Something as small as a valve in an oil and gas industry also needs to be chosen very wisely to reach the top of the chart growth rate. Since oil and gas industries are growing rapidly with time it has become necessary for every oil and gas industry to have the most suitable valves according to the need of the industry. The function of a valve is not only to start and stop the oil or gas in the piping system but also to regulate and control the flow and pressure of oil and gas in the piping system. They basically lead the process of refining the oil in the industry. This brings us to the question that which valve is ideal for you to get? Some valves can perform very limited functions while some can perform a variety of functions. Depending on the actions you want to carry out with your valve make the process of finding the ideal valve easier. So, you just have to sketch out your valve function requirements. The other information related to which valves perform which functions efficiently are going to be discussed in this article precisely.
Classification of Valves
Valves can be classified in three ways:
- Valve can be classified on the basis of valve body type i.e. cast body and forged steel body.
- Valves can be classified on the basis of functions like start, stop regulation, control, protection, redirection, etc.
- Valves can be classified on the basis of shapes i.e. gate, globe, butterfly, check ball plug, pinch, control, etc.
Types of Valves
On the basis of shape, this article will focus on all the common valve types that are used in oil and gas industries and what are their functions and body types.
A gate valve is the most basic valve which is bidirectional so it only performs functions like start and stops in a piping system. It has a flat barrier that acts as a gate as the name indicates. It is not suited to use for the throttling of fluid although it is good to use to regulate the temperature and pressure of the fluid. It has good shut-off properties. It is also good to use when a straight-line flow of fluid and minimum flow restriction is required. Some types of gate valves are pipeline slabs, parallel slides, knives, wedges, etc.
A globe valve is a unidirectional linear motion valve that performs basic functions like start, stops, and regulation of the flow of fluid. Other than these basic functions a globe valve is also good for isolating and throttling purposes. It has better shut-off properties than a gate valve. It has the ability to cause large pressure drops and control high flow. It is called a globe valve because of its external shape. Some types of globe valves are tee pattern, wye pattern, angle pattern, etc.
A check valve is a unidirectional valve that is non return valve and performs functions like preventing backflow of the fluid as backflow can damage your equipment. It prevents the backflow of the fluid by keeping the fluid flowing in one direction. It works automatically like the flow of the fluid opens the valve and the backflow of the fluid closes the valve therefore any damage that is caused by backflow is prevented. Some types of check valves are swing, piston, ball, tilting disc, etc.
A ball valve is a valve that can be either unidirectional, bidirectional, or multidirectional depending on the number of valve seats. It offers a quarter-turn rotational motion of the fluid. It has industry-standard shut-off properties. The valve has a hollow sphere-like shape as the name indicates. It is very good to use with extreme temperature fluids. It is very compact and perfect for industrial use as you can rely on it for the long run. Some types of ball valves are V-port, full port, standard port, reduced port, etc.
A butterfly valve is a bidirectional valve that performs basic functions like start, stops, and regulation of the flow of the fluid. Other than these basic functions a butterfly valve performs the function of fluid isolation. It also has good shut-off properties and is good for medium flow regulation. It is good to manage with low-pressure drops and recovery of high pressure. Some types of butterfly valves are centric, high-performance, triple offset, etc.