Year: 2021

Let’s face it, ball valves are everywhere, they are one of the most commonly used valves in the oil and gas industry, but there’s a lot to know about their uses and the different types.

A pipeline ball valve is a type of valve that uses a spherical rotating ball to isolate the flow of a medium through itself. The primary function of a ball valve is to isolate parts of a plumbed system by starting, stopping, or adjusting the flow of liquid or gas.

The Benefits of Ball Valves

• Easy to see if it is open or closed. When the handle is in line with the pipe, you can easily tell that the valve is open; and when the handle is perpendicular to the pipe, the valve is closed. This is a great visual indication of whether there is flow through the valve or not.
• As an alternative to Lever’s the valves can easily be supplied with Gearboxes or actuators complete with clear identification confirming if the valve is open or closed.
• Operation after years of disuse is easy. The durability of ball valves allows them to work and completely shut off flow after years of inactivity. This provides extra peace of mind.
• A Quick positive shut-off is achieved from a one-quarter turn operation
• A more compact and economical valve. Thanks to the design of ball valves, they are more compact than other valves. By using a rotating ball, ball valves are smaller and require less materials.
• Due to the Ball’s inherent design the flow of media is unobstructed, resulting in reduced turbulence and increasing flow output.

Floating Ball Valve Design

With this design, the ball is held between two ball seats by dividing the seats against it. The ball can be turned 90 degrees and is driven by a shaft that connects to a slot in the top of the ball. The slot allows a little lateral movement of the ball due to the influence of upstream line pressure.

The design principle around floating ball valves is that they are loaded by line pressure against the downstream seat, which is why it is always regarded as the primary seat.

Trunnion Mounted Ball Valve Design

In the Trunnion Mounted Ball Valve Design, the ball is supported by a trunnion and not the valve seats, allowing much higher pressure and temperature ratings on larger size valves. The concept behind this is that the shaft and trunnion are both manufactured from a one-piece construction.

To facilitate loading, the upstream seat is designed to move forward against the ball and thus, in a trunnion mounted ball valve; the primary seat is formed at the upstream side. A spring mechanism is also incorporated behind both seats to ensure even seat loading at low pressures and provide a secondary seat on the downstream side.

As with floating ball valve designs, trunnion-mounted ball valves are capable of bi-directional shut-off.

We are specialists when it comes to the design and manufacturing of Ball Valves.

If you would like more information, please contact Oliver Twinsafe today!

 

Ball valves are one of the valve types most widely used in different industries and the demand for the ball valve is still growing.

Do you know that ball valves grab the attention and design of a large segment of the oil and gas industry? The industry requires manufacturers and suppliers to create high-performing products that fit many different and specific functions.

Floating Ball Valves from Oliver Twinsafe provide the user with an exceedingly reliable and proven design offering maximum sealing against leaks. Maximum safety and environmental protection are our driving factors in every scenario; we achieve this through the use of corrosion-resistant materials, fire-safe testing, blowout-proof stems, fully traceable materials and high integrity seats and seals.

Floating ball valves

On this type of ball valve, the ball, is suspended in its position between two seats.

The shaft is connected at the top of the ball and allows the switch from an open to a closed position with a quarter-turn movement (90 degrees). When the valve is closed, a force is applied to the ball, which is then pressed against one of the seats, forming a seal. This makes it a lightweight and economic design. Floating valves allow a bi-directional shut-off of the flow, similar to trunnion ball valves.

The floating ball valves body is the main pressure envelope of the valve and incorporates the means of connecting the valves to the pipeline. These are made in a range of carbon steel, stainless steel and other alloy materials to sure the customers’ requirements.

Application

Floating ball valves are used commonly within the industry and their design means the balls are connected only to the stem; this gives floating ball valves their name as this causes the ball to ‘float’ downstream of the flow, creating its seal. Floating ball valves are more suited for smaller size valves (e.g. below 3”). They usually have smaller diameter bore sizes. Floating ball valves are suitable for a wide range of liquids and gasses.

Conclusion

Floating ball valves have many advantages like minimum flow resistance, simple structure, good sealing performance, and cost-effectiveness for specific sizes and pressure. They are used widely in the oil and gas and water industry.

We are specialists when it comes to the design and manufacturing of Floating Ball Valves.

If you would like more information, please contact Oliver Twinsafe today!

Trunnion mounted ball valves are used in high-pressure, large-scale applications where low operating torques are required. This type of valve features a Full or Reduced Bore Ball in the centre that rotates to start or stop medias from flowing. The trunnion part of the valve allows for the ball to be supported from the both top and bottom, to assist with the absorption of pressure, ensuring superior sealing with ease of operation.

Thanks to the versatility of Trunnion mounted ball valves, they are useful in many industries, especially where the application requires no obstructions in the line and immediate shut-off.

At Oliver Twinsafe, we are dedicated to the development of new and existing products. The team works efficiently to deliver bespoke valve solutions and equipment for various projects.

Where is Trunnion Ball Valve Used?

Trunnion ball valves are incredibly versatile; they are used in different industries because of their reliable and efficient nature. The Oliver Twinsafe Trunnion Ball Valve can be specified into two different types, a Single Piece Body Compact Design and a Flanged 3 Piece Design. The pipeline ball valves are used within applications to increase safety, save space and weight, reduce leak paths and minimise maintenance.

Trunnion Ball Valves can also be used within various applications, such as main flow line isolation applications, turbine, compressor, generators and separators, field gas, polymer, crude oil and industrial gas processing plants, automated process applications, hydrocarbon processing, and oil refinery feedstock lines.

Trunnion Ball Valve Advantages

As Trunnion Ball Valves are used within a multitude of applications and industries, there are many advantages to their usage.

• Low Torque. A Trunnion Ball Valve uses a Trunnion to support the ball within the valve body. This absorbs the thrust from the line pressure, preventing excess friction between the ball and seats, meaning that the working pressure torque remains low.
• The design is typically quarter turn operation via a handwheel gearbox, but they can also be supplied with actuators to suit the customer’s specific closure demands.
• Large Application. The Trunnion Ball Valve is suitable for high pressure, middle pressure and low-pressure rating. This type of valve is suitable for oil, gas, water and more, Trunnion Ball Valves tend to be built by more specialised manufacturers.
• Reliable stem sealing. Besides the standard sealing ring, the packing gland on a Trunnion Ball Valve is also equipped with O-ring. Double sealing ensures reliability of stem sealing and by adding graphite packing we guarantee that the sealing capabilities remain in place, even after a fire case scenario. All valves are fire tested to recognised industry standards such as API 607, ISO 10497 and API 6FA.
• Full port and reduce port: Full port and reduce port can be chosen based on requirements of the customer application and flow needs. The aperture of full port valves is consistent with the inner diameter of the pipeline, which makes it convenient for routine pipeline maintenance and pigging.
• Extended stems are available to allow the valve to operate in low temperature applications or when the valves are in a location that requires extended stems. The dimensions of the increased stem can be made to meet customers’ requirements.
• Easy operation: Seat and bearing on the stem have low friction coefficient and good self-lubrication, which dramatically reduces operation valves. Without sealing grease, Trunnion Ball Valves can also be operated efficiently for the long term.

We are specialists when it comes to the design and manufacturing of Trunnion Ball Valves.

If you would like more information, please contact Oliver Twinsafe today!

If you’re an oil or gas engineer, you know that ball valves are essential components of piping systems. They can be used for various purposes throughout the oil and gas industry to isolate the flow within piping systems.

Oliver Twinsafe’s established range of Double Block and Bleed (DBB) large bore pipeline ball valves will increase operator safety with true double isolation. As well as saving space and weight, reducing potential leak paths and minimising maintenance requirements on both new and existing pipelines. But first, what exactly is a pipeline ball valve?

What is a Ball Valve?

Ball valves are mechanical devices capable of isolating the flow of different substances in either gas or liquid form.

There are different ball valve types with various designs for specific uses, but the basic ball valve parts are commonly the same among the other designs.

Floating Ball Valve

In a floating ball valve, the ball is held in place by two elastomeric seats; between these seats, the ball is able to “float” inside the valve’s body. The valve stem is connected to a slot at the top of the ball; this allows the ball to rotate one-quarter turn or 90 degrees.

The valve shaft allows for a limited amount of lateral movement for the ball generated from upstream pressure against the ball.

This slight lateral movement drops a load upon the ball great enough to press the ball against the downstream seat, improving tightness to avoid leaks.

A large floating ball valve (e.g.above 3”) is hard to operate when the upstream pressure is very high; to combat this problem, a Trunnion mounted ball valve is used instead.

Trunnion Ball Valve

A Trunnion ball valve offers a solution to the problem created by excessive pressure placed on a floating ball valve. Trunnion mounted ball valves have a similar structure as traditional ball valves. The only difference is that trunnion ball valves have additional mechanical anchoring that supports the ball. In the Oliver design we support the ball from both ends on the vertical axis so that the ball stays firmly in place, limiting the wear of the seats at high pressure. The mounted Trunnion ball valve design requires a lower operating torque. This reduces the size of the actuator, as well as the valve’s overall cost. This price difference is an important factor as valve size and pressure class increase.

Traditional VS. Compact Ball Valves

Traditional ball valves are assembled in a three-piece design; the three sections consist of a middle section, which houses the ball and trunnions and two end closures that include seat assemblies and are bolted to the valve body. After these three components are bolted together, they are then bolted into the pipeline. The overall weight of the assembly will add to the weight of the companion weld neck flanges needed to place this valve in line.

The advantage of the compact design comes in applications where space and weight are limited, such as offshore platforms. Compact valves house all components in a small, robust body design. The internals are held in place by a threaded retainer that is tightened into the body. Compact designs are significantly smaller and lighter when compared to the space and weight required for bolting a three-piece valve assembly that needs companion flanges. Specific to the Oliver design we are able to produce the compact design complete with two balls in a B16.10 face to face dimension.

We are specialists when it comes to the design and manufacturing of Trunnion Ball Valves.

If you would like more information, please contact Oliver Twinsafe today!