Force required to dislodge a sphere from pipe (Valve design)

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mkematt96
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I'm designing a valve that uses a ball to seal the valve. When the valve is empty there is no force acting on top of the ball. When water flows in, it will push up on the ball to dislodge it, water will flow into the valve and push the ball up until it seats into the top hole/chamfer which then seals off the valve. This will stop for the flow of water through the valve. We know the area of the ball, area of the circular openings, and the pressure at which we want the ball to be dislodge. Would it be as simple as saying Pressure = Force/Area and Force = Pressure * Area?
 

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I think you only need the area of the openings. For purposes of that force calculation, it doesn't matter what shape the ball is. A disk flapperr would have the same force.

Your valve reminds me of the snorkel valve with a ping pong ball that I had as a child. But that valve relied on the ball's buoyancy.
 
What you did not include in your set of "knowns" is the weight of the ball, which will determine the force required to lift the ball from a given bottom seat diameter.