Flowserve Corporation, based in Irving, Texas, recently announced the release of the new forged Equiwedge gate valve design. The forged Equiwedge gate valve integrates two industry best practices into one design: the valve features the increased wall thicknesses found in critical areas of valves designed in accordance with US standards, while also capitalizing on the reduced weight benefits of equivalent European standards. This allows the valve to perform under the difficult pressure and temperature conditions typical of supercritical and ultra-supercritical coal-fired power plants. The new forged design improves power plant productivity and profit margins by maximizing safety and reliability.
The key benefits to customers include:
• Unique streamlined hybrid design which selectively increases wall thicknesses in critical areas to improve reliability and lower the chance of equipment failure while also reducing weight
• Single-piece body eliminates fabrication welds, reducing the chance for accidents and body failures that could result from poor welding
• Flexible split-wedge gate design improves operational reliability by minimizing thermal binding and stress on valve components
• Lower maintenance costs because of improved equipment life span from previous gate valves
The new forged Equiwedge valve is available in NPS sizes from 4-26 (DN100-650) and with materials including carbon steel, low alloy steel and creep strength-enhanced ferritic steels.