Regulating valves are often used in harsh conditions, installed on heavy-duty process pipelines and working in extremely complex conditions. Once problems occur, because of their bulkiness and difficult-to-pinpoint nature, they often leave people helpless, and involve issues such as system operation, system integrity, regulation quality and environmental pollution. Therefore, reasonable use of angle regulating valve and maximum maintenance to extend its service life is the primary issue of using regulating valves. Here are five methods to extend the life of regulating valves.
Welding slag, rust, solid slag from lime slurry, wire, cloth and other debris in the pipeline can cause blockages or jams in the throttling port and guide parts, causing the valve core to rupture. This often occurs in new or overhauled systems which have just been put into use. In such cases, it is necessary to disassemble the valve and remove the debris, and if the sealing surface is damaged, it should be polished. At the same time, the bottom plug should be opened to flush out the debris and the pipeline should be flushed. Before operation, the regulating valve should be fully open and the medium allowed to flow for a period of time before being put into normal operation.
When using angle type regulating valves, work as close to the maximum opening degree, such as 80%, as possible. This way, the initial erosion and wear caused by impurities in the pipeline occurs outside the damaged part of the valve core. After removing impurities from the pipeline, adjust the opening degree of the regulating valve slightly larger than normal. As the fluid damages the valve core and increases the flow rate, the corresponding degree of opening should be reduced until the entire valve core is fully utilized and until the root and sealing surface of the valve core are damaged and can no longer be used.
By calculating the correct CV value formula, we can select the appropriate valve diameter. Under the same flow conditions, the smaller the valve diameter, the faster the fluid flow rate, and the more severe the erosion and wear on the valve core and sealing parts. We recommend that users increase the valve diameter appropriately within the range of free adjustment of the opening, so as to reduce wear.
Shift the severely damaged area to secondary positions to protect the sealing surface and throttling surface of the valve core and valve seat. Usually, the most severely eroded and fastest fluid flow rate occurs in the lower part of the fluid inlet of the regulating valve. For the current regulating valve with a three-piece structure, the ball core can be reversed, so that one ball core can be used four times at the inlet, extending the life of the valve by four times.
Initially, regulating valves used a two-piece structure. In order to make the structure of industrial valves more rational, the current three-piece structure is now used, which has a double valve seat and therefore has dual sealing characteristics. At the same time, when selecting a regulating valve, pay attention to choosing a valve that has a slope transition design, which can reduce the impact of fluid.
