Following is a glossary of valve terms and serves as both a ball valve and control valve glossary.
1 Piece (ball valve) Design
The manual valve operator can be removed and an electric or pneumatically actuated valve actuator can be installed for automation. The industry standard is ISO 5211.
A stem seal is used to seal between the shaft of the handle stem and the valve body. This seal is then compressed around the stem by means of a packing gland, which forms a watertight seal around the handle stem assembly. Over time, due to various environmental conditions, the seal material may expand or contract; thereby affecting the quality of this seal. To combat this (if a leak should occur) you can adjust the packing gland by tightening it slightly.
Establishes Testing procedures and associated acceptable leakage rates for industrial control valves. There are different seat leakage classifications defined by ANSI/FCI 70-2 2006 (European equivalent standard IEC 60534-4). The most commonly used are:
CLASS IV is also known as metal to metal. It is the kind of leakage rate you can expect from a valve with a metal plug and a metal seat.
CLASS Vl is known as soft seat classification. Soft Seat Valves are those where either the plug or seat or both are made from some kind of composition material such as Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) or similar.
Anti-static device (ball valve feature)
Ensures an electrical continuity between valve
ball, stem, and body thereby reducing static electricity which may exist in
the ball or stem of the valve.
API 598
Fire Test for Soft-Seated Quarter Turn Valves. The standard covers the
requirements for testing and evaluating the performance of straightway,
soft-seated quarter-turn valves when the valves are exposed to certain fire
conditions defined in this standard. The procedures described in this standard
apply to all classes and sizes of such valves that are made of materials listed
in ASME B16.34.
A valve standard which is actually an additional set of requirements
beyond those mentioned in the ASME B16.34 standard, and compliance to the latter
is a prerequisite. This standard has been developed by the API to be used by
“downstream” refineries and chemical plants for the selection and approval of
ball valves.
Some of these additional requirements for a ball valve to comply with API
608 are:
API 6D
An adoption of ISO 14313:1999, Petroleum and Natural Gas
Industries-Pipeline Transportation Systems-Pipeline Valves. This International
Standard specifies requirements and gives recommendations for the design,
manufacturing, testing and documentation of ball, check, gate and plug valves
for application in pipeline systems.
API Q1
A company level certification based on the standard
developed and published by the American Petroleum Institute (API) titled
"Specification for Quality Management System Requirements for
Manufacturing Organizations for the Petroleum and Natural Gas Industry".
This Standard covers ratings, dimensions, tolerances, marking and material requirements for socket-welding and threaded forged fittings.
Valve standard accepted worldwide by end-users, engineering contractors and manufacturers as the fundamental basis for valve design, testing and performance. It covers pressure-temperature ratings, dimensions, tolerances, materials, nondestructive examination requirements, testing, and marking for cast, forged, and fabricated flanged, threaded, and welding end and wafer or flangeless valves of steel, nickel-base alloys, and other alloys.
C
A
Ball Valve
E
BS 2080
British specification for face-to-face, center-to-face, end-to-end and
center-to-end dimensions of valves.
BS 6755
PART 2
British fire test standard, similar to
API 607, although API 607 4th edition is considered more stringent.
Butterfly Valve
Enables quick shut-off of pipeline flow similar
to a ball valve, except they typically cost less and more compact than
comparable ball valves
Requires 51% of the components or value of the final product to be made in
the U.S.A.; thus qualifies for a U.S.A. certificate of origin.
CE per PED97/23/EC
European standards for the design and fabrication of steam boilers, pressure
vessels, piping, safety valves and other components and assemblies subject
to pressure loading. It also sets the administrative procedures requirements
for the "conformity assessment" of pressure equipment, for the free placing
on the European market without local legislative barriers. The standards
and regulations regarding pressure vessels and boilers safety is very
similar to the US standards defined by the ASME.
Type of manual actuator for difficult to reach (typically high) valves. The chain wheels can be supplied in a variety of materials.
Valve bodies and ends can be modified with additional ports to facilitate draining of the valve body cavity or for flushing the valve; enabling clean-in-place (CIP) or steam-in-place (SIP).
Control Valve
CRN
Stands for
Canadian Registration Number, a number issued by each province or territory
in Canada by an authorized safety authority for any boiler, pressure
vessel or fitting that operates at a pressure greater than 15 psig.
Refers to a scientific standard for volume of water at 60ºF which can pass through a pipe, valve or other pipeline fitting and have a loss or differential pressure drop of 1 PSI. Therefore the higher the Cv value for a given flow rate, the lower the pressure drop will be across the valve/fitting.
Double Acting Pneumatic Valve Actuator
This type of valve actuator has two compressed air ports; when air is applied to one port and vented by the other, it causes the internal pinion assembly to rotate clockwise. Just the opposite occurs when air is applied to the other port with the rotation being counter-clockwise.
Double Offset
Butterfly Valve
An electro-chemical process to remove surface material and provide an extremely smooth surface that is easier to clean.
The inherent benefits of Electropolishing subsequent to mechanical polishing are as follows:
Superior surfaces for cleaning and sterilization.
Resultant passivated surfaces enhance corrosion resistance.
High luster reflective appearance.
Elimination of smeared or torn surfaces caused by abrasive finishing
Removal of inclusions and entrapped contaminants such as lubricants and grit particles.
Increased corrosion resistance
Cleaner surface of the “wet contact” areas
Removal of surface occlusions
Reduce surface friction
Epicyclical
Gearing
A type of concentric gear assembly with the center of one gear revolving around the center of the other which increases the efficiency and transfer of torque to the valve operator.
FDA Compliance
The FDA (Food and Drug Administration) is the government agency primarily
responsible for determining how food products may be affected by exposure to
various materials. The code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Title 21 is the
agency's relevant guidelines for all materials intended for food contact.
Fire Safe
Flanged (full body butterfly) Valve
Has a separate inlet and outlet flange connection
and thus, like a Lug butterfly valve, either end of the pipeline can be
removed without affecting the sealing.
Floating (ball valve) Design (ball moves to
seat)
FM
Approved
Independent testing arm of international insurance
carrier, FM Global. FM approvals uses scientific research and
testing to make sure products conform to the highest standards for safety
and property loss prevention.
Full Port (Bore)
Fusible Link (ball valve feature)
ISO 5211
ISO 5752
Specifies the
dimensions for two-way valves. Each basic series of these dimensions may
be used as required with flanges of mating dimensions conforming to ISO
2084 or ISO 2229.
ISO 9001
A quality management
systems having standards designed to help organizations ensure that they
meet the needs of customers while meeting statutory and regulatory
requirements related to a product.
Lug (Butterfly) Valve
Media Containment
Metal Seat
MSS - Manufacturers Standardization Society of the Valve and Fittings
Industry
SP-25: Standard marking system for valves, fittings, flanges and unions
SP-44: covers pressure-temperature ratings, materials, dimensions, tolerances, marking, and testing for steel pipeline flanges
SP-55: Quality Standard for Steel Castings for Valves, Flanges, Fittings, and Other Piping Components – Visual Method for Evaluation of Surface Irregularities
SP-67: Butterfly valves
SP-72: General purpose ball valves
Specifies requirements and provides recommendations for the selection and
qualification of carbon and low-alloy steels, corrosion-resistant alloys, and
other alloys for service in equipment used in oil and natural gas production and
natural gas treatment plants in H2S-containing environments.
As relates to our valve actuators, is an industry standard for air port and mounting configurations for solenoid valves.
An accredited, independent third-party certification body that tests and certifies products to verify they meet these public health and safety standards.
European legislation
relating to the safety of pressure equipment throughout Europe.
PTFE (valve seat material)
Available on request
(CF), suitable for filling the void between the body and ball eliminating
product build up. Cavity filled seats are standard on our sanitary line of
ball valves in both two and three way.
Resilient Seat
Butterfly Valve
The seat is deformable, meaning it will still seal if some debris
becomes caught between the valve disc and seat.
Resilient seat valves have become an industry standard and are appropriate for most water and industrial fluid applications. They are best suited for fluids with few particulates because the valve disc is in constant contact with the seat (creates wear).
RTFE (valve seat material)
Reduces effects of linear thermal expansion and thus leakage from the valve body. The screw cap bolting design uses twice the number of body bolts, each threaded to more than half of their length.
Eliminates potential leakage at body joints to ensure pressure
containment. Accomplished using automatic welding equipment to create
uniform weld penetrations; during the welding procedure a continuous water
flow passes through the valve to protect the valve seats a
The process of heating an alloy to an elevated temperature to promote a homogenous chemistry and uniform mechanical properties to produce what is essentially stress free, or “soft” material; then quenched or rapidly cooled to minimize re-precipitation of carbides.
Spring Return Pneumatic Valve Actuators
Designed to ensure the actuator "fails safe", compressed air is used to compress springs and a counter-clockwise rotation. Upon venting or loss of pressure, the spring forces clockwise rotation of the valve positioner.
Standard Port (Reduced Bore
The bore or ID of the valve is one size smaller
than the pipe it is connected to, which reduces the size and cost of the
valve although would have a higher differential pressure drop compared to a
Full Port Valve. Likely only used when the pipeline is oversized for
the flow rate such that the reduced bore size isn’t detrimental.
The maximum level of roughness average (Ra) is expressed in micro inches
(µ
TFM Super-Tek (valve seat material)
Trunnion (ball valve) Design (seat moves to
ball)
Two-way/Bi-Directional (ball valve) design
UL has tested representative samples of a product and determined that it meets UL's requirements. These requirements are often based on UL's published and nationally recognized Standards for Safety.
USP Class IV
The United States Pharmacopeia
(USP) is a non-government organization concerned with the pharmaceutical
and bio-technology industries, setting standards for quality, purity,
strength and consistency. USP Class IV types of products go through a series
of biological tests (Acute Systemic Toxicity Test, Intracutaneous Test,
Implantation Test & Standard Temperatures and Times). The USP Class VI
compounds must be made from ingredients with clear histories of
biocompatibility that meet tight requirements for leachates.
Wafer (butterfly) Valve
Patented WIP ball valve design reduces installation time for ball valves welded to their piping system. Conventional designs require disassembly of the valve, welding the ends to the corresponding piping and then assembling the body onto the ends. This is not only time consuming, but also repetitious because the valve with factory assembled and tested prior to shipment. The WIP design lets the user weld the fully assembled and tested valve right into the piping and thus reducing both time and expense.