The valve for abrasive and slurry applications
Ball sector valves provide outstanding performance in challenging applications. In a closed position conventional butterfly and ball segment valves expose their critical sealing components to the highest wear in the valve. Due to the special design of the ball sector, the seal seals through a surface part less exposed to wear. In order to avoid abrasion caused leakage, the ball sector valve facilitates sealing through less exposed areas of the ball sector. The fact that the sealing surface is not exposed to high flow velocities increases the service life of the ball sector valves significantly. The shaft is sealed using a self-adjusting PTFE packing with an integrated spring element that protects the bearing against media particles.
Other technologies such as segemented ball or rotary globe valves use an excentric shaft, which causes the ball or plug to lift up from the valve seat when starting to open. Thus, sealing areas are instantly exposed to permanent wear. Particulate can lodge between seal ring and ball/plug, which can. The ball sector valve has centric and robust trunnions which allows the ball sector to maintain constant contact with the valve seat, eliminating contamination by the media. The permanent actuation torque is not affected by changes in differential pressure.
This smart seal design, combined with a variety of materials and finishes to the ball sector and valve seat increases the life span of the valve substantially over other valve technoloigies. It is therefore particularly suitable for abrasive, high viscosity or fiber containing media