CONTENTS

 ABSTRACT
 INTRODUCTION
 MODELLING / DESIGNING
 CFD ANALYSIS
 CONCLUSION
 REFERENCES
ABSTRACT
The Feed check valve is fitted to the boiler, slightly below the working
level in the boiler. It is used to supply high pressure feed water to boiler
and also to prevent the returning of feed water from the boiler if feed
pump fails to work. With rapid advancement in the area of flow simulation,
CFD and Numerical technique, the flow characteristics of the feed check
valve can be studied effectively. In this paper modeling and 3-dimensional
flow simulation of a feed check valve is carried out using SOLIDWORKS™
FLOW SIMULATION software to understand the inside flow characteristics
and to determine and compare prominent factors such as Pressure drop,
Valve co-efficient for different materials ( Titanium , Brass )
Key words: Feed check valve, CFD, SOLIDWORKS™ flow
simulation.

INTRODUCTION
A valve is a device or natural object that regulates, directs or controls
the flow of a fluid (gases, liquids, fluidized solids, or slurries) by opening,
closing, or partially obstructing various passageways. Valves are technically
fittings, but are usually discussed as a separate category. In an open valve,
fluid flows in a direction from higher pressure to lower pressure. The word
is derived from the Latin valve, the moving part of a door, in turn from
evolver, to turn, roll. The simplest, and very ancient, valve is simply a freely
hinged flap which swings down to obstruct fluid (gas or liquid) flow in one
direction, but is pushed up by the flow itself when the flow is moving in
the opposite direction. This is called a check valve, as it prevents or
"checks" the flow in one direction. Modern control valves May regulate
pressure or flow downstream and operate on sophisticated automation
systems.
Feed check valve :
Feed Check Valves are one of the most important components of
boiler which control the flow of water from feed pump to the boiler and
further prevent the backflow of water from boiler to pump when the boiler
pressure is more than the pump pressure or when feed pump stops
working. A control valve is a mechanical device that controls the flow of
fluid and pressure within a system or process. A control valve controls
system or process fluid flow and pressure by performing different functions
like stopping and starting fluid flow, varying (throttling) the amount of fluid
flow, controlling the direction of fluid flow, regulating downstream system
or process pressure, relieving component or piping over pressure .There
are many valve designs and types that satisfy one or more of the functions
identified above. A multitude of valve types and designs safely
accommodate a wide variety of industrial applications

Fig 1: Schematic Diagram of a Feed Check Value

Working :
 Under normal working condition, the pressure on the feed pump side
(connected to elbow) is more than the boiler side pressure.
 This pressure difference lifts the check valve. To allow the feed water to
enter the boiler, the feed valve is lifted manually.
 Hence, the feed water may enter the boiler. In order to control the
supply of feed water to the boiler, the position of the feed valve is
controlled. In the event of failure of feed pump, the pressure on the water
sump side reduces.
Based on the actuating medium :
 Manual valve: Actuated by hand wheel
 Pneumatic valve: Actuated using a compressible medium like air,
hydrocarbon, or nitrogen, with a spring diaphragm, piston cylinder or
piston-spring type actuator
 Hydraulic valve: Actuated by a non-compressible medium such as water
or oil
 Electric valve: Actuated by an electric motor

MODELLING
The modeling of Feed check valve is done with the help of SOLIDWORKS™
CAD software. This software is very user-friendly and easy to use. The
assembly of the feed check valve and the components of the valve is
shown in the Fig. 2 below.
 Fig 2: Front View Fig 3: Isometric View

Table 1 : List of components in the Assembly

PART NO COMPONENT MATERIAL

1 VALVE BODY Cast Iron

2 Valve seat Gun Metal
3 Valve Gun Metal
4 Cover Cast Iron
5 Spindle Fe 410 W
6 Packing Fiber
7 Gland Gun Metal
8 Handle Fe 410 W
9 Nut & Bolt Fe 410 W
assembly

CFD ANALYSIS
 The next step after the modeling is to subject the developed model to
Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) analysis to understand the flow
characteristics inside the valve. The CFD analysis is carried out in 3 steps
Step 1:- Obtaining pressure drop curves for volume flow rates 5 m3/hr and
10 m3/hr by varying valve lift from 3mm to 16mm.
Step 2:- From the obtained pressure drop values the valve Flow Co-
efficient (Cv) is calculated for different valve lifts from 3mm to 16mm using
conventional valve sizing calculation formula.
Step 3:- In this step, for a constant pressure drop of 1 bar between inlet
and outlet, the outlet velocity (V) of flow is measured to calculate the
volume flow rate (Q) which is given by,
Volume flow rate = outlet velocity x area
Q= V x A…………….. (1)
A graph of discharge vs. valve lift characteristic curve for the valve is
plotted.

A. Grid independence study

In any flow analysis the results obtained depends upon the type of
mesh that is chosen for the study. The type of mesh means the
number of fluid cells, partial fluid cells, solid cells used for meshing
the fluid domain. The results can vary depending on the meshing
parameters. In order to get consistent results the grid independence
study is carried out. This involves selecting a mesh to perform a set of
analysis, increasing the mesh size (total no. of cells) by x1.5 times
than previous mesh and performing the analysis yet again. This
process is continued till the required accuracy of the results is
obtained or till the variation in the results is reduced to a minimum
 value. In the present analysis the grid independence study is made to
understand the variation of the pressure drop (bar) with mesh size.
For this purpose a three sets of meshes are defined. The analysis is
carried out in all three cases and a graph pressure drop (bar) vs. valve
lift for the volume flow rate of 10 m3/hr is plotted to select the best
possible mesh size for further analysis. The details of the three types
of meshes i.e. Mesh A, Mesh B and Mesh C used is given below.

Fig 4 : Grid Independence study

B. Pressure drop

Pressure drop is defined as the difference in pressure between two

points of a fluid carrying network. Pressure drop occurs when
frictional forces, caused by the resistance to flow, act on a fluid as it
flows through the tube/valve. Pressure drop across a valve is highly
influenced by the area, shape, path and roughness of the valve.
Pressure drop is created by flow rate. Higher the flow rates through a
restriction, the greater the pressure drop. The pressure drop across a
valve is illustrated in the Fig. 6. Differential, Delta, ∆, refers to the
pressure drop across a flow component – valve, screen, etc. Delta is
the 'change' in something; in this case a change, or drop, in pressure.
 To determine the ∆P across a valve, simply subtract the outlet
pressure (P2) from the inlet pressure (P1). The equation is P1-P2 =
∆P…………… (2) Pressure drop is a critical element in valve sizing and
valve application because pressure drop of a valve must be known to
the engineer designing fluid system to ensure proper valve selection.

Fig 6: Pressure Drop Across a Valve

Fig 5: A Typical Mesh C Grid approx..

280,000 Cells Used for the Analysis

Trial 1:-
Inlet Volume flow rate = 5 m3/hr
Outlet Static pressure = 101325 Pa
The corresponding pressure drop for different valve lift as calculated
by the flow simulation software is given in the Table 3.

Trial 2:-
Inlet Volume flow rate = 10 m3/hr
Outlet Static pressure = 101325 Pa
The corresponding pressure drop for different valve lift as calculated
by the flow simulation software is given in the Table 4.

Table 3 Table 4
 Fig 7: Pressure Drop (ber) Vs. Valve lift(mm) for
different flow rates

C. Flow Co-Efficient (Cv)

Calculating the flow rate through a valve is a very complex task. The
valve flow coefficient (Cv) takes into account all the dimensions and
other factors—including size and direction changes that affect fluid
flow. Using the principle of conservation of energy, Daniel Bernoulli
found that as a liquid flows through an orifice, the square of the fluid
velocity is directly proportional to the pressure differential across
the orifice and inversely proportional to the specific gravity of the
fluid. The greater the pressure differential, the higher the velocity;
the greater the density, the lower the velocity. The volume flow rate
for liquids can be calculated by multiplying the fluid velocity times
the flow area. By taking into account units of measurement, the
proportionality relationship previously mentioned, energy losses due
to friction and turbulence, and varying discharge coefficients for
various types of orifices (or valve bodies), a basic liquid sizing (valve
sizing) equation can be written as follows:

Q = Cv(P/SG)……….(3)

Where:-
Q = Capacity in gallons per minute.
Cv =Valve sizing coefficient determined experimentally for each style
and size of valve, using water at standard conditions as the test fluid.
∆P = (P1-P2) Pressure differential in psi.
SG = Specific gravity of fluid (water at 60°F = 1.0)

Thus, Cv is numerically equal to the number of U.S. gallons of

water at 60°F that will flow through the valve in one minute when
the pressure differential across the valve is one pound per square
inch. Cv varies with both size and style of valve, but provides an
index for comparing liquid capacities of different valves under a
standard set of conditions.
To aid in establishing uniform measurement of liquid flow capacity
coefficients (Cv) among valve manufacturers, the Fluid Controls
Institute (FCI) developed a standard test piping arrangement, shown
in Fig. 8. Using such a piping arrangement, most valve manufacturers
develop and publish Cv information for their products.
To calculate the expected Cv for a valve controlling water or other
liquids that behave like water, the basic liquid sizing equation above
can be re-written as follows:

Cv=Q(SG/P)  ……….(4)
Where:-
Q = Capacity in gallons per minute.
Cv =Valve sizing coefficient determined experimentally for each style
and size of valve, using water at standard conditions as the test fluid.
∆P = (P1-P2) Pressure differential in psi.
SG = Specific gravity of fluid (water at 60°F = 1.0)

Fig 8: Standard PCI Test Piping for Cv measurement

Thus, Cv is numerically equal to the number of U.S. gallons of water

at 60°F that will flow through the valve in one minute when the
pressure differential across the valve is one pound per square inch.
Cv varies with both size and style of valve, but provides an index for
comparing liquid capacities of different valves under a standard set
of conditions.

Trial 1:-
For Volume flow rate of 5 m3/hr, the flow coefficient values for
different valve lifts are given in Table 5. The corresponding graph is
plotted in the Fig. 9

Table 5
Trial 2:-
For Volume flow rate of 10 m3/hr, the flow coefficient values for
different valve lifts are given in Table 6 and the corresponding graph
is plotted in the Fig.10
Table 6
 Fig. 9 Flow Co-efficient Vs. Valve Lift (mm) at 5 m3/hr

Fig.10 Flow Co-efficient Vs. Valve Lift (mm) at 10 m3/hr

From comparison of the graphs 9 and 10 it can be clearly seen that

the rise in flow-co-efficient of the valve happens in a more linear
(lesser fluctuations) fashion when the volume flow rate is high i.e., at
10 m3/hr than when the volume flow rate is 5 m3/hr. This can be
explained by the fact that, at increased flow rate the fluid flow is
fully developed. Hence, increased velocity of discharge leading to
increased flow co-efficient.

D. Discharge at constant pressure drop

In the third step of the analysis, a constant pressure drop of 1 bar

is set between the inlet and outlet of the feed check valve. The
calculations from the slow simulation software yields outlet velocity
(V) as output for different valve lifts. The applied boundary
conditions are summarized below

Boundary conditions:
Inlet Pressure = 40 Bar
Outlet Pressure = 39 Bar
Output:
Outlet Velocity in m/s.
This step is essential in the analysis because in order to plot the
characteristic curve of Discharge vs Valve lift for the feed check valve
at constant pressure drop. The output in the form of outlet velocity
(V) obtained from the flow simulation software is used to calculate
the discharge (Q) of the feed check valve using the formula given in
equation no. (1).The result of this flow simulation for every 1 mm
increase in the valve lift is tabulated in the Table 7.
Area of the outlet = 0.0045 m2
The graph of Discharge Vs Lift characteristic curve for the feed
check vale is shown in the Fig. 11.
Table 7
 Fig. 11 Discharge (LPM) vs Valve lift(mm) characteristic curve

E. Flow Visualisation

An excellent feature of SOLIDWORKS Flow Simulation software is

the ability to visualize the flow inside the valve. This is immensely
helpful for designers to observe, study the flow patterns and modify
the design, if in case the results obtained are not as desired. It also
serves as a great tool to verify the actual flow rates of the valves
obtained through experimentation. The flow patterns show a rapid
increase in the velocity at the valve-valve seat clearance. In order to
capture this change the number of cells is increased in this region
while the rest of the fluid domain is meshed with usual sized fluid
elements.

CONCLUSION
1) The modeling of the feed check valve is done and a method of
performing CFD analysis using flow simulation software
2) The pressure drop curve is obtained for flow rates of 5 m3/hr and 10
m3/hr. The results show that the pressure drop is more for higher flow
rates and lower valve lifts.
3) The obtained pressure drop values is used to calculate the flow co-
efficient (Cv) for flow rates 5 m3/hr and 10 m3/hr using traditional valve
sizing formula for different valve lifts i.e., from 3mm to 16mm. The results
show that flow co-efficient increases in a linear fashion with the valve lift.
4) Result of flow simulation is visualized to observe the flow patterns
inside the valve. The flow patterns show a rapid increase in the velocity at
the valve-valve seat clearance

REFERENCES
[1]. V. J. Sonawane, T. J. Rane, A.D. Monde, R.V. Vajarinkar, P. C. Gawade,
“Design and Analysis of Globe Valve as Control Valve Using CFD Software”
IOSR-JMCE, ISSN (p): 2320–334X, PP: 63-71.
[2]. Swagelok Valve Sizing Technical Bulletin, December 2007. [3]. R.C.Patel,
C.J. Karamchandani, “Element of heat engines” Vol 1, Chapter 8, Steam
Boilers.
[4]. H.Kursat Celik, Allan E.W. Rennie, Davut Karayel, Ibrahim Akinci,
“Determination of flow parameters through CFD analysis for agricultural
irrigation equipment: A case study for a mini valve”, Journal of Agricultural
machinery science, Vol 7(3), 231-239.