball like element in a shell
o Called globe because in earliest design the valve body
was spherical
o pressure drop is large
o Most automatic valve are similar to globe valve
o Much power is required to open and close the valve
3. Ball valve
Suitable for slurries, viscous fluids and cryogenic liquids due
to its low pressure drop.
Not good for throttling or not used to regulate the flow
Used fully closed or opened positions. So not suitable for
flow control.
The opening element is a ball with a hole through the
center.
The hole in the ball is same size as the pipe
Little resistance to flow when fully open
Gate valve
Also called sluice valve
Consist of either a non rising stem or rising stem. Rising stem are
used as a visual indication of the valve position and non rising
stem are used for underground gate valves where vertical space
is constricted.
The valve acts somewhat like the opening or closing of the gate
Not suitable for throttling purpose (only for on/off purpose but nor
for control)
Used preferably to minimize resistance to flow and friction losses
Used in straight fluid flow systems
Not suitable for quick operation
In opening, the disc is drawn up into the dome, thus leaving a
straight passage for flow
Used only for clean fluids
Not suitable for flow control and slurries
Check valves
Designed to automatically prevent the reversal of flow in the
pipeline.
Opens automatically to permit the passage of a liquid in one
direction and closes automatically to prevent flow in the
opposite direction.
Sometimes known as reflux valves.
Permits flow in only one direction
It is operated by the pressure of the fluid in the desired
direction.
Types: a) Swing check valve and b) Lift check valve
Safety relief valve
Used to prevent overpressure in the plant
Operates by releasing a volume of fluid from within
the plant when a predetermined maximum pressure
is reached.