Knife Gate Valves: Cutting Edge Solutions for Today’s Challenges
Mr Michael Prince (Project Engineer - Fluid Control Technology - Victaulic)
Gate valves are a common maintenance item in mine processing facilities. Most mines use older slurry knife gate valves (KGV) that fail to incorporate the latest design efficiencies, which leads to costly maintenance and lost productivity. The Canadian mining market, is particularly attune to these operational challenges due to its harsh climate and remotely-located mine sites. Victaulic recently developed the industry’s first in-line maintenance KGV for steel and high-density polyethylene pipe. The innovative design makes in-line maintenance possible by consolidating all wear components into a single cartridge kit that can be easily removed and replaced in minutes, eliminating the need for line isolation or costly removal for repair or rebuild. This innovation represents the first significant advancement in KGV technology since the push through style design released and urethane seat designs released in the 1990's. This presentation will review challenges associated with conventional KGVs and cover the research and development process that led to the design of this industry first in-line maintenance KGV. A case study will demonstrate how one mining operation in Canada has achieved substantial cost savings by replacing legacy valves with this new in-line KGV technology to eliminate hours of costly downtime, streamline maintenance and improve safety.
