Study on reducing both flow force and cavitation in poppet valves

Abstract

The present work is aimed at simultaneously reducing the additional flow force on the cone and cavitation intensity in a poppet valve. A prediction model of flow force on the cone and cavitation was established for the poppet valve by using computational fluid dynamics method (CFD) combined with Zwart–Gerber–Belamri cavitation model. The effects of three poppet valve configurations and their parameters on the flow force and cavitation intensity in valves were investigated. The research results indicate that, compared with the poppet valve A, the poppet valve B has an excellent ability to decrease the flow force on the cone, but promotes the cavitation intensity in the valve. The poppet valve C can not only significantly decrease the flow force on the cone but also has the potential to reduce cavitation intensity in the valve. When the parameter h is 6 mm and the parameter t is 2 mm, the flow force and the relative vapor volume in the valve C can be reduced by an average of 44.2% and 100%, respectively.