An accurate method for determination of the performance characteristics of membrane-type restrictors

The determination of flow rate and fluid resistance for membrane-type restrictors is modified in this paper, and it can be more accurate and confident from the measurements in experiments. Three coupled equations including Reynolds equation, membrane deformation equation of large axisymmetric deflection and flow rate equation have been used to establish the mathematical model of membrane-type restrictor and solved simultaneously. Several cases are simulated by the traditional method and the modified numerical method, and the simulation results are compared with experimental data for flow rates and fluid resistances. It has been found that the determination of the performance characteristics of membrane-type restrictors is significantly affected by the hypotheses of membrane deflection scales, the pressures distribution and the gap height between the sill and membrane. The numerical results of the modified method are much more approximated to the actual flow rate measured in Kang et al.'s work than those of the traditional formula, and the proposed method can increase the determination accuracy of the flow rate and restriction coefficient in the design of membrane-type restrictors distinctly.