Hunt Valve releases pump bypass control valves for steel manufacturing
Severe-duty valves and components specialist Hunt Valve has released pump bypass control valves for high-pressure centrifugal pump systems requiring minimum flow to provide cooling when there is no system demand.
With fail-safe features included, the valve technology provides increased pressure for the application while saving energy and improving efficiency.
“Traditionally, many steel mills have implemented continuous bypass flow as a fail-safe method of ensuring that pumps don’t overheat or get damaged. While this method is fail-safe, it wastes a tremendous amount of energy,” explained Brad Sterner, Hunt Valve’s president and CEO.
“The integration of Hunt Valve’s pump bypass control valves with built-in fail-safe features delivers minimum flow for pump cooling when needed and directs 100% flow to the descale header,” he added.
This method allows steel producers to direct higher flows and pressures to improve the descale efficiency and product surface quality or shut down a pump due to the elimination of the continuous bypass flow from multiple pumps.
As such, they can eliminate the energy-wasting, continuous bypass flow when full flow to the system is required.
In the new offering, Hunt Valve has made available a proportional ceramic and a hollow spool pump bypass valve.
The proportional poppet valve for descaling pump bypass applications lasts three to five times longer than traditional poppet or automatic recirculation control (ARC) valves, the company says.
The valve’s ceramic technology optimises the component’s useful service life and eliminates pilot shifting, while also removing water hammer in the system using a variable speed stroke profile.
Minimising the effects of water hammer and system shock, the proportional pump bypass valve promotes safety, reduces annual operating costs, and decreases unscheduled downtime in the plant.
In addition, Hunt Valve states it is the only company using electromechanical linear actuator technology in its proportional poppet valve design to eliminate the shifting reliability issues commonly associated with media pilot valves.
Hunt Valve’s Mega-Flo B descale valve consistently provides high-pressure water when needed.
Formed from heat-treated and corrosion-resistant stainless steel, the valve’s radial-ported plunger is precision-machined and then plated with hard chrome.
The valve’s inherent wear-resistant design and stringent material specification help ensure a long service life not only for the valve, but also for all components in the descaling system.
