Transient Regulating Characteristics of V-Port Ball Valve in Opening and Closing Process

Abstract V-port ball valves have been widely utilized as a control device in various fluid transmission systems, achieving the function of throttling and controlling the flow direction effectively. However, the flow characteristics for a V-port ball valve in the opening and closing processes are unclear, especially the influence of different cone angles on the valve regulation process. The present work investigates the transient regulation performance and internal flow characteristics with different cone angles of a V-port ball valve in its opening and closing processes experimentally and numerically. The results reveal that the performance parameters involving the flow rate, pressure, and flow coefficient in the opening process are greater than those in the closing process; subsequently, they become the same after stabilization. The V-port cone angle affects the flow rate, pressure, and flow coefficient significantly. The maximum flow rate and flow coefficient increases with the increase in the cone angle. The inlet pressure and the initial opening in which the outlet pressure begins to reduce decrease with an increase in the cone angle. In the valve regulation process, the interaction between the flow and the cone leading edge produces a large flow variation. As the cone angle increases, the variation degree at the leading edge weakens. The current conclusions can provide a reference for the design and optimization of V-port ball valves.