The valve coefficient was measured for 1, 1-1/4, 1-1/2 and 2 nominal ball valves. A recently designed orifice insert was used with these valves to obtain smaller valve coefficients. Orifice inserts were threaded into the body of a ball valve just upstream of the ball itself. The valve coefficient was measured for every insert used with these valves, and an expression was determined to relate the orifice diameter to other pertinent flow parameters. Two dimensionless groups were chosen to correlate the collected data, and expressions were developed that can be used as aids in sizing the orifice insert needed to obtain the desired valve coefficient. The study has shown that a 2nd order polynomial equation as well as a power law equation can both be used to predict the desired results. Knowing pipe size and schedule, the diameter of the orifice insert needed to obtain the required valve coefficient can be approximated with minimum error. An error analysis performed on the collected data shows that the results are highly accurate, and that the experimental process is repeatable.
展开▼
