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Numerical study of cavitating flow inside a flush valve

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 January 2012

Annie-Claude Bayeul-Lainé,
Sophie Simonet,
Daniel Dutheil and
Guy Caignaert
Annie-Claude Bayeul-Lainé*
Affiliation:
Arts et Métiers Paristech, LML, UMR CNRS 8107, 8 boulevard Louis XIV, 59046 Lille Cedex, France
Sophie Simonet
Affiliation:
Arts et Métiers Paristech, LML, UMR CNRS 8107, 8 boulevard Louis XIV, 59046 Lille Cedex, France
Daniel Dutheil
Affiliation:
PRESTO, 4 rue Lavoisier, 17110 Saint Georges de Didonne, France
Guy Caignaert
Affiliation:
Arts et Métiers Paristech, LML, UMR CNRS 8107, 8 boulevard Louis XIV, 59046 Lille Cedex, France
*
aCorresponding author: annie-claude.bayeul@ensam.eu
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Abstract

In water supply installations, noise pollution often occurs. As a basic component of a system, a flush valve may frequently be a source of noise and vibration generated by cavitation or high turbulence levels. During valve closing or valve opening, cavitation can be a problem. In order to decrease the noise and to improve the design inside a flush valve, some experimental and numerical analyses were carried out in our laboratories. These analyses led to some improvements in the design of the valves. Cavitation occurrence was more specifically addressed, using numerical simulation, and this is the main aim of the present paper. Particularly, the use of a simplified numerical test without cavitation model is compared with one using a cavitation model. In order to define potential cavitation risks in some parts of the valve, it has been found that a simplified approach provides an accurate overview. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations of cavitating flow of water through an industrial flush valve were performed using the Reynolds averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations with a near-wall turbulence model. The flow was assumed turbulent, incompressible and steady. Two commercial CFD codes (Fluent 6.3 and Star CCM+ 3.04.009) were used to analyse the effects of inlet pressure as well as mesh size and mesh type on cavitation intensity in the flush valve.

Keywords

Cavitationnoisenumerical simulationwater supply systemsCavitationbruitsimulation numériqueinstallations sanitaires

Information

Type
Research Article
Information
Mechanics & Industry , Volume 12 , Issue 6 , 2011, pp. 421 - 431
Copyright
© AFM, EDP Sciences 2011

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