Automatic ball valves play a key role in industrial automation control systems. They are suitable for a wide range of media types, including gas, liquid, steam and corrosive media. To reasonably select and apply automatic ball valves, it is necessary to fully understand the applicable media types and related restrictions to ensure stable, safe and reliable operation of the valve.
Gas media suitable for automatic ball valves
Automatic ball valves are widely used in the control of industrial gases such as compressed air, natural gas, nitrogen, and oxygen. The ball valve has a compact structure, small flow resistance, and can achieve rapid opening and closing, which is suitable for switch control in gas delivery systems. The pressure fluctuation of the gas medium has high requirements on the sealing performance of the valve and the drive device, and the air tightness of the sealing material must be ensured to prevent gas leakage.
When the gas medium contains corrosive components, the valve body and seals of corrosion-resistant materials should be selected to avoid corrosion inside the valve and affect the service life. Some flammable and explosive gas applications must also comply with explosion-proof and safety regulations.
Liquid media suitable for automatic ball valves
Automatic ball valves are widely used for liquid medium control in water treatment, petrochemical, food and beverage and other industries. Applicable liquid types include clean water, oil, solvents, acid and alkali liquids, etc. The ball valve can withstand liquid fluids within a certain pressure range and has good opening and closing performance and sealing effect.
For liquid media containing particulate impurities, the automatic ball valve needs to use wear-resistant valve seat materials and optimize the flow channel design to prevent particles from causing wear on the valve body and sealing surface. In addition, the corrosiveness of the medium directly affects the selection of valve materials. Strong acid and strong alkali media require special alloy materials or lining anti-corrosion coatings.
The temperature range of the liquid medium has a significant impact on the performance of the automatic ball valve. High-temperature liquid media require the valve to have good heat resistance, and the temperature resistance grade of the sealing material must meet the actual working conditions. Low-temperature liquid media need to consider the low-temperature flexibility of the seal to avoid seal failure.
Steam and high-temperature media applicable to automatic ball valves
Automatic ball valves are suitable for the switch control of saturated steam and superheated steam, which are commonly found in boiler systems, heat exchange devices, etc. The high temperature and high pressure characteristics of steam media place high demands on valve materials and sealing structures.
The valve body material must have high temperature strength and oxidation resistance, and alloy steel and heat-resistant stainless steel are commonly used. The sealing structure mostly uses metal seals or high-temperature special flexible seals to prevent steam leakage. The drive device of the ball valve must also have a high-temperature resistant design to ensure the safety and stability of the control system.
Steam media has condensation problems, and the valve design should prevent condensation from being retained and causing corrosion and valve body damage. Under some working conditions, the automatic ball valve needs to be equipped with a drainage device or adopt an anti-water accumulation structure design.
Corrosive media suitable for automatic ball valves
Corrosive media such as strong acids, strong alkalis, salt water, and organic solvents place extremely high demands on the material selection and structural design of automatic ball valves. Commonly used corrosion-resistant materials include 316L stainless steel, Hastelloy, titanium alloy, and lining polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) and other anti-corrosion materials.
Corrosive media are particularly important for the chemical stability of seals, and advanced corrosion-resistant sealing materials such as fluororubber (FKM) and perfluoroether rubber (FFKM) need to be selected. The contact surface between the valve body and the medium should be treated with anti-corrosion, such as lining anti-corrosion layer or spraying special coatings.
When the automatic ball valve is used for corrosive media, it is necessary to avoid the medium from staying in the valve body for a long time to cause local corrosion. The design should reasonably optimize the flow channel to ensure smooth flow of the medium.
Restrictions on the types of medium for automatic ball valves
Although the automatic ball valve is suitable for a variety of media, there are certain restrictions:
Particle content restrictions: Media containing a large amount of solid particles or fibrous impurities may cause the valve sealing surface to wear more severely, affecting the sealing performance and service life. Wear-resistant materials or filter devices need to be installed.
High-viscosity medium restrictions: High-viscosity fluids have large flow resistance, which may cause the valve opening and closing torque to increase. The selection of the drive device must meet the larger torque requirements.
Low-temperature medium restrictions: In extremely low-temperature environments, some sealing materials harden and fail, and special low-temperature seals need to be used to avoid leakage.
High-pressure and high-temperature restrictions: Ultra-high-pressure and ultra-high-temperature working conditions place strict requirements on valve structure and material performance. Ordinary automatic ball valves are difficult to cope with and require special designs and materials.
Flammable and explosive medium restrictions: Involving safety regulations, automatic ball valves must have explosion-proof and anti-static designs to ensure safe operation.
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