A numerical model of fluid structure interaction of a fluttering valve

Abstract

Fluttering suction valves are important components of hermetic reciprocating compressors used in refrigerators. The design parameters of the valve reed strongly determine the mass flow rate and consequently the compressor efficiency. Therefore, it is necessary to carefully design the reed valves to maximize compressor performance. In this study, anumerical flowmodel tomimic a fluttering suction valve in hermetic reciprocating compressors is developed. To simulate the unsteady flow dynamics and the motion of the fluttering valve in the cylinder, a simplified test geometry is used, where a fully coupled fluid structure interaction (FSI) problem is solved. The main goal of the study is to reveal the effects of some important design parameters of the valve reed such as the thickness, diameter of the circular part of the valve and the distance between valve reed and valve plate. These design parameters are vital for improving the aerodynamic and aero-acoustic behavior of the flow in the compressor. It is shown that increasing thickness of the valve reed decreases the mass flowrate significantlywhere the head diameter of the reed and distance between the reed and the plate have minor effects on both mass flow rate and displacement of the reed.