What is a ball valve?

Ball valve is a commonly used valve type, which is used to control the flow of fluid (liquid or gas) in the pipeline. The main feature of ball valve is that there is a sphere (usually spherical) inside the valve body, and the valve can be controlled by turning the sphere.

Ball valve usually consists of valve body, bonnet, ball, valve stem and sealing ring. When the ball rotates, the channel in the valve body will be aligned with the channel of the ball, thus realizing the circulation of fluid; When the ball rotates to the closed position, the valve body is not aligned with the passage of the ball, thus closing the valve.

Ball valves have the advantages of quick opening and closing, tight sealing, portability and simplicity, and are widely used in various fluid control occasions, including petroleum, chemical industry, electric power, metallurgy, water treatment, pharmaceutical and other industries. Ball valves can usually withstand higher pressure and temperature, and require less force when operating, so they are widely used in various engineering and technological processes.

The main advantages of ball valves include:

Fast switching: the ball valve can realize fast switching operation, which is suitable for occasions that need frequent switching.

Tight sealing: The ball valve adopts the contact mode between the ball and the valve seat, which has good sealing performance and can avoid fluid leakage.

Small fluid resistance: the internal passage of ball valve is usually large, and the resistance of fluid passing through the valve is small, which can reduce fluid energy consumption.

Wide applicability: the ball valve is suitable for all kinds of media, including liquid, gas and corrosive media.

Some disadvantages of ball valves include:

Larger volume: Compared with other types of valves, under the same flow conditions, ball valves usually need larger volume.

Large driving force: Ball valves usually need large driving force to rotate the ball, especially in the case of large caliber and high pressure difference, the operating force may be large.

The accuracy of flow regulation is relatively low: in the case of small flow and low pressure difference, the accuracy of flow regulation of ball valve may be low, which is not suitable for some occasions with high flow requirements.

Besides ball valves, there are many other types of valves, such as gate valves, butterfly valves, check valves and regulating valves. Each type of valve has its own characteristics and scope of application. Selecting the appropriate valve type should be based on

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