3D CFD Predictions and Experimental Comparisons of Pressure Drop in a Ball Valve at Different Partial Openings in Turbulent Flow

Authors

Samir F. Moujaes, University of Nevada, Las VegasFollow
R. Jagan, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

3-2008

Publication Title

Journal of Energy Engineering

Volume

134

Issue

1

First page number:

24

Last page number:

28

Abstract

A three dimensional computational fluid dynamics model, using the STAR-CD software, has been developed to simulate fluid flow in a commonly used flanged ball valve at different partially open settings. The Reynolds number (Re) range for the flow simulations was varied between 105 and 106 to simulate a variety of flow conditions. Each flow Re number is studied with three open positions for the valve, i.e., fully open, two-thirds open, and one-third open. The simulation was used to calculate two important parameters used in characterizing the flow properties in a typical valve namely the loss coefficient, K, and the flow coefficient, Cv . An attempt was also made to compare some of the simulation results with experimental data and available American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) data on valves. The simulations agree reasonably well with recently published experimental results and indicate that in most cases the K factor is independent of Re . The ASHRAE data for K factor values showed similar trends to the simulation but with lower values as it was only reported for gates valves. The Cv values show strong increases with the degree of valve opening and lesser influence by the Re number variations in the range studied

Keywords

Ball valves; Computational fluid dynamics; Fluid mechanics

Disciplines

Acoustics, Dynamics, and Controls | Aerodynamics and Fluid Mechanics | Engineering Physics | Fluid Dynamics | Mechanical Engineering

Language

English

Permissions

Use Find in Your Library, contact the author, or interlibrary loan to garner a copy of the item. Publisher policy does not allow archiving the final published version. If a post-print (author's peer-reviewed manuscript) is allowed and available, or publisher policy changes, the item will be deposited.

Repository Citation

Moujaes, S. F., Jagan, R. (2008). 3D CFD Predictions and Experimental Comparisons of Pressure Drop in a Ball Valve at Different Partial Openings in Turbulent Flow. Journal of Energy Engineering, 134(1), 24-28.