AMPO FOUNDRY has delivered 30 fully machined casting sets in stainless steel, A217 GrC5 and A217 GrC12 materials to an international leading manufacturer of coker ball valves for refinery applications. In the case of coker ball valves it is important to consider that the embedding of abrasive particles in seat materials can abrade the ball surface and these grooves can then cause leak paths which further damage surfaces. Consequently, the solution is to use metal to metal seating, typically a hard-surfaced ball in nickel-boride or tungsten carbide versus a proven wear surface on the seats (such as Stellite 6). Moreover, the ball sphericity is also critical and that is why it is important to work with a foundry such as AMPO.
In this project, the 30 sets included the most important valve parts, such as bodies, body caps, balls and seats in different sizes and pressure ranges.
Whilst the stainless-steel balls were produced using the Centrifugally Spun process and were precision-machined, ground and hard-coated to a precise and controlled thickness in our brand-new machining workshop. The seat surfaces and the ball sphere had to match accurately to provide a tight metal to metal seal.
On the other hand, the bodies and the body caps were cast in A217Gr C5 and A217 Gr C12 materials, produced in our cutting-edge Sand Moulding facilities and were also fully machined at our own facility. All of the components also underwent X-Ray and Dye Penetrant Non-Destructive Testing.
Coker ball valves must provide outstanding performance and exceptional reliability to customers for the most critical and tough refining applications, such as erosive and corrosive services, high temperature services, etc. Consequently, it is important to count on an integrity foundry’s collaboration. AMPO FOUNDRY is an expert in stainless steel, duplex & super duplex, low alloy and high alloy castings, and it has a wide experience in casting development for refinery applications.
At AMPO FOUNDRY customers can find the most updated know-how and engineering services, offering the most reliable fully machined castings for refining.