Butterfly Valve in Hydro Power Plant

In hydroelectric power plant projects, butterfly valves is critical control devices. It play a vital role in regulating water flow and ensuring the safe operation of power generation units. Butterfly valves with compact structure, flexible operation, and safe and stable performance. So it have become the preferred valve equipment for hydroelectric power plants.

Butterfly valves are consist of a cylindrical valve body and a rotatable butterfly plate. When butterfly plate rotates to align parallel with the water flow, the valve fully opens, allowing water to flow smoothly through. When rotated to a vertical position, the butterfly plate seals against the valve body's sealing surface, cutting off the water flow. This design enables rapid closure under flowing water conditions, typically closing within two minutes, effectively preventing accidents such as turbine runaway.

In hydroelectric power plant applications, butterfly valves offer advantages, as following:

1. Rapid response capability: Through hydraulic or weight-based energy storage systems, rapid closure can be achieved in emergency situations.

2. Energy-saving characteristics: The streamlined butterfly plate design achieves a flow resistance coefficient as low as 0.15–0.8, significantly lower than traditional check valves, reducing long-term operational energy consumption.

3. Multi-seal technology: Utilizing a triple-offset metal seal or double-offset rubber seal structure, combined with flexible graphite and nitrile rubber materials, it achieves bidirectional sealing and adapts to complex media such as silt-laden water and seawater.

4. Smart control integration: The PLC control system supports remote monitoring and fault diagnosis, and can be integrated with turbines for automated opening and closing, enhancing power plant operational efficiency.

ZZJG butterfly valve make concentration issues in ultra-large diameter valves and overall technology reaching international leading levels. Ensuring low vibration and low noise operation even at high flow rates. ZZJG emphasizes process innovation in production, controlling deformation during welding of ultra-thick components to ensure long-term pressure stability of the valve. In terms of material selection, the combination of ductile iron valve bodies, stainless steel valve shafts, and hard alloy-clad sealing surfaces enables the valves to maintain excellent performance within a temperature range of -30°C to 250°C.

For hydroelectric power plants, butterfly valve selection must comprehensively consider factors such as head, pipe diameter, and medium characteristics. Hydro Power Plants are recommended to use butterfly valves, as their lightweight and easy-to-install features can reduce infrastructure costs. In high-silt water areas, the rubber sealing layer of rubber-lined butterfly valves can effectively resist wear and extend service life. The hydraulic station and electrical control system must have redundant designs, such as a dual energy storage solution with a counterweight and accumulator, to ensure operational reliability under extreme conditions.

ZZJG VALVE as a professional valve manufacturer and maintains strict quality control throughout the entire process from material selection to final product testing. For example, the valve body is manufactured using lost-foam casting to minimize internal defects. Customized solutions are available, such as split-body structures for butterfly valves with diameters exceeding DN3000, facilitating transportation and on-site installation.

With the development of green energy, butterfly valve technology is advancing toward intelligence and high reliability. By integrating IoT modules, ZZJG butterfly valves can achieve real-time status monitoring and predictive maintenance, further reducing operational. This technological provides a solid foundation for the sustainable development of the hydropower industry.