ABOUT FLOW CONTROL

Flow Control

Flow Control, as the name suggests, is a method of sensing and controlling the amount of air or liquid that is flowing through a pipe. Flow control helps in increasing or decreasing the amount of flow or setting off an alarm if the level gets to high or low. These devices also help to control liquid levels and liquid presence. The flow control category covers a vast range of products, and is designed to maintain, facilitate, meter, control or read the flow of material through pipes, hoses or tubing. The material involved may be gaseous, liquid or semi-solid (which includes slurries and colloids).

Valves, dispensing valves, flow sensing, level sensing, specific gravity and density sensing, valve actuators and positioners, pumps, viscosity sensing and miscellaneous linked products, all fall within flow control. Valves are equipment intended to preserve, meter, or control, the flow of materials through tubing, pipes, hoses, or complete systems. Valves usually function by letting the fluid flow when it is in the open position and disallowing it, when it is in the closed position. The main valve product area include pressure relief valves, diaphragm valves, ball valves, pinch valves, control valves, AC and DC solenoid valves, plug valves, butterfly valves, needle valves, check valves, globe valves, and gate or knife valves.

Dispensing valves are not considered as regular valves. Some products of dispensing valves include needle or spool valves, positive displacement valves, diaphragm valves, single component dispensing valves, pinch valves, and spray valves. Pumps are used to transfer materials (liquids, gases, or colloids and slurries) from one place to another.

There are a large number of flow controllers, meters, detectors and switches that are included in flow control. These flow control devices help to analyze the flow quality, transfer rates, meter flow or identify leaks of both, liquids or gases.