What are the advantages of Ceramic Ball Valves? Are they more economic than the metal one?

 What are Ceramic Ball Valves? How were they developed?
Metal valves have been frequently used in a wide range of fields and industries for hundreds of years and experienced continuous improvement on the structure and materials from time to time. However, they're less able to meet the increasing demands of severe high wear and corrosion environments due to the limitation of their own properties. Short average working life and sudden leakage caused by metal valves always have a great influence on the stable operation of the system. Thus, we need a cutting-edge innovation based on traditional metal valves, considering material, design and manufacture technique, etc. This is why Ceramic Ball Valves finally come out.

It's a new hi-tech product created by independent research and development and priding itself on scientific structure and optimized design by taking full advantages of structural ceramics – excellent wear & corrosion resistance and high hardness.

Compared with ordinary metal materials, the ceramic one is more difficult to deform and delivers higher composite strength. In general, the radius of crystal ion for making up the ceramic material is very small, but relatively its ionic electrovalence is high and coordination number is large. All these contribute to unbelievably top-notch tensile strength, compressive strength, elasticity modulus and hardness. However, the fragility and unworkability of ceramics limit themselves to confined applications. Luckily, this issue has been perfectly solved thanks to the development and progress of martensite phase transformation toughening technology, composite material technology and nano ceramic concept in recent decades.

The Ceramic Ball Valves have played an active role in a variety of fields including petroleum, chemical engineering and machinery, etc. Hence, more and more manufacturers in hi-tech materials market prefer to choose it rather than traditional metal materials these years.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of Ceramic Ball Valves?
Distinguished from metal valves that come with short lifespan and easy leakage, and may cause instable system running, the ceramic valves have some typical advantages as follows:

1. Awesome Chemical Stability & Hardness
All the parts in contact with media are made of hi-performance structural ceramics, which bring excellent chemical stability and hardness (HRC90, ranking only second to the diamond's). Thus, the Ceramic Ball Valves are sure to bring terrifically high wear & corrosion resistance as well as excellent heat insulation and less thermal expansion to withstand the impact of hi-speed liquids and hard grains.

2. High Sealing & Environmental Protection
The ball adopts advanced grinding equipment and technology for ultimate ball roundness precision and high quality surface. When facing up with the valve seat and utilizing the self-lubrication of Zr02 ceramics, they make excellent sealing available easily. In that case, the leak tightness of Industrial piping system will be improved to the maximum to protect our environment.

Besides, the raw materials for producing ceramics are abundant and cost-effective. You can use simple aluminum, carbon, silicon and other regular elements to make hi-performance ceramics. It is eco-friendly to metal materials and rare mineral resources at some extent.

3. Good Wear Resistance & Long Work Life
The excellent wear resistance of ceramics endows the Ceramics Ball Valves with ultra durability, high reliability and long lifespan (2-4 times of Titanium alloy and Monel Valves).

4. Outstanding Compatibility with Media
Ceramic Ball Valves have unparalleled advantages or even are proven as an exclusive ideal valve which can perfectly work with high hardness granular media or soft yet corrosive granular media.

5. High Safety and Low Maintenance Cost
With easy-to-use structure, short operating stroke and start-up & close time, Ceramic Ball Valves bring unrivalled safety and stability of running the system as well as less maintenance cost and times.

Any disadvantages that make us disappointed and unsatisfied?
Even though Ceramic Ball Valves are featured with so many highlights above-mentioned, they still have some unavoidable shortcomings:
1. The hydraulic resistance may be too high, which demands more strength to open and close the valve;
2. They are not applicable for some high viscosity and easily coked media;
3. Poor regulation performance.

Wide Range of Applications:
With continuous development and progress of science and technology, ceramics have become a kind of full-grown material highly appreciated by valve industry insiders, whether on the aspect of formula, molding, processing or assembly technique. They are commonly used in transportation systems of various acid, alkaline or saline gases, solutions, high working temperature steams and slurries, in the lines of oil industry, metallurgy, papermaking, power station, refinery, etc.

Tips for Installation & Maintenance:
1. Ceramic Ball Valves operated through the hand wheel and handle can be installed on any location of the pipe;
2. The hand wheel, handle and micro mechanism cannot be used for lifting and hoisting.
3. The media should flow in the same direction with the arrow of valves.

Specification Parameter
Nominal Pressure PN(MPa) Nominal Diameter DN(mm) Size(mm):
D D1 D2 b f L n-d
1 15 95 65 45 14 2 130 4×14
25 115 85 65 16 2 140 4×14
40 145 110 85 18 3 180 4×18
50 160 125 100 20 3 200 4×18
65 180 145 120 20 3 220 4×18
80 195 160 135 22 3 250 4×18
125 245 210 185 24 3 320 8×18
150 280 240 210 24 3 360 8×23
250 390 350 320 283 533 12×23
1.6 15 95 65 45 14 2 130 4×14
20 105 75 55 14 3 130 4×14
25 115 85 65 14 3 140 4×14
32 135 100 78 16 3 165 4×18
40 145 110 85 16 3 180 4×18
50 160 125 100 16 3 200 4×18
65 180 145 120 18 3 220 4×18
80 195 160 135 20 3 250 8×18
125 245 210 185 22 3 320 8×18
150 280 240 210 24 3 360 8×22
250 390 350 320 283 533 12×23
2.5 15 95 65 45 16 2 130 4×14
20 105 75 55 16 2 130 4×14
25 115 85 65 16 2 140 4×14
32 135 100 78 18 2 165 4×18
40 145 110 85 18 3 165 4×18
50 160 125 100 20 3 203 4×18
65 180 145 120 22 3 222 8×18
80 195 160 135 22 3 241 8×18
100 215 190 160 24 3 305 8×23
125 245 220 188 28 3 356 8×25
150 280 220 218 30 3 394 8×25
200 335 310 278 34 3 457 12×25
250 390 370 332 2836 3 533 12×30