The Italian multinational Camozzi Automation has released on the market a new range of angle seat valves. The series, called ASX, has been devised to satisfy the requirement of enduring high flow rates and temperatures, in a broad range of industrial processes for the control of air, inert gases, liquids and oils, also with high viscosity, as well as in applications with steam or hot water.
Davide Pala, product manager of Camozzi Automation, tells: «They are two-way direct acting valves, driven by a pneumatic actuator and having a y-shaped body, which allows achieving a highly efficient flow. The y-shaped body, in fact, ensures higher flow rate, keeping the size unchanged, than a standard valve, permitting a reduction of the fluid course and, in combination with a high passage, it permits to achieve a low load loss. For our Group, the birth of this novelty was boosted by the more and more numerous demands by customers and it allows us to complete the range, covering a new segment of our offer». In comparison with a standard body, the angle seat valve one offers low flow resistance, with clear advantages in terms of higher Kv, which result in bigger flow rates and lower pressure drops, with the certainty that, to have the same flow rate, a minor pressure and the capability of controlling fluids with very high viscosity (up to 600 centiStoke) are necessary.
Sturdy and versatile
«The valve – Pala adds – made in various sizes, which range from a quarter of an inch to four inches in the flanged version, is particularly robust, since bodies are fully made of 316 stainless steel while pneumatic actuators are manufactured with 304, with the exception of some typologies of bigger 125-mm actuators that, due to a lightness matter, are manufactured in aluminium. Its capability of enduring pressures up to 16 bars with all fluid typologies makes it highly suitable for operating also in harsh environments, where the valve itself is subjected to notable stresses and aggressions, offering excellent reliability in the most challenging applications». The valves of the Series ASX meet in fact the requisites of the ROHS & REACH directive that rules materials and substances used in the manufacturing process, of PED (Pressure Equipment Directive) and of ATEX Directive, according to which they are apt for installations in Zone 1 (flammable gases, steams or liquids) and in Zone 21 (combustible powder or flammable fibres). «Just few days after the release, we could rely on several demands and, luckily, the Covid-19 emergency did not constitute a particular hindrance. In our Distribution Center in Palazzolo sull’Oglio (Brescia, Italy) we could avail ourselves of sufficient stocks for the most standard models and therefore this has allowed us to guarantee the deliveries to the customers that had asked for them».
Avoiding the water hammer effect
Among the evident benefits offered to users, the possibility of taking advantage of models dedicated to installations with fluid pressure under seat, which eliminate and notably reduce the water hammer phenomenon during the valve closing phase. The water hammer, in fact, is a pressure wave caused by the forced “stop” of the fluid in motion, which commonly occurs when a valve is shut too quickly and a pressure wave propagates in the plant tubes. Its occurrence can cause serious problems, from the simple noise or vibrations to even the tube failure. The effects can be avoided by preventing any valve from a too fast closing when a significant flow is present. «Angle seat valves can reduce or eliminate this risk when they are installed with the flow direction under the seat as the closing action of the valve, opposed to the flow, is automatically slowed down by the latter. The valve, once closed, is expected to guarantee the sealing, even if it has the whole maximum pressure contained in the tube acting under the seat that tends to open the valve».
For all three main functions (NC-NO-DA), there are suitable models for the installation with flow direction both above and under the seat. Moreover, the valve is provided with optical indication (local) or remote (through optional electric devices), permitting to know the open or closed status constantly. The options include the stroke limiter, able to limit the piston position to reduce or to regulate the maximum flow rate.
Suitable for manifold industrial applications
Series ASX offers manifold variants and configurations for process connections: threaded version, welding ends versions, flanged and Tri-Clamps versions and it is produced in models for high temperature (up to 220°). These versatility characteristics make it suitable for use in manifold sectors, in addition to pneumatic automation. «It is ideal in the plant engineering of industrial processes of paper mills, chemical industry, in the energy production and in the nitrogen generation. In steam production processes with autoclaves and sterilizers, which need high flows and resistances to high temperatures, and to manage vacuum or pressure cycles, to replace air with steam in chambers and to obtain sterilization conditions, the features of angle seat valves are fundamental to obtain high reliability on a long duration of frequent and exacting operational cycles. In conditioning systems, as well as in injection moulding machines, angle seat valves allow controlling the cooling water from the refrigerator to the passages in the mould. The stainless steel structure and the connection to the Tri-Clamps process are characteristics demanded by the food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industry, which need to manage processes with a high cleanliness and sterilization degree. In the textile market and in industrial laundries, too, where the steam and water control is fundamental, in dyeing processes with dosing of dyes or chemical products, angle seat valves are used for millions of cycles at high temperatures or with aggressive fluids.» The valves of the Series ASX are guaranteed for 1.5 million cycles. Spare kits of seals are available, so contributing in the recovery of the original performances
