Bray SlurryTuff Ezi-Vac and Maxi-Check Slurry Pipeline Valves

How to improve the performance, safety and reliability of your critical pipeline systems with Bray’s innovative valve solutions

Pipeline Valves for Slurry, Mining and Wastewater

Slurry, mining water and wastewater pipelines face many challenges, such as air entrainment, vacuum formation, choked flow, backflow, pump damage, and water hammer. These problems can cause pipeline inefficiencies, failures, leaks, bursts, and even collapses, resulting in costly downtime, maintenance, and repairs.

Bray SlurryTuff air release and maxi-check valves are the best choice for slurry and water pipeline applications. These valves are designed to handle the most arduous and aggressive media, prevent clogging and fouling, reduce head loss and pressure drop, and protect your pumps and pipelines from damage.

Pipeline Air Release

Air release is the process of venting air from a pipeline during filling, operation, or draining. Air release is important for several reasons:

It prevents air pockets from accumulating at high points, which can reduce the flow area causing choked flow, increase the fluid velocity, and cause pipeline wear and premature failure.
It reduces the head losses, energy consumption, and pumping costs associated with air entrainment.
It minimizes the risk of water hammer, surge, and slam damage caused by sudden changes in pressure and flow.

Not all air release valves are suitable for slurry and water pipeline applications. Conventional air release valves, such as those designed for clean water or sewage, can easily become blocked or leak due to the presence of solids, debris, scale, or corrosive chemicals in the fluid. This can impair the valve function, compromise the pipeline performance, and create safety hazards.

Bray SlurryTuff Ezi-Vac air release valves are specifically designed to handle abrasive, corrosive, or viscous fluids, without clogging or leaking:

A simple and effective design, with a spherical float and an encapsulated natural rubber seal, to create a full bore air release and vacuum break valve.
A self-cleaning mechanism, the seal flexes and rolls, wiping the spherical float and creates a larger surface area to seal each time.
They have a long service life, as the float and seal are resistant to tearing, abrasion, and various service media.

Vacuum Protection

Vacuum protection is the process of admitting air into a pipeline during draining, emptying, or rupture. Vacuum protection is important for several reasons:

It prevents pipeline collapse due to negative pressure or suction.
It reduces the surge and slam damage caused by sudden changes in pressure and flow.
It allows the pipeline to drain faster and more completely.

As with air release, conventional vacuum break valves, such as those designed for clean water or sewage, can easily become blocked or leak due to the presence of solids, debris, scale, or corrosive chemicals in the fluid.

Bray SlurryTuff Ezi-Vac vacuum break valves are specially designed to handle abrasive, corrosive, and viscous fluids, without clogging or leaking:

They use a simple and effective design, with a single disc opposed by a spring set at a specific tension, to create a single acting vacuum break valve.
They have a self-cleaning mechanism, as the disc opens and closes, the roll and flex of the seat seal helps break off any debris from the sealing area.
They have a long service life, as the disc and seat are resistant to tearing, abrasion, and various service media.

Pump Protection

Backflow, surges, and water hammer can damage pumps in an instant, and is important for several reasons:

It extends the pump life and reduces the maintenance costs.
It improves the pump efficiency and performance.
It prevents the pump from overheating, seizing, or exploding.

Check valves are required to prevent these issues as block valves such as knife gate valves are too slow to operate and prevent damage. Conventional check valves, such as swing check or dual plate check valves, will become blocked or damaged in slurry and dirty applications, risking pump damage. They can also have a slow closing time, which can allow backflow and reverse rotation to occur. This can impair the valve function, compromise the pump performance, and create safety hazards.

Bray SlurryTuff Maxi-Check valves are proven in these arduous services. These pipeline valves are specially designed to handle the most abrasive, corrosive, and viscous fluids, without creating flow restrictions, turbulence, or pressure losses:

They use a simple and effective design, with a free moving ball, which unseats to allow flow in one direction, but seals against a seat to prevent backflow.
They have a fast closing time, as the ball is weighted to seat in advance of reverse flow.
They have a low slam characteristic, as the ball is seated prior to reverse flow, and it is cushioned by the urethane lining or rubber seat.
They have a low pressure drop.
They have a long service life, as the body, ball and seat are resistant to tearing, abrasion, and a variety of service media

Water Hammer Prevention

Water hammer is the phenomenon of a sudden increase in pressure and flow in a pipeline due to the rapid change in velocity of the fluid or sudden vaporization of the fluid due to pressure drop. Water hammer can occur when a valve closes or opens abruptly, when a pump starts or stops, in gravity flow, or when a pipeline ruptures. Water hammer can cause several problems, such as:

It creates shock waves and vibrations in the pipeline.
It damages the pipeline components, such as valves, fittings, joints, and supports.
It causes leaks, bursts, or collapses in the pipeline.

Utilizing an incorrect check valve, air release, or vacuum break valve can increase the potential for water hammer to occur. Bray SlurryTuff Ezi-Vac air release and Maxi-Check valves, when installed in the correct locations, are the most reliable and robust valves for preventing or mitigating water hammer in slurry and water pipeline applications:

Maxi-Check valves prevent reverse flow which can cause water hammer.
Ezi-Vac air release / vacuum break valves allow inflow of air preventing a vacuum condition that will cause fluid vaporisation.

Summary

In summary, Bray SlurryTuff air release and maxi-check valves are the best choice for slurry and water pipeline applications. These pipeline valves offer the following unique benefits:

They prevent clogging and fouling of the valves due to the presence of solids, debris, scale, or corrosive chemicals in the fluid.
They prevent pipeline inefficiencies, failures, leaks, bursts, or collapses due to air entrainment, vacuum formation, choked flow, backflow, pump damage, or water hammer.
They reduce head loss and pressure drop, and improve flow capacity and efficiency, of the pipeline system.
They protect the pumps and pipelines from damage, and extend their service life and performance.
They reduce maintenance costs and downtime, and increase safety and reliability, of the pipeline system.

If you want to learn more about Bray SlurryTuff air release and maxi-check valves, and how they can help you overcome the common challenges of slurry and water pipeline systems, please visit www.bray.com or www.SlurryTuff.com, or contact us today. We will be happy to assist you with your valve needs and provide you with the best solutions for your pipeline applications.