Valves & Flow Control
CFD and FEA for industrial valves: flow coefficient, pressure drop and cavitation, body strength under test pressure, high-temperature and seismic checks.
Industry overview
Most valve makers design from experience and prove the design on the test bench. That works until a buyer asks for a Cv curve before the prototype exists, or a refinery specification calls for design-by-analysis at operating temperature. Power projects now want seismic qualification on paper too. Such requests usually come late in the order cycle, and they decide whether the valve gets approved.
Shirsh Technosolutions has worked with valve manufacturers on both the flow side and the strength side. In ANSYS Fluent we have analysed gate, swing check, plunger and mixing valves for flow coefficient, pressure drop, cavitation and mixing quality, and we have compared simulated flow with measured Cv where test data was available. In ANSYS Mechanical we have checked sluice and butterfly valve bodies under test pressure, ball valve assemblies at operating temperature with bolt preload and seat contact, and valves for seismic qualification. We have also simulated the thermal history of multi-pass welds on valve bodies.
Industry challenges
Buyers asking for Cv curves and pressure-drop data before a prototype is made
Cavitation and noise at partial opening in control and plunger valves
Large cast bodies that must pass the shell test without yielding or leaking
Design-by-analysis at high temperature, where allowable stress falls and bolts relax
Seismic qualification demanded by power and process projects
How we help
- 1
CFD of flow coefficient and pressure drop across the opening range in ANSYS Fluent
- 2
Prediction of low-pressure zones and cavitation risk at partial opening
- 3
FEA of bodies, bonnets, discs and stems under shell test and operating pressure
- 4
Thermal-structural analysis with bolt preload and seat contact to ASME VIII Div 2 Part 5
- 5
Seismic qualification analysis to the project specification
- 6
Transient thermal simulation of welding on valve bodies and end connections
Key trends
More buyers asking for simulated Cv and cavitation data with the datasheet
Hydrogen and high-temperature service raising new material and sealing questions
Simulation used to cut prototype iterations before type testing
Export orders asking for design-by-analysis and seismic documentation
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