Ball Valve

Types of Ball valves

Ball valves are basically available in three versions.. full port, venturi port and reduced port. The full-port valve has an internal diameter equal to the inner diameter of the pipe. Venturi and reduced-port versions generally are one pipe size smaller than the line size.

Ball valves are manufactured in different body configurations and the most common are:

• Top entry Ball valves allow access to valve internals for maintenance by removal of the valve Bonnet-cover. It is not required to be removed valve from the pipe system.
• Split body Ball valves consists of a two parts, where one part is smaller as the other. The ball is inserted in the larger body part, and the smaller body part is assembled by a bolted connection.

The valve ends are available as butt welding, socket welding, flanged, threaded and others.

Materials

Balls are usually made of several metallics, while the seats are from soft materials like Teflon, Neoprene, and combinations of these materials. The use of soft-seat materials imparts excellent sealing ability. The disadvantage of soft-seat materials (elastomeric materials) is, that they can not be used in high temperatures processes.

For example, fluorinated polymer seats can be used for service temperatures from −200° (and larger) to 230°C and higher, while graphite seats may be used for temperatures from ?° to 500°C and higher.