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What is a titanium valve?

A titanium valve is a valve that is made of titanium material. The titanium color is silver, and thus the valve. Titanium is a unique metal with a superb combination of physical, chemical, and mechanical properties. Titanium valve manufacturers use titanium in its metallic state or alloy it with other elements to enhance its properties and therefore make more advanced valves. Corrosion resistance and high strength-to-density ratio are the main properties that make titanium valves highly preferable. As such, it produces valves that are very strong and lightweight. The low weight is attributed to the low density of titanium material, 4540 kg/m³, compared to steel, 7750 kg/m³. Titanium material is better at resisting steel. This is because it combines with oxygen to form titanium oxide, which is passive and tenacious and does not flake off like rust on steel.

Figure: Titanium valve.

How does a titanium valve work?

There are various types of titanium used in different industrial and domestic applications. The basic working principle of a titanium valve is the same. The valve operates by having at least one closure component. The closure component is responsible for opening and closing fluid flow through the valve. The closure component closes or opens the valve by being activated by a handwheel or hand lever for manual valves. An actuator activates the closing component for automatic and semiautomatic valves to allow or stop the fluid flow as necessary.

Types of titanium valves

Titanium ball valve

A titanium ball valve is designed with a ball-shaped component that closes and opens fluid flow. The ball has a hole at its center where the fluid flows through. The position of the ball is controlled using a handwheel or actuator.

Figure: Titanium ball valve.

This type of valve can control, guide, direct, and modulate different fluids. This type of valve is also known as a quarter-turn valve because it opens or closes by turning the handwheel for an angle of 90^o degrees. When the handwheel makes a quarter turn, the ball makes a similar quarter turn, and thus the hole at its center becomes aligned with a pipe connected to the valve. As such, the fluid finds the valve hollow and flows to the piping system. This type of valve is highly reliable and has a long service life. It can also be operated using pneumatic or electric actuators for automated or semi-automated piping system. However, titanium valve manufacturers do not recommend this valve for throttling.

Figure: Working of a titanium ball valve.

The advantages of using titanium ball valves are:

Simple and compact design making repair, maintenance, and cleaning easy.
Versatile in size, suiting different flow rates in different applications.
Easy to install, assemble and disassemble.
High flow rate and low-pressure drop. Low pump head losses along the piping system.
Quick to operate as they need only a quarter turn to start and stop fluid flow.
It perfectly seals fluid flow in its closed state without any leakage.

However, this valve has some disadvantages, which are:

Quick to open and close, leading to over-pressure and water hammer.
High wear and tear rate on the ball used to stop flow.

Titanium check valve

This valve is used to stop fluid from flowing backwards in a piping system. This valve does not have an actuator or manual handwheel common in other valves. It is designed to operate automatically without the need for a valve operator. It is also known as a non-return, foot, or one-way valve. Titanium check valve manufacturers design this valve to allow fluid flow in one direction only that is from the suction side to the discharge side. The valve always stops any attempt by the fluid to flow backward. This valve uses a disc or ball component to stop backward fluid flow.

Figure: Titanium check valve.

This valve operates on the principle of pressure difference. The valve opens when the fluid flowing from the suction side has high pressure that is when the pump is delivering fluid. The high pressure from the suction side acts on the valve disc or ball, forcing it to lift up. This process leaves the valve open, and thus fluid flows. The fluid keeps flowing until when the suction pressure reduces or when the pump is turned off. Turning the pump off will cause the suction pressure to reduce to zero, and thus the fluid will flow backwards. However, using a check valve, none of the liquid will flow backward because titanium check valve manufacturers design this valve with high sensitivity to changes in pressure and fluid flow. As such, any backflow will be stopped immediately after the forward flow stops. This type of valve is suitable for various applications such as food and beverages, water supply, boiler systems, and pharmaceuticals.

Figure: Working of a titanium check valve.

The advantages of this valve are:

Automatic in operation.
Cheaper relative to other valves that must have actuator or handwheel.
Versatile in size suiting different flow rates.
Low-pressure drop preventing large head losses.
Quick to operate.
No backflow and thus no contamination on the upstream of the piping system.

Disadvantages of this valve include:

Suitable for one flow direction only.
Prone to water hammer.
Not ideal for pulsating flow.

Titanium gate valve

This valve operates using a rectangular or wedge-shaped component known as a disc or gate. The disc is responsible for closing and opening fluid flow through the valve. This type of valve is best for pipes of large diameter from 2 inches. This valve is operated using a manual handwheel, pneumatic or electric actuator. Titanium valve manufacturers do not recommend this valve for use in throttling. This is because, the high pressure on the fluid may cause erosion or damage on the valve gate and thus reduce its service life drastically.

Figure: Titanium gate valve.

Titanium gate valve manufacturer design this valve with three main components: body, bonnet, and trim. The trim is made up of the disc, seats, and stem. The body connects the valve to the pipe, while the bonnet contains moving parts of the valve. The valve operates by rotating the handwheel several times. The stem transforms the handwheel rotation into linear upwards and downwards motion to allow the disc to open and close fluid flow, respectively.

Figure: Working of a titanium gate valve.

The advantages of titanium gate valves are:

Suitable for bi-directional fluid flow.
Low-pressure drop thus enhancing flow efficiency.
Allows high pressure and significant fluid flow rate.
Perfect shut-off capabilities without fluid leakage.

Disadvantages of titanium gate valves are:

Not ideal for throttling fluid flow.
Slow in operation. Needs more than one turn to fully open or close fluid flow.

Titanium globe valve

This is a titanium valve designed with a spherically shaped body. This valve is similar to the gate valve. However, this valve is easy to operate as it needs less number of turns than a titanium gate valve. The component used to close and open fluid flow is a disc. Titanium globe valve manufacturers design this valve for use in shut-off and throttling fluid flow. The valve is designed to cause two changes in the direction of fluid flow, leading to high flow resistance and, thus, high-pressure drop, unlike other titanium valves.

Figure: Titanium globe valve.

A titanium globe valve consists of a disc that moves up and down to start, stop or regulate fluid flow. When the handwheel is rotated clockwise, the disc moves up, leaving the valve open for fluid flow. When the handwheel is rotated in the counterclockwise direction, it forces the disc to move downwards, and thus stops the fluid flow.

Figure: Working of a titanium globe valve.

The advantages of titanium globe valves are:

Suitable for throttling fluid flow.
Reliable in shut-off applications as it does not allow fluid leakage.
Quick to operate compared to gate valve.
Available in various patterns for different applications.

Disadvantages:

High-pressure drop.
Heavy in weight.
Needs high torque to operate.

Titanium butterfly valve

This valve employs a quarter-turn motion to open, regulate or close the fluid flow. It consists of a disc along the fluid flow path. This disc controls fluid flow. A handwheel, pneumatic or electric actuator is used to power the disc through a valve stem.

Figure: Titanium butterfly valve.

The titanium butterfly valve operates similarly to the ball valve. However, the butterfly valve is preferred because it is easy to use and light in weight. Also, this valve does not use a ball as the closing component but rather a disc. Fluid flow starts when the handwheel is rotated clockwise for 90^o degrees. As such, the valve disc rotates, making it parallel to the direction of fluid flow. Fluid flow stops when the handwheel is rotated in the opposite direction causing the disc to make a quarter turn and thus become perpendicular to the direction of fluid flow. In this state, the fluid flow is stopped. When the handwheel is rotated partially in the clockwise direction, it forces the disc to leave a small space for fluid flow.

Figure: working of a titanium butterfly valve.

Advantages of a titanium butterfly valves:

Easy and quick to open/close fluid flow.
Suitable for handling clean and fluids with slurries.
Relatively inexpensive.

Disadvantages:

Not suitable for throttling where there is high pressure.
Prone to cavitation.

Applications of titanium valves

These valves are used in the oil and gas industry.
They are used in the petrochemical and chemical industries due to excellent corrosion resistance.
Titanium valves are used in steam power plants.
They are used in the municipal and commercial water supply.
Titanium valves are used in water treatment and food processing.

Advantages of titanium valves

Titanium valves are light in weight relative to steel valves.
They have high mechanical strength.
These valves are excellent in corrosion resistance even to adverse fluids such as chlorine water, sulfuric acid, and aqua regia, among others.
Titanium valves are versatile in size and thus suitable for various flow rates.
They have high melting points suitable for high-temperature applications.
They are highly resistant to impact damage.

Disadvantages of titanium valves

These valves are more expensive than steel, bronze, and brass valves.

Troubleshooting titanium valves

No fluid flow through the valve

Blockage on the suction side of the pipe. Check the pipe and remove any material that might be causing a blockage.

Leakage between the valve and pipe connection

Loose connection. Tighten the bolts and nuts connecting the valve to the pipe.
Worn out gasket. Replace the gasket.

Leakage through the valve body

Loose connection. Tighten the valve body-bonnet bolts.
Worn-out seals. Replace the seals.
High fluid pressure. Use the valve at the fluid pressure recommended by the titanium valve manufacturer.

Handwheel/hand lever is hard to operate

Foreign materials in the valve. Disassemble the valve and remove foreign materials.
Damaged valve stem. Replace the stem.

The valve does not close completely

Worn out disc. Replace the disc.
Worn out valve seats. Replace the seats.
Foreign materials in the valve. Disassemble the valve and clean off the materials.

Summary

Titanium valves are valves that are made of titanium material. These valves have superb characteristics necessary in most of the industries. The valve operates using a closing component that allows or closes fluid flow as necessary. The closing component is activated to operate by using a handwheel or actuator through a valve stem. The valve can be automated, semi-automated, or fully manual. Titanium valve manufacturers produce various types of valves, including titanium check valves, titanium gate valves, titanium ball valves, titanium butterfly valves, and titanium globe valves among others. These valves are used in industrial applications involving corrosive media, high temperature, and high pressure. Such applications include power plants, chemical and petrochemicals, oil and gas, and water supply among others.

These valves are preferred to other valves because they are light in weight, high strength, resistance to high temperature, versatile in size, high impact resistance, and excellent corrosion resistance. However, titanium valves are more expensive than steel, bronze, and brass valves.