BallValves,IssuesandMaterialSelectionsforManufacturing

By
DanielO.Aikhuele
Abstract:TheaimofthispaperistoexploreandhighlighttheissuesassociatedwithBall

valvedesigns,typesofballvalvesandthemanufacturingmaterialselection.

1.

Introduction

Ball valves like any other type of valves are used widely in various industries. They are
integral components in the piping systems and are used primarily to control, stop, start,
direct,mixtheflow,temperatureandpressureofaprocessfluidinapipeline.
The application of ball valves are as wide and varied as industry itself, they range from
simple services such as water, solvent, acids, and natural gas to more difficult and
dangerous services such as in gaseous oxygen, hydrogen peroxide, methane and
ethylene. The limitation of their uses is governed by the temperature and pressure
characteristicsoftheirseatmaterial.
An important aspect of the ballvalves isthe inherentcompactness of thedesign, making
for easy handling and maintenance. Most of the standard ball valves have an operating
temperature range ofbetween300cand2300catpressurefromacoarsevacuum(25torr)
to 51 bars,depending on the size. Specialized valvesareavailable, howeverfor services
below 2000c and above 5000c and from very high vacuum (109 torr) toabove 400 bars.
(Kemplay,1980)
Ball valves are a species of plugvalves withaballshaped closuremember. Thevalve is
closed and opened by the turning ofthe lever(handle)whichisattachedtotheballthrough
the steminsidethe valve and the ball islocated inthe valvebytwosealingringslyingside
bysidewiththeballatbothedgesofthe ball.Theseatmatchingtheballiscircularinshape
sothattheseatstressiscircumferentiallyuniform.
Therotating ballhasan orificeorbore(hole)whichismachineddirectlythroughthemiddle
anditis axial to thedirection offlow andcan be turnedthrough900tofullyrestricttheflow,
sothatwhenthe bore isin line with bothends ofthevalve(open),flowwilloccur,butwhen
the valve is closed and the bore is in perpendicular to the ends of the valve, then flow
throughthevalveisblocked.(XueGuanSong,2009)
Theboreof the valveareclassified as reduced bore,fullbore,Vbore,trunnionballvalve
andcavityfillerballvalve.
Thefullboreballvalves:
Thefullboreballvalvecanbedescribedasatypeofvalveinwhichtheportintheballisthe
same size as that of the pipeline in which it is connectedto, as such resultingin a lower
friction loss and unrestricted flow of products (fluid, gas etc.) inthesystem.However this

valve typesaremainly very largeandmoreexpensiveandareusedwherefreeflowoffluid

isrequired,forexampleinpipelineswhichrequireoccasionalpiggingservice.

Source:(http://www.kinmavalve.com/floatingballvalve/)
Figure1:Fullboreballvalves
Reducedboreballvalves:
The reduced bore ball valveis describedas a typeof valve inwhichthe port in the ball is
smaller in size than the valves pipe size as such resultingin a smallerflow area than the
connectedpipe.Inthe event that the flowsdischarge remainsconstant and isequaltothe
areaofflow(A)andvelocity(V).
Then A1V1 = A2V2 where the velocity increases with reduced area of flow. (Isolation
valvesRotarymovement,2011)

Figure2:Thereducedboreballvalve
TheVportballvalve:
TheVport ball valvejustasthenameimplieshas eithera'v'shapedportonthe ballora
'v'shapedseat,whichresultsinamorecontrolled openingandclosingofthevalve(orifice),

andwith a close tolinearflow characteristic. Whenopeningthe valve,the smallendofthe

v is opened first in order to allow for a stable control of flow across the system.These
types of valve are used for services that required higher velocity of fluids as such their
designs are generally morerobust inconstructiontowithstandanydamageduetothehigh
velocityofthefluidonastandardvalve.

Figure3:VboreballvalveandaVball

Thetrunnionballvalve:
Thetrunnionballvalveasthenameimplyhasanadditionalanchoring (pin)onthebottomof
the ball which projectsoutto form an axis on which it ispivoted as shown inthe diagram
below.Thistypeofballissuitableforlargerandhigherpressurevalves.

Figure4:Trunnionballvalve

 Floatingballvalve:
The floating ball valve has a freefloating ball that moves in the response to the fluid. In
closed position theballwillbepushed by the pressureofthefluidagainsttheseals,sothe
sealistakingadvantageofthepressureofthefluid.

Figure5:Floatingballvalve
CavityfilledBallValve:
This isatypeof which allowforthepresenceofresiduesinthevalvewhereinsomecases
may be regarded as aproblemdepending on the industry in whichis used.The residues
arisein the valvebecause inahalf open position of theballvalve agapisusuallycreated
between theballboreand thebodywhereinfluidistrapped.Howevertoavoidthetrapping
of fluidginto this cavity,thecavityhastobeplugged, which canbedonebyextendingthe
seats in such a manner that it is always in contact with the ball. This type ofballvalve is
knownasCavityFillerBallValve.

Ballvalves caneitherbemanuallyoperatedorautomatedasinmanual ballvalvesandball

control valves respectively. Thedifferences betweenthistwo valvesis inthedesignwhere
anelectric motor is installedintheballcontrolvalveforthecontrolofflowandthepresence
ofanonsphericalball,whichisnormallyusedforacharacterizableballvalvedesign.

Theyarebest usedfor on andoffservice,aswell asinmoderatethrottlingsituationsmost

especially when minimal accuracy is required. Ball valve offers a competitive advantage
when contrasted with other valves types, and some of these advantages include the
superior ease to operation and they are capable of maintaining and regulating high
pressure, volume and temperature flow, the ability for the valve to work without the
complication of side loads which is common with other valves types and the valve is

designed in such a waythat it allowsrepairsand inspection ofthe seats andseal without

removingthevalvesbodyfromtheline(topentryballvalve).(YongZhang,2008)

Figure6:Ballvalve

2.

Ballvalvedesigns

Therole ofvalves in thepiping industry as wellasin thedistributionofpetroleumproducts

in the oil and gas industry cannot be overemphasized as it isrequiredin all aspect ofthe
production and distribution of the products, starting from the exploration through the
extractionofthecrudefromtheoilwell.
Valves are thecomponentinafluidfloworpressuresystemthatregulateseithertheflowor
the pressure of the fluid. This duty may involve stoppingandstarting flow, controllingflow
rate,divertingtheflow,preventingbackflow,controllingpressureorrelievingpressure.This
duty is performed by adjusting the position of the closure member in the valve. (Zappe,
2003)
In order to reach some specific industrial requirement, ball valves are designed with
specific consideration to their assembly exist when inserting the ball into the body of the

valve, and these assembly exist points affects not only the ease of assembly but the
maintainabilityofthevalve.

1. Singlepiece valve:The single piece valveassembly methodis designed suchthatthe

ballis enclosed in the bodyof the valvebyaninsertfitted along thevalvesaxis,suchthat
the possibility of leakage through its body joint and anychance ofdisconnectionwhilstin
serviceareeliminated.
2. Two piecevalve:In the two piece valveassembly method, the valveis designed such
thatitcan be splitintotwo placesin the same planeasthevalveflange,andthesepieces
areboltedtogether.Ithastheadvantageofsimplified,inlinemaintenances.
3. Three piece valve: Thethree piece valveassembly methodis similartothatofthetwo
piece valve method, only that the valve issplit intothree placesin the same planeas the
valveflange.(IsolationvalvesRotarymovement,2011)

Figure7:Differentassemblyexistpoints

4. Thetopentryballvalve:Justasthenameimpliestheballisnormallyloadedfromthetop
of the valve. The entry ball valve assembly method is designed with double sloping
surfaces,whichfunctionedbythespringsandautomaticallyadjustthetightnessinthevalve
seat.

Source:http://www.herronvalve.com/pdf/velmsweb.pdf

Figure8:Topentryballvalve

5. Theweldedballvalve: Weldedball valvesguaranteetheabsenceofleakagesalongthe

entire valve's life, with no requirement for maintenance operations. This is a highly

important requisite especially for ball valves installed onto underground and submarine
pipelines.Itisalsooftenchosenforhazardousfluids.

3.

ProblemswithBallvalvesDesign

1.Seatingdesign
Many of the problems encountered with pipeline valves, especially ball valves can be
traced to the unsatisfactory performances of the valve seat. The effectiveness of the
seatingand thesubsequent sealing of thevalveare very important factors in theselection
ofavalveforaspecificprocessfunction.
(Laird, 2008), describes the different design method available for the sealing of the ball
valvesinherworkonthechoosingofaballvalvethatloweremissionasfollows
In the first case, the seatingload is regulated by the fluid pressure acting on the ball where the
permissible operating pressure acting is limited by the ability of the downstream seat ring to
withstandthefluidloadingattheoperatingtemperaturewithpermanentgrossdeformation.

Figure 9: A floating ball valve inaclosedposition, withthe ball pushed tothe seal on the
righthandsidebyadownstreampressureandthearrowspointstotheseatseals

The seat rings of the valvesare provided with a cantilevered lip whichisdesignedsuchthatthe
ball initially contact is only on the tip of the lip. As the upstream and downstream are
prestressed on assembly against the ball, the lip deflects and put the seat rings into torsion.
When the valve is closed, the lip of the downstream seat deflects further until the entire seat
surfacematchestheball.

In thesecond method, the fluidpressureforces theseatringagainst a trunnionsupported

ball, such that the floating seat ring is sealed by an Oring. Since the pressure in the
uncompensated area of the seatring can be kept small, then the seating load foragiven
pressure rating can beregulatedto suitthe bearing capacityoftheseat.Thistypeofvalve

may be used for high fluid pressure outside the range of the floatingball type ball valve.
(Laird,2008)

Figure10:Trunnionballvalveandtrunnionball

2.
Stemdesign
According to (Ehlers, 2010) the stemis another point, from which leakage normallyoccurs ina
ball valve, on designing the stem, there must be a means of ensuring thesystem media does
not leak from the stem and body interface and this isachievedbyensuringthatthestemsealis
properlypackedinthevalve.

Figure11:Onepieceandtwopiecechevronstempacking

The stem seal is packed using either the one piece stem packing method or the two piece
chevron stem packingmethodwhichisanimprovementofthe onepiecestempacking,itallows
forawiderrangeoftemperatureandpressure.

The stem in ball valve is design such that, it is not fastened to the ball,rather thepart in
contactwith the ball has arectangular portionat its endthatfits intoaslotcutintotheball,
wheretheenlargementpermitstherotationoftheballasthestemisturned, andthestream
volumecanbecontrolled.

Figure12:Stem

There are other additional causes of the leakages experiencein ballvalve amongwhichare the
way the stem are align inside the valve. In the event that the stem is not properly align and is
forced to one side, then the wearing of the stem seal will not be even as such resulting to
leakageinthevalve.Misalignmentofthesteminthevalvemaybecausebyanyofthefollowing
1.Improperinstallationoftheflange/actuatorinthevalveor

2.Adamageoftheseatsealinsidethevalve.(Laird,2008)
The ratio of the of the diameter of the seal around the stem in the valve is of great
significant also tothe function of theseal, if thesection is toolow,thenthereisatendency
forthesealtomoveasthestemcycles.

Thefinishing ofthedesign valve stem haseffects also on the performanceof thesealand

this depends on whether the stem action is rotary or linear.The degree ofguiding ofthe
stemprovided by the valvedesign, within the limitation ofthe type or action of thevalveis
obviouslyofverysignificancetoperformancesoftheseal.

In thecase ofrotaryaction,the headerrings useseithersideofthemainsealingelements

and cannot act in the wiping mode andthisis possible foralinearmotionstem,also the
stemsurfacefinishforarotaryactionvalvemaybemoresignificantintencesofthelifeand
performanceofthesealthanforalinearactionone.(Hoyes,1997)

3.Thevalvedisc
Theball (disc)is thatpartofthevalvethatallowsthefloworstoppageofflowoffluidorgas
depending on its position and usage in a valve. The disc isreferredto as the third most
important primary pressure boundary within the valve. The closure of the ballin the valve
results in the application of a full systempressure across the ball henceitis saidto bea

pressure related component. In most cases the ball (disc) are usually manufactured by
forging, where the designs are made with very hard surface to provide good wear
properties.(Solken,2010)

Figure13:TheBall

4.
Valvebonnet
The valve bonnet isthatpart of the valve that acts as a cover for theopening in the valve body
andisreferredtoasthesecondmostimportantpressureboundaryofthevalve.
The bonnet ismanufactured either by casting or forging and isdesignedwiththesamematerial
as the valve body. The bonnet may be connected to the body of the valve by either a threaded,
weldedorboltedjoint.(ChinaCastings,2009)

Figure14:valvebonnet

5.Thevalvebody

The valvebodyis the most importantpressure boundaryof the valve, anditserves asthe
mainpart ofany valveassembly,since it isthemainframeworkthatholdsalltheindividual
parts together. The ends of the valvebody are designed in such a way that they can be
connected to the pipeline system or equipment nozzle by different types of end
connections,suchassocketwelded,flanged,threadedorbutt.

Ball valve parts are manufactured either by casting or forging inavarietyof forms where
each component part have a specific function where they are designed with material
suitableforthatfunction.

Figure15:Valvebody

4.

Materialselection

A wide range of materials are available to meet the different serviceconditionsin which
valves maybe required to operate. Theselectionof the material used in thedesignofthe
valve depends largely on the service condition of the valve and most importantly, the
manufacturingcompany.
Like all other types of valves, ball valves can be designed with a different type of material
depending onitsservicecondition.However,whenselectingthematerialsforthedesignofaball
valve, there are some universal problems with some of the material used forthe designof the
parts and theyshouldbenotedforexample,metallic ballscannotgenerallybeleaktightassuch
they need a special seal around the edges of the port, the seal are normally designed from a
polymericoranelastomericmaterial.
In order to connectthe ball valve with the pipeline they are threaded orbolted as the case may
be, the material fortheir design may be metallic or PVC (polyvinyl chloride). However,some of
the metals that can be used forthisdesignincludestainless,carbonsteel,bronze,andavariety
of other special alloys which are designed to resist the most corrosive liquids. PVC ball valves

are used in situations where the liquid will not create a lot of pressure and the liquid is not very
corrosive,becauseitcannotstanduptoveryintensematerialsortreatment.

For mostapplication andnoncorrosiveduties, carbonsteelis normallyused for pressure

retaining boundary. For high temperature application creep resisting, alloy steel may be
specified. Alloy steel, stainless steel, nickel alloys, plastics, rubber lined or otherspecial
materials may be required on corrosion services or where there are clean or special
requirements.

The table below provide general application information of materials used for some
commonlyencounteredpressureboundary,trimandnonmetallicmaterials.

Materialsusedforthedesignofvalvebodyandbonnet/cover

Material
s

Forging
s

Castings

Typicalapplication

Carbon
steel

BS150
32214
80
ASTM
A105

BS15041
61480

ASTMA21
6Gr. WCB

Noncorrosion process hydrocarbons, produced

water, slurries, deaerated sea water, water, air,
steam.

1
1/4Cr1/
2Mo
Steel

5Cr1/2
Mo
Steel

BS150
36219
60
ASTM
A182G
rF11

BS150
36255
90

BS15046
21
ASTM
A217Gr.W
C6

BS15046
25
ASTM
A217Gr.W
C5

HP steam and process. Good resistance to sulphur

and hydrogen and good mechanical steel properties
atelevatedtemperature.

ASTM
A1820
GrF5
2
1/4Cr1
Mo
Steel

BS150
36224
90
ASTM
A182F
22

BS15096 Hightemperaturepowerstationsteamservice
22
ASTM
A217WC9

Stainles
ssteel
type
304

BS150
3304
S40
ASTM
A182G
r.
F304

BS15043
04C15
ASTM
A315Gr.C
F
8

Corrosion services, low temperature service,service

requiring cleanliness. Unsuitable for sea water
service. Not to be used where chloride exceed
300ppm

Stainles
ssteel
type
316

BS150
3316
S31/S3
3
ASTM
A182G
r.F316

BS15043
16C16
ASTM
A351Gr.
CF8

High corrosion service. Not recommended for sea

water and not to be used where chloride exceed
30ppm

Carbon
steel
(impact
tested)

BS150
3221
Gr.490
LT50
ASTM
A350
Gr.LF2

BS15041
61Gr.480
LT50
ASTM
A352GrL
CB

Lowtemperatureservice

Bronze

BS1400Gr.LG2
Black
sewage,
ASTM B62 Alloy brine firewater, air,
B36
steam.
Leaded

bronze has poor

resistance to sea
water
Aluminiumbronze

BS1400Gr.AB2

Sea water, black

sewage,
brine,
firewater. Good for
high
velocities.
Unsuitable
for
sulphide polluted
water

Titanium

ASTMB348Gr.2

Sodium
hypochlorite
and
ferritic
chloride
solutions

Greycastiron
(flakegraphite)

BS1452Gr.220
Land
locations,
ASTM A126 Class water,
aquatic
B
solution,
nonvolatile
chemicals. Do not
used
for
hydrocarbon
or
hazardous service.
Should not beused
where freezing may
occur

Spheroidal
graphitecastiron

BS2789
ASTMA395

As grey cast iron,

but may be used at
a higher pressures
andtemperatures

Monel400

ASTMA494or
A744M351

Seawater,brackish
water, brine. Good
resistance to all
acids
except
oxidizingtypes

HastelloyalloyC

ASTMA494or
A744CW12M

13%chromesteel BS1503541S21 BS1504420C29

ASTMA182F60 ASTMA217CA15

Hypochlorites,
acetic
acid,
chlorine,hydrogen
Natural gas + C02
(hardness limited to
22RCmax)

(WilliamE.WilliamsValveCorporation,2007)

Materialsforthedesignofthevalvetrim(internalelementsofthevalve)
Thetable below summaries some ofthe materialsthatcan be use forvalve trimdesignin
thepipingindustry.
Materials

Typicalapplication

13%Chromesteel

General services, gases, oil, steam.

Normally used with body materials like
LBC,WCB, WC1, WC6, WC9, C5AND
C12

13%Chromewithnickelalloyfacing

General services, steam, water,air,gas

fueloil, nonlubricating noncorrosive low
viscosity oils. It is used with WCB as
bodymaterial

13%Chromesteel,hardfaced

Generalservices,steam,gas,oilvapour.
It is used with LCB, WCB, WC1, WC6,
WC9andC5

Hard faced trim (e.g. satellite, tungsten Steam, wire drawing applications, dirty
carbide)
serviceetc. It isusedWC1,WC9,WCB,
WC6,CF8M,CF8,C12,C5,andCF8C
Stainless steel 18102 with or without Corrosive services, used with body
hardfacing
materials like LC3, LC2, LC1, LCB,
WCB,CF8,CF8MandCF8C

Bronze

Cold/hotwater, marine applications, and

low temperature service, it is used with
WCBasbodymaterial

Aluminiumbronze

Sea water, brinefirewater, unsuitablefor

sulphidepollutedwater

SuperDuplexsteel

Seawater,sourservice

HastelloyalloyC

Hypochlorite,
chlorine,
sulphide,seawater,brine

Monelandinconel

Corrosiveservices

Electrolessnickelplating

Usedforballvalves

Castiron

Notto be usedwhere freezingislikelyto

occur

Titanium

Sodiumhypochlorite

hydrogen

Materialsforthedesignofvalveseal(nonmetallicmaterialsinvalves)

Material

Typicalapplication/properties

Butylrubber

Superseded for most applications by

more advanced elastomers. For cold
water service. It has good wear
resistanceandlowoilpermeability

Chlorinatedpolyether(penton)

Process service, they have good

resistance to acids and solvents, if
softening can be tolerated and can be
usedupto1250c

Ethylenepropylenediene(EPDM)

Good mechanical properties, good

resistance to alcohols, ketones, and to
weathering. Used for wellhead and hot
waterapplications

Hydrogenatednitrile

Similarto nitrile butbetterinsourservice

and excellent explosive decompression
resistance. Swollen by aromatics and
adversely affected by amine corrosion
inhibitors

Nitrilerubber

Good for general service, has good

resistance to oil, solvents (but not
aromatics) and chemicals, poor
resistancetosunlightandweather.Notto
beusedforsourservice

Nylon

Insoluble in hydrocarbons, good

resistance to alkalis, will absorb water
andswell.Goodfrictionalproperties,less
pronetocoldflowthanPTFE

Polypropylene

Good resistance to chemical attack.

Similar to polythene but not subject to
cracking

Naturalrubber

Suitable for cold water and some

chemical and abrasive service. It have
lowresistancetosunlightandweather

PEEK

Any
application
where
tough,
waterpolymer with outstandingchemical
resistance is required. Harder, tougher
andless prone to coldflow than PTFE,it
becomesbrittleatlowtemperatures

Fluoroelastomer(viton)

Usedinwaterandprocessservice,ithas
good resistance to most chemicals
including some acids, petrol andsolvent,
should not be used with esters and
ketones. Poor flexibility at low
temperatures

PTFE

Excellent for most process services with

almost universal chemical resistance.

Maximum
allowable
temperature
depends on seal design, low coefficient
of friction, but subject to creep and cold
flowundermoderateloads

(Vivian,1995)