Isolation Valves - Rotary Movement

Isolation valves are used for diverting process media, facilitating maintenance, equipment removal and
shutdown. The operation, application and construction of rotary movement (quarter turn) valves, including
ball valves and butterfly valves, are covered in this tutorial.
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Rotary movement valves, often called quarter-turn valves, include ball valves and butterfly valves. Regardless of the
type of rotary movement valve, the obturator rotates about an axis perpendicular to the direction of flow. Fluid may
flow through the obturator, as is the case with ball valves, or around it, as with butterfly valves. Rotary movement
valves tend to have a simple operating mechanism and are therefore easy to automate and maintain.
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Ball valves
Ball valves were developed during World War II and were initially intended for use in aircraft fuel systems, where
weight and space are at a premium. They consist of a body which houses a rotating ball which has an orifice or bore
machined directly through it. The ball is located in the body by two sealing rings.

Rotation of the ball through 90 opens and closes the valve and allows fluid to flow directly through the orifice. In the
closed position, the blank sides of the ball block the inlet and the outlet preventing any flow. There are two basic
designs of ball valves - the floating ball design, which relies on the valve seats to support the ball, and the trunnion
mounted ball, which uses a trunnion to support the ball. Trunnion mounting is used on larger valves, as it can reduce
the operating torque to about two-thirds of that provided by a floating ball.

Conventionally, the handle that is attached to the ball is in-line with the axis of the pipe when the valve is open;
conversely, if it is at right angles to the pipe axis, this indicates that the valve is closed.
Fig.
12.2.1 Ball valve (shown in its open position)
Ball valves are available as reduced bore or full bore. Full bore valves have an orifice that is the same size as the
diameter of the pipe, whereas in reduced bore valves, the orifice diameter is less than that of the pipe. Full bore
valves cost more than reduced bore valves, and they should be used where the pressure drop across the valve is
critical or where ball valves are used upstream of flowmeters. Full bore valves can be used in flowmeter applications
to minimise fluid turbulence upstream of the measuring device.

In order to insert the ball into the body, three different types of assembly exist. Not only does the type affect the ease
of assembly, but it also influences the maintainability of the valve.
Two and three piece valves - The body of the valve is split in one or two places in the same plane as the
valve flange, and these pieces are bolted together. This has the advantage of simplified, in-line
maintenance.
Top entry valves - The ball is inserted through a bonnet in the top of the valve. This facilitates in-line
maintenance.
Single piece valves - The ball is enclosed in the body by an insert fitted along the valve's axis. This
eliminates the possibility of body joint leakage and any chance of disconnection whilst in service, but when
maintenance is required, the whole valve has to be removed from the pipeline.
Fig.
12.2.2 Single piece (a) three piece (b) two piece (c) ball valves
The choice of seat material determines the conditions for which a particular ball valve is most suited. Although new
seat materials are continually being developed, Table 12.2.1 lists some of the more common materials in use today.

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Ball valve options
Ball valves can be produced with a number of options to meet the demands of a wide variety of applications:
Actuators - Ball valves, and indeed all rotary valves, are suitable for automation. This is usually
accomplished by using either an electrically or pneumatically operated actuator. The actuator is connected
to the valve through a linkage kit. Although not essential, an ISO standard mounting pad enables the linkage
kit to be installed without dismantling the valve, which maintains valve integrity. Refer to Tutorial 6.6 for more
information on actuators.
Firesafe - As ball valves are commonly used in gas and oil pipelines, it is essential that the valves used in
such applications are firesafe. A valve is considered firesafe if, when exposed to fire conditions, it will
continue to provide minimal leakage through the seat and stem, and provide effective shut-off during or
following a fire or exposure to excessive temperatures. Standards relating to fire-safety are set out in BS
6755 and API RP 6FA.

The main concern is that burning temperatures will destroy soft seats and seals; a number of methods have
been developed to overcome this. One approach is to include secondary metal sealing surfaces behind the
polymeric seats as an integral part of the body. When exposed to burning temperatures, the seat begins to
deform and the pressure of the process media displaces the ball so that it extrudes the polymeric seat
(Figure 12.2.3(b)). When the seat has been completely destroyed, the ball will seat against the body metal
sealing surface, providing a tight shut-off (Figure 12.2.3(c)).
Fig.
12.2.3 Operation of a firesafe ball valve
In addition to the inherent safety of the seating mechanism, the stem seal must also be capable of preventing leakage
to atmosphere under 'fire' conditions. This can be achieved by using high temperature seals made from flexible
graphite or Grafoil; alternatively, a bellows sealed arrangement can be used (see Figure 12.2.4).
Fig. 12.2.4 A
bellows sealed ball valve
Clean steam valves - A number of applications exist that require the valve to be of a 'clean'design; these
include steam applications where there is direct injection of steam into the product and process fluid lines in
the biotechnology, food and electronics industries. The main area of concern in such applications is the
space between the body and the ball; process fluid may accumulate in these spaces leading to
contamination and corrosion. This can be overcome by inserting cavity fillers in these spaces. The cavity
filler may be an integral part of the seat or a separate component in the valve assembly. Furthermore, ball
valves used in clean steam applications should be made from stainless steel with a good surface finish (less
than 81 microns Ra is recommended).
Throttling applications - When ball valves are used in throttling applications, high velocity flow can impinge
against a localised area of the ball and seals, causing premature deterioration of the seating material.
Modifications to the standard design are required for ball valves to be used for throttling; these include the
use of metal seats, hard coatings and, sometimes, modifications to the ball, to give a characterised flow
pattern.
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Butterfly valves
Although there are many different designs of butterfly valve, they all consist of a disc that rotates on a shaft at right
angles to the fluid flow. When open, the disc is edge-on to the flow and the fluid passes around it, offering limited
resistance. In the closed position, the disc is rotated against a seat in the body of the valve.

Butterfly valves usually take up little more room than a pair of pipe flanges, and are therefore an attractive alternative
to the ball valve where space is limited. In fact, some butterfly valves are designed specifically for insertion between
pipe flanges, these are known as wafer butterfly valves.
Fig. 12.2.5 Butterfly valves
The main disadvantage of butterfly valves is that the shut-off is not as tight as that achieved by other valve types.
This can be alleviated to an extent by offsetting the axis of rotation of the disc and using pressure assisted seats. By
using an offset axis of rotation, a 'camming' action is generated, which means that the disc creates a tight seal with
the seat during the last few degrees of shut-off. These high performance or eccentric-type butterfly valves have
improved shut-off capabilities and their design enables them to be used for throttling.

For steam applications, butterfly valves have largely been superseded by ball valves. Butterfly valves are more
commonly used in liquid systems or where space is limited. The compactness of butterfly valves means less material
is required and they are therefore ideal where the application specifies the use of costly materials, for example, in
seawater applications where nickel is specified.
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Selection and sizing of isolation valves
A process fluid must be fully contained in a properly designed piping system to avoid endangering personnel and the
environment, and contamination of the fluid itself. The pipeline system can have many potential leak paths, such as
pipe joints, seams, equipment connections and, most importantly, valves. Valves can be one of the biggest
contributors to plant problems if they are wrongly selected or are poorly designed or manufactured. Furthermore, a
valve, when selected correctly for the application should last at least the life of the plant, if maintained properly.

When selecting an isolating valve for a particular application, a number of factors need to be considered; these are
shown in Table 12.2.2, along with the valve selection parameter that is affected.

Table 12.2.3 summarises the main characteristics of the different types of isolation valve.

Table 12.2.4 summarises the applications of the most common isolating valve types in use today.

Table 12.2.5 is a generalised guide to the selection of isolation valves for particular steam and condensate
applications. It should be noted that the choice of isolation valve is subjective and different industries and those in
different geographical regions have their own unique preferences.

Once the most suitable type of valve has been chosen, it is necessary to choose the correct size. Valves are typically
sized according to the pipeline size. It is however advisable to check that the pressure drop across the valve (when it
is fully open) is within acceptable limits. The pressure drop is a function of the valve flow coefficient (or Kvs value),
the flowrate and the inlet pressure. Specification sheets usually contain data about the Kvs value when the valve is
fully opened. With knowledge of the typical operating pressure, and the mass flowrate, it is possible to determine the
pressure drop across a chosen valve. Alternatively, if the maximum acceptable pressure drop is known, it is possible
to select a suitable valve size. Although there are many formulae and charts available to predict the relationship
between flowrate and pressure drop, the following simplified empirical formula (Equation 3.21.1) produces reliable
results for steam and is therefore commonly used:
Equation 3.21.2

This formula forms the basis of the chart shown in Figure 12.2.7, which was first introduced in Block 3, Tutorial 21.

If the isolating valve is to be used in a liquid system, the pressure drop across the valve is determined using the
following equation:
Equation 6.3.1

Rearranging the formula gives:
Equation 12.2.1
Fig. 12.2.6
Saturated steam sizing chart
Fig.12.2.7 Water sizing chart