A2K Innovations designs resulted in (5) USA patents, all related to Knife Gate Slurry Valve design.....
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A2K Innovations designs resulted in (5) USA patents, all related to Knife Gate Slurry Valve design. Working in this field of design, A2K Innovations recommends the following information be provided when attempting to replace a problematic process valve or a new valve application. The more information provided to the valve supplier, the better your chances of success.

A2K Innovations can provide assistance with:

• Selecting the right valve design for your application and industry.
• Performing hydraulic system evaluation
• Designing a valve for a different slurry application:
  • Abrasive resistant
  • Corrosion resistant
  • Abrasion & Corrosion resistant
  • Hi tech performance
  • Dry or wet service
• Valve accessory design:
  • Special features requirements
• Writing operation and installation manuals
• Training of field and customer maintenance staff
• Troubleshooting

Knife Gate Valve
Based on years of designing & applying, we suggest following information to be valuable in insuring successful performance to valve selection:

• Valve size - What is the current valve size?
• Pipeline process contents - Determine chemistry, percentage solids and particle size, hardness of process slurry. Is the process wet or dry?
• Operating pressure - Is the current valve in service rated at the system operating pressure being applied?
• Operating temperature - Confirm the temperature peaks experienced in service and verify valve in service is correctly applied.
• Modulating - Knife Gate Valves should never be used to modulate process slurry containing solids. Other types of valves are needed for this service.
• Pipeline material - Research the pipeline materials being used successfully in the subject process. This can be valuable in making valve fit selection.
• Volume of flow - What is the peak flow (GPM) that will occur in this application? Calculate the velocity of the flow through the valve and avoid exceeding 20 ft per second with clear liquid. Slurry mixtures will require reduced velocities to insure suitable wear life. For light to medium Slurry mixtures a velocity of 10-11 ft per second should not be exceeded. For heavy Slurries, 8 ft per second should be maximum.
• Shut off - Review closing speed of your existing valve applications. This is often the most critical issue with damaged valve. It is essential to avoid water hammer. A change in flow velocity due to a change of 1 foot per second reduction equates to a pressure rise of 50-60 P.S.I. To avoid

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  damage to a Knife Gate Valve, limit closing speed to 1" per second travel minimum. Example: A 6" valve should not be closed faster then (6) seconds. Longer is better in order to minimize damaging pressure spikes.
• Valve Mounting Position - How will the valve be mounted when positioned in the pipeline?
• Present valve in service - Provide a complete description of the present valve in service. Provide a failure mode description of existing valve. What components are failing and why? What is the bench mark service life from installation to failure?
• Pipeline flange to flange spacing - Provide the pipeline opening available to install a replacement valve.
• Valve position (normal operating) - Will the valve be normally open or normally closed? If there is a power failure, is there a required position the valve must be in? (if so - specify a fail state option position)
• Associated pump Material fit up - What materials are the pump wetted components made of?
• Directional - BI or UNI-directional. If process of gate results in pressure being applied to both sides, you will need to specify BI-directional.
• Pipeline - What is the pipeline specification (ASME, BSME, etc.) or flange dimensions. Vertical or horizontal rim of pipe.
• Repairable - Is the present valve repairable? What is the cost of replacing valves verses repairing? Goal - establish lowest cost valve ownership option.
• Method of Activation - What is present activation type? When replacing valve, consider all options and possibility of upgrading to another type. Air cylinders are a significant cost adder compared to hydraulic. Manual hand wheel is least expensive. Air cylinders with fail safe position are very expensive & add significantly to lead time.
• Accessories - Valve fitted with air & hydraulic cylinders are normally fitted with open & closed position limit switches and a single or double solenoid directional valve pre mounted on the valve with all electrical connection pre wired to a junction box.