A valve is a device that regulates, directs or controls the flow of a fluid (gases, liquids, fluidized solids, or slurries) by opening, closing, or partially obstructing various passageways. Valves are technically fittings, but are usually discussed as a separate category. In an open valve, fluid flows in a direction from higher pressure to lower pressure. The word is derived from the Latin valva, the moving part of a door, in turn from volvere, to turn, roll.
The simplest, and very ancient, valve is simply a freely hinged flap which drops to obstruct fluid (gas or liquid) flow in one direction, but is pushed open by flow in the opposite direction. This is called a check valve, as it prevents or "checks" the flow in one direction. Modern control valves may regulate pressure or flow downstream and operate on sophisticated automation systems.
Valves have many uses, including controlling water for irrigation, industrial uses for controlling processes, residential uses such as on / off and pressure control to dish and clothes washers and taps in the home. Even aerosols have a tiny valve built in. Valves are also used in the military and transport sectors.
Valves are found in virtually every industrial process, including water and sewage processing, mining, power generation, processing of oil, gas and petroleum, food manufacturing, chemical and plastic manufacturing and many other fields.
People in developed nations use valves in their daily lives, including plumbing valves, such as taps for tap water, gas control valves on cookers, small valves fitted to washing machines and dishwashers, safety devices fitted to hot water systems, and poppet valves in car engines.
In nature there are valves, for example one-way valves in veins controlling the blood circulation, and heart valves controlling the flow of blood in the chambers of the heart and maintaining the correct pumping action.
Valves may be operated manually, either by a handle, lever, pedal or wheel. Valves may also be automatic, driven by changes in pressure, temperature, or flow. These changes may act upon a diaphragm or a piston which in turn activates the valve, examples of this type of valve found commonly are safety valves fitted to hot water systems or boilers.
More complex control systems using valves requiring automatic control based on an external input (i.e., regulating flow through a pipe to a changing set point) require an actuator. An actuator will stroke the valve depending on its input and set-up, allowing the valve to be positioned accurately, and allowing control over a variety of requirements.
Variation
Valves vary widely in form and application. Sizes[ambiguous] typically range from 0.1 mm to 60 cm. Special valves can have a diameter exceeding 5 meters.[which?]
Valve costs range from simple inexpensive disposable valves to specialized valves which cost thousands of US dollars per inch of the diameter of the valve.
Disposable valves may be found in common household items including mini-pump dispensers and aerosol cans.
A common use of the term valve refers to the poppet valves found in the vast majority of modern internal combustion engines such as those in most fossil fuel powered vehicles which are used to control the intake of the fuel-air mixture and allow exhaust gas venting.
Types
Main article: List of valves
Valves are quite diverse and may be classified into a number of basic types. Valves may also be classified by how they are actuated:
Hydraulic valve
Pneumatic valve
Manual valve
Solenoid valve
Motor valve
Components
The main parts of the most usual type of valve are the body and the bonnet. These two parts form the casing that holds the fluid going through the valve.
Body
The valve's body is the outer casing of most or all of the valve that contains the internal parts or trim. The bonnet is the part of the encasing through which the stem (see below) passes and that forms a guide and seal for the stem. The bonnet typically screws into or is bolted to the valve body.
Valve bodies are usually metallic or plastic. Brass, bronze, gunmetal, cast iron, steel, alloy steels and stainless steels are very common.[citation needed] Seawater applications, like desalination plants, often use duplex valves, as well as super duplex valves, due to their corrosion resistant properties, particularly against warm seawater. Alloy 20 valves are typically used in sulphuric acid plants, whilst monel valves are used in hydrofluoric acid (HF Acid) plants. Hastelloy valves are often used in high temperature applications, such as nuclear plants, whilst inconel valves are often used in hydrogen applications. Plastic bodies are used for relatively low pressures and temperatures. PVC, PP, PVDF and glass-reinforced nylon are common plastics used for valve bodies.[citation needed]
Bonnet
A bonnet acts as a cover on the valve body. It is commonly semi-permanently screwed into the valve body or bolted onto it. During manufacture of the valve, the internal parts are put into the body and then the bonnet is attached to hold everything together inside. To access internal parts of a valve, a user would take off the bonnet, usually for maintenance. Many valves do not have bonnets; for example, plug valves usually do not have bonnets. Many ball valves do not have bonnets since the valve body is put together in a different style, such as being screwed together at the middle of the valve body.
Ports
Ports are passages that allow fluid to pass through the valve. Ports are obstructed by the valve member or disc to control flow. Valves most commonly have 2 ports, but may have as many as 20. The valve is almost always connected at its ports to pipes or other components. Connection methods include threadings, compression fittings, glue, cement, flanges, or welding.
Handle or actuator
A handle is used to manually control a valve from outside the valve body. Automatically controlled valves often do not have handles, but some may have a handle (or something similar) anyway to manually override automatic control, such as a stop-check valve. An actuator is a mechanism or device to automatically or remotely control a valve from outside the body. Some valves have neither handle nor actuator because they automatically control themselves from inside; for example, check valves and relief valves may have neither.
Disc
A disc or valve member is a movable obstruction inside the stationary body that adjustably restricts flow through the valve. Although traditionally disc-shaped, discs come in various shapes. Depending on the type of valve, a disc can move linearly inside a valve, or rotate on the stem (as in a butterfly valve), or rotate on a hinge or trunnion (as in a check valve). A ball is a round valve member with one or more paths between ports passing through it. By rotating the ball, flow can be directed between different ports. Ball valves use spherical rotors with a cylindrical hole drilled as a fluid passage. Plug valves use cylindrical or conically tapered rotors called plugs.[ambiguous] Other round shapes for rotors are possible as well in rotor valves, as long as the rotor can be turned inside the valve body. However, not all round or spherical discs are rotors; for example, a ball check valve uses the ball to block reverse flow, but is not a rotor because operating the valve does not involve rotation of the ball.
Seat
The seat is the interior surface of the body which contacts the disc to form a leak-tight seal. In discs that move linearly or swing on a hinge or trunnion, the disc comes into contact with the seat only when the valve is shut. In disks that rotate, the seat is always in contact with the disk, but the area of contact changes as the disc is turned. The seat always remains stationary relative to the body.
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