The numerical analysis of a large diameter spherical valve

The hydraulic performance of a spherical valve is significant in ensuring that hydropower plants work efficiently, steadily, and above all, safely. However, it is almost impossible to conduct live experimental studies on a larger-sized spherical valve in the laboratory. In this paper, the hydraulic performance of a spherical valve with a diameter of 1,100 mm was numerically studied. Three-dimensional numerical simulations were conducted with the commercial software ANSYS-CFX® to investigate the flow coefficient of a spherical valve and the flow patterns inside of the valve under different working conditions. In this study, the flow coefficient and the flow fields inside of this spherical valve were obtained. The computed flow coefficient of this spherical valve agrees well with the field measurement data of hydropower plants. Above all, this methodology of numerical simulation can aid in designing future spherical valves and in guiding the operation and maintenance of hydropower plants.