How are valves important in our everyday lives?

Our valves are often engineered to meet our customers’ specific requirements and are efficient and reliable to help ensure that their processes meet strict environmental and safety requirements.

The valves we make are very different from other valves you might have seen. Our valves are high-performance industrial process valves that can operate in demanding conditions, such as high pressure or very high or low temperatures, and they can handle challenging gases and liquids flowing through them. Our valves are often engineered to meet our customers’ specific requirements and are efficient and reliable to help ensure that their processes meet strict environmental and safety requirements.

Valves are all around us, 24/7

Where are the valves? They are all around us, including in your home. When you open the tap to drink water, it’s a valve that controls the flow of water. That’s just one example. So how else are valves a part of our daily routines?

When you open the newspaper in the morning, valves have been involved in the paper production process. How about some sugar in your coffee? Sugar mills also need valves. Do you drive a car to work? The petroleum industry uses a lot of valves to make fuel.

Time for lunch? Yes, please. Long before a meal ends up on your plate, valves played a role in the process. Getting together with colleagues after work? Whether your beverage of choice is a soft drink, milk, or beer, valves have been part of the production process. Did you forget to call home? The metals used in your phone come from minerals and metals processing plants, which also use valves in their processes.

Going for an evening jog? Your sneakers would not exist without valves. In fact, same with the clothes you wear: valves are also needed to make textiles! When you finally turn off the lights at bedtime, you can be sure that even power plants need valves to keep the lights on. So, as you can see, valves are all around us 24/7.

Keeping the flow going

We hope this gives you more insight into valves and their important role in the world. In summary, every material or object that is being processed, or a component of it, goes through a valve at some point in its production before being used by end customers. And you can count on us to keep the flow going.

The text has been updated in April 2022, due to the company name change to Valmet.

Valmet now offers an extensive flow control portfolio of industry-leading valves, valve automation solutions and related services, including the renowned Neles, Neles Easyflow, Jamesbury, Stonel, Valvcon and Flowrox solutions.

You might also see valves classified by function instead of design.

Common functional designations and their common design types include:

• Isolation Valves: Ball, butterfly, diaphragm, gate, pinch, piston, and plug valves
• Regulation Valves: Ball, butterfly, diaphragm, globe, needle, pinch, and plug valves
• Safety Relief Valves: Pressure release and vacuum relief valves
• Non-Return Valves: Swing check and lift check valves
• Special Purpose Valves: Multi-port, float, foot, knife gate, and line blind valves

Valve Sizing Explained: Keeping Things Flowing

While valves might be a small part of your piping process or system in terms of space, they’re often a substantial portion of the design and build budget. They also have a significant impact on long-term costs and overall system performance.

Choosing a proper valve size is essential to both optimizing costs and ensuring safe, accurate, and reliable operation.

The first thing to consider is the overall size of the valve -- both in terms of physical dimensions and in terms of internal size and flow rates (CV).

Choosing a valve that does not fit properly in the space required could result in added costs. Choosing a valve which does not provide the ideal flow rate can lead to inaccurate flow control at the least and complete system failure at worst.

For example, if your valve is too small, it could cause reduced flow downstream while creating back-pressure upstream. If the valve is too large, you’ll find that flow control is drastically reduced the further you move from fully open or fully closed.

When choosing the proper size, be sure to consider both the connector diameter and the overall flow rate of the valve compared to your needs. Some valves offer excellent flow while others constrict flow and increase pressure.

This means sometimes you must install a larger valve to adjust for flow than the adapter diameter alone might imply.

Valve End Connections: The Key to a Good Fit and Proper Operation

With sizing and design out of the way, it’s also important to consider valve end connections.

While the most obvious implication here is choosing an end connection compatible with your piping, there are also functional characteristics to common end types that might make one valve more suited to your needs than another.

Common valve connections and ends include:

• Screwed or Threaded: Often used in instrument connections or sample points
• Flanged: The most common ends for piping use
• Butt Welded: Typically used in high-pressure or high-temperature operations
• Socket Welded: Commonly used on small bore piping where threaded connections are not permitted
• Wafer and Lug: Often used for compact valves installed in systems with limited space

Valve Materials: Ensuring Safety and Long-Lasting Performance

Depending on your intended use, the materials with which your valves are made might be a critical aspect in ensuring safe operation and reducing maintenance and replacement costs over the life of your operation.

Stainless steel valves are excellent options in a range of processing environments, including those involving corrosive media (such as chemicals, saltwater, and acids), environments with strict sanitation standards (such as food and beverage manufacturing and pharmaceuticals), and processes involving high pressure or high temperatures.

However, if you are processing solvents, fuels, or volatile organic compounds (VOCs), choosing a valve material from a non-sparking material -- such as brass, bronze, copper, or even plastic -- is often a better option. In addition to selecting the correct body material, internal (wetted) trim parts should be evaluated for chemical compatibility as well. If your valve contains elastomers, they should also be evaluated for their chemical compatibility as well as pressure and temperature limitations.

Valve Standards: Meeting Compliance and Regulatory Concerns

Depending on your intended usage, you might find that valves must adhere to particular standards to meet regulatory requirements for safety, sanitation, or other concerns.

While there are too many standard organizations and potential regulations to cover in detail, common general standard organizations include:

There are also industry-specific standards to consider.

Major standards organizations by industry include:

• ASHRAE Valve Standards
• ASME BPVC Valve Standards
• ASSE Valve Standards
• ISA Valve Standards
• NFPA Valve Standards
• SAE Valve Standards

Final Thoughts

Choosing the right valve for your project might seem complex. However, by starting with general characteristics -- such as valve design, valve size and actuation method -- you can quickly limit your options to determine the best valves for your needs.

Whether you’re designing a new processing system or looking to make upgrades to or maintain an existing system, Unified Alloys’ selection of valves and fittings can help you find the ideal solution for your application and usage environment. As a leading provider of stainless steel alloys, valves, flanges, and more, our experts have helped industries across Canada and North America for more than 4 decades. Need assistance or have a question? Contact us for personalized help.