How Does a Trunnion Ball Valve Work?

A Trunnion ball valve (also known as a trickle or a trunnion valve) is a diaphragm designed to regulate and deliver controlled flow in one direction. Common applications of this device are in the air conditioning, power generation, refrigeration, hydraulic systems and water systems. If you have never heard of a Trunnion ball valve then keep reading to find out more about the device and how it works..

A Trunnion ball valve is basically a diaphragm with an inlet pipe that is fitted inside an enclosed cylinder. Inside the cylinder is an oil seal and this is the inlet valve. The device uses an air compression system to force the oil through the valve. This inlet is generally located close to the oil pump. The oil pump, when it pushes against the diaphragm, causes the oil to be compressed and travel into the regulator where it then compresses the oil.

Once the oil has been compressed, it is then released and travels into the inlet manifold where it starts to filter into a drain. The drain then closes off leaving a small amount of oil in the inlet manifold. This oil is generally referred to as the 'air' in the Trunnion device. The oil is required for the oil pump to run as the diaphragm is designed to allow only air to pass through it, which limits the amount of oil that can flow into the reservoir and hence the amount of oil that can be stored in the reservoir.

The next part of how does a Trunnion ball valve work is how it is used. The valve is firstly installed inside the cylinder by screwing it into the seat. Next it is fastened to the diaphragm by means of a brass pin. The oil flow will be restricted by the seat but once the seat is removed from the flow of oil will be unrestricted. The ball inside the Trunnion valve is usually made out of steel. The oil that flows through the ball goes through a small hole in the center which is designed to keep the ball from leaking through the passage.

When the seat is removed the oil pump can now be removed. The flow of oil through the pump will then be determined by the force of gravity. The oil flow that occurs will determine the pressure of the oil in the reservoir. If the oil pump is operating under normal conditions (pressure is at ambient or atmospheric pressure) then it will be determined by the actual https://www.italvalvinox.com/trunnion-ball-valve/ pressure of the oil at the Inlet Feeders. If there is too much pressure in the system then it will cause the oil pump to vibrate producing vibrations which will increase the oil pressure.

There are many other benefits to using a trunnion ball valve. The design of this device is actually quite simplistic. This means that it is easy to repair them. A small portion of the ball may become damaged and as a result the flow of oil will not be as effective. There are also special tools (oil pump remover) that can be used to clean them.