Air Valves
Description
Air valves automatically allow air, gas, or steam into or out of a pipeline when the internal pressure falls below the atmospheric level. These valves control the rate of activation of cylinders and pneumatic devices in pneumatic circuits. Air valves consist of a valve body, a transverse bar, a valve flap, and a movable plate. Various mounting options such as manifold, cartridge, line mount, sandwich mount, or port mount are available. The flow stream is controlled by one-way (unidirectional), two-way (bi-directional) or three-way options. Air valves are of various sizes, shapes, and are made of diverse materials to suit many industrial applications.
Types
Some of the basic types of air valves are listed below:
Angle valves
Ball valves
Butterfly valves
Diaphragm valves
Solenoid valves
Float valves
Pressure relief valves
Safety valves
Based on the type of operation, air valves are classified as given below:
Other types of air valves are listed below:
Air control valves
High pressure air valves
Compressed air valves
Features
Some of the features of air valves are listed below:
Relief valve
Integral check valve
Integral bypass
Meter in/out
Tamper proof
Locking nut
Swivel
Specifications
The performance of air valves depend on the following specifications:
Size of the valve
Flow coefficient
Pressure rating
Media temperature
End connection
Applications
The usage of air valves covers a broad range of industrial applications. They find application in industries like automotive, chemical, material handling, electronics, plastics, glass, metals, textiles, transportation, wood processing, power generation, printing, tire and rubber, cement or concrete and medical. Air valves are used to control the vacuum and part ejection in molding processes.