Formation of Necklace-Type Vortex System Upstream of a Gate Valve in Pipe Flow

摘要

A gate valve is one of the main elements of a circular pipeline, but the flow characteristics around the gate valve are hardly known. In this study, clarification of the flow field in front of the gate valve model in a pipe flow via flow visualization and PIV analysis was attempted. As a result, four kinds of steady necklace-type vortex systems, 2-vortex, 4-vortex, 6-vortex and 8-vortex systems, were clearly observed in a Reynolds number between 290 and 2130. In addition, the main vortex was observed in the Reynolds number range between 2130 and 4870 with difficulty. On this account, both the center position and vorticity in the main vortex are presented against Reynolds number.