ANSYS STRUCTURAL: Globe Valve Static Simulation

In this project, we performed a structural simulation of a Globe Valve in ANSYS Static Structural.

What are Globe Valves?

Valves are devices utilized to open or close the fluid flow path, control and regulate fluid flow or in a piping system. Globe valves are one of the most widely used types in industrial plants, power stations, water facilities, etc. They operate by moving a disc against a fixed seat, which enables it to open and close the fluid flow path, or regulate its mass flow rate.

Geometry Definition:

We modeled the geometry of the computational domain with Design Modeler software. The computational domain corresponds to a globe valve body, consisting of a main path oriented left-to-right, with a branch rising vertically from its centre where the handwheel is mounted. All ends of the valve on the left, right, and top sides have flanges with bolt holes.

Mesh:

We meshed the computational domain to create a discretized domain. An unstructured grid was created, so that about 122,000 elements were generated.

ANSYS Static Structural:

There are different solvers and software available for users for structural modeling. For the present simulation, we utilize the ANSYS Static Structural Solver. The overall procedure and main steps required for static structural simulations include the definition of materials, connections, different types of boundary conditions, and post-processing.

How to define boundary conditions?

First, we defined a pressure load boundary condition on the inner surfaces of the globe valve. This uniform pressure load, as a result of the fluid flowing pressure, is applied to the valve body. Next, we defined a frictionless support boundary condition on the outer faces of the flanges and the inner faces of the bolt holes at both ends of the main line of the globe valve. These constrained the valve body from displacement only in their normal directions while allowing free longitudinal displacement along their axis. This represents that the flanges prevent the valve bodies from pushing outward, and the bolts prevent the holes from displacing radially.

What is the purpose of this simulation?

This investigation aims to evaluate the structural response of the Globe Valve under loading and study the solid behavior with analysis of distributions of the total deformation, elastic strain, and von Mises stress.

Results and discussions:

The total deformation distribution indicates that maximum deflection occurs in the middle regions of the globe valve, representing the effects of the hydraulic pressure of the fluid flow. However, the flange surfaces and bolt holes are restrained only in their normal directions. The stress distribution indicates that the higher stress appears near the vertical branch junction, adjacent to the bolted holes, and on the inner surface of the main line of the globe valve.