OPTIMISATION OF FLOW THROUGH A PNEUMATIC CONTROL VALVE USING CFD ANALYSIS AND EXPERIMENTAL VALIDATION

Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) is becoming a tool that can be used by engineers to optimise valve performance. CFD is used here to model the fluid flow characteristics through a control valve. By changing various aspects of the internal flow path, the performance of a valve is improved through a greater mass flow rate to optimise its performance. These changes included rounding sharp edges, removing areas of dead-space and moving some internal parts to reduce sharp changes in direction. The CFD model was used to create a new modified design which was then manufactured for testing. The test results were compared to the CFD results from the new model. The CFD and experimental results showed a similar increase in flow rate from the original to the modified valve showing that changes to the internal flow path had a positive effect on the measured flow rate.