Over the years, the ball valve has played a major supporting role in food manufacturing plant utilities: steam, water and CIP chemicals. Invented for use in firefighting systems aboard U.S. Navy vessels, the ball valve was designed for nearly instantaneous on/off, high-pressure/maximum velocity fluid flow with little or no pressure drop (zero restriction). But as anyone who has used actuated ball valves for a while knows, these valves are notoriously high maintenance - with relatively short lifetimes. Employing dynamic shut-off, where fluid pressure forces the ball against the valve's seat, creating a seal that stops fluid flow, a ball valve's seals experience severe wear-and-tear.
展开▼
