| Abstrakt: |
Valves are widely used in several areas, and their application in building installations is common, e.g., as shower control valves. Rapid technological advances have resulted in improvements to valve performance, reducing water and energy consumption. Removing parts external to the masonry improves space use and ergonomics in valve operation. Front access to the internal parts of a valve facilitates maintenance. The objective of this study is to present a new model of hydraulic valve for building installations, designed to decrease head loss, increase controllability, and eliminate parts outside the masonry. Three geometries were initially designed using SolidWorks, and a CFD model was used to specify the pressures at the inlet and outlet of the analyzed sections. As a result, the third valve geometry presented a pressure drop coefficient when 100% open that was roughly one third of that typically seen in globe valves. The pumps and the reduction in head loss implied that lower power was required, and therefore its energy consumption was low. Gains in controllability were also observed, as it did not reach high flows for small openings. When used on a large scale, these attributes would prevent the valves from wasting natural resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
