1 Piece 316 Stainless Steel Ball Valve Description:
1 piece ball valve and flange gate valve are the same types of valve. The difference is that its closing part is a sphere. The sphere rotates around the centerline of the valve body to achieve opening and closing. The ball valve is mainly used to cut off, distribute and change the flow direction of the medium in the pipeline.
Within the Stainless Steel Ball Valve series, there are actually two types of Stainless, 304 and 316. These are two different material grades that have different make-ups. For more corrosion resistance, you can utilize the 316 grade, as it has an element called molybdenum which increases the corrosion resistance even greater than standard 304 Stainless.
The Advantages Of 1 Piece Ball Valves:
- The fluid resistance is small, and its resistance coefficient is equal to that of a pipe section of the same length.
- Simple structure, small size, and lightweight.
- 1 piece ball valves are tight and reliable. At present, the sealing surface material of the ball valve is widely used in plastics and has good sealing performance. These stainless steel ball valves have also been widely used in vacuum systems.
- It is easy to operate and open and close quickly. It only needs to rotate 90° from fully open to fully closed, which is convenient for remote control.
- The maintenance is convenient, the structure of the ball valve is simple, the sealing ring is generally movable, and it is convenient to disassemble and replace.
- When fully open or fully closed, the sealing surface of the ball and the valve seat is isolated from the medium. When the medium passes, it will not cause erosion of the valve sealing surface.
- It has a wide range of applications, with a diameter ranging from a few millimeters to a few meters, and can be applied from high vacuum to high pressure.
The 1 piece ball valve is a relatively new type of ball valve. It has some advantages unique to its structure, such as frictionless switch, non-wearing seal, and small opening and closing torque. This can reduce the size of the actuator. Equipped with a multi-turn electric actuator, it can realize the adjustment and close shut-off of the medium. It is widely used in working conditions that require strict cut-offs such as petroleum and chemical city water supply and drainage.
The Working Principle Of 1 Piece Ball Valves:
1. Opening Process
- In the closed position, the ball is pressed against the valve seat by the mechanical pressure of the valve stem.
- When the handwheel is turned counterclockwise, the valve stem moves in the opposite direction, and its bottom angular plane makes the ball free from the valve seat.
- The valve stem continues to lift and interacts with the guide pin in the spiral groove of the valve stem, causing the ball to start rotating without friction.
- Until it reaches the fully open position, the valve stem is raised to the limit position and the ball rotates to the fully open position.
2. Closing Process
- When closing, turn the handle clockwise, the valve stem begins to descend and the ball leaves the valve seat and starts to rotate.
- Continue to rotate the handwheel, the valve stem is acted on by the guide pin embedded in the upper spiral groove, so that the valve stem and the ball rotate 90° at the same time.
- When it is about to close, the ball has rotated 90° without contact with the valve seat.
- In the last few turns of the handwheel, the angular plane at the bottom of the valve stem mechanically wedges and presses the ball, making it tightly pressed against the valve seat to achieve a complete seal.
