Flowrox proposed a new design for the large slurry knife gate valve. It said it eliminated the need for a cylinder tower and repositioned two actuator cylinders to each side of the valve.
Knife gate valves are commonly found in concentrators, tailings and mud transportation, and leaching operations.
According to the Finnish company, the tower design of traditional actuators is usually suitable for blade gate valves, but only up to a certain size. “The larger the DN, the higher the valve,” Flowrox said.
“Suppose we need a DN 1200 valve,” the company said. “Using a tower design, this means that the valve will be very high in the open position: 5.6 m! The extremely high height also means a higher center of gravity. This makes the knife gate valve more difficult to operate, less stable during assembly, and It’s harder to maintain. In other words, it’s not that safe.”
The design eliminated the cylinder tower of the knife gate valve and instead repositioned the two actuator cylinders to each side of the valve, it said. Based on the example above, the Flowrox DN 1200 knife gate valve now measures 3.6 m in the fully open position: two meters less than the tower design.
According to Flowrox, the lower valve height means a lower center of gravity. This makes the knife gate valve more stable and safer.
“Not only is it easier to install, it also requires less space above the valve,” the company said. “All maintenance access points are located below 2 m from the ground, so they are easily accessible. Similarly, all other connections can be done on the ground or from the ground instead of in the air.
In the case of a tower design, maintenance work usually needs to be carried out at a distance of 3-4 m from the ground, which brings safety risks, requires additional safety procedures and consumes more time. ”
Traditionally, the valve body is made of two parts and bolted together, which causes leakage and a lot of bolting work during maintenance.
The valve body of the Flowrox slurry knife gate valve is completely cast in one piece, which means there is no risk of leakage from the valve body. It also results in a simpler, stronger structure and fewer parts, which means saving spare parts inventory and maintenance time.
The company concluded: “Flowrox slurry knife gate valves are more compact, easier to install and easier to maintain. These valves DN 900-DN 1500 can handle pressures from 10 bar and as low as 4 bar, depending on the size.”
International Mining Team Publishing Ltd 2 Claridge Court, Lower Kings Road Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire England HP4 2AF, UK
Post time: Jul-05-2021
