Full Welding Ball Valve: Guardian of Underground Pipeline

In modern industrial and urban infrastructure construction, valves, as key components of pipeline systems, directly affect the safety and stable operation of the entire system. Among various types of valves, the full welding ball valve stands out with its unique advantages and has become an essential guardian for underground pipeline systems. This article will delve into the structural features, advantages, application scenarios, and maintenance tips of full welding ball valves, helping you gain a comprehensive understanding of this efficient and reliable valve solution.

The core components of a full welding ball valve are the valve body, valve seat, valve stem, and ball. The valve body is designed with an integral welded structure, which eliminates the possibility of external leakage and ensures the valve's sealing performance. The valve seat consists of a polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) sealing ring and a spring. This combination allows the valve seat to adapt well to changes in pressure and temperature, ensuring no leakage within the specified operating range. The valve stem features a multi-layer anti-leakage structure, with a PTFE self-sealing washer and an O-ring at the bottom, and two O-rings and two PTFE washers on the top. This complex sealing structure further ensures the stem's sealing performance, eliminating the risk of leakage.

The valve body is made of the same material as the pipeline, which not only avoids the issue of uneven stress but also ensures the valve remains stable and undeformed when subjected to earthquakes or ground vehicle vibrations. This material consistency also enhances the pipeline's resistance to aging. Additionally, the valve body is lightweight and easy to insulate, which is a practical feature for pipeline systems that require insulation.

With its unique design and superior performance, the full welding ball valve offers many significant advantages that make it an ideal choice for underground pipeline systems.

Direct burial ball valves, a common form of full welding ball valves, can be directly buried underground without the need to construct tall valve pits. A small, shallow pit on the ground is sufficient for installation and operation. This installation method greatly reduces construction costs and project time, especially for large pipeline projects, where the cost-effectiveness is particularly significant. Moreover, the valve body's length and stem height can be flexibly adjusted according to the pipeline's construction and design requirements, further enhancing the valve's applicability and economy.

The full welding ball valve boasts excellent sealing performance. The ball is machined with high precision, ensuring smooth operation without interference. In general full welding ball valves, there is an interference fit between the ball and the valve seat, which may cause intermittent interference during movement. However, advanced machining techniques and sealing designs effectively reduce this interference, ensuring the valve's long-term sealing performance. Even when subjected to pressure and temperature changes of the medium, the valve seat can maintain stable sealing performance without deformation or displacement, thus avoiding sealing failure.

Maintenance, adjustment, and lubrication of the full welding ball valve are very convenient, enabling long-term reliable operation at low operating costs. The surface is treated with a plastic spraying technique, which not only provides a glossy and aesthetically pleasing appearance but also leads the industry in China. This surface treatment not only improves the valve's appearance quality but also enhances its corrosion resistance, further extending the valve's service life.

The full welding ball valve also excels in safety performance. To prevent static electricity, steel balls and springs are installed between the valve stem and the ball, as well as between the valve stem and the packing box. These designs maintain the conductivity between all valve parts and the valve body, allowing the current to pass through and dissipate static electricity. This not only prevents fires but also avoids corrosion caused by static electricity. Additionally, the anti-detachment design of the valve stem ensures the valve's safety during operation. The valve stem, affected by the internal pressure of the valve, always generates a force to detach. The anti-detachment structure effectively prevents this from happening.

Full welding ball valves are widely used in various industrial and construction fields, including but not limited to the following.

In natural gas transportation systems, full welding ball valves are ideal control devices due to their excellent sealing performance and durability. The ball valves can withstand the impact of high-pressure natural gas and ensure no leakage during long-term operation, guaranteeing the safety and reliability of natural gas transportation.

Urban water supply systems have extremely high requirements for valve sealing and durability. Full welding ball valves can effectively prevent water leakage and resist changes in water pressure and water quality corrosion, ensuring the stable operation of the water supply system. The design of direct burial ball valves further reduces construction and maintenance costs, making them the preferred choice for urban water supply systems.

Chemical pipelines often transport media that are corrosive and toxic, posing a severe challenge to valve sealing and corrosion resistance. The valve body and internals of full welding ball valves are made of high-quality materials that can effectively resist the corrosion of various chemical media, ensuring the safe operation of chemical pipelines.

In heating and heating systems, full welding ball valves can withstand the impact of high-temperature media and ensure no leakage during long-term operation. The high-precision machining and flexible installation methods of ball valves enable them to better adapt to the complex working conditions of heating and heating systems, ensuring the stable operation of the systems.

To ensure the long-term stable operation of full welding ball valves, regular maintenance and care are essential. Here are some key points for maintenance and care.

Regularly inspect the sealing performance of full welding ball valves and the wear of mechanical parts to identify and address issues in a timely manner. Inspection items include the wear of key components such as the valve seat, valve stem, and sealing washers, as well as the valve's operational flexibility and sealing performance.

Regularly lubricate the valve stem and rotating parts to ensure smooth and reliable operation. At the same time, keep the valve surface clean to prevent dust and impurities from entering the valve interior, which could affect sealing performance and service life.

During use, regularly monitor the pressure and temperature inside the pipeline to ensure they are within the valve's design range. If abnormal pressure or temperature is detected, adjust or take measures promptly to prevent valve damage.

For applications involving flammable and explosive media, ensure the effectiveness of the valve's anti-static measures. Regularly check the conductivity between the valve stem and the ball, as well as between the valve stem and the packing box, to ensure that the current can pass through smoothly and dissipate static electricity, preventing fires and corrosion.

Regularly inspect the valve body's anti-corrosion coating to ensure its integrity. If damage to the coating is found, repair it promptly to prevent valve body corrosion and extend the valve's service life.

The manufacturing process of full welding ball valves is highly advanced, providing strong support for their excellent performance. The ball machining uses a numerically controlled ball grinding machine, with a fully programmed CNC process for the final machining of all balls, ensuring high surface roughness, high roundness accuracy, and minimal error. The valve seat support is manufactured using a combination of numerically controlled machine tools and special fixtures, resulting in high precision and good interchangeability. These unique manufacturing processes not only improve the overall component accuracy of the valve but also fully ensure the ball valve's sealing performance, low torque, long service life, and smooth, reliable operation.

Before leaving the factory, full welding ball valves must undergo strict testing and inspection to ensure their quality and performance. Among these, the strength test is an important means of testing the strength of the welded ball valve. This test involves welding high-pressure fire caps to both ends of the full welding ball valve, placing the valve body in a 45-degree open position, and injecting water into the welded ball valve through pressure test valves on both sides of the sleeve, increasing the pressure to 1.5 times the specified nominal pressure of the welded ball valve and holding the pressure for 15 minutes. If no medium leakage occurs during the test, the ball valve is considered normal.

In summary, the full welding ball valve, with its superior performance, wide range of applications, and convenient maintenance, has become an indispensable piece of equipment in underground pipeline systems. Whether in energy transportation, chemical production, or urban infrastructure construction, the full welding ball valve has won the trust of users with its reliability and efficiency. As technology continues to develop and innovate, the full welding ball valve will continue to provide strong support and protection for the development of modern industry and cities.