Ball valves are one of the most common type of valves that can be found in industrial plants. They provide good sealing, can be made from a vast array of materials, and can provide a huge reduction in weight and space requirements when compared to other valve types. However, ball valves are a relatively recent advancement in valve technology. Although the basic design has been floating (pun intended) for some time, they only became ubiquitous with the oil crisis of the 1970s. Read on to learn more about ball valve history and their characteristics.
The need for valves – that is, flow control – arose as soon as individuals managed to fabricate canals and irrigation ditches. For these applications, some sort of sluice gate valve (see Figure 1) was likely used. In the case of Figure 1, there is a plane surface (gate) that moves perpendicular to the seat (frame) of the valve. As the gate moves downward, hydrostatic pressure pushes the gate against the seat stopping flow. It is a relatively easy-to-fabricate solution, as it is dealing with two plane surfaces.