What Is A Butterfly Valve?

Valves are used by engineers to control the flow of liquid and gas for different applications. Valves help regulate the flow at any temperature, velocity and pressure. The two types of valves commonly used in industries are butterfly valves and ball valves.

Butterfly valves are lightweight and resemble a butterfly wing. It comes in one- or two-piece designs. Valves with a one-piece design will have a disk placed on a shaft that rotates a pipe. A two-piece valve allows full flow with the sections held inward and lies flat as it gets closed. Butterfly valve manufacturers in India design two different types of butterfly valves, namely:

Lug valves: Lug valves are used for applications that require temporary fixtures. It uses threaded metals as inserts to hold the bolt of the valves. Hence, nuts are not required. A set of bolts secures both sides of the flange. Such a design offers more flexibility as you can leave one side of the piping system untouched and still disconnect the other side.

Wafer valves: Wafer valves are standard valves installed with nuts, studs or bolts between two flanges. It is less expensive than lug valves and is an excellent option if you do not want to disconnect a side of the piping system.

What Is A Ball Valve?

A ball valve has a floating ball that has a hole through it. The hole will block, open or partially block the flow of gas and liquid when the valve gets activated. The tight seal of ball valves is ideal for a system that requires gas flow. These valves are used for high-pressure application of both gas and liquid lines of six inches and lesser diameter. It can operate at temperatures ranging from -30 degrees to 230 degrees. Even if the supply side has high pressure, it offers no resistance when you turn the valves. Different types of ball valves manufactured in India include:

V-port Ball Valve:

These valves will have a V-shape seat or ball. It ensures a stable flow from the small end of the V to the wide end. V-port ball valves are the best choice when there is a high velocity or you require more control on the flow. They are sturdier and withstands high velocity compared to other types of valves.

Full-port Ball Valve:

These valves offer no loss of friction as the hole inside the ball is of the same size as the pipeline.

Trunnion Ball Valve:

The ball is fixed to the bottom and top of this valve. It is used in high pressure or large-scale application wherein it prevents issues with the seating mechanism and the ball from floating away.

Cavity Filler Ball Valve:

This type of valve is mostly used in the healthcare and food industry because the cavity plugs prevent any residue build-up and contamination.

Reduced-port Ball Valve:

In these valves, the hole inside the ball is smaller than the pipe, restricting the flow. It is the least expensive valve.

Difference Between Ball Valve And Butterfly Valve

Based on the project, you need to select the ideal valve considering factors like the quality of seal, pressure difference, or pipe size. There are applications where you can use either of the valves; in such cases, the choice will be based on availability and pricing. However, other applications have specific valve design requirements. If we look at the similarities, both valves can turn 90 degrees and control the flow. That’s about it. There are some subtle differences in the characteristics and applications of the two types of valves. The differences are:

Butterfly valves are used for water-based systems for low-pressure applications, while ball valves are mostly used for gas-based applications with varying pressure and temperature.
Butterfly valves have a simpler design, are lightweight and cost less. Ball valves can have simple to complex designs, and the price will vary accordingly.
Butterfly valves either have flanged ends or can be installed sandwiched between pipe flanges. Ball valves, too, have flanged ends but with socket, threaded, ringed glove, RTJ, tube, sanitary tri-clamp and cam lock.

As the leading industrial valve suppliers in India, we produce high-quality industrial valves by maintaining utmost consistency and following the latest production practices. Please do contact our customer executives, to learn more about the different types of valves we produce.