Gate valves are shut-off valves typically used in plants and pipelines; they channel fluids under pressure; not suitable for flow regulation as they would cause strong turbulence and vibrations.

• Valve body: it connects to the pipes where the fluid flows and to the control elements; it contains the moving part.
• The moving part, which allows the interception of the fluid, is called shutter, gate or wedge. Depending on the application, sluice gates with a metal seal or a rubber wedge can be used.
• The operation of the gate can be manual (through a handwheel for example) or through an actuator (which can be electric or pneumatic).

The metal seal gates (seats in steel, bronze, brass) are full bore; the wedge adheres to the seats only when the closing is completed; sealing is guaranteed by the contact of the metal sealing ring placed on the disc and by the one placed on the body seat.

In valves with rubber wedges, which are also full bore, maintenance-free, the cast iron wedge has an elastomeric EPDM coating; in this case the sealing is guaranteed by the compression of the wedge lining in the seat arranged inside the body.