Improvement of the Model for Predicting Swing Check Valve Opening

스윙형 역지 밸브 개도 예측 모델 개선

Swing check valves are the most common type of check valve in nuclear power plant and need to be operated property to perform their functions and to keep the valve internals stable. However, for a swing check valve disc to remain stable, the opening characteristics should be identified and the upstream flow velocity should be enough to hold the disc fully open and without motion. Thus it is necessary to develop a model for predicting the flow velocity for a given disc opening. In the present study, the disc positions with mean flow velocity were measured for 3 inch and 6 inch swing check valves. Comparison of the measurements with the existing models showed that the models underestimate the mean flow velocity for a given disc position. Therefore, the existing model for predicting swing check valve disc position was improved with the realistic disc impingement area perpendicular to the flow stream and the experimental data. The result showed that the improved model with the best estimate of kb = 0.04 predicts well the disc openings of 6 inch swing check valve, especially in the low velocity region. For better prediction of the disc opening at high flow velocity, however, it is recommended to develop a kb correlation with the disc angle.