Design Concept
The design of the BridgeFlow Model “Y” Trunnion Mounted Mechanized Ball Valve was driven by the goal of creating an environmentally friendly valve that provides value to customers.
Key design concepts include:
- Providing a mechanically sealing full port valve with unrestricted flow to minimize pressure drop and save energy when the valve is open.
- Incorporating verification of positive sealing in a bi-directional pressure envelope to prevent internal leakage and protect operators and the environment.
- Offering a non-rising stem, compact design with superior stem sealing technology to prevent external emissions and protect the environment.
- Providing a dematerialized design that is lighter and smaller than other mechanical sealing valves, reducing material use and environmental impact.
- Meeting major industry codes and standards, including API, ASME, and NACE/ISO, to maintain a leading position in the valve industry.
- Reducing operating torque to save energy during valve operation.
- Accepting manual, pneumatic, or electric operators with lower energy consumption and improved efficiency, saving energy and reducing costs for customers.
Operating Principle
The BridgeFlow Model “Y” Trunnion Mounted Mechanized Ball Valve is a complex solution that was designed to improve upon the limitations of traditional on/off valves. One of the key challenges that we aimed to address was the issue of “positive isolation” – the ability to securely shut off the flow of fluids in a piping system. Traditional trunnion ball valves rely on a pressure-energized seal, which can wear out over time and lead to leakage. To address this issue, we developed a mechanically seal that replaces the pressure-energized seal and eliminates the need for external blinding techniques.
When the valve is open, the ball assembly retracts the segments and rotates until it is fully open, allowing for friction-free movement between the ball and the seats. This design allows for unrestricted flow through the valve and minimizes pressure drop, which can save energy when the valve is open. When the valve is closed, the stem drives the ball segments to expand and press the seats under mechanical load to achieve a balanced seal. This design provides true mechanical isolation in seconds, rather than the hours, days, or weeks required by traditional blinding techniques, and eliminates wear on the seal, allowing the valve to last much longer than a traditional trunnion mounted ball valve. Overall, the BridgeFlow Model “Y” Trunnion Mounted Mechanized Ball Valve is a reliable and long-lasting solution that is suitable for a variety of valve applications and can be used to replace existing valves.
Application Scenario
Positive Isolation
The BridgeFlow Model “Y” Trunnion Mounted Mechanized Ball Valve is a complex solution that was designed to address the limitations of traditional on/off valves. One of the key challenges we faced was creating a valve that could provide reliable “positive isolation” – a secure way to shut off the flow of fluids in a piping system. To achieve this, we developed a mechanically energized seal that replaces the pressure-energized seal used in traditional trunnion mounted ball valves.
When the valve is opening, the ball assembly retracts the segments and rotates until it is fully open, allowing for friction-free movement between the ball and the seats. This allows for unrestricted flow through the valve and minimizes pressure drop, which can save energy when the valve is fully open. When the valve is closed, the stem drives the ball segments to expand and press the seats under mechanical load to achieve a balanced seal. This design eliminates the need for external blinding techniques and provides true mechanical isolation in a matter of seconds.
DBB / DIB system
In many applications, such as piping needs isolation for maintenance, switch piping processing and to prevent product contamination positive isolation is so critical, DBB and / or DIB is required. According to API 6D, DBB and/or DIB requires two blocks and one bleed to stop the pressure from one side or both sides and create an air gapping by bleeding the space between the two blocks. So that higher level of isolation can be accomplished. BridgeFlow ball valves are designed to allow the flow of fluid in either direction through the valve. They incorporate two rising stem ball valves into a single body, and integrate the functionality of double block and bleed (DBB) and double isolation and bleed (DIB). This allows the valve to provide full isolation of the process fluid, as well as the ability to vent any trapped fluid or gases.
Metering
Flow meters require regular calibrations to ensure their accuracy. As differential pressure across a valve is very low, a conventional ball valve cannot be sealed via piston effect, which therefore results in errors if the flow meter is calibrated in that situation. Moreover, as valves located upstream and downstream of the flow meter have to be operated frequently, conventional ball valves easily become leaky with abrasion on their sealing areas. All of these problems would bring enormous financial loss to the users.
BridgeFlow ball valve achieves bubble-tight mechanical sealing on both sides, regardless of pipeline pressure. The design of friction-free ball rotation further enables zero leakage in the long run, ensuring the accuracy of every meter calibration.
Tank isolation
Tank isolation valves are required to achieve bubble-tight sealing to avoid oil leakage and contamination. These valves are operated frequently due to transport reasons, and so conventional valves easily become leaky with abrasion on sealing areas. Subsequent issues such as oil contamination would be extremely troublesome and costly.
BridgeFlow ball valves are a good solution for tank isolation applications because they incorporate two rising stem ball valves into a single body, and integrate the functionality of double block and bleed (DBB) and double isolation and bleed (DIB) valves. This allows the valve to provide complete isolation of the process fluid, as well as the ability to vent any trapped fluid or gases.
Loading / Unloading
Fuel loading/unloading requires extremely frequent on/off valve operation, making conventional valves wear out quickly due to abrasion on the valve seats. Moreover, as valves are operated against full pump pressure over every single stroke, they have to be operated quickly and smoothly, and sealed reliably without any leakage.
BridgeFlow ball valves offer friction-free ball rotation, making the operation effort-less and slam-proved.
Transportation isolation
For fuel transportation (e.g. rail, truck and ship), reliable sealing and long service life of valves are highly desirable. Besides, there is usually a very limited space for assembling the valves.
BridgeFlow ball valve not only offer DBB/DIB and reliable mechanical sealing, but also have a compact size, which meets needs of a wide range of customers.
Hydrant isolation
Pressure tests of fuel hydrants at airport have to be conducted regularly within very short time windows. Section-by-section isolation is usually required to detect possible leakage points. To meet the need of this application, valves have to have reliable sealing, online leakage testability, and standability for frequent operations. The market has a pressing need for a reliable solution especially when assembly space of the valves is limited. BridgeFlow ball valve offer not only a reliable sealing, but also a unique design of the turning stem with a friction-free ball rotation and an overall compact size. It is therefore an ideal solution of the above application.
Multi-Product Manifolds
Multi-product manifolds are operated frequently to switch between different products. Valves are usually power-actuated and remotely-operated. Using valves which achieve bubble-tight sealing would avoid serious loss caused by any possible product contamination.
BridgeFlow ball valve, with DBB/DIB and mechanically forced sealing, perfectly meet the above expectations.
Molecular Sieve
Molecular sieve applications often involve large temperature changes, which can cause issues with conventional valves. The design of the seats and closure member in these valves can make them prone to locking when the temperature changes, which can cause problems with operation.
BridgeFlow ball valves, on the other hand, are designed with a mechanical energized seal and friction-free rotation of the ball and seats, which can help to overcome these issues. The use of a mechanical energized seal means that the valve is able to maintain a tight seal even under extreme temperature conditions. In addition, the friction-free rotation of the ball and seats allows the valve to operate smoothly and without binding, even when the temperature changes. This can make BridgeFlow ball valves a good choice for molecular sieve applications.
Inlet and outlet of pumps and / or compressors
BridgeFlow ball valves may be suitable for use as inlet and outlet valves for pumps or compressors. These valves are designed to allow the flow of fluid in either direction through the valve, while also providing full isolation of the process fluid. They incorporate two rising stem ball valves into a single body, and integrate the functionality of double block and bleed (DBB) and double isolation and bleed (DIB) valves. This allows the valve to provide complete isolation of the process fluid, as well as the ability to vent any trapped fluid or gases. In pump or compressor applications, BridgeFlow ball valves can be used to control the flow of fluid into and out of the equipment, ensuring the safe and efficient operation of the system.
Unit isolation for plant
It is common for unit isolation in a plant to be implemented using a twin valves system or a blanking plus block valve configuration. These systems use two separate valves to provide isolation, which can be cumbersome and require more space.
BridgeFlow ball valves offer an alternative solution, as they incorporate two rising stem ball valves into a single body. This allows the valve to provide complete isolation of the process fluid, as well as the ability to vent any trapped fluid or gases. In addition, the full port design of the BridgeFlow ball valve can help to save energy when the valve is in the fully open position, as it allows for unobstructed flow through the valve. This can make BridgeFlow ball valves a good choice for unit isolation in a plant setting, as they can provide reliable and effective isolation while also being more compact and energy efficient than traditional twin valves systems or blanking plus block valve configurations.
ESD
The non-rising stem design allows the valve to be operated with only 260 degrees of rotation, while a rising stem ball valve would require dozens of turns to accomplish the same thing. This can make the BridgeFlow ball valve much faster to operate, which can be important in emergency shut down (ESD) applications where quick response is critical.
The friction-free ball to seats design of the BridgeFlow ball valve, on the other hand, can help to extend the life of the seals by reducing wear on the seals during operation. This is achieved by allowing the ball and seats to rotate smoothly without binding or rubbing against each other, which can cause wear on the seals over time. The friction-free ball to seats design, along with the non-rising stem design, make the BridgeFlow ball valve a good choice for ESD applications where quick response and long seal life are important considerations.
FPSO
It is important for valves used in floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) units to have a long lifespan due to the limited installation space and the high cost of repair and replacement. In these applications, it is critical to choose a valve that can withstand the harsh operating conditions and maintain a high level of reliability over time.
BridgeFlow ball valves are good choice for use in FPSO units due to their design, which incorporates two rising stem ball valves into a single body and integrates the functionality of double block and bleed (DBB) and double isolation and bleed (DIB) valves. This allows the valve to provide complete isolation of the process fluid, as well as the ability to vent any trapped fluid or gases. In addition, the friction-free ball to seats design of the BridgeFlow ball valve can also help to extend the life of the seals, which can be important in FPSO applications where the valve may be called upon to operate frequently.