A practical solution to the problem of noise and vibration in a pressure-reducing valve

The mechanical vibration that is occasionally found in gas pressure reducing valves can be eliminated by careful design of the valve plug and seat. A pressure-reducing valve was found to be excessively noisy, producing a sound pressure level of 117 dB when throttling air at an inlet-to-outlet pressure ratio of 15; as a result the valve suffered wear and vibration damage. By changing the design of the original flat plug and seat, the problem was significantly reduced. A 60° conical plug and seat produced a noise reduction of 12 dB (a factor of 4 in actual sound pressure level), the mechanical vibration was eliminated, and the flow capacity was increased by about 25%.