Disassembly and Assembly of Electric V-type Ball Valve

In the fields of petroleum, chemical industry, water treatment, power, and many others, electric V-type ball valves play an indispensable role. They are particularly suitable for media that are unclean and fiber-containing, such as high-viscosity fluids, suspensions, and pulp. With their unique advantages, they have become the first choice of many engineers and operators. This article will provide you with a detailed explanation of the entire process of disassembling and assembling an electric V-type ball valve, enabling you to easily master this key skill.

The electric V-type ball valve is a high-performance valve evolved from the plug valve. Its opening and closing part is a ball, which opens and closes by rotating the ball 90° around the axis of the valve stem. This type of valve is mainly used in pipeline systems to cut off, distribute, and change the flow direction of the medium. The ball valve designed with a V-shaped opening also has excellent flow regulation functions, ensuring accuracy of control across the full range, even under conditions of small flow or high-viscosity media.

When the valve is closed, a wedge-shaped shearing action occurs between the V-notch and the valve seat. This unique structure not only has a self-cleaning function but also effectively prevents the ball core from jamming. It is particularly suitable for pipelines with scaling, freezing, or containing fibers and particulate solids. In addition, the electric V-type ball valve adopts an integral valve body without any pipe joints, thus not affected by pipeline or bolt stress. Its pressure-resistant housing is also unaffected by sudden pressure changes, greatly improving the valve's stability and reliability.

Before starting to disassemble the electric V-type ball valve, ensuring safety is of utmost importance. First, the power supply of the electric ball valve must be cut off, and appropriate safety measures such as warning tags should be taken to avoid accidental energization. At the same time, release the pressure inside the pipeline to zero and discharge the remaining medium to ensure operational safety.

Preparing the necessary tools and materials is also an essential step. You need to prepare common tools such as wrenches, screwdrivers, and vernier calipers, as well as sealing parts, lubricants, and cleaning agents that match the model and specifications of the ball valve. These tools and materials will help you smoothly complete the disassembly and assembly.

In addition, clean up debris and dust around the ball valve to keep the work area tidy, which can effectively prevent impurities from entering the valve interior during operation. A clean working environment not only improves work efficiency but also ensures the valve's quality and performance.

Now, we will move into the key stage of disassembly. The process must follow a certain order to ensure smooth execution of each step and to avoid unnecessary damage to the valve parts. The detailed steps are as follows:

Valve position adjustment: Put the electric ball valve in a half-open position. This makes it easier in the following steps to flush and remove hazardous substances that may exist inside and outside the valve body, such as impurities, dirt, or residual chemicals.

Remove the valve: After closing the electric ball valve, remove the connecting bolts and nuts on both flanges, then completely remove the valve from the pipeline and place it on a clean, stable workbench. This provides a stable platform for subsequent disassembly.

Disassemble the drive device: Sequentially disassemble the drive device, including the actuator, connecting bracket, lock washer, stem nut, butterfly spring washer, gland, wear-resistant washer, and stem packing. During disassembly, pay attention to recording the installation positions and order of each component for correct reassembly later.

Separate the valve cover: Remove the body-cover connecting bolts and nuts, separate the valve cover from the valve body, and take off the valve cover gasket. Be careful during the process to avoid scratching the valve stem surface and the sealing area of the stuffing box.

Remove the core parts: Ensure that the valve ball is in the “closed” position, then take it out of the valve body, followed by removing the valve seat. Push the valve stem downward through the body bore until fully removed, then take out the O-ring and lower stem packing.

Inspect parts: Carefully inspect each removed part for wear, cracks, deformation, or other damage. Replace them if damaged. At the same time, check whether the inner cavity of the valve body and sealing surface have corrosion, scratches, or other issues. Repair or polish if necessary.

Clean parts: Use appropriate cleaning agents or solvents to clean the removed parts, removing oil, dirt, rust, and deposits. After cleaning, wipe them dry with a clean cloth or blow dry to ensure no impurities remain.

After the previous disassembly, inspection, and cleaning steps, we are now ready to reassemble the electric V-type ball valve. The assembly process requires great care to ensure that each part is correctly installed and that the valve can operate normally. The detailed steps are as follows.

Prepare sealing parts: Install new sealing parts (such as O-rings and valve seats) into their corresponding positions. Ensure the seals are flat, not twisted, undamaged, and fit tightly with the installation grooves. Before installing, apply an appropriate layer of lubricant to improve installation and sealing performance.

Lubrication treatment: The grease must be compatible with the valve's metal, rubber, plastic parts, and the working medium. For gas media, for example, special grease 221 may be used. Apply a thin layer of grease on the groove surface of sealing parts, on the rubber seals, and on the sealing and friction surfaces of the valve stem.

Insert the valve stem: First insert the valve stem into the body bore, then install the valve seat, valve ball, and other parts. Ensure a tight fit during installation to avoid looseness or misalignment.

Install the valve cover: Next, install the valve cover gasket, then connect the valve cover with the valve body and tighten the body-cover bolts and nuts. Tighten symmetrically, gradually, and evenly to ensure sealing between the valve cover and valve body.

Install components in sequence: Then install the stem packing, wear-resistant washer, gland, butterfly spring washer, stem nut, lock washer, connecting bracket, and actuator in sequence. Tighten the flange bolts and stem nut with the specified torque using a cross-tightening method to ensure firm connection, but do not overtighten, to avoid damaging parts or affecting valve operation.

After disassembly, inspection, cleaning, and assembly, the electric V-type ball valve is now reassembled. Before reinstalling it into the pipeline system, a series of checks and tests must be performed to ensure valve performance and safety.

Before reinstalling into the pipeline, conduct a pressure sealing test according to relevant standards to check whether the sealing performance of the ball valve is good. Apply fluid at a certain pressure on one side of the valve and observe whether there is leakage on the other side. If leakage occurs, promptly identify the cause and repair it, ensuring the valve's sealing performance meets requirements.

After installing the actuator, connect the power supply and input the corresponding signal to drive the valve core through the rotation of the valve stem, moving the valve to open and closed positions. Check whether the opening and closing actions are flexible and accurate, and whether the limit positions are normal. Only after confirming that all functions are normal can the valve be put back into service.

Safety first: Throughout the entire disassembly and assembly process, always prioritize safety. Ensure the power supply is cut off, pipeline pressure is released, and proper safety measures are taken to prevent accidents.

Handle carefully: During disassembly and assembly, handle carefully to avoid damaging sealing surfaces, especially non-metallic parts. Use special tools to remove O-rings to prevent damaging the seals.

Cleaning and lubrication: The cleaning agent must be compatible with the valve's rubber, plastic, metal parts, and the working medium. After cleaning, wait for the solvent to evaporate before assembly, but do not leave the parts idle for too long to avoid rust and dust contamination. New parts should also be cleaned before assembly.

Record and check: During disassembly, record the installation positions and sequence of each part to ensure correct reassembly. Also, carefully check all removed parts and replace damaged ones to ensure valve quality and performance.

Disassembly and assembly of the electric V-type ball valve require patience and attention. Through the detailed explanation in this article, you should now have a clear understanding of the process. As long as you follow the correct steps and pay attention to the relevant precautions, you will be able to easily complete the disassembly and assembly of the electric V-type ball valve, ensuring its normal operation and extended service life.