When designing a system to control the flow of fluids, you may need to choose between a ball valve and a butterfly valve. Both types of valves can find applications in a variety of industries, and each has its advantages. To choose the right product for your system, you must understand the features, operating principles, advantages and disadvantages of butterfly and ball valves.
Ball and butterfly valves are considered to be the simplest control valves on the market. They are compatible with different fluid media and can be used in a wide range of temperatures and pressures. Both valves are quarter turn, which means that a 90 degree rotation will take the valve from fully open to fully closed, and vice versa.
They can also be controlled manually or with electric, pneumatic and hydraulic actuators. Affordability, ease of maintenance, reliability and durability make these valves more widely accepted than other types of valves. Let's take a look at each of these valves.
3-Way Thread Ball Valve
A ball valve is a form of quarter-turn valve that uses a rotating ball that has been drilled to control flow. It allows fluid or gas to pass when the hole is in line with the direction of flow. Or, when the ball is turned 90 degrees, flow stops completely. In either case, the handle can be used as a visual indicator of the valve's status. If the handle is parallel to the valve, it is open. Conversely, if the handle is vertical, the valve is closed.
Ball valves are very robust valves, ideal for applications that require a simple open/close action. They are durable and maintain their consistent performance after many cycles. In addition, they have excellent reliability and can be closed safely even after long periods of non-use. It is also possible to control the flow by partially opening or closing the valve to different degrees. These qualities make them an excellent choice for shutoff and control applications over gate and globe valves.
C/P/R/Ti/Ni Wafer Type Flanged Ball Valve
A butterfly valve is a quarter-turn valve used to regulate flow. A metal disc in the body of the valve is positioned perpendicular to the flow in the closed position, and rotated one quarter of a turn to be parallel to the flow in the fully opened position. Intermediate rotations allow regulation of liquid flow. They are often used in agricultural and water or wastewater treatment applications and are one of the most common and well-known valve types.
Butterfly valves are usually one of two types: lug and wafer valves. These two types mainly differ in their installation designs.
Wafer valves: Wafer valves are fairly standard and often less expensive than lug valves. The valve is installed between two flanges with bolts or studs and nuts. With this design, you cannot disconnect one side of the piping, but if that is not required, wafer butterfly valves are an excellent option.
Lug valves: For a less permanent fixture, lug butterfly valves use threaded metal inserts in the bolt holes of the valve, so no nuts are required. A separate set of bolts goes on either side of the flange. This design allows you to disconnect one side of the piping system and leave the other side untouched.
Handle Flange Type Butterfly Valve
While butterfly and ball valves have some similarities, some differences make one valve stand out in certain applications. We have summarized the main advantages and disadvantages of both valves below.
Butterfly valves have less installation space than ball valves.
Butterfly valves are cheaper than ball valves, especially for larger sizes.
Ball valves are available in a variety of flanged or threaded connections, while butterfly valves are limited to flange style with a wafer or lug design.
Flange Triple Eccentric Hard Seal Butterfly Valve
Ball valves are heavy and require a lot of support, while butterfly valves are light even at larger pipe diameters. Butterfly valves are highly recommended for applications requiring larger pipe diameters (i.e. DN150 and above). Ball valves work well in size diameters below DN50.
The ball valve is ideal for on/off control and modulation purposes. It also has an all-port valve design option that eliminates pressure drop in the valve. On the other hand, the butterfly valve is only suitable for ON/OFF control, plus the valve disc restricts the flow of fluid, creating some pressure drop.
Ball and butterfly valves are very versatile, and they are both widely used in various industries. They are simple to install and are usually made of durable materials. Both ball and butterfly valves are available at low cost. At Youyi Machinery, we pride ourselves on providing durable equipment that requires the least amount of maintenance possible.
There are about 100 series of products: GB, API, DIN, JIS, GOST standard gate valve, globe valve, check valve, ball valve, butterfly valve, bottom valve, drain valve, strainer, flange and etc.
Contact us today to learn more about Youyi Machinery different types of valves.
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