Application of Water Supply Pipe Valves in Thailand

The irreplacability of water and the necessity of human survival determine the importance of safe operation of water supply networks. However, due to various subjective and objective reasons, pipelines often experience some malfunctions, and the networks always need to be updated and renovated. The number of users of water is constantly increasing or decreasing, so the phenomenon of water supply interruption in certain sections is inevitable. To reduce the scope of water supply interruption, it is very necessary to install control valves appropriately within the water supply network. Therefore, in a city's water supply network, the number of valves is tens of thousands and they are randomly distributed beneath the city streets. What are the types of water supply pipe valves used in water supply networks?

The commonly used valves in water supply networks include: butterfly valves, gate valves, ball valves, and plug valves.

In water supply networks, to reduce the depth of pipe burial, larger diameter pipes are usually equipped with butterfly valves, and those with little impact on the depth of burial are preferred to be equipped with gate valves. The boundary line of pipe diameter should be determined by local conditions according to specific circumstances.

The main disadvantage of butterfly valves is that the butterfly plate occupies a certain cross-sectional area and increases a certain head loss; although gate valves do not have this problem, the height of large-diameter vertical gate valves affects the depth of pipe burial, and the length of large-diameter horizontal gate valves increases the lateral area occupied by the pipeline, affecting the arrangement of other pipelines; ball valves and plug valves maintain the cross-sectional area of gate valves while overcoming their disadvantages. Ball valves have the advantages of simple structure, small flow resistance, reliable sealing, flexible operation, and convenient maintenance and operation. Plug valves also have similar advantages.

Ball valves and plug valves are heavier than butterfly valves, have greater casting and processing difficulties, and are more expensive. They are generally suitable for use in small and medium-sized diameter pipelines.