Industrial Valve Body Style and Flow Path: A Visual Illustration

(Image courtesy of Wikipedia)

There are many types of valves body styles, each with their own unique flow characteristic and pattern. Valve design generally dictates optimum application service for any given use. For instance, globe or diaphragm valves provide excellent flow control because of a very linear flow characteristic and are used widely as flow control valves. Conversely, standard ball or butterfly valves are not good control valves because of their very non-linear flow characteristic, and special modifications need to be made to their discs or balls to improve linearity.

The following video illustrates the design and flow pattern for (4) types of valve:

• A "Y" pattern or angle valve
• A butterfly valve
• A ball valve
• A diaphragm (globe) valve