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Ball valves are used in isolation services- simple ON or OFF mode. Even in these situations, they can be uni-directional or bi-directional. The most common examples of uni-directional ball valves are those used in chlorine and ammonia service. These ball valves feature a 3mm relief hole on the ball surface that faces the upstream side of the valve. Liquid ammonia tends to boil off when trapped in the ball bore and requires some mechanism to relieve the pressure. Similarly, expanding chlorine requires a similar mechanism to prevent the catastrophic failure of the valve. These uni-directional ball valves should be mounted on the pipeline with due care taken to align the relief hole with the upstream side. Bi-directional ball valves are those that can be used with pressure on both sides. The floating ball inside floats ever so slightly to seal the path between the ball and the downstream seat.
Ball valves with any other than a straight-through flow path are called multi-port ball valves. Generally, a 3 Way ball valve has three ports, and the valve can be used with one inlet and two optional outlets or two inlets and one outlet option. A 3-way ball valve can have an L-Port ball or a T-Port ball. An L-Port ball inside a 3 Way ball valve can divert the flow of media between two outlets. Common applications of the L Port 3-way valve are switching between two receivers while filling or switching between two sources while delivering. A T-Port ball inside a 3 Way ball valve with regular two seats can be used for the above-mentioned applications and for mixing of flow between all three ports.
In addition, a T-Port ball valve with a 4-seat design can be used for straight through flow, which can be switched to flow out of the third side port, with the inlet being one of the main ports. In case the inlet is the third side port, these types of valves can also be used to shut off flow without the need to use another 2-way valve. Hence, depending upon the application, Kavaata can supply valves which are cost-effective and appropriate.
4 Way ball valves have L-L ports or X ports. These valves are used in hydraulic circuits to control double-acting actuators. In the first instance, port A of the actuator is connected to the pressure source and port B of the actuator is connected to the tank through the 4-way ball valve. One simple switch by means of 90 degrees operation connects port A of the actuator to the tank while connecting port B to the pressure source. Kavaata manufactures 4-way valves in various sizes with a pressure rating up to 150 bar. Double 3-way ball valves or 6-way ball valves are special examples of multi-port ball valves, which are used with duplex heat exchangers and duplex filters.
Double 3-way ball valves are coupled together with a common lever and operate simultaneously. 6-way ball valves also work similarly, but have smaller centre-to-centre distances between the valves. These valves switch the flow media into one vessel of the equipment to complete the flow circuit. The stand-by filter or heat exchanger is taken for maintenance. This allows the filtration skid and, thereby, the lubrication system to work non-stop by switching into one or the other vessel sequentially. Kavaata manufactures and supplies a wide range of double 3-way and 6-way ball valves in wafer-type and flanged-type configurations in various pressure classes.
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