All About Gate Valves
A wedge type gate valve. Image credit: al7/ Shutterstock.com Gate valves, or sluice valves, are mainly used to block or permit fluid flow through pipes. They are not good at regulating flow for which other valve designs, such as globe valves, are better suited. Ball valves are another on/off valve type unsuited to throttling. Gate valves offer a size advantage over these other types in terms of how much space must be allotted between pipe flanges to accommodate the valve. For information on other types of valves, please see our Valves Buyers Guide. Valve design Gate valves consist of three major portions, the valve body and seats, the gate (or disc) and stem, and the packing and bonnet. In operation, the body and seats remain stationary while the threaded stem rotates to lift the gate off its seats. Stem rotation is accomplished manually through a handwheel or automatically via a valve actuator. The bonnet houses the disc while the valve is open and provides a lo...
