CHAPTER NINE
VALVE AND FITTINGS
KATHFORD COLLEG OF ENGINEERING AND MANAGEMENT
BALKUMARI, LALITPUR
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Valves and Fittings
The various appurtenances are required in the pipeline for its efficient operation and
maintenance. Some of the appurtenances commonly used are valves, fittings, manholes,
fire hydrants, water meters etc.
Valves
Valves are used in order to regulate the flow, control flow, release of admit air, prevent
flow in opposite direction.
Reflux Valve or Check Valve:
Sluice Valve:
This type of valve is also called check
Sluice valve or gate valve is widely
valve as it checks the flow of water.
used in the pipe network due to its low
and less resistance offered. This valve allows water to flow in one
direction only and prevents to flow in
Such valves are placed at certain
opposite direction.
distance (suppose 135 to 159 meters
apart), which divides the pipe in
sections
Safety Valve or Pressure Relief Valve: Air – Relief Valve:
These valves are used in order to remove
These valves relive high pressure in the
the accumulated air which can cause
pipeline.
blockage of water.
It contains a rotating disc controlled by It has a cast iron chamber, a weighted
springs which can be adjusted for desired float and a lever.
pressure When the chamber full of the float
When the pressure in pipe exceeds then remains raised with the help of lever and
pressure is released automatically by stops the flow, the trapped air accumulates
raising the disc from the cross-pipe and the at the top level and the air pressure lowers
disc automatically comes down when the the float creating an escape of air.
pressure is maintained
Drain Valve:
Drain valve is also called scour valve or blow valve.
It is necessary at the summits where the water gets stagnant and the sedimentation occurs. By opening the drain valve the
silt, clay, organic deposit, etc. are removed out along with the rushing water.
Fittings
Pipe fittings are used in the pipelines during its laying for various purposes.
Fittings allow pipes to be joined or installed in the appropriate place and terminated or
closed where necessary. Fittings are available in various shapes and sizes.
They are an essential part of piping and plumbing systems. The various purposes of
pipe fittings are:
Interconnecting different pipe sizes
Connecting different pipe sections
Connecting pipes to different appurtenances
Changing the direction of flow
Changing the gradient of flow
Maintaining or regulating the flow
Closing and sealing of pipe
Stop cock and tap:
Stop cock is provided in the pipeline at certain interval in order to flow or stop the water
from flowing. Similarly, it is provided in building plumbing also in order to regulate the
flow during the repairs and breakage in the fittings.
It is made of non – ferrous metal alloys.
Similarly, tap is provided where the outlet of water is required for consumption. A tap can
regulate the flow, give full or cut down the flow as per the rotation of the handle. Street
stand post should be provided with self – closing tap to prevent undue wastage of water.
Bend: Bend is a generic term for any offset or change of direction in the piping. It is a
vague term that also includes elbows. An elbow is an engineering term and they are
classified as 90 deg or 45 deg, short or long radius. Elbows have industrial standards and
have limitations to size, bend radius and angle.
• to change the direction of pipeline in a certain number of degrees.
• ¼ bend, 1/8 bend, 1/16 bend, and 1/32 bend are available.
• 1bend corresponds to change in direction of 360˚ theoretically
Elbows
It is installed at the time of joining two pipes. With the help of an elbow, the direction of
liquid is changed. Normally a 45° or 90° elbow is used. When the two sides of pipes differ in
size, an elbow of reducing size is used. This is called reducing type elbow or reducer type
elbow.
• Long Radius (LR) Elbows Here, the radius is 1.5 times the diameter of pipe.
• Short Radius (LR) Elbows In this, the radius is 1.0 times the diameter of pipe.
• 90° Elbow This is used when the change in direction required is 90°
• 45° Elbow This is used when the change in direction required is 45°
Reducer
• It is used to connect pipes of different diameters.
• A reducer may be of various types like reducer tee, reducer elbow and reducer socket
Union: When two ends of pipes are joined, the pipe fitting used is called union. A union is
made of three parts namely a nut, a male end and a female end. The male and female ends are
assembled with the support of the nuts, and necessary pressure is made to connect the joint.
Since the pairing ends of the union are interchangeable, the union can be changed easily in a
short time
Tee
It is an important fitting with a side outlet at 900 to the run of the pipe. Tees connect pipes of
various diameters and help in changing the direction of water or material in a pipe. Tees are
made in various sizes like equal or unequal. The equal tee is most commonly used
Water meter: It is installed to measure the flow. It is an integrating meter that it records
the total flow up to the time of measurement.
Generally 12.5 mm to 18.75mm rotary water meters are installed either at the
beginning or at the middle of the service pipe. A masonry pit is constructed around it.
It has facility of sealing by the water supply authority
Break pressure tank – purpose and construction
It is constructed to break the static pressure if pipeline exceeds its maximum pressure
rating to protect pipe from burst. This tank allows the flow to discharge in the open
atmosphere so reduces the hydrostatic pressure to zero. It may be rectangular, circular or
square in plan and made of masonry or RCC or Ferro cement. BPT has provision of a closed
chamber with inlet, outlet, overflow and a float valve to stop the wastage of water and allow
reserving at upstream tanks.
A reservoir may also act as a BPT. BPT are provided in the distribution system. If it is
used in transmission line it is called interruption chamber (IC). BPT usually consists of float
valve but not in IC. For economical reason, Ferro-cement BPT is preferred.
Location: In hilly or high-altitude regions, water supply is generally done by the gravity
method. There is no control of pressure in pipelines. Due to high gradient, the velocity of
water is also very high. So, Break Pressure Tanks are built at suitable distances to reduce the
hydrostatic pressure in the pipe.
Application of Break Pressure Tank
• It is constructed in an area where the flow of water in the pipeline is high and which may
cause bursting of pipe
• It is used in the high altitude or hilly areas where the gravity system is commonly used to
distribute water
BPT
Planning and Site Selection:
In planning, observations and calculations are done to find out the high-pressure points in
the pipeline and also to determine the number of break pressure tanks needed in order to
reticulate the water supply system.
The number of break pressure tanks required at what distance is also found out and cost
estimation is done to check whether the expenditures meet the budget or not.
BPT is mostly constructed in high altitude areas. So, the site should be selected based on the
availability of materials for construction & economy of construction.
Construction of BPT
• After planning and selecting the site, now its turn to construct the BPT. Mostly the BPT are
constructed in downstream. It is generally constructed of stone masonry, RCC, Ferro cement, etc.
• BPT is a rectangular tank structure having a base of 1000mm * 1000mm and height of 1200mm. It
also includes lockable lid at the top that controls access into the interior of the BPT, so that it can be
easily maintained time to time whenever required.
• Components of BPT
- Inlet pipe
- Outlet pipe
- Perforated pipe segment: The pipe arrangement includes the perforated pipe segment which is
located within the tank structure near the bottom end and upstream of the outlet end.
- Control valve: It is located between the inlet end of the pipe and the perforated pipe segment
within the tank structures. The main purpose of the control valve is to control the flow rate of water
through the flow line.
- Float actuated operating mechanism: It is located between a fully open and closed position for
displacing closure member of the control valve.
- Roofing: Break-pressure tanks can be covered with CGS sheeting, a reinforced concrrte (RCC)
slab, or slate. Either CGS or RCC roofing is recommended if the tank has any internal control
valves, since these are the most secure covers.
Public stand post
The tap stands are the most frequently-used component of the entire system. No other structure
will face more abuse than these, and no other structure will have to fit in so closely with local
social and cultural needs.
A tapstand is more than just a physical structure. It will become a new and important gathering
point of the village, where women will be washing clothes and men bathing themselves. Not
only the tapstand itself, but the intermediate surrounding area must also be carefully selected
and Properly designed and built, the tapstand will be a clean, attractive, and inviting place.
Poorly completed, and it will be a dirty, muddy, unhygienic eyesore. In addition to being the
point to collect water, the tapstand area must allow room for clothes-washing as well as
bathing.
Apart from the water-rights of the source, no other part of the system is apt to become so
embroiled in politics, arguments, or disputes. The number of desired tapstands, and their
location, will be a frequent source of heated [Link] are all considerations which must be
kept in mind and equitably resolved if the system is to be a successful one
Location: In general, one tap stand is constructed for every 8-10 households and should be
located in such a way that the fetching distance should not be greater than 200m horizontal
and 50 m vertical. All tapstand must be constructed as per government agency guidelines
using local materials.
Walking distance (m)
Type of walking distance Desirable In exceptional cases
`Horizontal 150 250
Vertical 50 80
One house One tap per house
Flow-rate:
The standard tapstand flow is 0.15 LPS (9.0 liters/minute). Such a tap will adequately serve a
population of 100 persons at an average per capita demand of 45 l/day with peak factor of 3.
Where a tapstand will be serving only just a few households then the flow can be cut down a bit,
and conversely the flow may be increased for a more densely-populated area.
The minimum flow in a standpost is 0.1 LPS. The minimum flow of 0.10 LPS has been arrived
considering the time required to fill a standard vessel of 15 litres is 2.5 minutes. The maximum
flow in a stand post is limited to 0.25 LPS to avoid crowding and long queue at standpost to
fetch water. A double faucet may also be built in densely populated area where design flow in
the standpost exceeds 0.25 LPS.
The design flow is achieved by installing a 15mm globe valve at the base of the tap stand, and
adjusting it until the desired flow is delivered. This valve is then securely locked up, to prevent
further tampering. The faucet at the discharge serves only as an on/off control valve. The tap
stand may be of open and intermittent system.
Construction
Dimension in
cm
Construction tips (structural consideration)
A tapstand may be constructed of brick, stone, or wood, using mortar or dry-stone masonry.
Regardless of what it is constructed with, it must be designed and built to survive heavy use
and abuse, especially if located in a schoolyard.
Masonary tap stand
A masonry tapstand of cement mortar should have a supporting column 50cm x 50cm around
the GI pipe, and should be on a footing imbedded 30cm below ground level. Mortar should be
1:4 and the exterior can be plastered if the villagers so desire. The faucet should protrude far
enough so that the water vessels can be easily filled ; it need not protrude, however, more than
30cm. Since the water vessels are typically carried by a headstrap, a low bench added to the
tap (either of cement, mud mortar, or dry-stone masonry) will be helpful to facilitate lifting the
vessel.
A concrete or cement-mortared "apron" should provide enough room " for several persons to
work at once. A non-erodable drainage channel should carry the -wastewater to a suitable
drainage point.
Both of these types are dry stone tapstand in Figure
wooden tap stand
Maintenance of Water Supply System:
Maintenance of a water supply system should be done in different phases. The maintenance
period is such decided which will cause minimum cut down of water to the public. The
different parts of the system should be given different types of maintenance in different
times. Like for example, the maintenance should be done in the intake, treatment units,
reservoir, pipeline, valve, tap, etc. whenever required. The maintenance should be carried
out such that the remaining parts and the public are least affected. The different types of
maintenance are discussed below:
• Regular maintenance: This type of maintenance is very simple maintenance and is
repeated very frequently. Regular maintenance includes the regular inspection of intake,
treatment work. Regular checking of illegal connections, leakage from valves, pressure in
the pipeline, clogging of pipe, sediments at the joints etc. are the regular maintenance.
Most often the frequency of such maintenance is about six months in the pipe and two
months in the treatment units. Regular maintenance is a planned maintenance so a certain
amount of budget is always available ad such type of maintenance requires less time and
money.
• Periodic maintenance: Periodic maintenance actually depends upon the life of the
material used. This type of maintenance is already forecasted and when that situation
occurs, maintenance is carried out. For example, changing of pipe, valve, enlarging of
the treatment plant, construction of additional reservoir, etc. This maintenance has
already separated budget and time estimated. Some of such maintenance may cause
problem to the consumers so proper planning should be made prior to the starting of the
maintenance work.
• Emergency maintenance: Emergency maintenance is carried out during the emergency
condition, which is unpredicted. The emergency maintenance has to be done due to
washing off the intake structure, bursting of pipeline, leakage in the reservoir etc. Such
cases may arise in any part of the supply system. Since they are un-forecasted incidents,
any budget is not allocated to meet the emergency case. But in practice a certain amount
of budget is kept reserve for such unforeseen cases. This type of maintenance may affect
the public so generally during such period water is supplied through tankers with prior
notice.
END OF CHAPTER NINE
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