U.S. Solid Motorized Ball Valve: Full Port and Standard Port

In this blog we will talk about the port types of USSOLID MOTORIZED BALL VALVE. There are full port ball valves and standard port ball valves. Check the below picture:

What is full port(or full bore) ball valve?
Full port ball valve, also named full bore ball valve, has a straight flow path, and it has no restriction of flow from the original pipe diameter. The inner diameter of the pipe coming into a full bore valve is the same diameter as the flow path through the valve body and out through the other side of the valve. Most full port ball valves are two-way ball valves. 

Features of full port ball valves:
1. Low flow resistance(high flow coefficient), about the same as a straight piece of pipe.
2. Very little pressure drop across the valve.
3. More material required to make the valve body and the rotatable ball inside it.

What is standard port ball valve?
A standard port ball valve is about the same diameter as the pipe or tube coming into and exiting it. The working part of the valve is the rotatable ball inside the valve body. Since the working part of the valve fits inside the valve body, the ball through the valve body is small than the inner diameter of the valve's connecting pipe or tube.

Features of standard port ball valves:
1. High flow resistance(low flow coefficient), narrower than the pipe across section.
2. Flow restriction produces a pressure drop. Flow creates a pressure difference across a valve. Rapid pressure drop across a valve can cause cavitation. Cavitation is the rapid formation and collapse of vapor bubbles within a liquid. When this happen, the collapse of these vapor bubbles could erode the valve and pipe around them.
3. Less material required to make the valve body and the rotatable ball inside it.

Generally speaking, standard port ball valve has a tendency to be smaller physically than a full port ball valve. Just contact us if you have any questions on USSOLID motorized ball valves.