A valve is manufactured through assembling many mechanical parts. Some of the significant parts are the body, the trim, the stem, an auctioning mechanism, and the bonnet. The valves which have small bore sizes and those who demand high resistance to temperature and pressure are usually manufactured using forged steel bodies. The commercial faucets which are above two-inch diameter usually from cast body materials. The check valves is the best type if the requirement is to avoid the backflow in a piping system. It is also suitable if in case the pipeline is damaging the downstream apparatus like compressors and pumps. When there is enough pressure, the valve closes to prevent unwanted flow.
Valve types based on the type of actuation
There are two types, manual and actuated. Manual valves are operated manually through wheels, levers, and gears. Actuated valves are operated using electromechanical devices, which are called actuators. These actuators can be hydraulic, pneumatic, electric, and gas over oil.
Valve types based on design
If we consider design, there are different valve types and let’s understand some of the valve types by design.
Gate valve
Gate valve is the type of valve which is mostly utilised in pipeline and piping applications. These are linear motion devices which are used to open as well as the close flow of any fluid. These are not suitable for throttling applications like regulating the fluid flow. The gate valve is either completely closed or fully opened.
Globe valve
For throttling the fluid flow, globe valves are the best choice. These valves can be used to shut off the flow even though for this operation, usually gate valves are preferred. Globe can create pressure drop as the fluid passes in the pipeline through the non-linear passageway.
Ball valve
This is a quarter-turn valve which is mainly used for shut-off operation. There will be a built-in valve, and the closing and opening procedure will be through this, and the ball rotates inside the body of the valve. These valves are considered to be industry standards mainly for on-off applications. These ball valves are compact and lighter when compared to gate valves.
Butterfly valve
For modulation, close, opening, these butterfly valves are a cost-effective and versatile option. These are available both in eccentric and concentric design. Because of their cost and simple construction, they are becoming prevalent and competitive for ball valves.
Pinch valve
This is one of the linear motion valves which can be utilised for throttling as well as shut-off applications. These are mainly used in piping applications which handle slurries, solid materials, and dense fluids. There will be a pinch present in these valves, which helps in regulating the flow.
Plug valve
This comes under quarter-turn faucets and used for shut-off applications.
Safety valve
These are used for protecting the piping arrangements mainly from dangerous and overpressures, which could threaten human life or any other valuable assets.
Control valve
These are mainly used for automating highly complex petrochemical processes.
These are the type of valves by design. If we consider the body material of the pipes we can categorise them into two major types. They are forged and cast.