Method for Calculating the Inner Leakage Flow Rate of a Steam Trap Based on the Heat Transfer Theor

Based on the heat transfer theory,through programming and operating by using the softwareMatlab,the authors obtained the data of the characteristic parameters of a valve under various leakage flow rates,i. e. tube wall temperature before the valve. By making use of the least square method,the data of the tube wall temperature before the valve were analyzed and processed with the law governing changes of the tube wall temperature before the valve with the leakage flow rate,tube diameter and length. Finally,a quantitative correlation formula was obtained by performing a fitting of the tube wall temperature and the leakage flow rate. The test data from the literature [4]was used to verify the calculation results. The fitting formula can be employed to diagnose any fault of a steam trap.