Gas flow characteristics of a pressure-flow composite valve based on computational fluid dynamics simulation

A proportional pressure-flow composite valve is widely used in industrial control and other fields due to its simple principle, high adaptability, stability, precision, and energy efficiency. However, when the pressure-flow composite valve is applied in the field of pneumatic, the compressibility of gases leads to unstable flow. Precise control of gas mass flow rate remains challenging. In this work, to explore the gas flow characteristics of the pressure-flow composite valve, a computational fluid dynamics simulation was conducted under the condition of different combinations of secondary inlet valves in the composite valve. Streamline and velocity contour were obtained under various combinations of inlet valves. Preliminary analysis suggested that a combination of multiple inlet valves resulted in a reduction of outlet flow compared to the addition of every single valve. This reduction was exacerbated when the outlet diameter increased or the outlet depth enlarged.