What is a Pressure Seal Globe Valve?

Pressure seal valves occupy a unique niche serving critical duties far too risky for standard valve designs. By integrating metal-sealed barriers resilient to extreme pressures and temperatures, they prevent process fluid releases to ensure safety.

Let’s explore what sets pressure seal globe valves apart.

Pressure Seal Globe Valve – An Overview

Pressure seal bonnet globe valves represent robust, emission-free solutions for managing hazardous fluids from superheated steam to unstable chemicals^[1]. Their distinguishing tapered bonnet design indents resilient seals against the body and stem using precise metal-to-metal contact force. This achieves non-degrading barriers able to withstand extreme pressures and thermal shocks above 1,500 psi without external leakage. 

With extensive infrastructure relying on these inherently safe valves to control volatile, toxic, or explosive media, pressure seal construction proves critical for protecting assets, processes, and personnel through leak-tight reliability. Their capacity to contain fluids makes them cornerstones of safety programs across risk-intensive industries.

How does a pressure seal globe valve work?

While sharing the same basic components as conventional valves, pressure seal designs integrate additional seals and containment features for safely managing hazardous media. Their distinguishing characteristic centers on the mechanically pressed stem packing and body gasket.

Rather than relying on bolt tension from gland flanges to compress the packing, pressure seal valves utilize metal-to-metal contact. Tapered segments on the bonnet physically indent the packing into the stem and body while an independent gasket seals the two valve halves. This creates consistent, non-degrading barriers able to contain fluids, preventing external leakage or exposure.

The precisely machined bonnet boring and stem ensure alignment while preventing galling during cycling. And unlike standard packing arrangements prone to loosening over time, the metal-to-metal compression maintains a permanent seal without bolts. Pressure seal globe valves achieve leakage rates measured in molecules per year – far surpassing requirements.

What is the purpose of a pressure seal globe valve?

With their leak-tight sealing and capacity for handling extreme pressures, pressure seal globe valves serve critical roles across demanding industries.

1. Chemical Processing

Protecting personnel and equipment from exposure to hazardous chemicals motivates the use of pressure seal valves throughout chemical processing plants. Their emission-free sealing confines aggressive acids, caustics, catalysts, and volatile organics within the valve even when subjected to thermal shocking or pressure spikes.

2. Oil and Gas

Drilling operations involve managing highly flammable hydrocarbons under intense temperatures and pressures. Pressure seal designs have an extensive track record facilitating safer oil and gas extraction through their fire-safe containment. They also enable faster actuation during emergency shutdowns.

3. Steam Systems

Heat tracing piping and powering turbines means dealing with superheated steam above 800°F at pressures exceeding 1,500 psi. Standard valves struggle with such extremes. But by integrating resilient seal materials, pressure seal constructions reliably contain steam through countless high-temp cycles without blowing packings.

4. Nuclear Power

With perhaps the most stringent demands for safety and reliability, nuclear power generation depends on pressure seal valves. Their capacity to isolate radioactive fluids without leakage makes them well-suited for controlling feedwater, steam, and containment spray systems through extreme duty cycles amid intense radiation.

Introduction to PANS

With over 35 years of specialized expertise engineering valves to the most demanding safety standards, PANS leads the industry in innovative pressure seal solutions.

Founded in 1985, the company leverages decades of experience serving high-risk applications. This enables them to continually refine pressure seal valve technology for optimal reliability, responsiveness, and containment.

PANS globes, checks, gates, and general service valves equip chemical plants, offshore platforms, pipelines, and other critical infrastructure to operate safely. Their pressure seal valves handle everything from superheated steam and blistering acids to liquefied natural gas across a range of sizes and pressure classes.

Every PANS valve combines precision components with proprietary sealing configurations to achieve leak rates measuring mere molecules per year. This prevents process fluid releases while protecting personnel and equipment even during thermal shocking.

Upholding their commitment to safety, PANS pressure seal valves undergo exhaustive testing above and beyond industry standards. Customers trust their valves for the most sensitive duties based on their stringent quality control and extensive site reference list.

When managing hazardous or valuable fluids, plant managers worldwide turn to PANS for proven pressure seal valves engineered to contain and control.

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Conclusion

Reliably containing everything from blistering steam to volatile chemicals, PANS pressure seal globe valves deliver uncompromising leak prevention across demanding industries. Their unrivaled containment builds essential layers of protection into infrastructure handling hazardous or valuable fluids.

With the most stringent testing and expansive application expertise, PANS sets the benchmark for safety and compliance. Contact their engineering team to implement pressure seal valves for your sensitive applications requiring an elite level of emission-free reliability.

FAQ

• Where should the pressure enter a globe valve?

  Pressure should enter from underneath the disc and seat interface. This allows closing force to further aid sealing while upstream pressure during opening can help shear away any accumulations from the sealing surfaces.

• How do you use pressure seal globe valve?

  Install pressure seal globe valves between properly rated flanges; cycle open/closed by turning the handwheel or actuating the valve; contain hazardous process media up to the valve's rated temperature and pressure without leakage.

• Can globe valve control pressure?

  Yes, when partially open, a globe valve can effectively regulate downstream pressure. The disc position in relation to the seat flow area allows throttling flow rate in response to handle position changes. This provides precision pressure control.

• Why do globe valves leak?

  Standard globe valves can eventually leak as bolted gland flanges loosen over time due to pressure/thermal cycling. This causes loss of compression on the packing. Pressure seal valves avoid this leakage pathway through metal-to-metal sealing.