Ball valve are quarter turn on/off valve used to control the flow of liquid or gaseous media. As the name suggests, they rely on a hollow swivel ball that rotates 90° to stop or allow media to pass through the port (or bore).
Ball valve are operated by automatic or manual actuation; they can be operated pneumatically, hydraulically or electrically, or most commonly manually via a lever handle. The position of this lever provides a visible cue to indicate whether the valve is open or closed. Ball valves provide an option for faster on/off media control compared to valves that require a full turn or multiple turns to reach their open or closed position.
One-way or two-way ball valves have a single port through the center of the ball, but multi-port ball valves are also available for applications that require the flow of media to be diverted (or selected) in more than one direction, or to handle media from different sources in a piping system. Ball valves are available in full port, standard port, reduced port and V port configurations. There are also a variety of body designs to choose from such as 1-piece, 2-piece and 3-piece valve body.
Most ball valves can operate in a relatively high pressure environment and a wide range of media temperatures. Minimum pressure drop. (Full port ball valve design completely prevents pressure drop.)
