Tag Archives: sanitary valves

Sanitary Ball Valve Overview

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The sanitary 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 in line 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.

 

Using ball valves in sanitary applications has some pluses and minuses. Perhaps the greatest benefit of using sanitary ball valves is that they 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 sanitary butterfly valves, diaphragm valves or seat valves. They do not offer the fine control that may be necessary in throttling applications but are sometimes used for this purpose. The other big advantage ball valves have is that they are the highest pressure rated sanitary valves on the market.

 

Principles of Operation

 

Sanitary ball valves, as the name implies, have a ball with a hole drilled through the center swivel mounted with the valve body. When the hole in the ball is oriented in the same direction as the pipe, this will result in full flow rate. As the hole in the ball is oriented away from the direction of the pipe, the flow rate will be restricted and finally cut off completely when the hole is oriented 90 degrees to the pipe direction.

 

Automation

 

Like sanitary butterfly valves, most sanitary ball valves can be highly automated.  Ball valves are offered with stainless steel actuators for all sizes.  There are different switch packages available which to mount to the actuators. Double rack and pinion pneumatic actuators are the standard for ball valves, because they are ¼ turn valves.  Also the same as the butterfly valves, ball valves have a large offering of different ¼ turn actuators on the market.

 

Other Features and Benefits

 

Many different manufacturers offer their version of a ball valve although the operational features are very similar. In the market of ball valves there are many different alternative choices so that potential customers are easily able to find another choice. For this reason it is important to decipher a customer’s needs for the application at hand. This will make it possible to choose the one that will be a quality performer at a good price.

 

Like the butterfly valve, a ball valve is available in 316 as well as AL6XN and Titianium material. This type of construction material is not available with all manufacturers, as well as, it can be difficult to find MTRs and C of C’s to go along with the desired valve.  There are multiple handle styles that are offered with the ball valve as well, such as, pull stop with a locking mechanism and trigger handles. Ball valves have the luxury of coming with many different connection styles in order to be able to fit into a customized sanitation process line.

 

Are Sanitary Ball Valves Really Clean?

 

As we discussed with the butterfly valve. What is considered “sanitary” is relative to each end user. The fact that sanitary ball valves are constructed of 316 stainless steel, have FDA approved elastomers and have Tri-clamp or tube OD butt weld ends puts them in the sanitary realm. But you really cannot truly clean it in place. Ball valves have cavities and crevices behind the ball that gather product when the valve in being actuated. These areas do not get clean during CIP. To truly clean the valve, you have to take it apart.  Even with newer designs of ball valves having FDA approved cavity fillers to help limit product build up on the inside of the vale it is inevitable that product will still accumulate around the outside of the ball and orifices. Because of the sanitary ball valve do not carry the 3A rating.

 

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Article Source: https://hollandaptblog.com/2014/01/17/1106/

Basic Overview of Sanitary Valves – Types, Specifications, and Body Material

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Sanitary valves are designed for use in applications requiring clean or sterile processing. Sanitary valves are commonly used in dairy, food, pharmaceutical, medical, and chemical applications. Common features include easy cleaning, crevice free, and polished contact surfaces. Valve types include globe, diaphragm, pinch, knife or gate, needle, butterfly, ball, and plug.

 

Specifications

 

Important specifications when considering sanitary valves include diameter, working pressure, and operating temperature. The diameter is measured across the inlet or outlet port. The working pressure is the pressure at which the valve is designed to operate. The operating temperature is the full-required range of ambient operating temperature. Media types that sanitary valves can be configured to work with include gases, liquids, and liquids with suspended solids. The material temperature is the range of temperature that the valve can withstand and still function properly.  This relates to the media being transported, not the ambient or operating temperature outside of the system.

 

Body Material

 

The body material of sanitary valves can be metal or plastic. Metal choices include brass, bronze, copper, cast iron, ductile iron, stainless steel, and steel. Plastic choices include PVC and CPVC. Common end connections include threaded, socket-weld or butt weld, push on, solder end, clamp, grooved end, flangeless wafer-style, lugged, mechanical joint and flanged. Sanitary valve actuation types include electric, pneumatic, hydraulic, and manual.

 

ANSI Class ratings common to sanitary valves include Class125, Class 150, Class 200, Class 300, Class 600, Class 800, Class 900, and Class 1500. Other standards and specifications that sanitary valves can meet are API standards, MSS specifications, UL listings, ASME standards and federal specifications WW-V-35C.

 

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Article Source: http://www.globalspec.com/learnmore/flow_control_flow_transfer/valves/sanitary_control_valves