A Novel Nonlinear Modeling and Dynamic Analysis of Solenoid Actuated Butterfly Valves Coupled in Series

In this paper, we focus on a novel nonlinear modeling and dynamic analysis of the actuated butterfly valves coupled in series. The actuated valves used in the chilled water systems of the U.S. Navy and commercial ships, namely, “smart valves,” recently have received much attention when many of them are operating in a complex network. The network regulates the pressure of the pipeline, while several nonlinear torques/forces including the hydrodynamic and bearing torques and the magnetomotive force affect the performance of each set individually and subsequently the whole system via the couplings among the valves. The contribution of this work is to model such couplings in the presence of the nonlinearities and an applied periodic noise and then carry out dynamic analysis of the valves. We examine the model developed with/without actuation by applying a periodic noise on the upstream valve to capture the couplings among the parameters of both the actuators and valves. This would help us predict the behavior of a particular valve in the network subject to motions of other valves.