The closing mechanism
In a weir type diaphragm valve the flow passage rises over a saddle-shaped weir cast across the body. A flexible diaphragm, clamped between body and bonnet around its full perimeter, is pushed down by a shaped compressor until it moulds onto the weir crest and shuts off flow. Because the weir raises the seating line close to the diaphragm, the stroke is short, roughly a quarter of the bore, and the diaphragm bends through a small angle each cycle. That single geometric fact is why weir valves outlast straight-through valves on the same duty and why stiff PTFE-faced diaphragms, which cannot tolerate deep flexing, are practical only on weir bodies.