Abstract
In this study, flow characteristics at the regulators, which is very important for clean gas supply systems for semiconductors and LCD industries, are investigated. Numerical simulations are carried out to visualize flows at regulators for several flow rates and to investigate pressure losses at some parts in the regulator. Velocity field at the regulator along with the detailed velocity field near the spring and near the valve is shown. New regulator models are proposed in this paper, and numerical simulations are also carried out to visualize flows at regulator for several flow rates, and to investigate pressure losses at the parts in new models. Pressure drops a lot across the valve seat. Pressure drop increases as mass flow rate increases. Especially for small opening, pressure drop increases rapidly as mass flow rate becomes large.
