ITT Engineered Valves
Fabri-Valve Drilling Fluid Valve
The Fabri-Valve Drilling Fluid Valve is a full-port knife gate valve purpose-built for drilling fluid (mud) systems. Designed as a direct dimensional replacement for butterfly valves, it removes the flow restriction of a butterfly disc while sealing bubble-tight across its working pressure range.
Product Benefits
- No disc in the flow: Butterfly valves in mud service leave a disc in the flow path, restricting volume and creating back pressure that damages pumps over time.
- More flow through: The full-port opening passes substantially more flow than a comparable butterfly valve.
- Drop-in replacement: The valve swaps in with no dimensional changes to the piping, which makes the upgrade straightforward.
- Bubble-tight both ways: Sealing is handled by heavy-duty dual replaceable seats that provide bi-directional, bubble-tight shutoff.
- Restorable in the field: Tight shutoff is recovered by simply changing the seats rather than the valve.
Where It's Used
- Drilling fluid circuits: This valve is designed for the low-pressure side of drilling fluid systems in the drilling industry, where it can replace butterfly valves throughout the circuit.
- Heavy, solids-laden mud: Its unobstructed bore is well suited to heavy drilling mud carrying solids that punish conventional valve trim.
- Manual pits or automated rigs: Actuation choices include handwheel, gear operator, double-acting and spring-return air cylinders, hydraulic cylinders, and electric operators.
Good to Know
- Kevlar wiper row: The packing stack is a PTFE and graphite braid with a first row of Kevlar that acts as a wiper, shielding the softer packing from abrasive drilling fluid.
- Seat flush ports standard: Flush ports come standard, letting operators clear solids from the seat area to preserve tight shutoff.
- Seats on both sides: The seats are retained by the mating flange and duplicated on both sides of the gate, which is what gives the valve its bi-directional, positive shutoff character.
- Keep spares on hand: With spare seat sets in stock, seat replacement becomes routine maintenance rather than a valve change-out.
