Ball Valves vs. Butterfly Valves: How to Choose?

Ball valves and butterfly valves are common valve types, and you can  find the following 5 factors need to be considered when make the choice:
              

          Ball Valve                                                                          Butterfly Valve

1.Working Pressure and Temperature

Ball Valve: Typically suitable for high-pressure and high-temperature conditions. It can generally withstand pressures ranging from vacuum to high pressure (e.g., up to 10 MPa or higher). Special material ball valves are capable of operating in high-temperature environments, with temperatures reaching approximately 500°C.

Butterfly Valve: Generally suited for low-to-medium pressure and low-temperature applications. It typically handles pressures around 1.6 MPa to 2.5 MPa, with a working temperature range of approximately -40°C to 200°C. Specially designed butterfly valves can operate at higher temperatures; however, their overall high-temperature resistance is inferior compared to ball valves.

2.Flow Characteristics

Ball Valve:When fully open, the channel is almost unobstructed, allowing fluid to pass without significant resistance. The flow coefficient is large in the fully open state, enabling high flow transmission. Ball valves are particularly suitable for applications requiring rapid opening/closing and large flow rates, such as oil and natural gas pipelines.

Butterfly Valve:Although the butterfly plate opens to provide a larger flow channel, it still partially obstructs the flow path, resulting in a slightly lower flow coefficient compared to ball valves. However, in large-diameter pipe systems where flow requirements are not extremely stringent (e.g., water supply/drainage pipes, ventilation pipes), butterfly valves can meet the demands while offering advantages such as compact structure and lightweight design.

3.Sealing Performance

Ball Valve:Achieves sealing through the tight coordination between the ball and the seat, providing excellent sealing performance. Metal-sealed ball valves can achieve zero leakage, making them ideal for applications with strict sealing requirements, such as pipelines transporting toxic, hazardous, flammable, or explosive media in chemical and pharmaceutical industries.

Butterfly Valve:Sealing performance is slightly inferior to ball valves, especially under high-pressure conditions, where minor leaks may occur between the butterfly plate and the seat. However, advancements in technology have enabled some high-performance butterfly valves to achieve higher sealing grades by improving sealing structures and materials, allowing their use in applications with moderately stringent sealing requirements.

4.Regulatory Performance

Ball Valve:Primarily used for fully open or fully closed truncation conditions. While the rotation angle of the ball can be adjusted to control flow, the adjustment accuracy is relatively low. Therefore, ball valves are generally not preferred in applications requiring precise flow regulation.

Butterfly Valve:Offers good regulatory performance by adjusting the angle of the butterfly plate, enabling more accurate flow control. They are widely used in systems requiring continuous flow adjustment, such as air conditioning water flow regulation and industrial process fluid flow control.

5.Installation Space and Cost

Ball Valve:The structure is relatively complex, particularly for large-diameter ball valves, which are bulky and heavy, requiring substantial installation space. Additionally, the manufacturing process for ball valves is intricate, leading to higher material costs and prices compared to butterfly valves.

Butterfly Valve:Features a simple, compact structure with small size and lightweight, requiring minimal installation space and facilitating convenient installation and maintenance. Butterfly valves also have lower manufacturing costs and are more cost-effective, offering significant advantages in cost-sensitive projects such as municipal water supply and drainage systems.

Summary

Ball valves and butterfly valves have their own characteristics in terms of working pressure, temperature adaptability, flow characteristics, sealing performance, adjustment performance, installation space and cost. In practical applications, you need to consider these factors comprehensively, combined with specific engineering needs and working conditions, and make a suitable choice after weighing the advantages and disadvantages.