Flattening Regulator Flow Curves

Three ways to configure a pressure reducing regulator; which will maintain more consistent downstream pressure

In the Flow Control magazine article "Performing Under Pressure: Flattening Pressure-Reducing Regulator Flow Curves in High-Flow Systems", Michael Adkins explores the following system configurations:

• Employ an upstream pilot regulator to control dome pressure in a dome-loaded regulator
• Employ an upstream pilot regulator and add downstream external feedback to the dome-loaded regulator; or
• Employ an upstream pilot regulator and add downstream external feedback to the pilot regulator (rather than the dome-loaded regulator)

These configurations offer good, better, and best performance in terms of maintaining more consistent pressure over increasingly broader flow ranges.