Compressible Flowfield Characteristics of Butterfly Valves

Abstract

The results of an experimental investigation into the flowfield characteristics of butterfly valves under compressible flow operating conditions are reported. The experimental results include Schlieren and surface flow visualizations and flowfield static pressure distributions. Two valve disk shapes have been studied in a planar, two-dimensional test section: a generic biconvex circular arc profile and the midplane cross-section of a prototype butterfly valve. The valve disk angle and operating pressure ratio have also been varied in these experiments. The results demonstrate that under certain conditions of operation the butterfly valve flowfield can be extremely complex with oblique shock waves, expansion fans, and regions of flow separation and reattachment. In addition, the sensitivity of the valve disk surface pressure distributions to the local geometry near the leading and trailing edges and the relation of the aerodynamic torque to flow separation and reattachment on the disk are shown.