Basics

A ball valve is a port valve that opens to let water in and closes to
shut water off. It is named for the ball inside the valve that
rotates. They are used in many areas due to their ease of repair
and ability to withstand pressure and temperature. Depending on
what they are made of, ball valves can hold up to 10,000 pounds
per square inch and around 200 degrees Celsius. They range in
size from a quarter-inch opening to a foot wide or larger.
Set Up
The valve is made up of a outer shell, a ball with a hole in it and a
handle. These are the main components. To look at the valve
simply, the ball inside the shell plugs up the valve opening. A
handle attached to the ball can turn the ball from outside the valve
shell. The ball has a hole through the middle that will allow water
to pass. When the handle is turned to the open position the hole
in the ball is facing the same direction as the valve shell. To turn it
off, the handle is moved and the ball turns with the hole facing the
sides of the valve wall.

Variation
The ball valve comes in several variations. The full port valve has a
hole in the ball that is the same dimensions as the pipe that it is
attached to. This keeps water from being restricted as it flows. The
reduced port valve creates an opening in the ball that is smaller
than the pipe. This creates less water flow. A trunnion valve has a
pin securing the ball so that it doesn't dislodge. This is for high
velocity flow. There are three- and four-way valves, as well. With
these the flow is altered by the position of the ball. The hole in the
ball of the valve is normally shaped like a T or L. When it is a T it
can allow flow in two directions at once or one direction with the
other side closed. When it is an L shape it allows flow in only one
direction at a time.


Ball valves are flow valves that are quarter-turn and straight through
apparatuses. These valves allow for shut-off and/or purposes of control.
They have a round closure element that contains a matching pair of
rounded seats. These seats allow necessary sealing to take place. The ball
valve pressure rating and materials used determines what kind of seat is
required. Not all valve seats are the same. Some are of the single molded
variety while others have higher- pressure ratings, which often include a
design known as a "trunnion." This design means that each ball valve face
is sealed separately, not together.



Ball valves have many good points and are often considered superior to
many other kinds of valves. Ball valves are very easy to use and can both
maintain and regulate three things-high pressure, high volume and high
flow of temperature. Other advantages of ball valves are that they are
sturdy devices that can be purchased for a low price and they have a long
service life. An added plus is that the regulating element's design makes it
easy for the ball valve to work without concern about side loads, which
often plague globe or butterfly valves. The ball valve design allows for the
easy ability to fix the seats if a problem arises and also seals without
having to take away the body of the valves from the line.



Ball valves can be found in a number of different styles. Some of these
include one-piece, two-piece, three-piece and lastly, what is referred to as
flanged body construction. Each form of ball valve has its own good and
bad points, all dependent on what each application calls for. Ball valves are
made using an assortment of materials, some of which include brass,
bronze, cast iron, copper ductile iron, metal alloys, stainless and other steel
types, and plastics (including CPVC and PVC). Ball valves are to be found
being used in a number of different industries. Some of these include the
chemical, oil, pharmaceutical, allied process and also services such as
corrosive and cryogenic.



A ball valve, one type of quarter turn valve, is quite literally a ball
placed in a passageway through which fluid flows. The ball has a hole
through it, by which the valve opens and closes. When the ball is
positioned so that the hole runs the same direction as the
passageway, the fluid simply flows through it, and the valve is open.
The ball can also be positioned so that the hole is perpendicular to the
passageway so that the fluid cannot pass through, and the valve is
closed. It is controlled from the outside, often with a handle that is
turned back and forth to open and close the valve.
The basic version described above is a two-way valve. This type has a
single, straight passageway bored through the ball, making two
openings: one on each side, an inlet and an outlet. A ball valve can
also be a three-way valve if a third hole is bored partially through the
ball, until it meets the main hole, forming a T. A three-way valve can
shut off one or all of the three passageways it connects.

A ball valve is a valve with a spherical disc, the part of the valve
which controls the flow through it. The sphere has a hole, or port,
through the middle so that when the port is in line with both ends of
the valve, flow will occur. When the valve is closed, the hole is
perpendicular to the ends of the valve, and flow is blocked. The
handle or lever will be inline with the port position letting you "see" the
valve's position. The ball valve, along with the butterfly valve and plug
valve, are part of the family of quarter turn valves.
Ball valves are durable and usually work to achieve perfect shutoff
even after years of disuse. They are therefore an excellent choice for
shutoff applications (and are often preferred to globe valves and gate
valves for this purpose). They do not offer the fine control that may be
necessary in throttling applications but are sometimes used for this
purpose.
Ball valves are used extensively in industrial applications because
they are very versatile, supporting pressures up to
1000 bar and temperatures up to 752F (500C) depending on the ball
valve design and material. Sizes typically range from 0.2 to 48 inches
(0.5 cm to 121 cm). They are easy to repair and operate.
The body of ball valves may be made of metal, plastic, or metal with
a ceramic center. The ball is often chrome plated to make it more
durable.
A ball-check valve is a type of check valve with a ball without a hole
for a disc, and is not covered in this article.
The genericized trademark ball-o-fix is occasionally used after the
original UK market leader.
[citation needed]

The Ballofix was invented by the Danish company Broen, and are still
in production.

Types of ball valve[edit]
There are five general body styles of ball valves: single body, three-
piece body, split body, top entry, and welded. The difference is based
on how the pieces of the valveespecially the casing that contains
the ball itselfare manufactured and assembled. The valve operation
is the same in each case.


Duplex ball valve
In addition, there are different styles related to the bore of the ball
mechanism itself:
A full port or more commonly known full bore ball valve has an
over-sized ball so that the hole in the ball is the same size as
the pipeline resulting in lower friction loss. Flow is unrestricted but
the valve is larger and more expensive so this is only used where
free flow is required, for example in pipelines which require pigging.
In reduced port or more commonly known reduced bore ball valves,
flow through the valve is one pipe size smaller than the valve's pipe
size resulting in flow area being smaller than pipe. As the flow
discharge remains constant and is equal to area of flow (A) times
velocity (V), the velocity increases with reduced area
of flow.
A V port ball valve has either a 'v' shaped ball or a 'v' shaped seat.
This allows the orifice to be opened and closed in a more controlled
manner with a closer to linear flow characteristic. When the valve is
in the closed position and opening is commenced the small end of
the 'v' is opened first allowing stable flow control during this stage.
This type of design requires a generally more robust construction
due to higher velocities of the fluids, which might damage a
standard valve. These can be referred to as a type of control valve
but are not as accurate as a balancing valve, needle valve, globe
valve, or pressure regulating valve.
A Kompact ball valve is a "full port" valve that fits between 2
flanges. Due to its configuration, its body is slimmer however and
less metal.
[1]

Cavity filler Ball Valve. Many industries encounter problem with
residues in the ball valve. Where the fluid is meant for human
consumption, residues may also be health hazard, and when where
the fluid changes from time to time contamination of one fluid with
another may occur. Residues arise because in the half open
position of the ball valve a gap is created between the ball bore and
the body in which fluid can be trapped. To avoid the fluid getting
into this cavity, the cavity has to be plugged, which can be done by
extending the seats in such a manner that it is always in contact
with the ball. This type of ball valve is known as Cavity Filler Ball
Valve.
There are a few types of ball valves related to the attachment and
lateral movement of the ball:
A trunnion ball valve has additional mechanical anchoring of the
ball at the top and the bottom, suitable for larger and higher
pressure valves (say, above 10 cm and 40 bars).
A floating ball valve is one where the ball is not held in place by a
trunnion. In normal operation, this will cause the ball to float
downstream slightly. This causes the seating mechanism to
compress under the ball pressing against it. Furthermore, in some
types, in the event of some force causing the seat mechanism to
dissipate (such as extreme heat from fire outside the valve), the
ball will float all the way to metal body which is designed to seal
against the ball providing a somewhat failsafe design.
[2]

Manually operated ball valves can be closed quickly and thus there is
a danger of water hammer. Some ball valves are equipped with
an actuator that may bepneumatically or motor operated. These
valves can be used either for on/off or flow control. A pneumatic flow
control valve is also equipped with a positioner which transforms the
control signal into actuator position and valve opening accordingly.
Three-way and four-way ball valves[edit]


Schematic 3 way ball valve: L-shaped ball right, T-shaped left
Three-way ball valves have an L- or T-shaped hole through the
middle. The different combinations of flow are shown in the figure. It is
easy to see that a T valve can connect any pair of ports, or all three,
together, but the 45 degree position which might disconnect all three
leaves no margin for error. The L valve can connect the center port to
either side port, or disconnect all three, but it cannot connect the side
ports together.
Multi-port ball valves with 4 ways, or more, are also commercially
available, the inlet way often being orthogonal to the plane of the
outlets. For special applications, such as driving air-powered motors
from forward to reverse, the operation is performed by rotating a
single leverfour-way valve. The 4-way ball valve has two L-shaped
ports in the ball that do not interconnect, sometimes referred to as an
"" port.
Ball valves in sizes up to 2 inch generally come in single piece, two or
three piece designs. One piece ball valves are almost always reduced
bore, are relatively inexpensive and generally are throw-away. Two
piece ball valves are generally slightly reduced (or standard) bore,
they can be either throw-away or repairable. The 3 piece design
allows for the center part of the valve containing the ball, stem & seats
to be easily removed from the pipeline. This facilitates efficient
cleaning of deposited sediments, replacement of seats and gland
packings, polishing out of small scratches on the ball, all this without
removing the pipes from the valve body. The design concept of a
three piece valve is for it to be repairable.

Super duplex ball valves

Balls for alloy ball valves

Nuts and bolts for incoloy valves

Ball for a titanium ball valve

Double block and bleed ball valve

purple: disc, pink: seat, green: stem, blue: bonnet, red: lever





How to solder a ball valve

A ball valve serves a useful purpose in most plumbing projects. On
these projects where you would ordinarily need to shut of the water to
work on pipes, fittings, or other plumbing components, the ball valve
allows you perform work without having to shut off water to your entire
house. Instead, turn off a single ball valve, leaving the rest of the
house with a normal water flow. Occasionally, one of these balls can
become separated from its stem, or rod. When this happens you will
need to solder it or purchase a new ball valve. In order to re-attach the
ball by using the soldering process, you will need a good
understanding of the soldering process, how the ball valve works, and
how to solder it. The five steps below will provide this information.

Step 1 Understanding Ball Valve Function
In the valve ball you will find a in the surface at opposite sides of the
ball. On either side of the valve are copper tubes. When the ball valve
is open, the hole is aligned with an opening in these pipes, allowing
water to flow freely through these holes. When the valve is closed,
these holes are no longer aligned and therefore do not allow the flow
of water. When the ball becomes detached, these holes cannot be
aligned and water cannot flow. To repair this, you will need to reattach
the ball to the handle that held it in place.
Step 2 Cleaning the Valve Pipe
To clean the valve's copper pipe, first remove the pipe, Then, use
emery cloth to clean the outer surface. Polish the pipe until its surface
is bright and coppery looking. Clean the valve by inserting a wire
brush into the top and bottom ends of the valve, then twist the brush
so it cleans the inside surface.
Step 3 Applying Flux
Apply past flux to both the inside and outside of the pipe. This will
promote a more even distribution of the solder, once it is heated and
becomes fluid.
Step 4 Position the Ball Valve
Before soldering, you will need to be sure the valve is in the "open"
position with the ball valve handle parallel to the pipe. Turn the pipe
until you have this alignment.
Step 5 - Soldering the Ball Valve
Be sure to wear think gloves when heating the ball valve with your
torch. Light your butane torch. Then, holding the solder wire in one
hand, position the tip of the wire close to the valve seam you will
solder. Begin heating the pipe at the point where it enters the valve.
When the flux begins to bubble, this means the pipe is hot enough to
melt the wire solder. At the seam you are soldering, touch the pipe
surface with the wire solder tip until the solder melts and runs evenly
around the seam. Do this again on the reverse side of the valve. Then,
allow the solder to cool and solidify.