Accutrol, LLC

Jan. 11, 2008
New Airflow Control Valve Sustains the Environment

The AccuValve by Accutrol, LLC is an electrically operated airflow control valve for critical environments such as laboratories and clean rooms. The valve, created for sustainable “green” design, offers very low pressure drop for energy reduction and savings along with safety by utilizing true airflow measurement.

The AccuValve AV2000 airflow control valve is a product in which Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) was utilized to aid in its design. This resulted in a valve that maximizes turndown while maintaining high accuracy throughout the flow range.

Accutrol’s new airflow control valve incorporates high accuracy airflow sensing with a revolutionary but simple design. The AV2000 is designed for use in applications where turndowns of up to 8 to 1 are required while maintaining accuracies of 5% of reading over that flow range, ensuring precise airflow control. R&D laboratories, process pharmaceutical manufacturing and vivariums are just a few applications for the AccuValve.

The AV2000 divides the airflow into two equal chambers with an airfoil shaped compression section. When the air is divided into the chambers it accelerates and compresses becoming laminar. The laminar airflow improves the accuracy of the airflow sensor enabling better turndown as well. Much like a silencer this also results in a valve that is very quiet.

The AccuValve also incorporates high accuracy Vortex shedding airflow sensors in each chamber. The sensors are located to give a high degree of accuracy throughout the flow range. The higher velocities in the chamber also allow for greater turndowns than is possible in a conventional valve.

The design of the AccuValve provides true flow feedback while avoiding the drawbacks of other valve designs. This feature provides the end user the benefit of the highest degree of safety in knowing that the critical space is accurately monitored and controlled.

The AV2000 incorporates a compression section with a streamline design with a static regain section on the downstream side. This design provides a low pressure drop requiring less fan horsepower and better noise performance.

There are no straight duct runs required before or after the valve making application of the valve very simple. The air compression in the valve provides laminar airflow throughout the airflow range providing repeatable airflow measurement regardless of the inlet or outlet conditions. The design also provides large turndown capability, thereby allowing a large range of applications. All parts are accessible from the front of the valve simplifying installation requirements.