stainless ball valve isolated on white background. For example, one type of three-way ball valve can be used to mix purified water from one source with juice concentrate from another source. These ports are usually described as one inlet and two outlet ports or one outlet and two inlet ports depending upon the flow direction through the valve. An API 6D FB ball valve in larger sizes such as 24 and pressure classes 150600 has a bore much closer to the pipe. First, some basics. Small iron red industrial shutoff and control valves, plumbing Group of various ball bearings close up on nice blue background. Stainless ball valve with blue handle. For example, they can be used to divert the flow of oil from one tank to another. Small iron red industrial shutoff and control valves, plumbing ball valve for shutting off water and liquid flow in a metal yellow pipe. Available online resources include chemical compatibility reference guides, dimensional drawings and product data sheets. This type of valve is normally limited to strictly an onof control function. Ball valves are used for both on/off and throttling service. With an FB (sometimes called full port) valve, the internal flow passage is equal to the full area of the inlet port. From left to right, each image represents a 90-degree counterclockwise turn of the valve handle. It has a handle that rotates at a right angle to the valve ports plane. Diverter, selecting or directional valves are alternate names used for L-pattern flow ball valves. The low temperature application makes it impractical to use 22Cr duplex with a minimum design temperature of 46C for the valve, so 6MO or Inconel 625 are the correct choices of materials. Dual plate check valve disk clearance should be taken into account when the check valve is installed upstream of the ball valve, as shown in Fig. Turning the valve an additional 90 degrees counterclockwise, 180 degrees total (position 3), cuts off all flow through the valve. This is because this valve design is widely used to mix or combine flow coming two different sources. Compact DBB: Secure high pressure and/or long period shutoff. However, there is no need to taper any of the valve connector flanges, unlike the flange connected to the equipment. Turning the handle an additional 90 degrees counterclockwise (position 3), 180 degrees from its original position, rotates the valve ball to a position where there is no flow possible between any of the valve ports and this valve is now off. However, a 20 class 150 ball valve as per API 6D standard could have a bore that is approximately 8mm smaller than the pipe. One bar is defined as exactly equal to 100,000 pascal (Pa) (100kilopascal (kPa)), or slightly less than the current average pressure at sea level (approximately 1.013 bar). Therefore, the valve bore should be equal to the pipe diameter when conducting PIG running for API 6D pipeline valves. 1.14, right valve). Ball valve is the most used fluid shutoff valve in upstream oil and gas production facilities, both onshore and offshore. However, a special gasket may be required with the same internal diameter as the pipe bore in the valve and flange connection to avoid fluid turbulence. Get some tips and insightsintochoosing miniature ball valves. A lug or wafer butterfly valve therefore could not be used as an isolation valve at a piece of equipment as for maintenance the valve could not be removed, as the line would not be isolated. This post focuses on the basic design differences between L-pattern (L-port) flow and T-pattern (T-port) flow in three-way ball valves. When fully open, the L/D ratio for a ball valve is approximately 3.0. These are usually called three position valves. A slightly different three-way valve design could divert fuel flowing from one tank to another tank while still being able to shut off the flow of fuel entirely if needed. A top entry body allows access to the ball and seats for maintenance without the need to remove the valve and is preferred for larger sizes. Ball valve with red handle on dark background. A lot of ball valves, arranged in a row. However, an RB ball valve may be selected instead of FB to save cost. This means the ball is made for a horizontal type three-way valve. I will also describe some of the ways handle position in combination with the range of handle rotation are used to control flow through typical three-way ball valve designs. This means the ball is made for a horizontal type three-way valve. Butterfly valve: A quarter turn valve, like a ball valve, used for flow regulation and fluid isolation. 18 Blowdown ball valve 6MO material CL2500. Bar: A metric unit of pressure, but not part of the International System of Units (SI). If one wonders whether a wedge-type gate valve can be selected alternatively, the answer is no. Fig. And like the L-pattern flow valves, the turns of the handle may be limited by design using handle stops. Drawing symbols for the ball valve are shown in Figure 5.13. This is because this valve design is widely used to divert or change the flow going out through one of two different valve outlets or ports. Flow can again follow a path through the valve between the bottom common port and the left port. If the valve handle is turned counterclockwise 90 degrees, the L-flow pattern ball inside the valve also rotates 90 degrees counterclockwise. In one important way, T-pattern flow ball valves are very different from L-flow pattern ball valves. It is ourThree-Way Ball Valve Flow Patterns Chart. Ball Valve Learn about Floating and Trunnion Mounted Ball Valves at HardHat Engineer Orbit ball valves are popular in larger sizes where power operators are required, which are less expensive than an operator for a conventional quarter-turn ball valve. An API 6D full-bore ball valve usually has a smaller bore diameter than the pipe. A ball valve consists of a valve body in which a large sphere with a central hole equal to the inside diameter of the pipe is mounted. If the valve is rotated only 90 degrees in either direction though, where the handle faces either the front or the back of the valve, flow is cut off. This is where it starts getting a little tricky. Both ball valves in Fig. Selective focus with shallow depth of field. The valve creates a seal by either fluid pressure forcing a floating seat ring against the ball or pro-stressing the seats and the ball. Turning this valves handle another 90 degrees counterclockwise, 360 degrees total, returns it to its original starting position. This could result in three size reductions for above 24 (e.g., 3630). Fig. Selection of an FB ball valve avoids flashing and having two-phase flow that can increase wearing, erosion, and cavitation in the control globe valve. Interested in finding out more about the pros and cons of plastic vs. metal ball valves? L-pattern flow ball valves with handles that can turn 90 degrees (a quarter turn of the handle) are also called two position valves. If the valve is rotated only 90 degrees (a quarter turn) in either direction though, the handle faces either the front or the back of the valve. The hollow ball may trap fluid in the closed position and may cause problems if the valve body is not vented. Second, the same force makes the valve difficult to operate, thus requiring a high torque to overcome the seating force at high-pressure differentials. Uncertain if a three-way ball valve is therightchoice for your application? Fittings and ball valve with selective focus on thread fittings. This makes them useful for many types of process applications. Generally, it is possible to reduce the opening time of the fail open actuated valve by installing a quick exhaust valve on the control panel to release the instrument air from the pneumatic actuator in the fail mode quickly. 1.17. A blowout. As an example, full-bore 18 API 6D Class 150 ball valves in 22Cr duplex material could have a bore diameter up to 1012mm smaller than the pipe. Most horizontal type L pattern flow valves will have handles that are limited to 180 degrees of turn. Part of Pipelines from stainless steel, a system for pumping liquids for Steel valve butterfly vector illustration. Installation of crane on a tank with liquid. The ball valve is an inexpensive alternative to other valves. Since ball valves open and close so quickly, ball valves may induce water hammer or surge pressures. With an RB valve, the flow area of the port (closure member) is less than the area of the inside diameter of the pipe and inlet of the valve. In one project, an RB ball valve was selected instead of an FB ball valve in a subflare line. Notice that each flow pattern change, from left to right, each represents one 90-degree counterclockwise turn of the handle. A basic L-pattern flow three-way ball valve type (see above) is often limited to only this 90-degree turn of the handle. Each bar is approximately 14.7 times 1 psi. Having a clear understanding of L-pattern flow makes understanding T-pattern flow much easier. Roy A. Parisher, Robert A. Rhea, in Pipe Drafting and Design (Fourth Edition), 2022. T-pattern flow balls, sometimes called 180-degree balls, are widely used to take two inlet flows and combine them to flow out through one common outlet port. Compared with other valves with similar ratings, ball valves are relatively small and light. Turning the valve handle 90-degrees counterclockwise to its second position still allows flow through the valve, but this time the flow is between the bottom port and the right port. Used in many hydrocarbon process applications, ball valves are capable of throttling gases and vapors and are especially useful for low flow situations. 1.15. Selective focus. The inside diameter of the pipe and valve are different; so, there is a step between the valve body flange and the connected flange. Adapted to the different hydrocarbon phases encountered (liquid, gas, and mixture). Check valvesused anywhere a return flow has to be prevented, used in all process facilities. These sort of L-pattern flow ball valves are usually called three-position valves: a starting position, a 90 degree turn and a 180 degree turn. API 6D bores are counted as full bore but they are not really full borewhich means that the bore of ball valves as per the API 6D standard is less than the pipeline (piping) bore. Closure member refers to the ball in a ball valve, also referred to in some international valve standards as the obturator. Lets look at horizontal type L-pattern flow in greater detail. Vertical type L-pattern flow three-way ball valves have two possible flow paths and two possible off positions. Large JPEG (3000x2900), layered AI EPS 8. Pipelines from stainless steel, a system for pumping liquids for the food industry. They can divert flow either to the left or to the right with one 90-degree turn of the handle. How is a three-way ball valve different from a two-way ball valve? They have a 180-degree limit on the turn of the handle. Plastic hose and valve of sprinkler system in a garden. The ball cannot move in the lateral direction because it is held in place by a shaft on the top and the bottom of the ball. Packing materials should be capable of lasting through a fire. This important design difference is the pattern of flow or port shape through the ball inside the valve. Ball valves for water isolated on a white background. They are quick-opening and require only a quarter-turn to open or close. psi. The ball, shown in Figure 7-1, performs the same function as the disc in other valves. Ball valves are commonly used in small diameters (up to DN 300) although at least one manufacturer can make ball valves up to DN 1200. A variety of plumbing pipe connectors, corners, fittings, nipples. Full port ball valves are required in applications such as hot tapping operations or in a line subject to pigging. Steven C. Williams, BS, is the technical writer and an inbound marketing specialist at Industrial Specialties Manufacturing (ISM), an ISO 9001-2015 supplier of miniature pneumatic, vacuum and fluid circuitry components to OEM's and distributors all over the world. Blowdown or FO valves on flare lines usually see low operating temperatures because of the released gas pressure drop. These emergency seat seals come into operation should the soft seals burn out in a fire (fire-safe). Manual three-way L-pattern ball valves used as diverter valves are usually installed with the bottom port of the valve body as the common or flow entry port. This provides for all three options: left flow, right flow and one off position. If it was intended for a vertical type valve, the stem slot would be opposite the bottom or common bore hole. Generally, three-way ball valves are described based on their flow patterns (L-pattern or T-pattern flow), handle orientation (horizontal type or vertical type) and the number of 90 degree turns the handle is allowed to rotate: Depending on how the valve ball is drilled and the piping configuration, gas and liquid flow can be diverted, mixed, blocked in one direction or shut off completely. 1.16. Ball valves are similar to plug valves but use a ball-shaped seating element (Figure 4.56). Gas pressure drop reduces the operating temperature to 46C or even lower, so the minimum design temperature is typically below 100C. Copyright 2022 Elsevier B.V. or its licensors or contributors. Figure 4.58. The two (2) block valves in series are closed and the pipe segment between them is depressurized via the bleed valve. However, installation of a check valve coupled to the FB ball from the downstream side is not a risk for dual-plate disk clash since the disk opens on the opposite side of the ball valve. Dual plate check valves usually require a minimum of 2D (2 times the pipe diameter) upstream and 5D (5 times the pipe diameter) downstream straight line to avoid flow turbulence and erosion inside the dual plate check valve. Triple offset butterfly valvesthese valves are now being used more and more because of their ability to provide a good tight seal. This blog post describes the differences between full port or full-bore ball valves and standard port valves. For example, a 24 ball valve in duplex material and class 300 has about 2mm less bore than the pipe. As an example, 2 class 1500 ball valves for manual depressurizing should have at least a 49mm bore, as per Table 1.1 from the API 6D standard. It should be noted that you never place a butterfly valve at a vessel nozzle, as the disk can penetrate inside the vessel nozzle. Understanding basic three-way ball valve design options makes it easier to choose the right three-way valve and easier to plan its installation. Ball valves may need to be FB upstream of the pumps to increase the net positive suction head of the pumps. Closed water supply valve with a red handle in the droplets of water. The process department asked for two parameters of and B=d1/d2 to determine whether the flow capacity (CV value) of the RB was sufficient. Each turn of the handle causes a corresponding 90-degree turn of the valve ball. Butterfly valvesused throughout the process, oil and gas, pharmaceutical, food, brewing, and industrial industries for process, water, and fluids. Details of ball valve. Installation of the crane on a tank with liquid. Our online and PDF flow control valve catalogs provide access to a wide variety of miniature valve types, connection types, materials and sizes. Steel ball valve. But the standard does not provide the minimum bore diameter for large size and high-pressure classes (maximum 20 bore in CL2500 and 36 bore in CL1500). A typical ball valve is shown in Figure12.10. We use cookies to help provide and enhance our service and tailor content and ads.