Flow rate analysis of 3/2 directional pneumatic valve by means of Ansys CFX software

Abstract

The main purpose of this paper was to develop a selection method of the pneumatic connectors for directional 3/2 valve. The method was established to minimize resistance and loss of pressure in the valve with mounted pneumatic connections for the selected pipe diameters. Directional valve was modeled in 3D CAD software SolidWorks while 3D models of the air connections have been downloaded from the website of one of the leading suppliers of pneumatic. Based on developed solid model the simulation of compressed air flow in the software for computational fluid dynamics Ansys CFX was conducted. The studies using CFD methods helped to determine which air connections best meet the assumptions. Performed numerical tests enable proper selection of items to the newly designed pneumatic systems for a particular group of valves. As a consequence, this translates into a reduction in energy consumption and improve the efficiency of the entire pneumatic complex system.