T h e M a n u fa c T u r e r s V o i c e

Wafer & Lug type Butterfly Valve the liner:

thoughts on the rubber liner!
The following write-up will give you an idea about the specific technical issues we have to worry about concerning rubber liners and be aware it is not just a small part of butterfly valves. Lets go back to the part which is responsible for most of the defects in a wafer / lug type butterfly valve the rubber-liner (see part 3 of figure 1.) In a previous issue, some months ago, I referred to the specific shape of the liner as well as to the different rubber material from EPDM to PTFE and the influence of the shore hardness on the performance of a butterfly valve. In this issue I am looking mainly at the resistance of the liner against the media, focusing on the pressure/vacuum together with the temperature and the media used. The defect we can see appears if the rubber liner is not properly produced in accordance with good manufacturing practice - have a look at Figure 2. The pictures in Figure 2 show the defects on the liner made of EPDM, due to the media and temperature. Temperature max.: 130C Media STEAM Pressure 750 mbar vacuum (possible strikes/hammer down to 900mbar) This is a typical installation underneath a vacuum tank (molasses storage) DN 500 PN 10. The inspection of the damaged parts show exactly that the bonding between the backing ring and the rubber is not perfectly done there is approximately only 50% contact surface between the glue & backing ring & liner whereas the maximum acceptable is not less than 90% (most standards say 95% minimum). Due to improper adhesion, the liner has been drawn-off by the vacuum, as seen in the pictures, as only the opposite of the shaft area is damaged. Installation time of most of the damaged valves was less than 2 months. This is one of the most common failures / damage we find in butterfly valves used in steam circuits all around the process industry. The reasons for these defects are mainly improper pre-treatment of either the backing ring which carries the liner or the valve body, if the liner is directly vulcanized on the cast iron body.

gain and again I come back in this series of articles to butterfly valves, articles which I am pleased to contribute to Valve World magazine and especially after participating in Valve World 2010 in Dsseldorf, seeing valve companies from all over the world as well as attending seminar sessions with all the fantastic presentations. It still seems to me that one of the most popular valves in the process industry is not really well known in the world of valve manufacturers maybe popularity equals simple? But simple it is definitely not! Just have a look at my previous articles where I gave you, dear reader, lots of details you have to watch out for on this type of valve. In my Valve-Life spanning 30 years in various industries and multiple applications I have seen a lot of defects from different causes and impacts on the process itself. Be aware that any defect on a valve usually results in an interruption of production and thereby loss of money! I am not talking about the repair and/or the spare-parts, I am talking about the loss of produced goods, which is of much higher value than a piece of a valve, or the maintenance on a valve. If you look at the last years articles and the topics in seminars you will find the main focus on predictive maintenance, measures of the wear & tear of a valve and so on. This is similar to a doctor treating the symptoms of a disease and not the cause of the disease. If we make sure to use a proper technical design and care for our products we will never need to experience the amount of wear and tear that we do currently.

What goes wrong during production?

The manufacturer does not follow good manufacturing practice and the processing instructions of the glue & rubber suppliers and what is of equal importance is: CLEANLINESS along the production chain to remove any residue, grease, lubricant and dust! Preparation of the backing ring, for example, must be done properly by sand blasting to SIS 05 5900 / 2 which removes all particles from the surface of the backing ring / body and also increases the surface by a factor of minimum 3 so this results in perfect adhesion of the rubber on the surface. Additionally the surface is painted with
April 2010 1

Figure 1

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T h e M a n u fa c T u r e r s V o i c e a bonding agent (glue) to guarantee a 99% bonding of the rubber not following this procedure can cause the rubber to be pulled away by the vacuum, for example, and the defect as seen in Figure 2 appears shortly after the first commissioning of the valve. Care should be taken on the time allowed between sand blasting, adhesive primer and vulcanization, as the primer / glue loses its properties very fast! A further problem during production is the backing / vulcanizing of the rubber liner. The vulcanization of the rubber on the backing ring or the valve body as well as a single piece collar requires a proper temperature control as well as supervision of the temperature as the rubber is very sensitive to that! I have seen many manufacturing sites where the vulcanizing process is done improperly in a way that the machines are made like toasters with the heat source only from 1 side. This leads to improper bonding and adhesion as well as improper vulcanization of the rubber itself. Additionally each quality of rubber has its own temperature range for the manufacturing process.

Figure 2

In this description and explanation I have tried to give you an idea of the possible defects on the production line - which usually seems to be simple and easy but in the end, the cheaper we buy without supervising our production line, the worse

the result will be and the more sensors we need to control our process. I will be glad to receive your comments and questions on this article and, finally, I hope I can help you to achieve smoother processing.

Meet Gnter xler

Gnter xler is a freelancer to the Process Industry and has a long history within the valve industry. He graduated in Process Engineering and Mechanical Engineering in Stuttgart, Germany, holds a MBA degree in VWA as well as a controlling degree and is a REFA specialist. For more than 25 years, Gnter has worked for several companies in the valve business. He is also a member of the IWA, ISA and VDI German Engineer. Gnter can be contacted under guenteroexler@aol.com

2 April 2010

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