Check valve

A check valve, non-return valve, reflux valve, retention valve, foot valve, or one-way valve is
a valve that normally allows fluid (liquid or gas) to flow through it in only one direction.[1]

Tilting-disc inconel check valve

Check valve symbol on piping and instrumentation diagrams. The arrow shows the flow direction.
Vertical lift check valve

Check valves are two-port valves, meaning they have two openings in the body, one for fluid
to enter and the other for fluid to leave. There are various types of check valves used in a
wide variety of applications. Check valves are often part of common household items.
Although they are available in a wide range of sizes and costs, check valves generally are
very small, simple, and inexpensive. Check valves work automatically and most are not
controlled by a person or any external control; accordingly, most do not have any valve
handle or stem. The bodies (external shells) of most check valves are made of plastic or
metal.

An important concept in check valves is the cracking pressure which is the minimum
differential upstream pressure between inlet and outlet at which the valve will operate.
Typically the check valve is designed for and can therefore be specified for a specific
cracking pressure.

Heart valves are essentially inlet and outlet check valves for the heart ventricles, since the
ventricles act as pumps.

Technical terminology

Cracking pressure – Refers to the minimum pressure differential needed between the inlet
and outlet of the valve at which the first indication of flow occurs (steady stream of bubbles).
Cracking pressure is also known as unseating head (pressure) or opening pressure.[2]

Reseal pressure – Refers to the pressure differential between the inlet and outlet of the valve
during the closing process of the check valve, at which there is no visible leak rate. Reseal
pressure is also known as sealing pressure,[3] seating head[4] (pressure) or closing
pressure.[5]

Back pressure – a pressure higher at the outlet of a fitting than that at the inlet or a point
upstream

Types of check valves

A ball check valve in the open position to allow forward flow and closed position to block reverse flow

A ball check valve is a check valve in which the closing member, the movable part to block
the flow, is a ball. In some ball check valves, the ball is spring-loaded to help keep it shut. For
those designs without a spring, reverse flow is required to move the ball toward the seat and
create a seal. The interior surface of the main seats of ball check valves are more or less
conically-tapered to guide the ball into the seat and form a positive seal when stopping
reverse flow.

Ball check valves are often very small, simple, and cheap. They are commonly used in liquid
or gel minipump dispenser spigots, spray devices, some rubber bulbs for pumping air, etc.,
manual air pumps and some other pumps, and refillable dispensing syringes. Although the
balls are most often made of metal, they can be made of other materials; in some
specialized cases out of highly durable or inert materials, such as sapphire. High pressure
HPLC pumps and similar applications commonly use small inlet and outlet ball check valves
with balls of (artificial) ruby and seats made of sapphire[6] or both ball and seat of ruby,[7] for
both hardness and chemical resistance. After prolonged use, such check valves can
eventually wear out or the seat can develop a crack, requiring replacement. Therefore, such
valves are made to be replaceable, sometimes placed in a small plastic body tightly-fitted
inside a metal fitting which can withstand high pressure and which is screwed into the pump
head.

There are similar check valves where the disc is not a ball, but some other shape, such as a
poppet energized by a spring. Ball check valves should not be confused with ball valves,
which is a different type of valve in which a ball acts as a controllable rotor to stop or direct
flow.

A diaphragm check valve uses a flexing rubber diaphragm positioned to create a normally-
closed valve. Pressure on the upstream side must be greater than the pressure on the
downstream side by a certain amount, known as the pressure differential, for the check
valve to open allowing flow. Once positive pressure stops, the diaphragm automatically
flexes back to its original closed position.[8]

Play media

Swing check valve opening and closing

A swing check valve or tilting disc check valve is a check valve in which the disc, the
movable part to block the flow, swings on a hinge or trunnion, either onto the seat to block
reverse flow or off the seat to allow forward flow. The seat opening cross-section may be
perpendicular to the centerline between the two ports or at an angle. Although swing check
valves can come in various sizes, large check valves are often swing check valves. A
common issue caused by swing check valves is known as water hammer. This can occur
when the swing check closes and the flow abruptly stops, causing a surge of pressure
resulting in high velocity shock waves that act against the piping and valves, placing large
stress on the metals and vibrations in the system. Undetected, water hammer can rupture
pumps, valves, and pipes within the system.[9]
The flapper valve in a flush-toilet mechanism is an example of this type of valve. Tank
pressure holding it closed is overcome by manual lift of the flapper. It then remains open until
the tank drains and the flapper falls due to gravity. Another variation of this mechanism is the
clapper valve, used in applications such firefighting and fire life safety systems. A hinged
gate only remains open in the inflowing direction. The clapper valve often also has a spring
that keeps the gate shut when there is no forward pressure. Another example is the
backwater valve (for sanitary drainage system) that protects against flooding caused by
return flow of sewage waters. Such risk occurs most often in sanitary drainage systems
connected to combined sewerage systems and in rainwater drainage systems. It may be
caused by intense rainfall, thaw or flood.

A stop-check valve is a check valve with override control to stop flow regardless of flow
direction or pressure. In addition to closing in response to backflow or insufficient forward
pressure (normal check-valve behavior), it can also be deliberately shut by an external
mechanism, thereby preventing any flow regardless of forward pressure.

A lift-check valve is a check valve in which the disc, sometimes called a lift, can be lifted up
off its seat by higher pressure of inlet or upstream fluid to allow flow to the outlet or
downstream side. A guide keeps motion of the disc on a vertical line, so the valve can later
reseat properly. When the pressure is no longer higher, gravity or higher downstream
pressure will cause the disc to lower onto its seat, shutting the valve to stop reverse flow.

An in-line check valve is a check valve similar to the lift check valve. However, this valve
generally has a spring that will 'lift' when there is pressure on the upstream side of the valve.
The pressure needed on the upstream side of the valve to overcome the spring tension is
called the 'cracking pressure'. When the pressure going through the valve goes below the
cracking pressure, the spring will close the valve to prevent back-flow in the process.[10]

A duckbill valve is a check valve in which flow proceeds through a soft tube that protrudes
into the downstream side. Back-pressure collapses this tube, cutting off flow.

A pneumatic non-return valve.

A reed valve is a check valve formed by a flexible flat sheet that seals an orifice plate. The
cracking pressure is very low, the moving part has low mass allowing rapid operation, the
flow resistance is moderate, and the seal improves with back pressure. These are commonly
found in two stroke internal combustion engines as the air intake valve for the crankcase
volume and in air compressors as both intake and exhaust valves for the cylinder(s).
Although reed valves are typically used for gasses rather than liquids, the Autotrol brand of
water treatment control valves are designed as a set of reed valves taking advantage of the
sealing characteristic, selectively forcing open some of the reeds to establish a flow path.[11]

A flow check is a check valve used in hydronic heating and cooling systems to prevent
unwanted passive gravity flow. A flow check is a simple flow lifted gravity closed heavy
metal stopper designed for low flow resistance, many decades of continuous service, and to
self-clean the fine particulates commonly found in hydroninc systems from the sealing
surfaces. To accomplish self cleaning, the stopper is typically not conical. A circular recess in
a weight that fits over a matching narrow ridge at the rim of an orifice is a common design.
The application inherently tolerates a modest reverse leakage rate, a perfect seal is not
required. A flow check has an operating screw to allow the valve to be held open, the
opposite of the control on a stop-check valve, as an aide for filling the system and for
purging air from the system. [12]

Multiple check valves can be connected in series. For example, a double check valve is
often used as a backflow prevention device to keep potentially contaminated water from
siphoning back into municipal water supply lines. There are also double ball check valves in
which there are two ball/seat combinations sequentially in the same body to ensure positive
leak-tight shutoff when blocking reverse flow; and piston check valves, wafer check valves,
and ball-and-cone check valves.

Applications

Pumps

The check valves on this steam locomotive are located under the small cover between the chimney and the main
dome.
Check valves are often used with some types of pumps. Piston-driven and diaphragm
pumps such as metering pumps and pumps for chromatography commonly use inlet and
outlet ball check valves. These valves often look like small cylinders attached to the pump
head on the inlet and outlet lines. Many similar pump-like mechanisms for moving volumes
of fluids around use check valves such as ball check valves. The feed pumps or injectors
which supply water to steam boilers are fitted with check valves to prevent back-flow.

Check valves are also used in the pumps that supply water to water slides. The water to the
slide flows through a pipe which doubles as the tower holding the steps to the slide. When
the facility with the slide closes for the night, the check valve stops the flow of water through
the pipe; when the facility reopens for the next day, the valve is opened and the flow restarts,
making the slide ready for use again.[13]

Industrial processes

Check valves are used in many fluid systems such as those in chemical and power plants,
and in many other industrial processes.

Typical applications in the nuclear industry are feed water control systems, dump lines,
make-up water, miscellaneous process systems, N2 systems, and monitoring and sampling
systems.[14] In aircraft and aerospace, check valves are used where high vibration, large
temperature extremes and corrosive fluids are present. For example, spacecraft and launch
vehicle propulsion propellant control for reaction control systems (RCS) and Attitude Control
Systems (ACS) and aircraft hydraulic systems.[15][16]

Check valves are also often used when multiple gases are mixed into one gas stream. A
check valve is installed on each of the individual gas streams to prevent mixing of the gases
in the original source. For example, if a fuel and an oxidizer are to be mixed, then check
valves will normally be used on both the fuel and oxidizer sources to ensure that the original
gas cylinders remain pure and therefore nonflammable.

In 2010, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory slightly modified a simple check valve design with
the intention to store liquid samples indicative to life on Mars in separate reservoirs of the
device without fear of cross contamination.[17]

Domestic use
When a sanitary potable water supply is plumbed to an unsanitary system, for example lawn
sprinklers, a dish washer or a washing machine, a check valve called a backflow preventer is
used to prevent contaminated water from re-entering the domestic water supply.

Some types of irrigation sprinklers and drip irrigation emitters have small check valves built
into them to keep the lines from draining when the system is shut off.

Check valves used in domestic heating systems to prevent vertical convection, especially in
combination with solar thermal installations, also are called gravity brakes.

Rainwater harvesting systems that are plumbed into the main water supply of a utility
provider may be required to have one or more check valves fitted to prevent contamination
of the primary supply by rainwater.

Hydraulic jacks use ball check valves to build pressure on the lifting side of the jack.

Check valves are commonly used in inflatables, such as toys, mattresses and boats. This
allows the object to be inflated without continuous or uninterrupted air pressure.

History

Frank P. Cotter developed a "simple self sealing check valve, adapted to be connected in the
pipe connections without requiring special fittings and which may be readily opened for
inspection or repair" 1907 (U.S. patent 865,631 (https://patents.google.com/patent/US8656
31A/en) ).

Nikola Tesla invented a deceptively simple one-way valve for fluids in 1916, called a Tesla
valve. It was patented in 1920 (U.S. patent 1,329,559 (http://www.google.com/patents?id=Lt
1PAAAAEBAJ&printsec=abstract&zoom=4&source=gbs_overview_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q
&f=false) ).

Images
 Hastelloy check valves

Stainless steel wafer check valve

 Inconel check valve

Inside view of a tilting disc inconel check valve

 Flanged nozzle inconel check valve or axial check valve

This Siamese clappered inlet allows one or two inputs into a deluge gun.
Inside hastelloy check valve, wafer configuration

Large carbon steel swing check valve

Disc for an alloy check valve also known as axial check valve

Wafer check valve

 Plastic Check Valve

Integrated Helium release valve as used by the Rolex Sea-Dweller diving watch

See also

Diode, the electrical analog of a check valve

Top feed

Vacuum breaker

Reed valve

Ball valve

Butterfly valve
 Control valve

Gate valve

Globe valve

Diaphragm valve

Needle valve

References

1. Christopher., Dickenson, T. (1999). Valves, piping, and pipelines handbook (3rd ed.).

Oxford, UK: Elsevier Advanced Technology. ISBN 9781856172523. OCLC 41137607 (htt
ps://www.worldcat.org/oclc/41137607) .

2. "NEOPERL" (https://www.neoperl.net/en/oem/products/checkvalves/glossary.html) .
www.neoperl.net.

3. U.S. Plastic Corp. "GF PVC Cone Check Valves Type 561 & 562" (https://www.usplastic.
com/catalog/item.aspx?itemid=85515&catid=489) . www.usplastic.com.

4. U.S. Plastic Corp. "NIBCO® Chemtrol® TruUnion Ball Check Valves" (https://www.uspla
stic.com/catalog/item.aspx?itemid=23972&catid=489) . www.usplastic.com.

5. "NEOPERL" (https://www.neoperl.net/en/oem/products/checkvalves/glossary.html) .
www.neoperl.net.

6. "Chromatography on line, from J.W. Dolan, LCGC North Am. 26(6), 532–538 (2008)" (h
ttp://www.chromatographyonline.com/how-does-it-work-part-1-pumps?pageID=1) .

7. "Industrial valve store>>Valves>>Check Valves, paragraph on ball check valves" (http://

www.industrialvalvestore.com/de/node/2) .

8. Wright, Stephen. "Norval valve performance" (https://web.archive.org/web/200904272

15539/http://northvalekorting.co.uk/prod-norval-perf.asp) . Northvale Korting.
Archived from the original (http://www.northvalekorting.co.uk/prod-norval-perf.asp)
on 2009-04-27. Retrieved 2009-05-19.

9. "Check Valves" (http://www.dft-valves.com/check-valves/) . DFT Valves. Retrieved

2017-10-26.
10. Fleming, Jennifer. "ValveMan Blog" (https://web.archive.org/web/20120610203416/htt
p://www.valveman.com/valveman-brand-vm6800/) . ValveMan Brand VM6800 In-
Line Check Valve- Product Overview. ValveMan LLC. Archived from the original (http://
www.valveman.com/valveman-brand-vm6800/) on 2012-06-10. Retrieved 1 August
2012.

11. "Autotrol" (https://www.pentairaquaeurope.com/brand/autotrol) .

pentairaquaeurope.com.

12. "Flow Check Valves" (https://www.watts.com/products/plumbing-flow-control-solution

s/hydronic-steam-heating/flow-check-valves) . www.watts.com.

13. "How Water Slides Work" (https://science.howstuffworks.com/engineering/structural/w

ater-slide4.htm) . howstuffworks.com. 31 August 2001.

14. Valcor Nuclear. "Nuclear Check Valves – Excess Flow Check Valves" (http://www.valco
r.com/nuclear-power/check-excess-flow-check-valves/) . valcor.com.

15. Valcor. "Aircraft Check Valves in Hydraulic Systems" (http://www.valcor.com/aircraft/air

craft-check-valves/) . valcor.com.

16. Valcor Aerospace Division. "Aerospace Check Valves" (http://www.valcor.com/missiles

-and-aerospace/aerospace-check-valves/) . valcor.com.

17. "Simple Check Valves for Microfluidic Devices" (https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/cas

i.ntrs.nasa.gov/20100019599.pdf) (PDF). NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory,
Pasadena, California. NASA Tech Briefs. 2010-05-01. Retrieved 2017-10-26.

External links

Working Principle of Spring Check Valves (https://web.archive.org/web/20160918195627/

http://www.theflowcontrolvalves.com/spring-check-valve.html)

Check Valves Tutorial (http://www.spiraxsarco.com/resources/steam-engineering-tutorial

s/pipeline-ancillaries/check-valves.asp) The operation, benefits, applications and
selection of different designs, including lift, disc, swing and wafer check valves are
explained in this tutorial

A picture of a microscopic checkvalve (http://physics.ucsd.edu/~groisman/windows/win

8.htm) , a scaled down version of Tesla's original fluidic diode.

US Patent 1,329,559 (https://patents.google.com/patent/US1329559) , Tesla's original

fluidic diode (a test of a design showing very poor performance (https://web.archive.org/w
 eb/20060525100818/http://www.mne.psu.edu/me415/fall04/APC2/) – n.b. the test
protocol did not match the conditions described in the patent)

Check Valve Installation and Benefits (http://www.tlv.com/global/TI/steam-theory/check-v

alve-installation-and-benefits.html)

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