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Guru

Join Date: Dec 2005
Posts: 1602
Good Answers: 19

Controls of a Slug Control Valve on Jet-A fuel system

08/18/2007 1:36 PM

I am working on a project to model a Jet fuel distribution system at an airport. Setup is an outside pipeline supplying a tank farm, and a pump station at the tank farm feeds and underground pipe distribution system to various gates, where a hydrant truck meters fuel into various passenger or cargo jets.

Fuel is filtered at the incoming pipeline to the tank farm, filtered again at the pump station, and filtered on the hydrant truck before metered into the aircraft. (sounds like overkill, but imagine the hysteria if a passenger jet flames out due to water contaminated fuel!) At the outlet of the filters is a pilot controled flow control valve, which I have discovered is called a slug valve in this application.

The flow control valve has two pilots on it. First pilot is connected to a float in the bottom of the filter which will give a pressure signal to the diaphram of the flow control valve to shut off the valve if water is detected. Some of the filters have orifice plates connected to the second pilot to operate the flow control to limit the velocity through the filter (coalescing type where too much velocity will allow water to be re-entrained in the fuel).

I have not figured out how or why the second pilots on the other valves operate. Any good ideas? Any suggestions on how to model a double piloted valve for dynamic operation?

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Guru

Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 4484
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#1

Re: Controls of a Slug Control Valve on Jet-A fuel system

08/24/2007 1:47 PM

I'd guess (purely guess) the second pilots are operated by a "natural" source of back pressure downstream from the coalescing filter (such as pressure in the tank being filled) or perhaps by something like a particulate detector, that detects electronically but controls hydraulically. A system schematic would give you an idea of where the signal comes from.

This patent describes a similar system (the patent itself is only vaguely related, but the fuel flow system is described in detail). To see the images, you need to register, but it's free. (You can also get the patent and images at the USPTO site.)

As for modeling, my only suggestion would be to contact the valve manufacturer. At very least, you'd need a schematic (of the valve) to be able to know if the operating sense is the same for each port or reversed.

I fear that's not much help.

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