Authors: Ross Waters, President of CGIS, and Malcolm Harrison, Fluid Equipment Consulting Inc.

This article is the first of a 5-part series looking at valve selection in severe abrasive service.

Severe abrasive service valves have become a critical component in the design and operation of varied industrial processing plants. Whether it be catalyst, harsh polymers, chemical slurries, waste materials in mining, or the transportation of mineral slurries at low and high pressure, all such applications need cutting-edge technology compared to conventional liquid and vapour services.

This advanced technology would not be possible if manufacturers were not able to design and provide equipment that can operate reliably in services where abrasive fluids exist. The modern design of such valves has become more complicated due to the use of highly sophisticated process controls, varying types of process media, increased sizes, higher pressures, and in some cases elevated temperatures. These complexities and variables have specifically challenged valve designers and manufacturers, who need to work closely with the engineering design companies and end-users alike to find viable, cost-effective, and more importantly, reliable solutions.

Some process requirements could not be possible if the valve designers had not innovated existing designs to accommodate highly abrasive process environments. This 5-part article series examines how the application of severe abrasive service valves has become an important component in the successful design, construction and operations of processing plants throughout the world. Supporting data is provided by the use of actual working examples from existing applications. All cases involve slurry applications; i.e. those with a liquid carrier fluid.

READ PART 1: The Science Behind Valve Design Decisions

About the Authors

As the President of CGIS, Ross Waters has dedicated 35 years of his life to serving and improving the valve industry. Ross started CGIS, a valve distribution company, in 1980 in a small office in Vancouver, Canada. Thirty-five years later, the business has grown internationally and now serves clients and industries worldwide. Ross is the driving force behind increasing awareness of Severe Service Valves and is part of an MSS task force writing its definition. He has attended numerous conferences around the world presenting his paper, “Defining Severe Service Valves” and is well onto establishing himself as the leading expert in Severe Service. Ross is also an avid member of ASTM International G04 and has served as an expert witness.

Malcolm Harrison was born and educated in the UK and received a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering. After a successful career with major EPC’s working as a mechanical and piping design engineer, Malcolm relocated to the USA in 1980 to work for Bechtel in San Francisco. He eventually entered the world of valves sales in the early 1990’s. First with a specialist valve sales representative company and then as mining products industry manager with Houston-based, ValvTechnologies. In late 2014 he retired and started his own consulting company, Fluid Equipment Consulting. Malcolm now uses his vast experience to offer subject matter expert services related to all types of valve requirements.