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Valve inspection and installation: Inspection before valve installation ① Carefully check whether the valve model and specifications meet the requirements specified in the drawings. ② Check whether the valve stem and valve disc open smoothly, and whether there is any sticking or misalignment. ③ Check whether the valves are damaged, and whether the threads on threaded valves are straight and intact. ④ Check whether the valve seat is firmly bonded to the valve body, as well as the connections between the valve disc and the valve seat, the valve cover and the valve body, and the valve stem and the valve disc. ⑤ Check whether the valve gaskets, packings, and fasteners (bolts) are suitable for the requirements of the properties of the working medium. ⑥ Old or long-idle pressure relief valves should be removed, and debris such as dust and sand must be cleaned off with water. ⑦ Remove the access cover and check the sealing; the valve disc must be closed tightly. Pressure testing of valves: Low-pressure, medium-pressure, and high-pressure valves must undergo strength tests and tightness tests. For alloy steel valves, spectral analysis of the casing must be carried out individually to verify the material composition. 1. Strength test of the valve: The strength test of the valve is conducted with the valve in the open position, in order to check for any leaks on the external surface of the valve. For valves with PN≤32MPa, the test pressure is 1.1 times the nominal pressure, and the test duration must be at least 5 minutes; the valve is considered qualified if there is no leakage at the shell or packing gland. 2. Seal integrity test of valves: This test is conducted with the valve fully closed to check for any leaks in its sealing surfaces. For valves other than butterfly valves, check valves, foot valves, and throttle valves, the test pressure is generally set at the nominal pressure; however, when the operating pressure can be determined, a pressure of 1.25 times the operating pressure can also be used. The test is considered successful if there are no leaks in the sealing surfaces of the valve disc. General regulations for valve installation: 1. The location where the valve is installed should not hinder the operation of the equipment, pipelines, and the valve itself, nor should it complicate its disassembly, assembly, and maintenance. At the same time, attention should be paid to the aesthetic appearance of the overall assembly. 2. For valves on horizontal pipes, the valve stem should be installed facing upward or at a certain angle; it must not be installed with the handwheel facing downward. The valves, valve stems, and handwheels on high-altitude pipelines can be installed horizontally, with chains positioned at a lower vertical position being used to operate the opening and closing of the valves from a distance. 3. Symmetric arrangement, neat and aesthetically pleasing ； For valves on risers, provided that process requirements allow it, the valve handwheel should be positioned at chest height for optimal operation; generally, a height of 1.0–1.2 meters above the ground is appropriate. Additionally, the valve stem must be installed in a direction facing the operator. 4. For valves on parallel risers, the elevations of their centerlines should preferably be the same, and the clear distance between handwheels should be no less than 100 mm ； Valves on parallel horizontal pipes should be installed offset from each other to reduce the pipe spacing. 5. When installing heavier valves on equipment such as water pumps and heat exchangers, valve supports should be provided ； For valves that are operated frequently and are installed at a height of more than 1.8 m above the operating surface, a fixed operating platform should be provided. 6. If there are arrow marks on the valve body, the direction indicated by the arrows is the flow direction of the medium. When installing the valve, care should be taken to ensure that the arrow points in the same direction as the flow of the medium inside the pipe. 7. When installing flanged valves, it is necessary to ensure that the two flange faces are parallel and concentric; double gaskets must not be used. 8. When installing threaded valves, to facilitate disassembly, one threaded valve should be equipped with a union fitting. The installation of the union should take into account ease of maintenance; usually, the water flow passes through the valve first and then through the union. Precautions for valve installation: 1. The valve body is usually made of cast iron, which is brittle; therefore, it should not be subjected to impacts from heavy objects. 2. When moving valves, it is not allowed to throw them around carelessly ； When lifting valves, the rope should be tied to the valve body; it is strictly prohibited to tie it to the handwheel, valve stem, or flange bolt holes. 3. Valves should be installed in locations where operation, maintenance, and repair are easiest; it is strictly prohibited to bury them underground. For valves on pipes buried directly or laid in trenches, inspection chambers should be provided to facilitate the opening, closing, and adjustment of the valves. 4. The threads must remain intact and undamaged; hemp should be wrapped around them, lead grease applied, or PTFE tape used. When tightening, a wrench should be used to hold the hexagonal valve body at one end of the pipe. 5. When installing flanged valves, be careful to tighten the connection bolts in a diagonal direction, applying even force while tightening to prevent the gaskets from shifting or to avoid deformation and damage to the valve body. 6. The valve should be kept closed during installation. For threaded valves located close to a wall, it is often necessary to remove the valve stem, valve disc, and handwheel during installation in order to turn them. When disassembling, the valve should be kept open by turning the handwheel before proceeding with the disassembly. Installation of common valves – Installation of gate valves. Gate valves, also known as gate plate valves, are valves that use a gate plate to control opening and closing; they regulate the flow rate in the pipeline and control its opening and closing by changing the cross-sectional area. Gate valves are commonly used in pipelines where fluid media need to be fully opened or fully closed. Gate valves generally have no orientation requirements for installation, but they must not be installed upside down. Installation of globe valves: A globe valve is a type of valve that uses a valve disc to control opening and closing. The flow rate of the medium is adjusted or the medium flow path is blocked by changing the gap between the valve disc and the valve seat, thereby altering the size of the channel cross-section. When installing a stop valve, attention must be paid to the flow direction of the fluid. The principle that must be observed when installing a stop valve is that the fluid in the pipeline must flow from bottom to top through the valve orifice; this is commonly referred to as “low inlet, high outlet”. The valve must not be installed in reverse. Installation of check valves: Check valves, also known as non-return valves or one-way valves, are valves that open and close automatically due to the pressure difference before and after them. Their function is to allow the flow of fluid in only one direction, while preventing the fluid from flowing back in the opposite direction. Depending on their structure, check valves can be lift type, swing type, and butterfly wafer type. Lifting check valves are further divided into horizontal and vertical types. When installing a check valve, attention should also be paid to the flow direction of the medium; it must not be installed in the reverse direction. Installation of pressure reducing valves: A pressure reducing valve is a valve that, through regulation, reduces the inlet pressure to a desired outlet pressure. It relies on the energy of the medium itself to automatically maintain this outlet pressure at a constant level. From a fluid dynamics perspective, a pressure reducing valve is a throttling element whose local resistance can be varied; by changing the throttling area, the flow velocity and the kinetic energy of the fluid are altered, resulting in different pressure losses and thus achieving the purpose of pressure reduction. Then, through the regulation of the control and adjustment system, the fluctuations in pressure behind the valve are balanced with the spring force, allowing the pressure there to remain constant within a certain error range. Installation of pressure relief valves: 1. For vertically installed pressure relief valve assemblies, they are generally mounted along the wall at an appropriate height above the ground ； Horizontally installed pressure reduction valve assemblies are generally mounted on permanent operation platforms. 2. The structural steel is inserted into the wall on the outside of the two control valves (commonly used as stop valves) to form brackets, and the bypass pipe is also secured to these brackets for leveling and alignment. 3. The pressure relief valve should be installed vertically on a horizontal pipeline; it must not be tilted. The arrow on the valve body should point in the direction of fluid flow, and it must not be installed in the reverse direction. 4. Globe valves and high/low pressure gauges should be installed on both sides to monitor the pressure changes before and after the valve. The diameter of the pipe downstream of the pressure relief valve should be 2#-3# larger than that of the inlet pipe upstream of the valve, and a bypass pipe should be installed for maintenance purposes. 5. The pressure equalizing pipe of the diaphragm-type pressure reducing valve should be connected to the low-pressure pipeline. For low-pressure pipelines, safety valves should be installed to ensure the safe operation of the system. 6. When used for steam pressure reduction, a drain pipe must be installed. In piping systems where a high level of purification is required, a filter is installed before the pressure reducing valve. 7. After the installation of the pressure relief valve assembly is completed, the pressure relief valves and safety valves shall be pressure-tested, flushed, and adjusted in accordance with the design requirements, and markings indicating the adjustments made shall be applied. 8. When flushing the pressure reducing valve, close the inlet valve of the pressure reducer and open the flushing valve to carry out the flushing. Installation of steam traps: The basic function of steam traps is to remove condensate water, air, and carbon dioxide gas from the steam system as quickly as possible ； At the same time, it automatically prevents steam leakage to the greatest extent possible. There are many types of steam traps, each with different properties. Based on the different working principles of steam traps, they can be classified into the following three types: Mechanical type: It operates based on changes in the liquid level of condensed water inside the steam trap; this includes the float-type design, where the float is a closed hollow sphere. Upward-opening float type: The float is in the form of a bucket with an opening facing upward. Open-bottom float type: The float is in the form of a bucket with an open bottom. Thermostatic type: Operates based on changes in liquid temperature; includes: bimetallic strip: the sensing element is a bimetallic strip. Steam pressure type: The sensitive element is a diaphragm or cartridge filled with a volatile liquid. Thermodynamic type: Operates based on changes in the thermodynamic properties of a liquid. Disc type: Due to the different flow velocities of liquids and gases under the same pressure, different dynamic and static pressures are generated, which cause the disc valve to operate. Pulsating type: As condensate at different temperatures passes through the throttle orifices connected in series at both ends, different pressures are generated between these orifices, which drives the valve disc to move. Installation of steam traps: 1. Shut-off valves (gate valves) must be installed both upstream and downstream. A filter should be placed between the steam trap and the upstream shut-off valve to prevent contaminants in the condensate from clogging the steam trap. 2. An inspection pipe should be installed between the steam trap and the back shut-off valve, to check whether the steam trap is functioning properly. If a large amount of steam emerges when the inspection pipe is opened, it indicates that the steam trap is damaged and requires repair. 3. The bypass pipe is installed to discharge a large amount of condensate during startup, thereby reducing the drainage load on the trap. 4. When a steam trap is used for draining condensate from heat-using equipment, it should be installed at the bottom of such equipment so that the condensate pipe runs vertically downward to connect to the steam trap, thereby preventing water accumulation in the heat-using equipment. 5. The installation location should be as close as possible to the drainage point; if the distance is too great, air or steam will accumulate in the long pipe ahead of the steam trap. 6. When the horizontal length of the steam main is too great, consideration should be given to the issue of water drainage. Installation of safety valves: A safety valve is a special type of valve in which the closing element remains in a closed position under external forces. When the pressure of the medium inside a device or pipeline rises above the specified value, this valve releases the medium outside the system, thereby preventing the pressure from exceeding that specified level. Safety valves belong to the category of automatic valves and are primarily used in boilers, pressure vessels, and pipelines to ensure that pressure does not exceed specified levels, thereby playing a vital role in protecting both human safety and the proper operation of equipment. Note: The safety valve must undergo a pressure test before it can be used. 1. Before installation, the product must be carefully inspected to verify the presence of a certificate of conformity and a product manual, so as to determine the set pressure at the time of manufacture. 2. The safety valve should be located as close as possible to the platform to facilitate inspection and maintenance. 3. The safety valve should be installed vertically, with the medium flowing from bottom to top, and the verticality of the valve stem should be checked. 4. Under normal circumstances, no shut-off valves should be installed before or after the safety valve to ensure safety and reliability. 5. Pressure relief by safety valve: When the medium is a liquid, it is generally discharged into pipelines or closed systems ； When the medium is gas, it is generally discharged into the outdoor atmosphere ； 6. Oil and gas fluids can generally be discharged into the atmosphere; the outlet of the safety valve vent pipe should be 3 m above the highest surrounding structures. However, in the following situations, they should be discharged into a closed system to ensure safety. 7. The diameter of the population pipe should be at least equal to the diameter of the valve’s inlet pipe ； The diameter of the discharge pipe must not be smaller than the outlet diameter of the valve; it should lead outside and be installed using elbows so that its outlet faces a safe area. 8. When installing a safety valve, if the connection between the safety valve and the equipment or pipes is made through welding of an opening, the diameter of that opening should be the same as the nominal diameter of the safety valve. Geye Valve Co., Ltd. – Hu 15057598568. Disclaimer: Some of the public information and articles collected on this platform come from the Internet. They are reproduced with the aim of providing more information and for sharing on the web. This does not mean that the platform endorses these views or is responsible for their accuracy, nor does it constitute any kind of advice. Copyright belongs to the original author. 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