In the oil and gas industry, there are various valves used to control and regulate liquid flow through pipelines. These include butterfly, slam-shut, check, gate, globe ball, or plug valves.
The oil and gas industry has its own standards for valves to meet. These guidelines were created by the American Petroleum Institute (API) and accepted by regulators around the world. These rules aim to increase operational safety, reduce environmental conditions, and promote sustainability within this sector of activity.
Industrial Valves: In A Nutshell
Industrial valves are mechanical devices that open, close, or partially obstruct passageways to regulate liquid or gas flow within a system. They’re employed in various applications like water supply, wastewater treatment, fire protection, fuel handling systems, and power generation plants, among others.
Industrial valves serve a primary purpose: to dispense fluids at an accurate rate, seal against leakages and backflows, and maintain optimal sensitivity to pressure and temperature changes in the pipeline. Furthermore, they must provide adequate physical and chemical resistance against corrosion caused by service fluids or their immediate environments.
Industrial valves come in four primary forms: manually operated, self-operating, auxiliary powered, and linear isolating. The failure of an industrial valve is a catastrophic event that can disrupt other processes in the plant. That’s why many valves are designed with fail-safe mechanisms to minimize damage in case they cannot fulfill their intended functions.
Types of Industrial Valves
Industrial valves come in a range of designs to handle various pressures. With so many valve types available on the market, it can be overwhelming to identify one suitable for your application. Fortunately, there are some basic criteria you can use to narrow down your choices and find a perfect match for your system.
Industrial Ball Valve regulates the flow of liquid, gas, and vapor by rotating a ball with an internal bore. IBVs can be operated manually or automatically through electric, pneumatic, and hydraulic power sources for greater convenience.
The valve is composed of four major parts: body, ball, stem, and seat. Usually made out of brass or hard alloy such as stainless steel, the body acts as the primary control for valve operation.
Different ball valves exist, such as flanged, threaded, and socket-weld designs. They may be single or multi-port, depending on the number of valve seats and ports.
The Industrial Gate Valve is a device used to regulate fluid flow by inserting either a round or rectangular wedge into the path until it becomes completely blocked off. Common applications for this valve include water, wastewater treatment plants, and fire protection systems to control fluids’ flow rates.
The valve body contains all operational parts of the valve. Additionally, it features mounting options for system inlet and outlet connections.
An Industrial Globe Valve is a type of valve commonly found in oil and gas, chemical, power generation, and water treatment industries. They regulate fluid flow, control pressure, and manage the temperature.
Globe valves come in a range of metal and alloy constructions as well as plastics to meet a range of applications. However, material compatibility depends on the type, concentration, and temperature of the medium being handled.
- Check Valve
An Industrial Check Valve is a device that regulates the flow of liquids or gases in a pipe system. Unlike other valves, these do not need to be monitored or adjusted; rather, they automatically open and close when they detect fluid flow.
Industrial check valves are essential in almost every industry where backflow prevention is a concern, such as oil and gas, pulp and paper, power generation plants, marine vessels, and more.
- Butterfly Valve
An ingenious device for controlling fluid flow. It features a disc that rotates up to 90 degrees to throttle or close the valve, which can be operated manually with a wrench or automatically with an actuator.
Industrial Butterfly Valves come in various body styles, the two most popular being lug and wafer-style bodies that slide between pipe flanges with bolt holes that match those on the flange.
- Cryogenic Valve
Industrial Cryogenic Valve (LCV) is a type of valve designed for storing and transporting cryogenic gases at high pressure and low temperature. These gases have many uses, such as manufacturing metal tools or freezing foods and vaccines.
Cryogenic valves consist of a valve body, stem, packing gland, and handwheel or lever. The body can be made from aluminum, monel, or brass, while the stem usually consists of stainless steel or Inconel.
- Safety Valve
An automatic valve that releases gas, steam, or fluid when a certain pressure is reached helps prevent catastrophic failure and explosions in industrial settings.
The most commonly used safety valve is the spring-loaded valve. These devices work by compressing their spring as system pressure rises, then releasing it to allow gas, steam, or fluid to escape.
These come in various sizes and types. Some are non-adjustable, while others can be adjusted to alter the set pressure.
- Control Valve
Industrial Control Valves are essential elements in many power plants, pulp and paper mills, chemical manufacturing processes, petrochemical processing operations, HVAC systems, and steam distribution networks. These valves play a significant role in these systems and must be carefully designed, installed, and maintained for optimal performance.
Control valves can be operated either with fast-acting or slow-action actuators, depending on their actuating mechanism.
Materials Used in Making Valves
Valve shells (bodies and bonnets) can be constructed from castings or forged or wrought components. Castings are created by pouring molten metal into a mold or pattern before being machined as needed, while forged parts are formed by placing red-hot metal under intense pressure in a forging press.
Stainless Steel: Popular among valve manufacturers, stainless steel valves offer superior corrosion resistance, durability, and mechanical properties. They are suitable for a variety of processing environments that involve water, steam, chloride, moist air, or other corrosive media.
Carbon Steel: Carbon steel has a lower cost and easier machining cost than stainless steel, and it is more resistant to abrasion and heat degradation. It also has better wear- and corrosion resistance.
Brass: Excellent corrosion resistance; however, it may become de-zincified in certain applications. Wrought brass is a form of forging with several advantages, including machineability.
Superalloys: Monel, Inconel, and Alloy 20 are nickel-chromium alloys commonly used to clad valve trim parts. These nickel-chromium compounds possess exceptional corrosion resistance properties, which make them suitable for use in corrosive environments.
Polyurethane: Durable and resistant to abrasion, polyurethane is a popular material for interior and external trim parts. While it can withstand high temperatures and pressures, it should not be used in cryogenic (ultra-low) temperatures as it becomes brittle at lower temperatures.
Components of Valve
A valve is an intricate mechanical device that utilizes several parts to regulate fluid flow. It finds application in numerous industrial processes such as water/sewage treatment, power generation, mining, food processing, chemicals/plastics production, oil & gas extraction, and more.
The body of a valve is constructed from cast or forged steel with flanged, threaded, or socket-weld pipe connections. This shell houses all internal parts and trims for the device.
- Actuator
A valve actuator is a part responsible for moving the stem and disk assembly within a valve. It can be manually operated with a handwheel, lever, gears, or chains; or electrically via a motor, solenoid pneumatic, or hydraulic mechanism.
- Bonnet
The bonnet is a cover that securely fastens the valve stem to its body. Generally, this part is bolted onto the valve body for added security.
- Stem
A stem is a cylindrical or spherical part that connects the disk assembly to an actuator, transmitting force. Manual valve stems are smooth, while electric motor-controlled stems have threads for easier threading.
- Seat
Valve seats and disc-seating surfaces are hardened using Stellite or heat treatment to prevent galling, which is a common issue with hard-seated metal valves.
- Yoke
A yoke is a pair of arms connecting the valve body or bonnet to an actuator and supporting gland bolting. Generally made from one-piece material. However, it may also be constructed out of two separate pieces for extra support.
- Packing
Packing is a fibrous material (flax or flax-based materials) or compound that creates a seal between the interior parts of a valve and where its stem protrudes through. This packing is essential for fluid loss control and to protect the stem from damage.
Nonpressure retaining parts refer to those parts used on valves other than pressure retaining ones. These include valve seats(s), stem, yoke, packing, gland bolting, bushings, handwheel, and actuators.
Applications of Industrial Valves in the Oil and Gas Industry
Industrial valves are indispensable in the safe management of oil and gas pipelines and their supply lines. Their functions range from flow control to maintaining supply line integrity – among many other significant responsibilities.
Industrial valves in the oil and gas industry come in four basic varieties: plug, linear, ball, and globe. Each has been designed for specific application needs and can be utilized differently.
Linear valves consist of a flat-sided disc with an internal passageway. You can control their action by turning the stem or actuator, blocking or allowing fluid flow.
Floating ball valves are ideal for low-pressure systems due to their spherical valve part that can pass through multiple routes between ports without needing an actuator.
Check valves are pressure-sensitive valves that open when the input pressure exceeds the outlet pressure and close when there is less pressure on the output side. They can be useful for channeling separated petroleum products into separate pipes to prevent cross-contamination.
Conclusion
Selecting the ideal valve for your project or application is a critical decision. There are numerous factors that go into selecting an ideal valve, such as design, size, and actuation. By keeping these factors in mind, you can find a solution that meets all of your requirements while protecting both process and equipment from damage.
Xintai Valves provides high-quality and robust industrial valves designed for harsh conditions. Their selection of gate, ball, check, globe, and butterfly valves are made from various materials to meet the demands of your process. If you wanna know more about industrial valves, please click here.
