Instrumentation Valves

Types of Valves

Valves are mechanical devices that control the movement of liquids and gases fluids through piping and tubing systems by opening, closing, or partially blocking passageways. Due to the critical function these components play, it is important that the one chosen for an instrumentation system fully suits the specific operating and environmental conditions of the application. This page provides an overview of some of the most common valve types available, including outlining their key features and applications.

Ball Valves

Ball valves are quick opening valves with directional handles available in two- and three-way configurations.  The 2-way design offers on and off service while the 3-way design offers switching service. These are available with standard and special ported drill patterns. Typical applications of these valves include fluid handling, transmission, and storage applications. Unlike some process ball valve designs, instrument ball valves should not be used for throttling or controlling flow.

Read more about the ball valve offerings at SSP on the ball valves product page. 

Needle Valves

Needle valves feature a needle-like stem that regulates the amount of fluid moving through the valve based on how far it is screwed into the valve seat. The optional stem designs makes them ideal for applications that require precise control over flow rates. They are commonly used in regulation or throttling applications in chemical processing, gas flow monitoring, and hydraulic systems. A key selection criteria for applications should include rotating or non-rotating stem tips and packing above or below the stem threads 

Read more about the needle valve offerings at SSP on the needle valves product page.

Metering Valves

Metering valves are often used for the precise and accurate control of flow rates in analytical and research applications, and notably for fine gas control. Metering valves provide much more precise regulation of flow over typical needed valves due to the taper of the stem design. Metering valves are often used in analytical or fine gas control applications.

Read more about the metering valve offerings at SSP on the metering valves product page.

Check Valves

Check valves are self-automated valves designed to allow for flow in a single direction only. If the fluid within a system reverses its flow direction, the valves automatically close in response to the backflow to protect the system from damage. These valves have a variety of cracking pressure options, including some models that can be adjusted by the end user. These valves are used to manage the flow of various media—including gases, liquids, and slurries—in a wide range of fluid processing and handling equipment, such as boilers, compressors, cooling towers, and pumps. Various seats and pressure opening force, known as cracking pressure, should be considered when selecting check valves.

Read more about the check valve offerings at SSP on the check valves product page.

Plug Valves

Plug valves are quarter-turn valves that rely on a cylindrical “plug” with O-Ring seals to control the flow of fluid. In the “open” position, the plug’s passageway aligns with the inlet and outlet ports to allow fluid to flow through the valve. In the “closed” position, the closure element is turned 90 degrees from the open position, which prevents the flow of fluid through the valve. They are available with a vent option to safely bleed pneumatic actuated valves taken out for service.

Instrument plugs are a cost effective alternative to ball valves.

Read more about the plug valve offerings at SSP on the plug valves product page.

Toggle Valves

Toggle valves feature a lift up handle that allows for the flow of fluid through the valve and offers a quick way to close the valve. They come in straight and angled patterns with various connection options to fit into a variety of systems. These valves are typically used in low pressure, general service that require a quick opening and closing valve and very common in laboratory environments.

Read more about the toggle valve offerings at SSP on the toggle valves product page.

Relief Valves

Relief valves are designed to protect downstream equipment from over pressure.  Over pressure protection is the key reason to use a relief valve. They typically rely on a spring-loaded poppet that can have a variety of cracking pressures based on the springs installed with poppet that is engaged to the closed position. When the force of the system pressure exceeds the force exerted by the spring, the relief valve opens to relieve the pressure. When the pressure drops to less than or equal to the spring setting, the valve returns to its closed position. Relief valves are often employed in systems where maintaining set pressure levels is critical for safe operation and are typically used to protect sensitive instruments from the effects of over-pressure.

Read more about the relief valve offerings at SSP on the relief valves product page.

Bleed Valves

Bleed valves are used to manually relieve pressure from the system. They are typically equipped with a bar handle for operating the valve and contain safety features such as a back stop screw  and captured bleed tube.  These valves are often incorporated into multi-valve manifolds to enable the venting of pressure before instrumentation is removed for calibration or replacement. 

Read more about the bleed valve offerings at SSP on the bleed valves product page.

Gauge Valves and Block & Bleed Valves

Gauge valves’ most common application is isolating and in some instances bleeding pressure from pressure measurement instrumentation, such as a pressure gauge and static pressure transmitter.  They are available as single units or multi-valve assemblies (e.g., block and bleed valves). 

Block and bleed valves combine the functions of several valves into one. They consist of two block valves (used to isolate a circuit) and a bleed valve (used to vent or bleed the isolated space). These hybrid valves enable the isolation or removal of instrumentation for cleaning, repairs, calibration or replacement without affecting the operation of the rest of the system.

Read more about the gauge valve and block & bleed valve offerings at SSP on the gauge valves product page.

Purge Valves

Purge valves are used for purging and draining system media in instrument and process lines.

Read more about the purge valve offerings at SSP on the purge valves product page.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION – SAFE VALVE SELECTION

Valves play a critical role in many fluid handling applications—i.e., ensuring both flow and pressure remain at optimal levels. For this reason, selecting the right valve for an instrumentation system is essential. For customers looking for high-quality valves, SSP is the ideal manufacturer. 

At SSP, we are fully committed to providing our customers with quality valve solutions tailored to their unique requirements. Equipped with extensive technical expertise and a broad product selection, our team has what it takes to meet virtually any valve need. Contact our experts for assistance choosing an appropriate valve for your next project.

Improper selection or improper use of the related items can cause personal and property damage

Customers seek products that will perform safely and satisfactorily in their specific use applications. In this pursuit customers will seek to provide available information about their application and seek assurance that products they buy will perform to their requirements. Often such information will help product suppliers advise against use of products that are known to not be appropriate for certain end-use conditions.

SSP seeks to provide products that perform to our stated capabilities which align with a broad range of real applications, and are based on the level of our understanding of end user requirements.

SSP cannot control, and often the customer cannot know the full range of conditions of use of a product in each use application. Because of this limitation in knowledge SSP can only provide assurance to meeting its own stated product acceptance criteria.

It is the responsibility of the customer system designers and users to properly select and use products for their application. SSP provides literature for designers and users with technical expertise to evaluate product performance ratings for suitability for their application.