Dam Control Valve Design in Avignon, France
Customer Project
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Image - Hydraulic dam | Control valve | © AGICEA | www.agicea-bureau-etudes.fr
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Image - 3D rendering of the sector valve (© AGICEA)
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Image - 3D Trunnion Model with Solid Elements in RFEM (© AGICEA)
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Image - 3D Control Valve Rendering (© AGICEA)
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Image - Trunnion with Shear Load in RFEM (© AGICEA)
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Image - Control valve | Global deformation of the journal in RFEM | © AGICEA
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Image - Display of overall journal deformation in RFEM | Animation
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Image - 3D rendering of the sector valve (© AGICEA)
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Image - Hydraulic dam | Control valve | © AGICEA | www.agicea-bureau-etudes.fr
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Image - 3D Trunnion Model with Solid Elements in RFEM (© AGICEA)
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Image - 3D Control Valve Rendering (© AGICEA)
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Image - Trunnion with Shear Load in RFEM (© AGICEA)
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Image - Control valve | Global deformation of the journal in RFEM | © AGICEA
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Image - Display of overall journal deformation in RFEM | Animation
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Image - 3D Trunnion Model with Solid Elements in RFEM (© AGICEA)
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Image - Hydraulic dam | Control valve | © AGICEA | www.agicea-bureau-etudes.fr
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Image - 3D rendering of the sector valve (© AGICEA)
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Image - 3D Control Valve Rendering (© AGICEA)
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Image - Trunnion with Shear Load in RFEM (© AGICEA)
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Image - Control valve | Global deformation of the journal in RFEM | © AGICEA
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Image - Display of overall journal deformation in RFEM | Animation
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Image - 3D Control Valve Rendering (© AGICEA)
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Image - Hydraulic dam | Control valve | © AGICEA | www.agicea-bureau-etudes.fr
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Image - 3D rendering of the sector valve (© AGICEA)
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Image - 3D Trunnion Model with Solid Elements in RFEM (© AGICEA)
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Image - Trunnion with Shear Load in RFEM (© AGICEA)
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Image - Control valve | Global deformation of the journal in RFEM | © AGICEA
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Image - Display of overall journal deformation in RFEM | Animation
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Image - Trunnion with Shear Load in RFEM (© AGICEA)
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Image - Hydraulic dam | Control valve | © AGICEA | www.agicea-bureau-etudes.fr
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Image - 3D rendering of the sector valve (© AGICEA)
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Image - 3D Trunnion Model with Solid Elements in RFEM (© AGICEA)
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Image - 3D Control Valve Rendering (© AGICEA)
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Image - Control valve | Global deformation of the journal in RFEM | © AGICEA
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Image - Display of overall journal deformation in RFEM | Animation
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Image - Control valve | Global deformation of the journal in RFEM | © AGICEA
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Image - Hydraulic dam | Control valve | © AGICEA | www.agicea-bureau-etudes.fr
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Image - Display of overall journal deformation in RFEM | Animation
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Image - 3D rendering of the sector valve (© AGICEA)
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Image - 3D Trunnion Model with Solid Elements in RFEM (© AGICEA)
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Image - 3D Control Valve Rendering (© AGICEA)
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Image - Trunnion with Shear Load in RFEM (© AGICEA)
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Image - Fatigue Strength Curves for a Period of 50 Years (© AGICEA)
This hydraulic dam project, located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region (PACA), included design consideration for the control valve’s rotational axis deformation, maximum stress and material fatigue behavior.
| Owner |
Moscatelli Group, France www.groupe-moscatelli.com |
| Structural Design |
AGICEA, France www.agicea-bureau-etudes.fr |
Trunnion Model Data
Model
A control valve is used to regulate the water flow between the dam’s high and low level by allowing water to drain from the reservoir. A large single-unit steel element is used.
The complete valve was initially designed by the company Moscatelli, who supplied the 3D trunnion file in STEP format to the Dlubal customer AGICEA.
Technical Details and Shear Load Determination
Each trunnion consists of a clevis (machine-welded assembly) that includes mixed sintered bronze-graphite alloy guide supports. These supports make it possible to rotate a continuously round 7.87 in. diameter axis without additional lubrication. The assembly consists of a stainless steel alloy with strong material properties (high elasticity and rupture limit).
For the trunnion, the hydraulic compression load to be applied to the central axis was determined.
A load of 126 t corresponding to the hydraulic shear force generated on one of the two rotating arms was then applied in the FEA structural analysis software RFEM. The load was converted to a surface force distributed over half the axis area. The total surface shear force calculated was 145.78 t/ft².
Deformation Design
After modeling the mechanical assembly as a solid (3D finite element), AGICEA reviewed the total deformations of each subgroup including:
• Bronze and graphite supports
• 7.87 in. diameter central axis
• Clevis
Afterwards, the equivalent stresses (Von Mises) were analyzed to avoid high stress peaks. These values were compared with the allowable material limit values.
Fatigue Design
Fatigue design according to EN 1993-1-9 were further carried out. AGICEA developed a macro to automatically find maximum stresses (equivalent, tensile and shear stresses) at locations prone to cracking. The entire trunnion was designed for 438,000 cycles, which corresponds to one movement per hour throughout the year over a period of 50 years.
Project Location
Avignon, FranceKeywords
Valve Control valve Hydraulic dam
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