DYNAMIC Fluid Control, manufacturers, designers and distributors of high-performance valves used in mining, water and power generation sectors, has launched the SKG-High Pressure series of slurry knife gate valves, designed in house and manufactured at its Benoni plant.
The SKG-HP was developed and refined in response to customer demand to solve problems typically experienced in harsh mining conditions where valve installations with lower pressure ratings are not sustainable. High pressure valves are ideal in instances where the pipeline is required to accommodate larger volumes of media being transported.
The valve is based on the same engineering principles as DFC’s current range of SKG valves with the exception that the new series can handle pressure over 51 bar. It is designed for multiple high-pressure and high-cycle applications in environments exposed to abrasive, scaling and corrosive slurries, sludge, liquids and bulk solids.
The packingless and robust design, heavy duty construction and replaceable elastomer sleeves makes the SKG-HP ideal for applications where high abrasion resistance is needed.
The valve’s compact design leaves no seat cavity for solids build-up that could potentially block full gate closure. Moreover no metal part is in contact with the flowing media when the valve is in the fully open position. The design can accommodate manual, pneumatic, electric or hydraulic actuation for easy conversion in the field.
The SKG-HP offers precise control over the flow as the valve when fully opened has two identical elastomer sleeves push against each other to form a cavity free, bubble tight seal to contain the line pressure. These sleeves are easily replaced without disassembling the valve. An integrally moulded encapsulated stiffener ring maintains the rounded shape of the sleeves under heavy shearing forces associated with high pressure applications. SKG’s elastomer sleeves are designed to maximise rebound resilience and elastic recovery to improve abrasion resistance and sealing performance in mineral processing slurries.
The valve has been reinforced with stronger materials to withstand the pressure of mining slurries. This combined with bi-directional flow and shut-off reduces downstream leakage to negligible levels. The valve is also available in a version that is coated with Ziroflex, a hard chromium coating that not only improves wear and acid resistance but also has superior corrosion and heat resistance.