The flow testing facility is comprised of three major sections: the control and instrumentation
building, an all-weather outdoor bay housing the hydraulics section, and the adjacent main
laboratory. The main hydraulics section consists of a rapidly reconfigurable test section
piping, a 7,500-gallon reservoir, a 180 HP diesel engine-driven variable speed centrifugal
pump, and all associated piping for the actual test sections. The flow loop is capable of
delivering 2,700 gpm and 270 psig. This flow rate corresponds to a flow velocity of 30
feet per second in a 6-inch pipe.
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Flow loop tests on instrumented check valves were performed
to validate the Cvap® wear and fatigue model and to support the
development of condition monitoring methods for periodic verification testing.
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The test section is of modular construction, allowing
rapid piping configuration changes. Victaulic® couplings eliminate the need for expensive
custom pipe welding and time-consuming bolted flanges. The laboratory has a large
inventory of pipe spools, fittings, and flow control valves to support testing activities.
The flow metering section utilizes orifice plates and a high-accuracy differential
pressure transducer to provide flow rate data. The meter run is constructed in accordance
with the requirements of ANSI/API Standard 2530, providing a flow accuracy of ± 0.5
percent.
Electronic equipment, pump
controls, and valve controls are housed in the instrumentation building next to the flow
loop hydraulics area. Test instrumentation feeds data directly to a high speed
computerized digital data acquisition system which can display and process the data in
real time. A variety of pressure, temperature, displacement, load, and other transducers
are available.
Flow Loop Flyer
in PDF format
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