Experimental study on pressure characteristics and flow coefficient of butterfly valve

Air entrainment and self-aeration flow are phenomena that can generate fluctuation in pressure and induce disadvantages in piping systems. In this study, the mechanism of air bubble formation in Partially Filled Pipe Flow (PFPF) is investigated through a series of experiments on a butterfly valve with flow visualization and pressure measurement. This paper provides a description of the formation of bubbles induced by a butterfly valve and analyzes the characteristics of the pressure and flow coefficient of the valve. The pressures at various locations on the pipeline adjacent to the valve were measured to compare with the positions recommended by the International Society of Automation standard. The results indicated that in PFPF, the differences in the pressure between measured points downstream are noticeable, notably at valve openings less than 50°. The bubbles created at the valve, which lead to the highly-disordered aerated flow downstream, might induce the differences. The pressure drop and the flow rate across the butterfly valve in 100% water fraction flow are respectively 3–7.5 and 2–9 times higher than those in 90% WF. The flow coefficient of the 3-inch butterfly valve was found to increase linearly with the Reynolds number before leveling off when the Reynolds number exceeds 6×104. Besides, the flow coefficients in 100% water fraction flow are double those in 90% water fraction flow.