Experimental Analysis of Proportional Pressure Reducing Valves for Water Distribution Systems

Pressure reducing valves (PRVs) are a widely used device for controlling water distribution systems. The behavior of these valves is based on a chamber where inlet and outlet water are controlled. Proportional pressure reducing valves (PPRVs) are a variation of PRVs where the control system is a direct connection between the chamber and the point downstream the valve. They are used where large pressure reductions are required. Traditional characterization of PPRVs considers a constant ratio between the input and the output pressure (λ). In this paper an alternative approach based on an experimental analysis of λ has been performed. The tests show that λ parameter cannot be considered constant. Thus, to characterize these PPRVs a mathematical model has been developed. This model can explain λ variations with pressure and flow rate becoming certainly in a more complete way of representing this kind of valves.