Choose the right valve means answering key questions first

Published: August 1,  
Last updated: December 30,  

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Knowing what makes a valve the right choice
Valves control gas and liquid flow in almost every process and system. As common as they are, choosing the right valve can sometimes be time consuming and confusing.

Begin valve selection by first gathering some basic information on system performance requirements. Knowing this will make it easier to find the right valve. The five tips in this article focus on how to match valve features with these requirements.
 

Tip 1 ' Valve size and type
Choose the right valve type. Every valve needs to perform one or more basic functions:

• Shut off flow
• Divert flow
• Mix flow
• Pressure relief
• Backflow prevention
• Adjust flow

Function determines the design of standard valve types. These are some of the most common valve types:

• Check valves
• Ball valves
• Needle valves
• Metering valves
• Toggle valves
• Stopcocks
• Relief valves
• Regulators
• Pinch valves

Properly sizing the valve is also important. The right valve choice means matching the valve's size to expected flow through the system.

Common Valve Types at VMA, Valve Manufacturers Association of America

How to Select the Right Valve (with Pros and Cons) at Indelac Controls

Tip 2 ' Materials of construction
Know the chemical compatibility requirements. The valve materials need to be compatible with the gases or liquids flowing through it. Plastic valves usually resist harsh or corrosive chemicals better than metal valves.

Miniature Ball Valves: Plastic, Brass or Stainless Steel? at ISM, Industrial Specialties Mfg.

Chemical Compatibility Chart at ISM, Industrial Specialties Mfg.

Tip 3 ' Performance requirements
Determine the pressure and temperature requirements. Find out both the temperature and pressure ranges where the valve will be installed. Metal valves tend to withstand higher temperatures and pressures than plastic valves. Metal valves are also usually best for pressurized gases. This is because they tend to be stronger than plastic valves.

A Selection Criterion for Pump and Valve Reliability at Processing Magazine

Tip 4 ' Check valves have special requirements
Be sure the new check valve will work as expected. Look at the response time needed as well as the cracking pressure required to open the valve.

Another consideration is normally closed vs normally open. There are basic check valve designs that require positive downstream pressure to open. These are usually referred to as normally closed check valves. There are other designs that require a positive backpressure to close. These are usually called normally open check valves. An appropriate choice between these two can improve check valve reliability. It is usually best to base this decision on whether the valve is usually open more or usually closed more during normal system operation.

Some check valve types may not work properly if mounted vertically instead of horizontally. Flow direction (upwards vs downwards) and fluid density both matter for check valve designs that can be mounted vertically.

Checking Out Check Valves ' An Introduction at ISM, Industrial Specialties Mfg.

Tip 5 'Maintenance
Don't forget to consider ongoing maintenance. Any valve choice should include attention to maintenance requirements. This is important for both valve reliability and application stability.

A good example of this are ball valves. They resist clogging, jamming or malfunctioning. But they are not suitable for adjusting flow. Using them to control flow can lead to leaking or premature failure.

Valve connection type affects the ease and speed of repair or replacement. Each connection type (threaded, barbed, push-in, Luer, and so on) has its pros and cons.

Plant and Equipment Maintenance at HSE, Health and Safety Executive

Knowing where to start makes valve choice faster and easier
There it is. Knowing particular information beforehand, makes choosing the right valve easier and more certain. There will always be complications like application requirements, operating conditions and chemical compatibility. Starting with basic valve requirements will simplify and speed up valve selection:

• Valve size and type
• Materials of construction
• Performance requirements
• Check valve specific requirements
• Maintenance planning
   

Some additional resources 

• 7 Tips for Choosing a Miniature Ball Valve >>  
  Need a small ball valve but aren't sure what matters? Get tips & information that help you get a jump start narrowing down the options. Find out more about designs, specifications, materials & more. 
   
• 10 Tip for Selecting a Miniature Check Valve >> 
  What you need to know to choose the right inline direct-acting miniature check valve. These tips cover key issues including cracking and reseal pressure, materials, flow rates, connection types, installation and more. 
   
• Miniature Ball Valves: Plastic, Brass or Stainless Steel? >> 
  An overview of what matters when choosing a ball valve body material. Temperature, pressure and corrosion resistance are key issues when the choice is between plastic and metal. When metal is definitely the way to go, the most common mini ball valve body metals are brass and stainless steel. Each has its pros and cons. 
   
• Full Port Ball Valves vs Standard Port >> 
  The differences between full port or full bore ball valves and standard port valves. Includes FAQs describing some of the basics of ball valve design. 
   
• Extruded, Forged or Cold-Drawn Brasses for Miniature Valves >> An overview of how brass is formed, worked and shaped to make miniature ball and check valves. Brass is a great material choice for miniature valves. Learn more about why brass is such a useful metal for making valves. This post also covers some of the basics of the most important industrial brass forming techniques. 
   
• Stainless Steel Materials for Miniature Flow Control Valves >> Stainless steel materials are strong, pressure and temperature resistant, tough, less reactive and more durable than cast iron, ductile iron, brass or copper. They are a great metal choice for fluid and gas flow control valves. 

How ISM can help you find the right miniature valve for your application
Personalized customer service and resources available at the ISM website can be a great help when selecting a valve. Available online resources include chemical compatibility reference guides, dimensional drawings and product data sheets. Our online and PDF flow control valve catalogs provide access to a wide variety of miniature valve types, connection types, materials and sizes:

• Check valves
• Ball valves
• Needle valves
• Metering valves
• Toggle valves
• Stopcocks
• Relief valves
• Regulators
• Pinch valves

Take Advantage of Our Expertise

We offer a line of ideas, so if you don't see it - ask for it. Let us turn your ideas for pneumatic or fluidic circuitry assemblies into reality ' from conception to finished product.

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4-step Guide to Choose the Right Valve for your Industrial Application

Choosing the correct components for your industrial fluid systems is imperative to ensure long-term performance. Valves are one of the most significant components to consider. With the right pumps, operators can implement these controls to control system fluid flow according to the application's requirements.

Why do we need valves?

Choosing the right valve begins with determining the purpose of the valve. Valves may be used for a range of tasks and accomplish a variety of functions. When selecting any valve for industrial usage, the best place to start is by determining what purpose it will serve. Some of the things to consider might be:

• What will it be used for? Controlling or isolating media?
• Will it be utilised several times each minute or only once every several months for maintenance?
• How important is it to your process, and what happens if it fails?
• Is it a valve that must function in an emergency?

This will make choosing the proper valve for the job much easier. Once you decide the type of valve you require for your purpose, many industrial valve manufacturers in India offer high-quality valves.

In this post, we will discuss the four factors to consider when choosing the proper valve for your industrial application:

1.  Valve size and type

Choose the correct valve type. Each valve performs one or more essential functions:

• Shut-off flow ' Control the flow of hazardous fluids safely (liquids, gases, slurries, and fluidised solids) by securely halting or resuming fluid flow.
• Divert flow ' Divert the flow of bulk solids from one feeding point to two or more receiving points.
• Mix flow ' Mix and regulate concentrations such as water temperature for HVAC and crucial process and cleaning applications.
• Pressure relief ' Improve safety by returning a system to the desired pressure during over-pressure events.
• Backflow prevention ' Allow the valve to open automatically when media flows in the desired direction and close automatically when the flow reverses.
• Adjust flow ' Adjust and control air volume flow within a pneumatic system to ultimately control the speed of operation of an actuator.

Function determines the design of standard valve types. Among the most common valve types are:

Are you interested in learning more about industrial valve types? Contact us today to secure an expert consultation!

Ball valve:

A ball valve is a shutoff valve that lets liquids or gases flow through a rotary ball with a bore. A quarter turn (90 degrees) around the ball's axis allows the medium to flow through or be blocked.

Ball valves are the best gas used because they provide superior sealing. They can withstand pressures of up to 700 bar and temperatures of up to 200°C, and their diameters generally range from 0.5 cm to 30 cm. Because of their basic construction, they are simple to operate and maintain.

Applications

• Flow and pressure control and shut off for corrosive fluids, slurries, regular liquids, and gases.
• Used primarily in the oil and natural gas industries and various manufacturing sectors, chemical storage, and even residential applications.

Butterfly Valve:

Butterfly valves stop, regulate, and start flow with a quarter-turn rotational motion. 90° rotation of the handle closes or opens the valve completely.

Butterfly valves are advantageous over the gate, globe, plug, and ball valves, particularly for large valves. Suitable for handling high volumes of liquids or gases, slurries, and liquids containing large amounts of suspended solids.

Applications

Water supply, wastewater treatment, fire prevention, gas supply, chemical and oil industries, fuel handling systems, power generation, and so on.

IDEX India offers butterfly valves in versatile configurations for efficiency, durability & long-lasting performance.

Globe Valve:

A globe valve is a type of valve used for regulating flow in a pipeline, which is different from a ball valve. Globe valves consist of a movable plug or disc element and a stationary ring seat.

They are ideal for regulating clean liquids, gases, and inert and corrosive media.

Applications

• Cooling water systems.
• Fuel oil systems.
• Feedwater or chemical feed systems.
• Boiler and main steam vents and drains.
• Turbine lube oil system and others.

Safety valves:

Safety valves are used to prevent overpressure in a system. They control pressure increases, leading to malfunctions, fire hazards, or explosions. They are used when electronic, and pneumatic safety devices fail because they only contain mechanical parts.

Applications:

• Used in the oil, gas, and petroleum industries to discharge hazardous substances.
• Used in the energy sector to discharge overpressure in steam, air, gas, or liquid pipelines, or vessels/boilers

Sleeved plug valve:

A sleeved plug valve is used for on/off and throttling service in demanding process applications with media temperatures as low as -20°F to as high as 600°F.

With an innovative stem seal design made of cup springs, the IDEX plug valves ensure uniform force distribution, resulting in no emissions and an enhanced life cycle.

Richter Sleeved Plug Valves are precisely designed to ensure lower and consistent operating torques, which helps smoother and hassle-free operations.

Applications:

Used for throttling applications in petroleum, chemical, pharmaceutical, chemical fertiliser and electric power industries.

Lining Plug Valve:

Lined plug valves have a polymer coating inside the valve. The valve has a body, plug, seat, and stem extending outside the body to connect with the handle.

The plug raises and lowers the valve. As the stem is reduced, the plug is lowered into the plug seat.

Aside from being non-lubricated, the lined plug valve features a Teflon-lined body and plug. This feature protects the valve against corrosion caused by chemical fluid.

Applications:

• Cementing, coiled tubing, high-temperature materials, and acidizing require high-pressure flow lines.
• Most upstream applications choose lubricated plug valves because they do not clog and are safe to use with corrosive chemicals.
• Flow control/isolation entails separating the liquids in the pipes to avoid contamination.

2. Materials of construction

Know the chemical compatibility requirements. The valve materials should be compatible with the gases and liquids it is intended to handle. Typically, plastic valves are more resistant to harsh chemicals than metal valves.

• Cast Iron ' Cast Iron body is mostly utilised for low-pressure and low-temperature applications.
• Ductile Cast Iron ' Because of its wide range of operating temperatures and pressures, this is extensively used in steam, water, gas, and oil pipeline systems. It provides excellent value for money.
• Stainless Steel ' This material is widely utilised in a variety of applications, ranging from the petrochemical sector to general plant systems, because of its exceptional corrosion resistance and durability.
• Special Alloy Steel ' This metal offers the highest corrosion and pitting corrosion resistance.
• Bronze ' Bronze is great for complicated castings due to its high wear resistance, corrosion resistance, and machinability. It is also appropriate for valves used in low to medium pressure service.
• Brass ' This copper and zinc alloy has better forgeability and machinability than bronze and is less expensive.
• Cast Iron Lining ' The inner and exterior sides of an iron valve are powder-coated with Nylon 11 and epoxy resin, resulting in a lining that prevents red, rusty water. It can also be used in drinking water supply lines.
• Cast Steel ' Cast steel is often used for pipelines in oil fields, refineries, and petrochemical facilities due to its wide range of working temperatures and pressures.

3. Performance requirements

Determine the pressure and temperature requirements. Find out the temperature and pressure ranges where the valve will be installed. Metal valves tend to withstand higher temperatures and pressures than plastic valves.

For pressurised gases, metal valves are also best. That's because metal valves are generally stronger than plastic ones.

4. Safety First

It is not uncommon for fluid systems to be operated at high pressures and temperatures. If a leak occurs, hazardous materials may leak and pose a threat to the operators. To prevent unnecessary hazards, fluid systems should be installed and operated according to best practices.

A valve's role is critical to a fluid system's safe operation. For instance, a safety or pressure relief valve can prevent your system from over-pressurising, a potentially hazardous scenario that could cause a blowout. This is why choosing the suitable valve for a particular function is crucial.

In almost all processes and systems, valves regulate gas and liquid flow. Choosing the right valve can often be tricky, no matter how common they are. The first step in selecting a valve is identifying the system performance requirements. Once you know what you need, choosing the right valve becomes easier.

We at IDEX India are well-versed in various valve applications and can provide you with expert advice. With customised valving solutions, we can meet your unique application requirements.

If you are looking for more details, kindly visit sluice gate valve vs gate valve.