Valve Back Pressure
I am designing a quarter turn ball control valve. I have system inputs for pressure ranging from 350-750 psi and a flowrate of 52 gpm. It has also been given that due to another valve downstream, the backpressure at my valve's outlet will be 150 psi. With these values it seems I automatically have a pressure drop for the valve. What I am not understanding is, how can the outlet pressure of my valve be forced to be 150 psi when based on the valves internal geometry, is likely to be something else? In other words how can I just assign a pressure drop to my valve given inlet and backpressure? Thanks for any and all input!
With 750 PSI in and 150 PSI out, (Please specify Absolute unit or gage 
units) This valve will have some form of critical pressure drop. 
Probably caviation, possibly flashing.  Choked flow almost 
guaranteed.   
Since the flow is a liquid, you'd better know the 
critical pressure, vapor pressure, temperature, viscosity, density, and 
the Fl of your trim should be very very close to 1.0.  1.0 would occur 
if the valve trim exhibits pure frictional adiabatic flow and would 
correspond to the flow through something like a cigarette filter, where 
energy is lost through shear and there is no acceleration of the 
fluid.   
More than likely you will show cavitation at this kind 
of pressure drop. It is also likely that you are designing the tortuous 
trim to avoid cavitation.  
The Masoneilan equation listed above 
will not apply as it does not address critical drops. Use ISA equations 
as appropriate.(ISA Handbook of Control Valves).  Les Driskell wrote 
many books with regard to valve analytics and theory.  Search Amazon and
 Stock up your library. 
 
You did not specify which liquid 
you are designing for.  Chemically pure fluids cavitate with damage 
likely.  Water is probably worst since it is dense, has a lot of surface
 tension, and releases a lot of energy as it condenses from a vapor back
 to a liquid at very precisely defined conditions.  Hydrocarbons are 
usually a mixture of chemicals with similar but not identical vapor 
pressures, so when the cavitation bubbles form and collapse they tend to
 cushion each other. Damage is thus minimized.
One last thing: It
 is not impossible but it is difficult to design this sort of trim into a
 ball valve.  Globe anticaviation valves are a pretty mature concept and
 available from almost every major control valve company.  Only you or 
your superiors know your situation and whether is is justifiable to 
re-invent the wheel with this product.  
If the downstream valve modulates to hold a constant pressure it would correspond to your specifications.  
If
 the downstream valve is in a constant position, then 150 psi would 
occur at one set of service conditions.  Other properties of the fluid 
staying unchanged, your pressure would vary with the square of the 
flowrate.  
ManyMany valve data sheets are filled out by lazy or 
unthinking engineers who specify, for example,  100 psi upstream and 50 
psi downstream at three widely varied flowrates.
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