What is a needle valve?
Needle valves are used where precise flow control and pressure regulation are critical, particularly in high-pressure water systems.
Needle valves, sometimes referred to as plunger valves, are regulating valves and enable engineers to finely control and regulate water flow and pressure. The precision is achieved through the fine movement of the shaft, which enables the gearbox to move the piston tube in sliding motion towards opening or closing position, depending on the requirements from the control system.
Where to use needle / plunger valves?
A needle valve is a type of control valve with a tapered, needle-shaped plunger that allows precise regulation of flow and pressure, typically used in low-flow or high-pressure systems. Needle and plunger valves can be used in many different applications. In water treatment and distribution, dams, reservoirs, power plants and industry needle valves are e.g. used for:
- Flow control
- Pressure regulation
- Pump start
- Turbine by-pass
- Discharge
- Reservoir inlets
- Air regulation
When to use needle / plunger valves?
Compared to diaphragm control valves, needle and plunger valves can be used with higher differential pressure, and our standard needle valve range covers a pressure range up to PN40, and on request up to PN100. Our standard size range covers DN80 to DN1600, and on request up to DN2000. Needle valves can be manually actuated or can be controlled by electrical, hydraulic or pneumatic actuation.
Read about features and benefits of AVK needle valves and more about our variants and configurations.
We also recommend checking out why use control valves and application examples for control valves.
