Wear Characteristics of Metal Ball and Seat for Metal-Seated Ball Valve

The wear characteristics of metal ball and seat in a metal-seated ball valve significantly affect the performances such as leakage and valve torque. In this work, the wear characteristics of metal ball and seat are experimentally investigated. A stainless steel ball and seat with a high corrosion-resistant coating are prepared and a component level test was performed. The hardness and surface roughness of specimens cut from the metal ball and seat are measured before and after the test using a micro-Vickers hardness tester and confocal microscopy, respectively. In order to assess the wear characteristics, the surfaces of the specimens are carefully examined after the test. The confocal microscope data show that the surface roughness values of both the ball and seat increase by a factor of 3-4, which may lead to an increase in valve torque. However, the wear of the seat is found to be more significant than that of the ball. In addition, a comparison of the surfaces of the ball and seat before and after testing revealed that adhesive and abrasive wear are the major wear mechanisms. The results of this study may aid in the design of metal-seated ball valves from the tribological point of view.