How To Choose Butterfly Valves, Ball Valves And Gate Valves for Large-diameter Pipeline Valve Selection?

In large-diameter pipeline systems, butterfly valves, ball valves, and gate valves are common types of valves. To make a reasonable selection among them, various factors need to be comprehensively considered.

The structure of a butterfly valve is simple. The butterfly disc is installed in the direction of the pipeline diameter and rotates around the axis within the cylindrical passage of the valve body. The rotation angle ranges from 0° to 90°, and the valve is fully open when the angle reaches 90°. It has obvious advantages. For example, it has a simple structure, small volume, light weight, and easy operation. It can be quickly opened and closed just by rotating 90°. Moreover, the butterfly valve has good flow control characteristics. When it is fully open, the thickness of the butterfly disc is the only resistance for the medium flowing through the valve body, resulting in a very small pressure drop. In terms of sealing, butterfly valves are divided into elastic sealing and metal sealing. The sealing ring of the elastic sealing can be embedded in the valve body or attached to the periphery of the butterfly disc. Metal-sealed valves have a relatively long service life, but it is difficult to achieve a complete seal, while elastic sealing is limited by temperature. Butterfly valves are suitable for a variety of media and are widely used in fields such as petroleum, gas, chemical industry, water treatment, and the cooling water system of thermal power plants. Common types include wafer butterfly valves and flanged butterfly valves.

Ball valves can be opened and closed rapidly, have low fluid resistance, excellent sealing performance, small operating torque, and are conducive to automatic control. They perform excellently in large-diameter pipeline scenarios with high requirements for opening and closing speeds. However, their structure is complex and the cost is relatively high. In high temperature or high-pressure environments, leakage problems may occur at the sealing parts. For example, fully welded ball valves, with their fully welded valve bodies, ensure good sealing performance. They are often used in urban gas, heating, petrochemical and other fields. When connecting gas pipelines, they can be directly buried underground, saving construction costs and project time.

Gate valves are usually used in fully open or fully closed working conditions. They have low flow resistance, good sealing performance, simple operation and maintenance, and strong flow capacity. However, it takes a relatively long time to open and close them. This process may cause transient pressure fluctuations of the medium in the pipeline, and the gate plate occupies a large space in the pipeline, making it unsuitable for occasions with limited space.