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The purpose of this paper is to analyze the mechanism of particle erosion in butterfly valve pipelines under hydraulic transportation conditions. The results will affect the sealing and safety of butterfly valve pipelines and hopefully serve as reference for the anti-erosion design of butterfly valve pipelines.

Through the discrete element method (DEM) simulation that considers the force between particles, the detached eddy simulation (DES) turbulence model based on realizable k-epsilon is used to simulate the solid-liquid two-phase flow-induced erosion condition when the butterfly valve is fully opened. The simulation is verified by building an experimental system correctness. The solid-liquid two-phase flow characteristics, particle distribution and erosion characteristics of the butterfly valve pipeline under transportation conditions are studied.

The addition of particles may enhance the high-speed area behind the valve. It first increases and then decreases with increasing particle size. With increasing particle size, the low-velocity particles change from being uniformly distributed in flow channel to first gathering in the front of the valve and, then, to gathering in lower part of it. Fluid stagnation at the left arc-shaped flange leads to the appearance of two high-speed belts in the channel. With increasing fluid velocity, high-speed belts gradually cover the entire valve surface by focusing on the upper and lower ends, resulting in the overall aggravation of erosion.

Considering the complexity of solid-liquid two-phase flow, this is the first time that the DEM method with added inter-particle forces and the DES turbulence model based on realizable k-epsilon has been used to study the flow characteristics and erosion mechanism of butterfly valves under fully open transportation conditions.

The study aims to decrease the effect of solid particles on a butterfly valve, which will cause seal failure and leakage, providing a reference for anti-wear design.

In this paper, computational fluid dynamics discrete element method (CFD-DEM) simulation was conducted to study the solid–liquid two-phase flow characteristics and erosion characteristics of a butterfly valve with a different opening.

Abrasion at 10% opening is affected by high-speed jets in upper and lower parts of the pipeline, where the erosion is intense. The impact of the jet on the upper part of 20% opening begins to weaken. With the top backflow vortex disappearing, the effect of lower jet is enhanced. Meanwhile, the bottom backflow vortex phenomenon is obvious, and the abrasion position moves downward. At 30% opening, the velocity is further weakened, and the circulation effect of lower flow channel is more obvious than that of the upper one.

It is the first time to use DEM to investigate the two-phase flow and erosion characteristics at a small opening of a butterfly valve, considering the effect of inter-particle collision. Therefore, this study carries on the thorough analysis and discussion. At the same opening degree, with increasing of the particle size, the abrasion of valve frontal surface increases when the size is less than 150 µm and decreases when it is greater than 150 µm. For the valve backflow surface, this boundary value becomes 200 µm.

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/ILT-07-2020-0264/

Despite the most thorough testing, both on experimental rigs and in prototype flight trials, the hydraulic systems of the first Hawker Siddeley Trident to go into service with B.E.A. developed internal leaks which seriously affected aircraft maintenance. Investigations showed that seepage was occurring at jack valves, which were suffering from erosion The hydraulic fluid used in the systems was Skydrol 500A, selected as a fluid already in use on a world‐wide basis for the safety inherent in its fireproof properties. This fluid had not been known to induce erosion in other aircraft. After almost a year of intensive research the makers of the aircraft, with the help of hydraulic components manufacturers, found the source of this apparent anomaly. The result of the investigation here described will benefit the designers and operators of hydraulic systems in general.

FILTERS have been in use in one form or another throughout history. Despite this fact, there has been, until comparatively recent times, very little written upon the subject. Certainly, to the author's knowledge, there has been only a handful of papers written or read upon high‐pressure oil hydraulic filtration within the past decade. It was for aircraft hydraulic circuits that Fairey originally designed filters and only then because the Company failed to find a filter that fulfilled the stringent requirements we set down as representing the minimum standard demanded by our own hydraulic systems.

The lack of integrity of the piston machine combustion chamber manifests itself in leakages of the working fluid between the piston and the cylinder liner, at valves mounted in the cylinder head and between the head and the liner. An untight combustion chamber leads to decreased power output or efficiency of the engine, while leaks of a fluid may cause damage to many components of the chamber. The actual value of working chamber leak is a desired and essential piece of information for planning operations of a given machine.

This research paper describes causes and mechanisms of leakage from the working chamber of internal combustion engines. Besides, the paper outlines presently used methods and means of leak identification and states that their further development and improvements are needed. New methods and their applicability are presented.

The methods of leak identification have been divided into diagnostic and non-working machine leak identification methods. The need has been justified for the identification of leakage from the combustion chamber of a non-working machine and for using the leakage measure as the value of the cross-sectional area of the equivalent leak, defined as the sum of cross-section areas of all leaking paths. The analysis of possible developments of tightness assessment methods referring to the combustion chamber of a non-working machine consisted in modelling subsequent combustion chamber leaks as gas-filled tank leak, leak from another element of gas-filled tank and as a regulator of gas flow through a nozzle.

A measurement system was built allowing the measurement of pressure drop in a tank with the connected engine combustion chamber, which indicated the usefulness of the system for leakage measurement in units as defined in applicable standards. A pneumatic sensor was built for measuring the cross-sectional area of the equivalent leak of the combustion chamber connected to the sensor where the chamber functioned as a regulator of gas flow through the sensor nozzle. It has been shown that the sensor can be calibrated by means of reference leaks implemented as nozzles of specific diameters and lengths. The schematic diagram of a system for measuring the combustion chamber leakage and a diagram of a sensor for measuring the cross-sectional area of the equivalent leak of the combustion chamber leakage are presented. The results are given of tightness tests of a small one-cylinder combustion engine conducted by means of the set up measurement system and a pre-prototype pneumatic sensor. The two solutions proved to be practically useful.

AS is to be expected, the various systems on the Trident 2E closely follow those evolved for the Tridents 1 and 1E, except for the changes in the fuel system necessitated by the introduction of the fin fuel tank, and the embodiment of a turbine‐compressor type of cold air unit in the air conditioning system.

Erosion and abrasion are the prominent wear mechanisms reducing the lifetime of machine components. Both wear mechanisms are playing a role meanwhile, generating a synergy, leading to a material removal on the target. The purpose of study is to create a mathematical expression for erosive abrasive wear.

Many factors such as environmental cases and material character have an influence in erosive abrasive wear. In the work, changes in abrasive size and material hardness have been analyzed. As an abrasive particle, quartz sand has been used. All tests have been done in 20 wt.% slurry. Heat treatment has been applied to different steel specimens (steel grades C15, St 37 and Ck45) to change hardness value, which ranged from 185 to 880 Vickers hardness number.

After the four-hour test, it is determined that by an increase in abrasive size and decrease in material hardness, wear rate increases. Worn surfaces of the targets have been examined to figure out the wear mechanisms at different conditions under scanning electron microscopy. The results indicate that by an increase in material hardness, the number and diameter of micro-craters on the worn surfaces decrease. The diameters of micro-craters have been about 3–8 µm in hard materials and about 120–140 µm in soft materials.

It is determined that by an increase in abrasive size and decrease in material hardness, wear rate increases. The results indicate that by an increase in material hardness, the number and diameter of micro-craters on the worn surfaces decrease.

The study enables to indicate the dominant factor in worn steel used in mechanical components.

After analyzing the test results, a novel mathematical expression, considering both abrasive size and material hardness, has been developed.

Modern industrial instruments often have to be placed in surroundings which can easily corrode both outer and inner parts, resulting in, firstly, deterioration in appearance and, secondly, breakdown of accuracy of measurement. In its early stages corrosion can obstruct the movement of inner working parts. In electronic instruments, for example, the contacts between, say, the socket of a valve and the wired or printed circuit might suffer. In this article questions of instrument design and panel design are discussed, the importance of correct installation and maintenance is emphasised and some examples of avoidable corrosion given.

IN SPITE of the relatively small numbers so far sold — sales are spread over all six continents. At this time 69 aircraft have been sold to 23 customers. The sale to Air Nauru is particularly noteworthy in view of the distance to the mainland areas in Australia and Japan. In addition to the definite sales several options are held.