No Gaskets Required: Weld End Connections for Valves

To be of value, valves must be attached to a piping system. How that attachment occurs has changed over time. For decades, screwed or flanged connections were the only way to go. However, the perfection of fusion welding techniques in the 1930s led the way for new methods of joining piping components, including valves. These new ways are the butt-weld (BWE) (Figure 1) and socket-weld (SW) (Figure 2) end connections.

Soft Goods in Actuators and Valves

Soft goods such as rings, gaskets, bushings, washers, seals and packing sets are widely used in valves and actuators. Manufacturers specify fillings and percentages for compounds for these soft goods to ensure they will operate properly with their valve and actuator products.

Belleville Springs in Valves

Belleville springs are used within or adjacent to valves for a variety of purposes—the most common being to maintain load on a seal, gasket or packing. They often are used as machine elements in valve actuators or as a component of the valve mechanism and are designed or arranged to provide useful mechanical properties within small spaces. This means they can be retrofitted into existing valve designs with minimal revisions. Clearly, these mechanisms serve a vital purpose. However, many important factors should be considered in selecting a spring.

A Case for Mechanical Temperature Control

Instrument, mechanical or project engineers may see a multitude of temperature applications cross their desks. Their immediate reaction might be to employ a temperature control loop. But could a mechanical, self-operated temperature regulator be a better solution for the valve application?

Website Tools for the Taking

The days when companies populated their websites primarily with PDFs of catalogs, a few paragraphs “About the Company,” a list of “Contacts,” and highlights of “Products” and “Customers Served” are behind us. Saavy companies today know that to draw customers and potential customers to their sites requires coming up with ways to add value to those who visit. After all, the world is now bombarded with places to go on the Web so companies need to find reasons why people should visit their website.

When Accessories Become Necessities

Specification sheets for selecting automated valves list requirements for the valve and actuator but often lump all other devices together as related instrumentation or accessories.

Today’s Coatings Provide Solid Protection for Valves

Like anything made of metal, valves are subject to corrosion and other natural forces that compromise their performance. However, the right coating can protect those valves not just against corrosion, but erosion and wear.

Selection Considerations for Control Valves vs. Regulators

In any control system, the option potentially exists to select either a control valve or a regulator, so it is useful to compare the respective performance and economics of these approaches to arrive at some general selection guidelines.

The Well-Functioning Steam Trap

Steam traps are the most important link between the steam and condensate system. Malfunctioning steam traps can waste tremendous amounts of money. Here is an example: A single inverted bucket steam trap (with a one-eighth-inch orifice) blowing-thru in a 150 psi, where the steam cost is $11.00 per 1,000 lbs. of steam produced, will waste 62.49 lbs. of steam per hour and cost approximately $6,022 in fuel losses per year.

Understanding Differential Pressure Flow Transmitters

A differential pressure flow measurement system consists of a differential pressure primary flow element and a differential pressure flow transmitter.

When the flow of a fluid in a pipe passes a restriction in the piping system, the pressure in the piping system is reduced. Most differential pressure primary flow elements are designed, constructed and operated in a manner such that the flow rate is proportional to the square root of the pressure drop across the restriction. These differential pressure primary flow elements include orifice plates, Venturi tubes, elbows, flow nozzles, low loss flow tubes, single-port and multiple-port Pitot tubes, segmental wedge and V-Cone flowmeters.