Study on Wear Properties of the Graphite-Sealing Surfaces in a Triple Eccentric Butterfly Valve Based on EDEM-Fluent Coupling

Abstract

When using valves and pipes, erosion wear is a major issue. Erosion wear can result in equipment shutdown, material replacement, and other issues, as well as the failure of sealing surfaces. The depth of erosion wear is primarily determined by particle velocity, particle size, target material, and use conditions. A combination of the discrete element method (DEM) and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) was used in this study. The dynamic process of particle collision with the sealing surface is also considered. The wear depth was then calculated using Archard’s abrasive wear theory. The erosion wear process of the graphite-sealing surface by gas-solid two-phase flow medium is numerically simulated in a high-temperature triple eccentric butterfly valve using the above theory and method. The erosion wear patterns of graphite-sealing surfaces were investigated under various particle velocities, particle sizes, target materials, and service conditions. The findings indicate that particle velocity and particle size are positively related to wear rate. Soft target wear depth is greater than hard target wear depth. The wear depth decreases as the ambient temperature rises. As a result, graphite has excellent resistance to erosion and wear at high temperatures. When feeding, however, particle velocity and particle size must be considered. The erosion wears characteristics of a high temperature three eccentric butterfly valve investigated in this paper can be used to optimize erosion wear prevention.

Keywords

• triple eccentric butterfly valve
• erosion wear
• gas-solid two-phase flow
• graphite-sealing ring
• CFD-DEM coupling