Solid–liquid two-phase flow and erosion calculation of butterfly valves at small opening based on DEM method

Purpose 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. Design/methodology/approach 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. Findings 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. Originality/value 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. Peer review The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/ILT-07-2020-0264/