1/19/2020 Types of Valve End Connections

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Types of Valve End Connections

Lesson 3: The Various Types of Valve End Connections
So many materials, which to choose and why:
There are quite a few Factors for Selecting a Categories of Valve
different types of connections Connection Type Connection Types
used to install valves and There are 5 general
Pressure rating/system
other process components in categories that all connection
pressure
piping of process systems. types fall into.
Leakage prevention
While they all perform the
Ease of installation They are:
same function of connecting
Permanence of valve
the valve into the piping Threaded
Ease of removal for repair
system and allowing it to
or replacement Welded / Soldered / Glued
perform its function, each
Inventory simplification Flanged / Lugged / Wafer
connection type has its own
Adherence to industry Compression
pros and cons. The selection
and/or plant standards Union
of the best valve connection
Weight and size Manifold-mount
type for your application is
Cost
based on many factors:

Threaded Connections
Threaded connections are Male vs. Female Anatomy of Threads
very common. They provide a
compact and streamlined
connection between the valve
and pipe.
Straight vs. Tapered
The valve typically has
female threaded end
connections, into which the
male threaded pipe fits. There
are valves with male threaded
connections as well, and
even valves with one female
end and one male end.

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Threaded connections must

adhere to a standard in order
to be useful in industry. There
are a few different standards
that exist. The valve and pipe
must both be created using
the same standard in order
for them to make a proper
connection.

There are standards for

straight threads and some for
tapered. Tapered threads
provide a fluid tight seal
without the use of a soft seal
like an o-ring or flat washer.
Straight threads do require a
soft seal that gets
compressed between the
valve and pipe, hose, or fitting
that they are being connected
to.

NPT - National Pipe Thread Tapered

This is a U.S. standard for
tapered threads used on
threaded pipes and fittings. In
contrast to straight threads
like those that are found on a
bolt, a taper thread will pull
tight and therefore make a
fluid-tight seal. Pipe tape or
pipe compound should be
used on the threads to ensure
a fluid-tight seal.

NPT is defined by
ANSI/ASME standard
B1.20.1.
There are 25 sizes defined
from 1/16" to 24", (see chart
with sizes and dimensions)
however typically valves over

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4" will use flanged

connections rather than
threaded.

NPT threads are specified

using the size in inches
followed by "NPT".
example: 2" NPT

BSPT - British Standard Pipe Taper Threads

This standard is similar to
NPT, where the threaded
portions of the connection are
tapered. The only difference
is the angle of the thread
flanks. The angle from root to
crest on BSPT threads is 55°
as opposed to 60° for NPT. It
is possible for a male NPT to
fit into a female BSPT, but
due to the difference of the
thread angle a fluid tight seal
will not be made.

BSPT threads are defined by

ISO 7 and/or EN 10226-1, BS
21.

BSPT threads are specified

using the letter "R" followed
by the size in inches. R
stands for "rohr" which is
german for pipe.
example: R 2 1/2"

BSPP - British Standard Parallel Pipe Threads

This type of thread does NOT
form a fluid tight seal like the
tapered threads do. The use
of a soft seal is required to do
so. These threads will pull the
2 mating parts together, and
compress the soft seal
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between flat surfaces on each

component.

BSPP threads are defined by

ISO 228-1:2000 (Dimensions,
tolerances, and designation)
and ISO 228-2:1987.

BSPP threads are specified

using the letter "G" followed
by the size in inches. G
stands for "gas".
example: G 1/2"

Welded, Soldered, and Glued Connections

Socket Weld
The valve simply has a
socket with an inner diameter
that is ever so slightly larger
than the pipe's outer
diameter. The pipe is inserted
into the socket, and is welded
around the rim as shown
here. Socket weld
connections are usually
reserved for smaller sizes,
typically 2" and below. They
are permanent connections
that are reliably leak-free.
This example includes "heat
sink" fins which help dissipate
heat to protect the seals
during welding. Valves with
this feature are often referred
to as "weld-in-place."

Note: These welds should be

performed by a trained
.professional.Care must be
taken to avoid damaging the
seats and seals with
excessive heat.

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Butt Weld
The valve end and the pipe
end are of equal diameters.
The outer edge of each is
chamfered to create a "valley"
to be filled with welding
material. The two pieces are
welded around the rims as
shown in the illustration. Butt
weld connections are usually
reserved for smaller sizes,
typically 2" and below. The
example shown here also
includes the heat sink fins.

Note: These welds should be

performed by a trained
profesional. Care must be
taken to avoid damaging the
seats and seals with
excessive heat.

Soldered (also referred to sweat)

This is the most common
connection type in residential
plumbing systems. This
connection type is very
similar to socket weld. The
pipe fits snuggly into a
smooth bore on the valve,
then the connection is
soldered by heating the valve
bore and touching the seam
with solder which melts and
gets drawn in and around the
entire circumference of the
pipe/valve seam.

While there are situations

where soldering a connection

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may be dangerous, difficult,

or even impossible, they do
provide a very rugged and
reliable connection that can
withstand shock such as
water-hammer, temperature
fluxtuations, and flexing.

Glue Socket
Glue socket connections are
also referred to as FIP, slip-fit,
friction fit, pipe end, or spigot
connections. They are very
simple. The inner diameter of
a glue socket connection is
ever so slightly larger than
the outer diameter of the
pipe, which simply inserts into
the socket. PVC cement is
used (prior to inserting) to
attach PVC or CPVC valves
to PVC or CPVC pipes. It is
recommended to twist the
pipe 1/4 turn as it is inserted.
The cement actually melts the
pieces together making them
permanent. These
connections cannot be un-
done.

Flanged Connections
Most flanged end connections
adhere to an industry
standard. These standards
define certain criteria that
must be met in order to
facilitate the use of products
from various manufacturers.
ANSI is the American
National Standards Institute.
Together with the ASME
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ANSI/ASME B16.5
This standard is based on
using multiple bolt holes
evenly distributed around a
"bolt circle". There are 7
classes from 150# to 2500#
with the pressure increasing
as the class does. The
standard includes flanges for
pipe sizes from 1/2" to 24."
Round Flange Types
Both of the standards just
mentioned have many
different types within them.
These types include different
mating face styles. The most
commonly used on valves are
RF for "raised face" where
there is a slightly raised inner
ring arounf the valves port.
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(American Society of There are a few different Flat faces, counter-bore, o-

Mechanical Engineers), they
have developed and
published a standard for
flange connections. That
standard is ASME/ANSI
B16.5.
There is also a European
standard that is similar, but
NOT THE SAME. That
standard is DIN, which is an
acronym for the german
translation of "German
Institute for Standardization."
The specific standard for pipe
flanges is DIN EN 1092-1.
This standard is also
recognized by ISO
(International Standards
Organization) under ISO
7005.
SAE is the Society for
Automotive Engineers. They
have also developed a
standard for flange type
connections where the flange
is separate from the
components that it holds
together. That standard is
SAE J518. This standard is
also recognized by ISO under
ISO 6162.
types of flanges
Class 150: 1/4" to 24"
Class 300: 1/4" to 24"
Class 400: 1/4" to 24"
Class 600: 1/4" to 24"
Class 900: 1/2" to 24"
Class 1500: 1/2" to 24"
Class 2500: 1/2" to 12"
[ ASME/ANSI B16.5 Flange
Class Dimensions and
Pressure/Temperature Charts
] accomplished with welding,
These classes are referred to
as "Class 150," or "150#"
interchangeably.
DIN 1092-1/ISO 7005
This standard is very similar
to ANSI. These flanges are
referred to with a "DN" (for
Diameter Nominal) followed
by size in mm, followed by
"PN" (for Pressure Nominal)
followed by presure rating in
bar. There are 19 sizes from
10 to 2000 and XX pressure
classes from 2.5 to 100 bar
example: DN 100 PN 16
[ DIN 1092-1/ISO 7005 ]
ring groove, and other styles
are available but uncommon
in most industries.
There are also various styles
that attach to pipes differently.
That has no affect on the
valve ends. The flanges on
the valve are usually part of
the valve body itself. They
mate up with a matching
flange that must be attached
to the pipe. That is usually
and less common with
threading.
SAE J518
This standard is based on
using 4 bolt holes located on
the corners of a rectangle.
There are 2 classes, Code 61
and Code 62. The flanges
can be split into 2 halves
known as "split flanges", or as
a single piece which is called
"captive."
SAE J518-1 Code 61 (ISO
6162-1): 3000 psi, 1/4" to 24"
SAE J518-2 Code 62 (ISO
6162-2): 6000 psi, 1/4" to 24"
[ SAE J518 Flange
Dimensions ]

ANSI Flanges

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The valve has a flanges with

bolt holes used to bolt it to
matching flanges on the pipe.
Flanged connections make
removal and replacement
easy. Flanged connections
are common on larger valve
sizes. Gaskets must be used
where these flanges mate.

ANSI Flange (Lugged Style)

Lugged style flange
connections are similar to
wafer with 2 minor
differences. 1) The lug holes
ARE threaded and there is a
lug hole for every bolt hole on
the flanges. 2) each threaded
hole accepts 2 bolts, one
from each flange on opposing
sides. This type of connection
can be used for dead-end
service, where there is only a
flange on one side of the
valve and the other is open to
atmosphere, provided that the
seat/retainer is bolted in
place.

ANSI Flange (Wafer Style)

Wafer style flange
connections are typically
reserved for butterfly valves
due to there slim profile. They
can, however, also be found
on ball valves from some
manufacturers. This
connection type simply
sqeezes the valve between 2
flanges using long bots or
threaded end rods. There are
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holes on the valve for the

bolts to pass through, which
are NOT threaded, and are
oversized, allowing for some
play. There is NOT always a
hole for every bolt hole on the
flanges. They are simply used
to help hold the valve in place
until all of the other bolts are
in. On resilient seated
butterfly valves, the resilent
seat is also used as the seal
between the valve and flat-
faced flange on each side. On
high performance butterfly
valves, raised face flanges
are used along with gaskets
to form a fluid tight seal. This
type of connection is NOT
suitable for dead end service.

Tri-Clamp
Also referred to as Tri-Clover,
T-clamp, or Sanitary Clamp.
These connections use a
hinged clamp that tightens
around the flanged ends and
squeezes them together with
a gasket in between. The
squeezing force is created by
the wedge shape of the
flanges being forced deeper
and deeper into the wedge
shaped groove in the clamp.
There are various different
clamp styles including two-
segment single hinge (shown
here), three-segment double
hinge, and two-bolt high
pressure.

SAE 4-bolt Flanges

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SAE (Society of Automotive

Engineers) defines a
standard of 4-bolt flanges
called SAE J518. They are
available as split flanges (two
halves as shown here), or
captive where the it is a sigle
piece. Split flange
connections are used in high
pressure applications such as
hydraulic systems. The flange
halves are placed around the
valve's end connection which
has a lip around the edge.
This lip has a flat face with a
channel in which an o-ring is
placed. The bolts are
tightened, causing the face of
the valve's lip to be drawn up
against the flat face of the
mating surface, usually a
manifold. When installation is
complete, there is metal to
metal contact between the
valve connection and
manifold and the o-ring is
trapped and compressed,
forming a fluid tight seal.

There are 2 classes of these

4-bolt flange standards:
Code 61: 3000 psi, from 1/2"
to 5"
Code 62: 6000 psi, from 1/2"
to 2"*
* there are industry standards
up to 3" that are not part of
the SAE standard

Compression
Traditional Compression

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This type of connection is

typically found on water lines
in residential plumbing. They
do not require heat like
soldered or welded
connections making them
perfect for installation in
places where the use of such
would be difficult or
dangerous. The connection
uses 2 pieces in addition to
the valve and pipe. They are
the ferrule (sometimes called
an olive or sleeve) and a
compression nut. The
Compression nut is slid onto
the pipe with the threads
facing where the valve will be.
Then the ferrule is slid onto
the pipe. If the ferrule is not
symmetrical, the longer side
should be toward the valve.
Next the pipe is inserted into
the valve and the
compression nut is tightened.
Tightening this nut forces the
ferrule into the valve stub
which is tapered on the
inside. Since the ferrule is
made of a softer metal than
the nut and valve, it gets
compressed around the pipe.
It also gets compresed
between the valve and
compression nut, forming a
fluid tight seal.

Push-in
Push-to-connect connections
are mainly used in residential
and commercial plumbing.
Originally developed for

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fittings such as tees, elbows,

and couplings, these
connections can also be
found on valve ends. These
innovative connection types
allow quick and easy
connection of the pipe(s) to
the valve. There is an o-ring
inside the valve port that is
slightly smaller than the outer
diameter of the pipe to be
connected. When the pipe is
pushed in, the o-ring gets
stretched around the pipe and
compressed between the
valve body and the pipe.
There is a grab-ring with teeth
that dig into the pipe and
prevent it from being
removed. The pipe can be
easily removed by pressing
the release ring in which
retracts the teeth of the grab-
ring.

Barbed Hose Connections

Barbed hose connections are
a simple and fairly primitive
way of connecting soft hose
ends to a valve. They are
commonly found on low
presure systems including air
lines for an aquarium. The
valves have long end
connections that have barbs
on them. The hose gets
stretched over them when
inserted and due to their
shape go on far more easily
than they come off. In many
case this is a sufficient
connection as-is, however, a
hose clamp can be used to
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strengthen the connection if

needed.

Union/True Union
Union
Union connections employ a
female threaded collar nut
that threads on to a male
threaded end connection of
the valve. Typically union
connections fasten stubs of
another connection type, like
welded, glue, or threaded,
onto the valve. Those
connections then are
attached to the pipe. Once
installed, the valve body can
easily be removed from the
pipe using the threaded union
connections. This connection
type allows for fast and easy
removal of the valve for
cleaning, replacement, or
repair.

Our P2 and PTP series PVC

ball valves feature true-union
connections and come with
both NPT female and glue
socket connections. They
also feature the Dual-block
locking system that prevents
the threaded collar nuts from
loosening due to vibration.

Manifold Mount
Manifold Mount
Manifold-mount valve
connections incorporate a flat
face with recessed o-rings
around the ports. Bolts are

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used to hold the valve in

place on the mating surface
of the component upon which
it is being mounted. The ports
on the valves align with ports
on the component. When the
bolts are tightened, they
press the 2 faces together,
and compress the o-rings to
form a seal between the
matching ports. A common
example of this type of
connection is a NAMUR
solenoid valve which are
commonly used to attach
solenoid valves to pneumatic
actuators.

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