Journal of Emerging Trends in Engineering and Applied Sciences: Research Areas

Abstract:
This paper deals with the determination and analysis of the design and performance parameters of spring loaded poppet valves when used as foot valves in low frequency sonic pumps. Three typical sizes of poppet valves namely 1.5", 2", and 3" were investigated. The mass of the valve, valve spring constant, and valve spring preload were determined by using specially designed setup. The valves spring constant and spring preload were obtained from the trend line equations of the graphs "spring force vs. spring deflection". The valve and valve body geometrical dimensions were also measured and the valve inlet area, maximum stroke limited area, and valve body limited area were calculated. The analysis of the areas of the 1.5" valves revealed that the most critical area in terms of head losses is the maximum stroke limited area. It was also found that for the 2" and 3" poppet valves the valve body limited area is the critical one, provided that the valves are fully opened. It was established by experiments that an increase in the valve stroke caused a non-linear increase of the pump flow rate, while an increase in valve diameter contributed linearly to the increase in the flow rate. For better prediction of the theoretical flow rates when valves are partially opened it was recommended to investigate the dependence of valve displacement upon the resonance acceleration of the pipe oscillating system.

Keywords: sonic pump, spring loaded poppet valve, spring constant, spring preload, valve inlet area, maximum stroke limited area, valve body limited area

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