One of the most common applications for self-actuated control valves is reservoir level control.
At first glance it looks simple – exactly like a toilet valve. Except that toilet valves aren’t likely to fail from cavitation.
I’ve written about combatting cavitation by controlling flow rates through level control valves. The article is here if you’re interested: https://ultravalves.co.za/modern-solutions-for-level-control-systems-on-reservoirs
Today we’ll look at a common problem that arises from preventing water hammer when closing reservoir control valves.
Water hammer occurs when a fluid in motion is forced to stop suddenly – for instance when closing the level control valve on a reservoir. The resulting pressure wave can cause significant problems, including pipe failure.
To prevent this, a long closing time is often specified. Sometimes as long as 10 to 20 minutes. This is achieved through a speed control needle valve on the level control valve.
This needle valve is usually set very small, which makes it prone to clogging with dirt and sediment. When this happens the level control valve won’t close and the reservoir overflows. Needle valves are high maintenance.
Ultra-valves has developed a self-cleaning speed controller to solve this problem. It’s able to accommodate wide range of closing speeds and is reliable even without regular maintenance.
This innovation marks a significant step forward in the efficient operation of level control valves.
