Industrial Valves and Their Uses
Industrial valves are devices that enable the regulation of the flow of liquids and gases. This regulation can be achieved by opening, closing, and partially obstructing the connected pipe or passageway through which the liquid or gas flows. Some of the more commonly used valve types are isolation valves, regulation valves, safety relief valves, non-return valves, globe valve and special purpose valves. The other valves used include float valve, and double block and bleed valve.
The Different Industries Where Valves Are Used
There are several industries such as the power industry; water works industries, off-shore production facilities, oil and gas production industries and commercial buildings that make use of valve systems. Gate valves are the top choice for power plant applications. Although other valves like the Y-pattern globe valve are sometimes used. Along with the main valve, there are many ancillary pipelines in power plants. These ancillary pipes are populated by a myriad of globe, butterfly, check, ball and gate valves. Offshore production facilities and oil rigs have piping systems which contain a variety of valves. These are built with different specifications in order to handle all the flow control challenges. Gas and oil production facilities use mainly heavy-duty valves. The combination of certain valves along with special fittings is able to handle pressures of more than 10,000 psi.
What Are the More Commonly Used Valves?
A double block and bleed valve system is a combination of one or more block or isolation valves, usually ball valves and one or more bleeding or venting valves. These valves are used where bleeding the valve cavity is required or where piping needs isolation for maintenance, or to prevent product contamination, for transmission and storage, for chemical injection and sampling, for liquid service near waterways or municipalities and other such uses. A float valve is used to control the flow and level of tanks and to stop overflow or overfilling. When the float rises to a certain level, the valve is then opened or closed by the lever attached to the float. A direct float control valve uses a floating fixture that rises with the level of the liquid in a tank, which then opens or closes the valve directly.
Others Types of Valve Systems
Apart from a float valve and double block and bleed valve there are other valves that are used in many industries on a daily basis. There is the gate valve which consists of a channel that can be opened or closed by moving a metal gate up and down. A stop valve is the most commonly used valve system used in plumbing. This valve connects a building’s water pipes to a toilet or faucet’s water supply line. An angle stop is fixed to the pipes that come out of a wall, while a straight stop valve connects to the pipes that go under the floor. Both these types of stop valves are helpful for a plumber or homeowner to replace a toilet or faucet without turning off the water to the entire building.
There are several industrial valve manufacturers that specialise in the design and manufacture of small to medium high-quality valves for the control of fluids and gases in most pipe systems. These valve systems can be used by major industries, water authorities and marine applications.
