Can Globe Valves and Gate Valves Be Used Interchangeably?

Each valve is different in appearance, structure, and even functional use. However, the globe valve and the gate valve have some similarities in shape, and both have cut-off function in the pipeline, so many people who do not have much contact with the valve get confused about the two. In this article, you can learn to distinguish between globe valves and gate valves from five aspects.

Structure

The structure of the gate valve will be more complicated than that of the globe valve. From the perspective of the appearance, the gate valve is higher than the globe valve and the globe valve is longer than the gate valve under the same caliber. In addition, the gate valve is divided into the rising stem one and the non-rising stem one, while there is no such distinction between globe valves.

Working Principle

When the globe valve is opened and closed, the valve stem is raised, that is, when the handwheel is turned, it rotates and goes up and down with the stem. For gate valves, the handwheel is rotated to make the stem move up and down, and the position of the handwheel does not change.

These two valves vary in the flow rate. Besides, gate valves require full opening or full closing, while globe valves have no such requirement. Globe valves have specified inlet and outlet directions, while gate valves do not have such a requirement.  In addition, the gate valve can only be fully opened or fully closed, and the gate has a long opening and closing stroke and time. The travel of the disc of the globe valve is much shorter, and the disc of the globe valve can be stopped somewhere during the movement for flow regulation. The gate valve can only be used to shut off the flow of liquids.

Performance

The globe valve can be used for both shutoff and flow regulation. The fluid resistance of the globe valve is relatively large, and the valve is laborious to open and close, but the distance between the disc and the sealing surface is short, so the opening and closing stroke is short.

When the gate valve is fully opened, the flow resistance of the media in the valve body channel is almost equal to 0, and this valve can only be fully opened or closed, so the opening and closing of the gate valve will be very labor-saving. However, the distance between the gate and the sealing surface is long so that the opening and closing time is long.
 
 
Installation and Flow

There is no requirement for the direction to install the gate valve, and the medium can flow in both directions. The globe valve needs to be installed in strict accordance with the direction indicated by the arrow on the valve body.  The globe valve is low in and high out. From the outside, it is obvious that the pipe is not on a horizontal line. In contrast, the gate valve passage is on a horizontal line. The gate valve has a larger stroke than the stop valve.

From the perspective of flow resistance, when these two valves are fully opened, the gate valve has small flow resistance while the stop valve has large one. The resistance coefficient of the ordinary gate valve is about 0.08-0.12, the opening and closing force is small, and the medium can flow in two directions. The flow resistance of ordinary globe valves is 3 to 5 times that of gate valves. The global valve must be closed forcibly to achieve sealing. The valve core of the globe valve only contacts the sealing surface when the valve is completely closed, so the abrasion of the sealing surface is very small. Due to the large flow resistance, the globe valve needs to be added with an actuator and the torque control mechanism should be adjusted.

Seal

The sealing surface of the globe valve is a small trapezoidal side of the valve core. Once the valve core falls off, it is equivalent to valve closure. The gate valve is sealed by the side of the gate. The sealing of the gate valve is not as good as that of a globe valve.