Venturi-Type Plug Valve: Principles, Advantages And Applications

In the pipeline system of a factory, controlling the flow of fluids (such as water, oil, and chemical solutions) is a profound art. Among them, the plug valve plays a crucial role. It is like a "switch" in the pipeline. Its advantages lie in its compact size, quick opening and closing with just one twist, and extremely rapid response.

To make this "switch" more user-friendly, engineers racked their brains. They drew inspiration from the classic "Venturi tube" principle and carried out a clever design upgrade. You can imagine a Venturi tube as a section of pipe that first Narrows and then thickens, which is quite different from the ordinary straight pipe. It is precisely this innovation that has perfectly integrated the ancient wisdom of fluid mechanics with modern valve technology, giving birth to the more powerful "Venturi plug valve", which is specifically designed to solve various problems that traditional valves are prone to encounter under complex and harsh working conditions.

Ⅰ. Venturi Structure: Skillfully Using the "slender waist" to control flow

1. "Design inspiration"

Its design inspiration comes from a discovery made by the Italian physicist Venturi. In simple terms, when a fluid flows through a section of a pipe that suddenly Narrows, the flow rate increases and the pressure decreases at the narrow part. The Venturi type plug valve ingeniously utilizes this natural principle.

2. "Working Principle

The interior of a traditional plug valve is a straight-through channel. When the fluid passes through, it is not smooth enough, which can easily lead to vortices and energy loss. The Venturi type plug valve, on the other hand, is meticulously designed with a smooth passage inside the valve body: it features a "contraction section" (gradually narrowing), a "throat section" (the thinnest "waist"), and a "diffusion section" (gradually thickening).

When the medium flows through, it will first accelerate in the contraction section, reach the maximum flow rate in the narrowest throat, and then decelerate smoothly in the diffusion section. This process significantly reduces turbulence and shock, resulting in very low fluid resistance. It's like building a smooth and flat "highway" for the fluid, thus achieving efficient and energy-saving flow.

Ⅱ. Three Core Advantages of Venturi Type Plug Valves

This structural improvement brings about three very practical benefits:

1. It is both strictly closed and smoothly circulated

There was a contradiction with the previous plug valve: to achieve a good seal, the valve core had to be made tighter, but this could easily impede the flow. The Venturi structure, through optimized design, not only ensures "zero leakage" when using sealing materials such as PTFE (Teflon) or hard alloy, but also reduces fluid resistance by more than 30%, truly achieving a perfect unity of sealing performance and fluidity.

2. Not afraid of congestion, with a built-in "cleaning" function

For working conditions involving the transportation of liquids containing sand, particles or viscous substances, ordinary valves are prone to accumulate materials in dead corners, leading to jamming. The smooth passage of the Venturi valve has almost no dead corners. More importantly, the fluid flowing at high speed through the "throat" can generate a powerful scouring force, just like an automatic brush constantly cleaning, which can wash away possible deposited particles, self-reliant and prevent clogging.

3. Easy to operate, labor-saving and durable

Because the impact force of the fluid on the valve core is designed to be more uniform and balanced, and with the streamlined opening, the frictional resistance when opening and closing the valve is greatly reduced. This means that even if the pipeline pressure is very high, workers can turn it easily, which not only reduces the labor intensity but also lowers the cost of valve wear and equipment maintenance.

Ⅲ. Where are these valves used?

It is precisely because of these advantages that Venturi type plug valves have proven their value in multiple industries:

Oil and Gas extraction : When transporting crude oil containing sand, it has extremely strong anti-erosion ability, and the service life of the valve is 2 to 3 times longer than that of traditional plug valves. Meanwhile, its low flow resistance feature saves a significant amount of energy consumption for the oil transfer pump, directly helping oil fields save electricity and money.

Chemical Industry : When transporting various corrosive acid and alkali solutions, it is equipped with fluoroplastic linings or special alloys. It can not only resist corrosion but also solve the problem of unstable flow caused by medium adhesion in traditional valves. It is particularly suitable for occasions in fine chemicals where precise flow control is required.

Energy and Power Industry : In the fly ash and slurry conveying system of thermal power plants, it has successfully replaced the gate valves and ball valves that are prone to wear and jamming due to its extremely strong anti-clogging and wear-resistant capabilities. As a result, the maintenance cycle of some power plant equipment has been extended from three months to one year, which greatly ensures the stable operation of the system and eliminates the trouble of frequent replacement.

In summary, the combination of Venturi structure and plug valve is an outstanding example of applying scientific principles to industrial practice. It is not merely an improvement of a single product, but rather an upgrade of the entire fluid control solution. It endows the plug valve with superior comprehensive performance and provides an efficient and reliable solution for solving fluid control problems under complex working conditions. With the continuous advancement of technology, this intelligent valve is bound to play a key role in more industrial fields and contribute greater strength to the efficient, safe and energy-saving operation of production systems.