Different Ball Valve Body Designs
One Piece Ball Valve Design – The ball is placed into the body through an entry in one of the pipe flanges and secured with a gasket forming part of the raised face. This has inherent strength and minimises leak paths.
Split Body Ball Valve Design – This is also known as a 2 piece or 3 piece ball valve and the body is split in one or two places in the same plane as the valve flanges. The body is then bolted around the ball. 3 Piece ball valves are common among smaller sizes due to lower manufacturing costs and trunnion mounted ball valves due to component weight. The big advantage of split body ball valves is the ease of maintenance.
Top Entry Ball Valve Design – This is a rarer design of valve where the ball is inserted through a bonnet in the top of the valve. The main advantage of this is that the critical parts of the valve can be maintained while the valve remains in the pipeline. It’s often used in welded pipe systems.
Fully Welded Ball Valve Design – This is where the body of the valve is an all welded construction and completely non-maintainable. These are often found used in gas pipelines.
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