Ball Valve

• A ball valve is a valve with a spherical disc, the part

of the valve which controls the flow through it.
• The sphere has a hole, or port, through the middle so
that when the port is in line with both ends of the
valve, flow will occur.
• When the valve handle is operated to open the
valve, the ball rotates to a point where the hole
through the ball is in line with the valve body inlet
and outlet.
• When the valve is shut, which requires only a 90-
degree rotation of the hand wheel for most valves,
the ball is rotated so the hole is perpendicular to the
flow openings of the valve body, and flow is stopped.
• Most ball valves are of the quick-acting type (requiring
only a 90-degree turn to operate the valve either
completely open or closed), but many are planetary gear
operated.
• This type of gearing allows the use of a relatively small
hand wheel and operating force to operate a fairly large
valve.
• The gearing does, however, increase the operating time
for the valve.
• Some ball valves contain a swing check located within the
ball to give the valve a check valve feature.
• Ball valves are normally found in the following systems
aboard ship: seawater, sanitary, trim and drain, air,
hydraulic, and oil transfer.
• Ball valves are durable and usually work to achieve perfect
shutoff even after years of disuse.
• They are therefore an excellent choice for shutoff applications
(and are often preferred to globe valves and gate valves for this
purpose).
• They do not offer the fine control that may be necessary in
throttling applications but are sometimes used for this purpose.
• Ball valves are used extensively in industrial applications
because they are very versatile, supporting pressures up to 1000
bars and temperatures up to 200°C.
• Sizes typically range from 0.5 cm to 30 cm. They are easy to
repair and operate.
• The body of ball valves may be made of metal, plastic or metal
with a ceramic centre.
• The ball is often chrome plated to make it more durable.
• There are five general body styles of ball
valves.
• The difference is based on how the pieces of
the valve—especially the casing that contains
the ball itself—are manufactured and
assembled.
• 1.single body, 2. three piece body, 3. split
body, 4. top entry, and 5. welded.
• The valve operation is the same in each case.
 Full Bore(Port) Ball Valve
• A full port or more commonly known full bore
ball valve has an over-sized ball so that the
hole in the ball is the same size as the pipeline
resulting in lower friction loss.
• Flow is unrestricted but the valve is larger and
more expensive so this is only used where free
flow is required, for example in pipelines
which require pigging.
Reduced bore (Port) ball valves
• In reduced port or more commonly
known reduced bore ball valves, flow
through the valve is one pipe size smaller
than the valve's pipe size resulting in
flow area being smaller than pipe.
• As the flow discharge remains constant and
is equal to area of flow (A) times velocity
(V), A1V1 = A2V2 the velocity increases with
reduced area of flow.
• A V port ball valve has either a 'v' shaped ball or a
'v' shaped seat commonly known as venturi bore
ball valves.
• This allows the orifice to be opened and closed in
a more controlled manner with a closer to linear
flow characteristic.
• When the valve is in the closed position and
opening is commenced the small end of the 'v' is
opened first allowing stable flow control during
this stage.
• This type of design requires a generally more
robust construction due to higher velocities of the
fluids, which might damage a standard valve.
V-Port Valves
• ·A trunnion ball valve has
additional mechanical
anchoring of the ball at the top
and the bottom, suitable for
larger and higher pressure
valves (say, above 10 cm and
40 bars).
• Cavity filler Ball Valve. Many industries encounter
problem with residues in the ball valve.
• Where the fluid is meant for human consumption,
residues may also be health hazard, and when where the
fluid changes from time to time contamination of one
fluid with another may occur. Residues arise because in
the half open position of the ball valve a gap is created
between the ball bore and the body in which fluid can be
trapped.
• To avoid the fluid getting into this cavity, the cavity has to
be plugged, which can be done by extending the seats in
such a manner that it is always in contact with the ball.
• This type of ball valve is known as Cavity Filler Ball Valve.
 Valve materials
• Balls are usually metallic in metallic bodies with trim
(seats) produced from elastomeric (elastic materials
resembling rubber) materials.
• Plastic construction is also available.
• The resilient seats for ball valves are made from various
elastomeric material.
• The most common seat materials are teflon (TFE), filled
TFE, Nylon, Buna-N, Neoprene, and combinations of these
materials.
• Because of the elastomeric materials, these valves cannot
be used at elevated temperatures.
• Care must be used in the selection of the seat material to
ensure that it is compatible with the materials being
handled by the valve.
ADVANTAGE AND DISADVANTAGE
• A ball valve is generally the least expensive of any
valve configuration and has low maintenance
costs.
• In addition to quick, quarter turn on-off
operation, ball valves are compact, require no
lubrication, and give tight sealing with low torque.
• Conventional ball valves have relatively poor
throttling characteristics.
• In a throttling position, the partially exposed seat
rapidly erodes because of the impingement of
high velocity flow.
 Assignments
• How the valve sealing is done?
• Assess the risk of using this valve in high
pressure applications.
• What could happen if the lever is not
indicated properly for Open and Shut
position
• What could be the possible reasons if
the valve found sticky.