CASE STUDY – WATER
First time pressure control for challenging Mexican location
Oxford Flow has enabled a leading Mexican water utility to pressure manage challenging areas of their network for the very first time.
The client
Monterrey’s Water Supply and Sewerage Company (SADM) in Mexico supplies water in the Monterrey metro area (MMA). SADM is an autonomous public utility under the government of the state of Nuevo León and is the acting water authority in throughout the MMA.
The challenge
Monterrey municipality invited Oxford Flow to offer a solution for controlling the downstream pressure in one of the most problematic areas of their network. The location had been deemed too risky for traditional PRV use due to the topography of the installation. However, after seeing the unique advantages of the Oxford Flow technology, engineers approved a trial in an attempt to solve the local leakage issues.
“The Oxford Flow IP Series is a revolutionary pressure control valve for the water distribution market. Manufactured in acetyl resin, it is the lightest and most compact valve in its class”
The solution: Oxford Flow’s IP series PRV valve
From the moment of installation the advantages of the Oxford Flow design were apparent. The extremely low weight construction and compact size of the valve allowed a 6″ model to be installed by hand with no need for expensive cranes which had been deemed impractical in this locationThe unique linear flow path of the Oxford Flow valve allowed a flow meter to be installed directly on to the face of the PRV with no “swirl” generated to disrupt measurements. This innovative arrangement allows for much smaller access pits which further reduces installation time and costs. The set-up was completed with the addition of a controller to allow modulation of the PRVs set-point from day to night conditions.With full data logging capabilities installed the trial was able to demonstrate the outstanding low head-loss achieved by the Oxford Flow IP series. Even in an area deemed too challenging for competitor PRVs, the IP series was able to achieve minimum head-loss of 3 mH20 at 43L/s.
This was achieved in continuous wide open operation over the course of two weeks. During low inlet pressure events the valve was able to achieve an incredible head drop of just 2.2 mH20. These figures demonstrate the versatility customers can expect from Oxford Flow products when looking to pressure manage their networks. Areas that were previously out of reach due to head loss considerations can now be tackled with dramatically reduced installation costs and exceptional in field performance. Michael Sutcliffe, Group Business Development Director at Oxford Flow, added: “The Oxford Flow IP Series is a revolutionary pressure control valve for the water distribution market. Manufactured in acetyl resin, it is the lightest and most compact valve in its class. It can easily be retrofit into any existing installation or provide valuable cost savings on new installations. The valve exhibits a very low loss of head, allowing it to be used across a wider range of pressures and flow rate conditions than conventional PRV designs.”
The results
After successful trials across Mexico, the Oxford Flow IP Series is pending further installations across the Monterrey network and has already been deployed in other municipalities throughout Mexico. Oxford Flow’s innovative pressure control technology is finding applications across water and gas distribution as well as oil & gas operations including Smart Valve technology for pressure management as a tool to reduce system losses across distribution networks.
Benefits
- Lightweight – manufactured using WRAS approved Acetyl resin and weighs a 1/10th of competitor PRVs
- Precision control – reduced hunting, flow turbulence and head-drop
- Flexible – suitable for installation with a range of customer equipment
- Cost-effective – minimal labour costs and set-up time
- Low Head-loss – can be deployed in previously unmanageable network zones