BALL VALVE

A ball valve is a quarter-turn rotational motion valve that uses a ball-shaped disc to stop or start flow. If the valve is opened, the ball rotates to a point where the hole through the ball is in line with the valve body inlet and outlet. If the valve is closed, the ball is rotated so that the hole is perpendicular to the flow openings of the valve body and the flow is stopped.

Types of ball valve
Ball valves are basically available in three versions: full port, venturi port and reduced port. The full-port valve has an internal diameter equal to the inner diameter of the pipe. Venturi and reduced-port versions generally are one pipe size smaller than the line size.

Ball valves are manufactured in different body configurations and the most common are:

• Top entry ball valve allows access to valve internals for maintenance by removal of the valve bonnet-cover. It is not required to removed the valve from the pipe system.
• Split body ball valve consists of a two or three parts, where one part is smaller than the other. The ball is inserted in the larger body part, and the smaller body part is assembled by a bolted connection. The valve ends are available as butt welding, socket welding, flanged, threaded and others.