What is the Difference Between Butterfly Valve and Gate Valve

Butterfly valves and gate valves have significant differences in multiple aspects, mainly reflected in their action mode, usage effect, usage direction, appearance, principle, structure, price, and purpose. Here is a detailed comparison.

1. Action Mode and Usage Effect of Butterfly Valve  

Butterfly valve: The valve is opened and closed by rotating the butterfly plate around its own axis inside the valve body. The rotation angle of the butterfly plate is generally less than 90 °, which enables the valve to open and close quickly.

Gate valve: The valve is opened and closed by driving the valve plate vertically up and down through the valve stem. This straight stroke method reduces the flow resistance of the gate valve during opening and closing, but the opening and closing speed is relatively slow.

Butterfly valve: It has good fluid control characteristics and closing sealing performance, but its sealing performance may be slightly lower than gate valves. Butterfly valves  are more suitable for situations that require quick opening and closing.

Gate valve: It has good sealing performance and the medium can flow from any direction. When the gate valve is fully open, the fluid resistance inside the valve body is lower than that of the butterfly valve, and better sealing effect can be ensured.

2. Direction and Appearance of Butterfly Valve Use  

Butterfly valve: Due to its small size and light weight, it is suitable for places with limited installation space.

Gate valve: With a complex structure, it has good performance and excellent sealing ability, making it suitable for occasions with high sealing requirements.

Butterfly valve: The opening and closing parts are disc-shaped, which is visually simple.

Gate valve: It contains internal components such as valve stem and valve plate, and has a relatively complex appearance.

3. Principle and Structure of Butterfly Valve  

Butterfly valve: Use a disc type opening and closing element to rotate back about 90 degrees to open, close or adjust the flow rate of the medium.

Gate valve: The direction of movement of the gate is perpendicular to the direction of the fluid, and the gate can be moved up and down to cut off or allow the medium to pass through.

Butterfly valve: mainly composed of valve body, valve stem, bottom plate, and sealing ring. The valve body is circular, with a short axial length and a built-in butterfly plate.

Gate valves: According to their different structures, they can be divided into various types such as single gate valves, double gate valves, and elastic gate valves, with relatively complex structures.

4. Butterfly Valve Price and Usage   

Generally speaking, the price of gate valves is slightly higher than that of butterfly valves. This is because when using the same material and diameter, butterfly valves are relatively inexpensive due to their simple structure and low material consumption.

Butterfly valve: usually used in pipeline systems with less strict pressure loss requirements, such as fire water systems, low-pressure pipelines, etc. Its simple structure and convenient operation make it widely used in these situations.

Gate valve: generally used in gas pipelines, water engineering, natural gas extraction wellhead equipment and other occasions that require high sealing performance. Due to its dual flow characteristics, the medium can flow from either direction, making it irreplaceable in these situations.

In summary, butterfly valves and gate valves have significant differences in multiple aspects. When choosing to use, it is necessary to select the appropriate valve type based on specific operating conditions and usage environments.

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