When Not To Use A Butterfly Valve?

Although butterfly valves are praised for their simple construction, compact size, light weight and efficient switching characteristics, they may not always be suitable in certain specific use environments. Here are some occasions where butterfly valves are not recommended:
For fluids with higher viscosity, the unique design of butterfly valves makes the pressure in the seat ring particularly sensitive to the viscosity of the fluid. The high viscosity of the fluid may reduce the pressure in the seat ring, which may cause fluid leakage and may even form a safety loophole in extreme cases, thereby increasing the safety risks of the equipment. Therefore, butterfly valve technology should be avoided as much as possible when dealing with pipeline systems with high viscosity fluids.
Under high temperature conditions, butterfly valves generally use rubber, PTFE and other materials as the main components of their sealing. Such materials are prone to aging, hardening and increased brittleness under high temperature environments, which may have a negative impact on the sealing performance and service life of butterfly valves. Therefore, under high temperature conditions, butterfly valves may not meet the needs of long-term stable operation.
In a high-precision control environment, the sealing performance of butterfly valves is relatively weak compared to other types of valves such as gate valves and stop valves. In applications where highly accurate control of the flow, pressure, and temperature of the fluid is required, butterfly valves may not meet the predetermined performance requirements. In such situations, we should choose valve types with better sealing performance and higher precision adjustment.
In the operation of stirred reactors, the temperature and pressure fluctuations of the liquid are large, and the presence of solid particles in the medium may cause the butterfly valve to block, stick, or leak. Therefore, butterfly valves are not considered the best option in such environments.
Particles in the fluid: A pair of rubber seat rings are installed inside the butterfly valve, and the sealing of this pair of seat rings is usually completed by using elastic materials such as rubber. However, this sealing technology is only considered effective when there are no particulate impurities in the fluid. During its operation, once it comes into contact with tiny particles, the rubber seat ring may solidify, which may have a negative impact on its sealing effect. Therefore, we should avoid using butterfly valves as much as possible in the presence of particulate matter in the fluid environment.
In addition, although metal-sealed butterfly valves can adapt to higher operating temperatures and have a longer service life than soft-sealed butterfly valves, it is difficult to achieve complete sealing and is therefore usually used for throttling. In the cut-off valve application scenarios that require high sealing performance, soft-seal butterfly valves usually show better sealing performance than metal hard-seal butterfly valves.
In short, when selecting valves, we should determine the most suitable valve type based on the actual operating requirements and working environment. In some specific scenarios mentioned above, we should try to avoid using butterfly valves to ensure that the entire system can operate safely, robustly and efficiently.