Numerical analysis of flow and cavitation characteristics in a pilot-control globe valve with different valve core displacements

Abstract

The pilot-control globe valve (PCGV) is a novel globe valve with a piston-type valve core and a small pilot valve. It can utilize a pressure difference to control the state of the main valve by the pilot valve. In this paper, a mathematical model of PCGV is established and a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) method is used to numerically simulate its flow and cavitation characteristics. Analysis of the pressure difference between the upside and downside of the valve core and comparison with similar previous work increase the reliability of the simulation. Then an analysis of flow and cavitation characteristics is carried out with three comparisons: a comparison between opened and closed states, a comparison between different inlet velocities, and a comparison between different valve core displacements. The results demonstrate that the vapor volume fraction reaches its peak point at the valve seat near the outlet tube, and that a higher inlet velocity or smaller valve core displacement can cause greater cavitation damage. This study can help further design work for optimization and engineering applications of PCGV.