Because of the converging-diverging configuration of the valve passage, venturi valves have been widely used in large turbines to regulate inlet flow as turbine governing valves for about half a century. From the 1960s, a number of valve failure incidents have been reported. Improvement to current designs was strongly demanded but, owing to the complicated nature of the fluid-structure interaction mechanisms, the basic mechanism causing valve failure is still far from being fully understood. Experimental investigations on a half-scale valve were performed here. The study confirmed that asymmetric unstable flow is the root cause of valve problems, such as noise, vibration and failure.
ZhangD.EngedaA.Venturi valves for a steam turbine and improved design considerations. Proc. Instn Mech. Engrs, Part A: J. Power and Energy, 2003, 217(A2), 219–230.
4.
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ShapiroA. H.The Dynamics and Thermodynamics of Compressible Fluid Flow, Vol. 2, 1953 (Ronald Press, New York).
6.
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7.
BeckerJ. V.Characteristics of wing sections at transonic speeds. Unclassified paper given at the NACA-University Conference on Aerodynamics at Langley Laboratory, June 1948.
8.
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9.
KuoY. H.On the stability of two-dimensional smooth transonic flows in local supersonic velocities. NACA Technical Memorandum 1215, National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, 1950.
