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The Acre Road facility at the University of Glasgow houses a variety of wind tunnel and flow generation devices, including two low-speed wind tunnels, vacuum chambers, and a range of high-speed facilities. The industrial scale set up contains specialised equipment for aerospace and aerodynamics research.

The University of Glasgow was one of seven UK universities sharing £13.3 million from the Engineering and Physical Research Council (EPSRC) and the UK Aerodynamics Centre to form the National Wind Tunnel Facility (NWTF). The funding was used to upgrade the James Watt School of Engineering’s four existing wind tunnels, introducing a gust facility and “state-of-the-art” diagnostic equipment.

The upgraded tunnels will help with the development of key technologies in the wind energy sector and with research in areas of aerospace such as rotorcraft.

The refurbished centre is a key facility in the UK where researchers can investigate and develop vehicles and other technologies in the subsonic, supersonic, and hypersonic flow regimes.

As part of the upgrade, the University required valves of various sizes (100mm to 250mm) which had to be suitable for a combination of continuous high working pressures of up to 5 bar and full vacuum pressure.

The Vortex Quantum HDP gate was determined to be the ideal solution for this application.

The pneumatically actuated HDP cast aluminum body valves were complete with stainless steel blades and contact parts and suitable for higher temperatures up to 122 degree C (251 degree F).

The valves were complete with a control system that allowed the valves to close on a loss of power and completed with a self contained air reservoir so that if the plant suffered a loss of compressed air, the valve could still close to the fail-safe position.
 

Features:

Designed to address higher-pressure applications up to 75 psig (5 barg) depending on size, the Vortex HDP Gate sets itself apart from traditional industry slide gates. The rising blade design provides positive material shut-off by means of an O-ring seal on the inlet of the valve. This design feature eliminates the issues related to packing of material causing abrasion to the end seal.

•Seals fine material in higher aeration or pressure applications
•Patented rising blade action ensures optimal seal
•Seals protected from blast abrasion
•Serviceable while in-line
•Does not pack material upon closure
•Material construction options available
•Gravity flow, dilute phase, or dense phase conveying
•Designed to handle abrasive or sticky materials
•Horizontal or vertical valve orientation
•Open / closed or volume metering of material
•Standard sizes: 100mm – 400mm (4 in – 16 in)