Modeling and optimization of novel ball valve with high adjustable ratio

Highlights: • Apply an improved Artificial Fish Swarm Algorithm (AFSA) in the optimal design of the valve. • Design a ball valve with an extremely high adjustable ratio; present a new method of the small flow regulation. • Experiment study are given about the flow characteristic in this valve. The ball valve has been widely used in many industries. Adjustable ratio is a core parameter of the valve design, which characterizes the adjustment accuracy of the valve. Type-V ball valves on the market due to limitations of machining process, the highest adjustable ratio is only approximately 30–50. This study designs a special adjustable ball valve with ultra-high adjustable ratio, and analyzes its flow characteristics. The incision of the ball valve is designed based on the plane triangle projection, and optimized by Artificial Fish Swarm Algorithm (AFSA) to maximize the adjustable ratio. The optimized design parameters are changed according to the engineering principles, and the effects of these changes on the flow characteristics are researched by Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulation. The physical valve is made according to the modified design parameters. And its flow characteristics are experimented. The work in this paper provides a reference for the valve design in the flow characteristics.