Numerical investigation and rapid prediction of the erosion rate of gate valve in gas-solid flow

Gate valves are essential control components in pneumatic conveying systems and often experience erosion on their sealing structures due to impacts from solid particles . The erosion leads to a degradation of the sealing effectiveness and, in severe cases, system malfunction. To address this issue, a numerical model based on computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is developed for the simplified two-dimensional gate valve. The two-way Euler-Lagrange method is utilized to investigate the characteristics of gas-solid two-phase flow and erosion rate . The simulation procedure is verified by comparing the simulation results with experimental data. Results show that the sealing surface separates the free shear layer above the cavity and a low-velocity zone is created on the sealing surface. The particles moving at the downstream bottom are the main particles that impact the sealing surface. The erosion results show that the maximum erosion rate occurs near the top of the sealing surface. And the low-velocity zone reduces the erosion rate within that region. Particle diameter, gas velocity , and valve opening have an important effect on erosion on the sealing surface. The erosion rate increases as the valve opening decreases. The value of the maximum erosion rate increases with particle diameter and gas velocity , and its position changes. Finally, based on the established numerical model, a prediction model for the sealing surface erosion rate is constructed using the surrogate model approach. • A numerical model for gas-solid flow and erosion of a gate valve is developed. • Most particles that hit the sealing surface are from the bottom of the upstream. • The erosion rate of the sealing surface increases as the valve opening decreases. • The core erosion area is located in the upper region of the sealing surface. • The KRG model accurately predicts the wall erosion rate.