Water Closet Flush Valve Assignment Help

Many households the world over use water for many purposes within the domestic setup. The most common of such purposes include washing and cooking. Indeed, these two activities take place more frequently in a day than any other activity that there may be. This therefore demands for an efficient system of water delivery that would not only ease such a purpose but which would also economically use the water. Just as the saying “water is life” is true in all aspects of life, so is there a dire need to properly use this precious commodity upon which all life on the planet is pegged – water. Most homes have piped water which is tapped at the end of the conduit. However, many of such taps are faulty easily and they have a restricted reliability when they are used for a protracted period of time (Sharp & Sharp, 1996). In certain incidences, the quality of the taps is very poor with regards to the soundness of the mechanical design of the valve therein. For this reason, much water is wasted which would have otherwise been used for some other useful purposes.This research paper therefore sought to study the design a water closet flush valve for the use in housing equipment such as kitchen and toiletries. Rightly so, much water is used both in the kitchen and in the toilets, and the effective and economical use of the same would ensure that the occupants of the house have an easy task in running errands in the two places and at the same time being pocket-friendly in terms of the bills paid for the water usage. For example, the older designs of the toilet flush valves can allow the passage of up to 7 gallons per flush, whereas the new mechanically sound low-flow rate toilets only use 5 gallons or less. On the same note, the older showerhead design allows the passage of up to 4 gallons per minute per flush through its valve, whereas the new ones only allow 1.5 gallons per minute. From these data, it is evident that the amount of water used is a function of the design of the valve, its mechanical soundness and efficiency. This is what inspired the objective of this research paper.

• INTRODUCTION

WATER CLOSET FLUSH VALVE

A valve is a mechanical or an electronic device which performs the function of regulating, controlling or directing the flow of a fluid. Such fluids include gases, liquids, slurries or fluidised solids. In technical terms, a valve is a fitting that has the capability to roll, turn or move in a specified constrained direction inside a casing member. There are many different forms of valves, but the basic operational concept for most of them is that fluid flows from the region of a high pressure to the region of a low pressure. The most ancient type of valve that has been in existence to date is the check valve which only allows the fluid to flow in one direction after being pushed open by the pressure of flow coming from the opposite direction. Presently, many check valves have been automated so that they are able to regulate flow in either direction. Valves are very common in everyday life. They are found in many places like the industrial manufacturing processes, mining industries, in domestic appliances and in many other areas. They can be operated manually or automatically. Manual controls include levers, wheels and the pedals. On the other hand, the automatic ways of control are actuated by the changes in temperature and pressure, or even by the mere change in the direction of flow. The automatic systems of valve control are normally found in places where the conditions that are to be controlled are in their extremes, and the examples in this category are the safety valves that are installed in boilers and other hot temperature systems. In complex systems, actuators are used to automatically control the valve based on the given input variables. When such variables are correctly set and programmed, the actuator will give a stroke or a command to the valve to either open or close, hence a variety of control requirements can be achieved just by a single valve. Valves can be classified as solenoid, hydraulic, manual, motor or pneumatic valves. Irrespective on the type of valve used in a given work environment, it is the control of its output that primarily matters most to the user. For this reason, valves are designed to work according to the desired output pattern. It is the flow of the fluid through the valve that is so much of interest in this research work, especially with regards to the household kitchen-ware and toiletries.Most designs follow the Bernoulli’s Principle which states that for an inviscid flow of a non-conducting fluid, an escalation in the velocity of the fluid occurs concurrently with a drop in pressure or anequivalentupsurge in the potential verve of the fluid (Walski et at., 1996).

The flush toilet works in a similar manner to the kitchen dish washing sink. They both dispose the human liquid or solid waste by using water to gush or flush away such wastes into the drainpipe or a sewer line to another completely different disposal zone. A colloquial term for the flush toilet is the water closet.

1.2 PROBLEM STATEMENT

There are a number of problems associated with the use of water closets with regards to their efficient functionality. To begin with, some flush valves do not allow water to pass through completely. This could be as a result of wear and tear, and to a greater extent, the corrosion of the valve. Also, the connection between the lift arm and the support of the valve could be broken or simply out of its constrained adjustment so that it fails to lift the flapper valve as required. Another problem occasioned with the flush valve is the accumulation of too much slack or mud on the valve hence blocking the water passage way. This could be as a result of prolonged use so that mud and other dirt particles sediment at the bottom of the tank. The result of this problem is the slow process of flushing the toilet because the water does not come out at the right speed and pressure in order gush away the waste. In addition, leaky toilet valves indeed pose a nuisance to the users of such a facility. The leak could be as a result of worn out valves or the total failure of the valve to perform its prescribed function. The effect of a leaking toilet flush valve is the wastage of water, and hence increased costs of water bill. These problems are what inspired the objective of this research proposal.

1.3 OBJECTIVE

The objective of this research proposal is the design of water closet valve for use in housing equipment such as kitchen and toiletries.

1.4 JUSTIFICATION

This research objective was chosen because it not only affects the lives of people across all the age groups, but it also brings into reality an interesting aspect of intermediate fluid dynamics. The use of water closets essentially determine the hygienic standards of living of a people because otherwise contagious diseases can thrive in an environment where solid or liquid wastes are not properly disposed of. Moreover, the mechanical soundness of such valves determines the bill payable for water by the occupants in the household. Having a good flush valve properly installed in place ensures that the floor is in a dry condition all the time and therefore hindering the breeding of germs that thrive in fluidic environments.

2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW

Toilets are made from vitreous china which is a special kind of a ceramic material, and a series of plumbing designed to refill the tank very rapidly and release the water through its flush valve at a pressure and speed right enough to gush away solid effluents into the drainpipes or the sewer line. The most important part of the toilet mechanism as a whole is the valve closet or a flap which is situated at the exit of the bowl in order to contain water within the tank. Upon being opened, the valve allows the water in the tank flows rapidly into the toilet bowl and carried the waste into the sewer pipes. A schematic representation of the toilet valve is as shown in Figure 1 below:

Figure 1: Schematic representation of the water closet flush valve
Figure 2: The Structure and Various Parts of the Water Closet

When the water closet is required to operate, the handle is pressed, releasing the valve chain which then opens the connection valve in order for the water in the tank to flow into the toilet bowl. Due to the weight of the water in the tank, the float ball drops back hence allowing the valve to open and allow water to once again refill the reservoir. As the weight on the flush valve increases with time till the tank is full, the valve also gradually closes till the water level reaches a predetermined level. Some flush valves are spring-loaded so that the weight of the water presses on the spring downwards until the opening of the valve closes. The most common mechanism of operation is the siphoning technique, the water being transported from higher elevation to a lower one (Claridge et al, 2005).

Like other mechanical components, valves are composed of different parts and segments, the main ones being the body and the bonnet. These two parts are encased inside a closing member and their main function is to hold back the fluid from flowing through the valve. The material from which the body is made is usually metallic or plastic. On the other hand, the bonnet typically forms part of the encasing member from which stems the constraining member and the seal.

The handle of the valve is also known as the actuator and its main purpose is to control the valve from outside of its valve body. Some actuators are automatically controlled by incorporating an electrical control module. However, the water closet lush valves are manually operated.

Perhaps the most important part of the valve system is the valve disc which is also known as the valve members. It is a movable member inside the main body of the valve which is adjustable so as to restrict or control the amount of flow through the valve. The disc can be of many shapes and designs depending on the output of the fluid required. Various designs include round or ball-shaped and plug-shaped valve members (Sharp et al., 1996).

The governing equations and the intermediate fluid dynamics behind the operation of the flush valve is basically the Bernoulli’s Principle, as illustrated below:

Where the parameters mean the following:

The flowrate is computedshown below:

Q = A*v

Where A is the area of passage through the valve and v is the velocity of the fluid through that area. Assuming that the density of the water remains constant during flow,the law of conservation of energy applies as shown below:

A×vin = A×vout

With regards to Bernoulli’s principle, the maximum drops of water that spread on impact on either a smooth or a rough surface can be measured by determining the high and low impact velocities that occur due to different surface tension and viscosities. In the design of the water closet flush valve, the dynamic wetting is crucial at low velocities and it is the contact angle that determines the amount of spread. This implies that water that falls as a result of turbulent energy spreads over a much wider area, hence wastages occur. In the dynamic balance with regards to conservation of energy, the wettability is accounted for by the energy introduced due to capillary action at the most minimum velocity on impact. Also, in order to properly account for the contact angle, surface rescaling can be done at zero impact velocity during the spread. This means that as the velocity of impact reduces, the amount of energy dissipated in form of splash also reduces; and the reduction in splash reduces water wastage.

3.0 METHODOLOGY

In order to achieve the target objective of this research paper, the following procedures modifications should be made to the water closet flush valve:

1. Use of valve balls as the closet member instead of the plug members. The round or spherical valve allow the smooth passage of water through it hence reducing the formation of turbulence that is normally associated with the edges of the plug valves. The elimination or reduction of turbulence would ensure that the water does not lose some of its energy and therefore comes out through the valve at the right speed and pressure. When such a valve is used in the kitchen, it would reduce the splashing effect and hence reduce or completely eliminate wastage of water.
2. Leaking through the valves can be prevented by use of rubber gaskets and seals. This would ensure that just the right pressure builds up in the water reservoir to induce the right speed of water.

• Use of spring-loaded valves. Springs allow for both compression and relaxation in their operation hence would ensure that the valve member is rightly positioned. Also, they allow for easy re-adjustment of the valve balls. Typical springs for such purposes are fabricated from steel or zinc alloys.

1. Use of soft valve seats. These are made from elastomers, and because of their soft nature, they completely eliminate leakage through the valve.

4.0 EXPECTED RESULTS

It is expected that the new design of the water closet valve will give the following results upon incorporating the modifications as highlighted under methodology:

1. That leakage will be greatly reduced and eliminated hence reducing water wastage.
2. That the ball design of the valve member would reduce the noise with which water comes out through the valve as a result of the reduction in turbulence.

5.0 CONCLUSION

The design of water closet flush valve focuses on efficient and economical use of water especially for domestic purposes. It builds upon the valves that have existed through the centuries by changing the materials used and the modification of the valve member.The activities associated with the use of the valve occur many times in a day; and unless the control of flow of water for such purposes is censured, those activities may turn out to be boring, and, on a negative note, be agents of spread of human water-borne diseases (Claridge & Boecker, 2005). Therefore, the objective of this research is justified on account of efficiency, hygiene and economy of use of water within the domestic setup.