Thursday 31 October 2013

The Types Of Cylinder Valves And Its History

By Marsha Klein


Cylinder valves, also called a rotary gate, are devices that directs, regulate or control the flow of gas, liquid, or loose masses, and does this through piping or apertures. Due to its usually simple design, and huge range of applications, it has been used in vast arrays of works, from home use to heavy duty manufacturing industries. Valves have proven to be one of the very important inventions of this world.

The origins of this gate device can be traced from ancient times where stones, trunks of trees or branches were used to regulate the flow of water. The Romans then constructed aqueducts and canals that delivered water from its source into cities, which needed to be stopped whenever needed. The first fluid gates were then made in a form of plugs and stopcock types.

Very small developments were seen in design during the Middle Ages. However, during the Renaissance, sophisticated designs of fluid gates were being applied on irrigation, canals and hydraulic works. Then came the Industrial Revolution that showed breakthroughs in valve designs where they were used in steam trains, both to be able to withstand the pressure and to run them properly.

Innovators have continuously made ways to use the original concept and make many other different versions that controlled fluids in different ways. Main differences between each type of gate would depend on the pressure to be handled, flow rate regulation, back flow prevention, protection versus over pressure or over speed of flux and the original on and off option.

There are a total of three general types of flux gates, the most common of which is the multi-turn valve. This consist of a threaded stem, like a screw, which has a rubber seal on the inside of the membrane, while a handle is on the other end. Turning the handle multiple times either closes the rubber seal inside or draws it away to permit flow. This process may be slow but gives better accuracy and stability in the speed of flow that is desired.

Butterfly valves or also known as quarter-turn gates, are the second type of valves where the stopping member is directly connected to the handle. The user of this device would only need a ninety degree turn to either fully open or completely close the flow. Though this would mean that this is easier to use, it would lacks the level of accuracy from the first type.

The last type of gate is called the check or one-way valve, which is mainly used to ensure that the flow of materials would only go in one direction, even if the pressure would be lower from the source of the mass. This was designed in a way where when the direction is going to the desired path, the closing membrane remains open. When the direction becomes inverted, the pressure would push the closing membrane and stop the flow immediately.

Many improvements and developments have been made in cylinder valves that made it so versatile that this is being used by all modern households today. This also gives us an idea that even the simplest tools have very rich history and makes us appreciate that we have these tools available to make our lives easier, as compared to ancient times.




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