InFlex™ Flow Control Valve (FCV™)
U.S. Patents 5,316,081
and 6,273,195
For overview
product and application information, click
here to download our most recent Catalog
6 (PDF).
Its pages 22-25 provide an
introduction to our FCV™, technical drawings, and specification
worksheets.
Use free
Adobe Reader® to view and print the PDF documents available on this
website. 
The InFlex™ Flow Control
Valve (FCV™) is a fluid-actuated valve that permits pumping water to the
surface or regulating the flow of water from the surface into the well,
while using the same column pipe and maintaining a column of water in
it at all times. The InFlex™ FCV™ may be used in conjunction with a submersible pump or a
vertical turbine pump for Aquifer Storage and Recovery
(ASR) and
Aquifer Thermal Energy Storage (ATES) applications. Advantages of
the InFlex™ FCV™ include:
Impressive Performance
Testing
at the factory and field use of the InFlex™ FCV™ confirm that it effectively adjusts
and holds desired injection rates. Because of its unique design
features, including no sliding seals to fail, it is the most durable
and versatile valve on the market.
Cavitation-Free Design
The key to the successful control of the
injection
water through this valve is its long, adjustable, annular-gap flow path
through a series of circular annular orifices. This flow path
provides non-cavitating head loss that is easily controlled by changing
the gap between the annular orifices and the rubber element.
Stainless steel channels are a part of the adjustable flow system and
stabilize the rubber element as it is pushed down and stretched by the
inflation liquid.
Impossible to Sand-lock
By design, there is no place for sand to
collect;
therefore, the InFlex™ FCV™ cannot sand
lock. It is impossible for the rubber element to
"stick" at any time during pumping or injection, as there are no
sliding surfaces to become "stuck" due to sand-locking.
Wear-resistant
The InFlex™ FCV™ is extremely wear-resistant due to
its rubber control
element, similar to slurry pumps which are rubber lined to reduce
wear. Due to its low-velocity, cavitation-free flow, the InFlex™ FCV™ resists sand and silt far better than
conventional valve designs. Conventional valves have all of their
pressure loss (at high velocities) across only one orifice stage,
leading to wear from suspended solids and erosion with cavitation.
Ask about our 5-year limited warranty
The InFlex™ FCV™ utilizes a
reinforced rubber element, the only “moving” part. This element
is an adaptation of the element that has been successfully used in our
inflatable downhole packers in demanding open-hole conditions for over
two decades. All metal parts of the valve are constructed of
stainless steel. Other more corrosion-resistant alloys are
optional for aggressive environments.
Wide Range of Injection Capacities
Our InFlex™ FCV™ offers injection capacities of 10,000
gpm and higher with
driving heads of 20 to 3,000 feet. All of the valves are
infinitely adjustable from drip-tight shut-off to maximum flow.
Furthermore, their maximum flow rate can be limited by using two
control lines.
|
|
Casing Size
|
Valve OD
|
Column Pipe
|
Flow Rate
|
nominal
[inch]
|
maximum
[inch] |
nominal
[inch] |
typical
[gpm]
|
min
- max
[gpm]
|
|
5
|
4
|
2
|
100
|
0
- 300
|
|
6
|
5
|
3
|
200
|
0
- 600
|
|
8
|
6-5/8
|
4 or 5
|
400
|
0
- 1,200 |
|
10
|
8-5/8
|
6
|
800
|
0
- 2,000 |
|
12
|
10-3/4
|
8
|
1,400 |
0 - 3,000
|
|
16
|
12-3/4
|
10
|
2,000 |
0 - 4,000
|
|
20
|
16
|
12
|
3,000 |
0 - 6,000
|
|
22
|
18
|
14
|
3,500 |
0 - 7,000
|
|
24
|
20
|
16
|
4,000 |
0 - 8,000
|
28
|
24
|
18
or 20 |
5,000
|
0
- 10,000
|
Flow
Rate Discussion:
Flow Rate [gpm] = CV × Squareroot(Head [feet])
The flow rate through a given valve is proportional to the square root
of the driving head. The driving head is the sum of the injection
pipeline pressure in feet of water plus the distance down to the
injection water level in the well minus the head loss in the column
pipe. Baski customizes the flow coefficient (CV) range
of each valve
to the intended application (its column pipe size and driving head).
Flow control results from changing this CV between 0
(closed) and the
valve’s maximum (open).
|
For more information on aquifer storage and recovery (ASR), please
refer to
Groundwater Recharge and Wells
- A Guide to Aquifer Storage Recovery by R. David G. Pyne
©2004 Baski, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
|
