Valves play a crucial role in industrial pipeline systems. Among them, side-mounted fixed ball valves have emerged as an ideal choice in numerous fields due to their unique design and excellent performance.
Side-mounted fixed ball valves feature an ingenious structural design. The valve body usually adopts a two-piece or three-piece structure, consisting of a main valve body and a sub-valve body. This configuration allows the ball to be installed on the side of the valve body, ensuring a compact structure while reducing the overall weight, thus facilitating installation. During the opening and closing process, the ball rotates around the rotation center without any displacement. The upper and lower support shafts of the ball have various structures. For example, small-diameter ball valves commonly use a single-shaft hole structure, with a shaft handle at the upper part of the ball and a shaft hole at the lower part for easy insertion of the fixed shaft. Large-diameter ball valves adopt a double-shaft hole structure, where the upper and lower parts of the ball are equipped with shaft holes, into which the upper and lower shafts are inserted respectively. This enables them to withstand greater medium forces, separating the supporting journal from the driving shaft so that the driving shaft only bears torque. There is also the double-extended shaft structure, where the two sets of extended shafts of the ball vertically pass through multiple support plates. The medium force is transmitted to the valve body through the journal and support plates, and the driving shaft also only bears torque.
In terms of working principle, side-mounted fixed ball valves are equipped with floating seats. When the medium pressure acts on the seat, the seat moves, causing the sealing ring to press tightly against the ball, ensuring excellent sealing performance. Generally, bearings are installed on the upper and lower shafts of the ball, which significantly reduces the operating torque, enabling the valve to handle high-pressure and large-diameter working conditions with ease. In recent years, oil-sealed ball valves have emerged to further enhance performance. By injecting special lubricating oil between the sealing surfaces to form an oil film, they not only strengthen the sealing but also reduce the operating torque, performing particularly well in high-pressure and large-diameter ball valve applications. Side-mounted fixed ball valves excel in their sealing structure. The floating sealing seat has a bi-directional shut-off function, effectively blocking the medium flow regardless of the direction. The seat is also equipped with a self-relief function. When the cavity pressure is higher than the outlet pressure, it automatically releases pressure, ensuring the safety and reliability of medium shut-off. Some ball valves use double-sealing seats. By adjusting the relative position of the sealing ring and the O-ring rubber seal, or changing the size of the seat tail, the "double piston effect" is achieved, significantly improving the sealing performance. The advanced spring-loaded preloaded seat assembly has a self-tightening feature, enabling upstream sealing. Even if the sealing surface is worn, it can still maintain good sealing performance.
Side-mounted fixed ball valves find extensive applications in various fields. In the petroleum refining industry, they are commonly used in long-distance pipelines and general industrial pipelines to cut off or connect the medium in the pipeline. In the chemical industry, they play a vital role in scenarios that require precise fluid control, especially when dealing with fluids containing solid particles or viscous media. In the natural gas transportation field, especially in situations where pipeline cleaning is required, they are the ideal choice due to their simple structure, small size, light weight, and ease of operation. In urban water supply and heating systems, they can also be used for fluid control and distribution.
Compared with other types of valves, side-mounted fixed ball valves have significant advantages. They have a small flow resistance, with a resistance coefficient equal to that of a pipe section of the same length. Their simple structure, small size, and light weight make installation and maintenance convenient. The sealing performance is tight and reliable, and the sealing surface materials, such as plastics, are widely used, allowing for good operation in vacuum systems. They are easy to operate, with quick opening and closing, requiring only a 90° rotation from fully open to fully closed, which is convenient for remote control. Maintenance is hassle-free as the sealing ring is usually removable, making disassembly and replacement easy. When fully open or fully closed, the sealing surfaces of the ball and the seat are isolated from the medium, protecting the sealing surfaces from erosion.
With their unique structure, reliable performance, and wide applicability, side-mounted fixed ball valves play an irreplaceable role in industrial production and pipeline systems in daily life, providing strong support for the stable operation of various industries.
