Study on Stability of Gas Pressure Regulator with a Built-In Silencer

Gas pressure regulators are widely used in gas transportation and distribution systems. They are designed for deep pressure reduction and maintainance with high accuracy over a wide flow range. Operation at a high pressure drop is accompanied by a high level of noise, for reduction of which, silencers are used. However, installation of a noise suppressor into the regulator design has a significant impact on its static and dynamic characteristics. This can lead to a decrease of accuracy, loss of stability and occurrence of self-oscillations of the valve. These, in turn, lead to increasing noise and vibration, wear of contact surfaces and premature failure of the regulator. The paper presents results of a study of dynamic characteristics of a modernized serial regulator with a built-in noise suppressor. A mathematical model was compiled and its study was carried out in the SimulationX software package. The joint influence on the system stability of the parameters of the muffler and the block of throttles, designed to adjust the static characteristic of the regulator, is considered. It is shown that the proper choice of throttle resistances can ensure the stability of the control system in a wide range of gas flow rates. The results can be used when designing regulators with built-in noise suppressors.