An hydraulic test rig for the testing of quarter turn valve actuation systems

In this work, some preliminary design results concerning the development of a rig for the fast prototyping and the testing of the actuation system of large quarter turn valves for power plants are shown. In particular, friction forces generated on sealing and bushings by the internal pressurized fluid influence opening and closing torques of large valves. In order to test a valve actuation system, the proposed rig is able to simulate the resisting torque and more generally the mechanical impedance of pressurized quarter turn valve. The proposed actuation of the rig is hydraulic. This work aims to discuss different design solutions and suggest the choice of a testing rig with particular attention to robustness and stability troubles respect to disturbances, limited bandwidth and interaction with partially unknown tested system.