The Water Valve -
an innovative product which has been designed, developed and patented to be
technically superior, hence possessing advantages over products already
existing on the market. One such advantage is the ability to save water, which
is considered to be a precious and very expensive resource, especially in
countries like Malta where energy is used to meet the water demand through the
use of Reverse Osmosis but not only:-
What brought around the development of this valve?
While doing
research on the reduction of water flow control and water losses at the University of Malta, a number of problems related to the ball valve were identified, such as:
•
Leakages when water pressure is higher
than 3 or even 2 bar
•
Apparent losses causing a huge investment for water
authority
•
Regular maintenance and settings
•
Low leaks which are not detected but result in
surprising water bills
At the same time Abertax® was doing research in collaboration with Ideal Standard, a renowned bathroom designer and manufacturer, to come up with an innovative water inlet valve
design for toilet cisterns, to allow:
•
Innovative cistern design features
•
No maintenance
•
Longer lifetime
So basically their
request was to research and design a valve that you ‘fit and forget’ for the lifetime of the cistern. Not an easy target
but as usual the Abertax R&D took it as an engineering challenge
The project team
started by investiagting other valves on the market and to study the effect of the standard ball valve on the water flow profile of a typical Maltese household a logging system was set up.
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| Figure 1: The test layout to identify the apparent water loss; Highly Accurate Metering & Motoring at 3 Points |
This set-up was installed on a domestic plumbing system, which usually consists of the kitchen being
fed directly from the mains water supply and the rest of the household (i.e.
bathroom, washroom, garden, etc.) being fed from the roof tank.
Data logging was
carried out on the meters installed upstream (i.e. to the roof tank) and
downstream (i.e. from the roof tank).
Figure 2 shows the test results indicating clearly that the water meter installed on the supply to the tank substantially
under-registered the consumption due to the low flow of the ball valve.
 |
Figure 2: Data Logging of Water Meters at Roof
Tank Inlet and Outlet
with
Ball Valve installed.
|
It is well known
that unless the water meter is brand new and of very high quality it will not
register the very low flows, caused by the ball valve while the tank is filling up with water. Apart from this, the team found
out that in areas where the pressure is higher than 3 bar, there is a tendency
that after some use the ball valve tends to leak resulted in a continuous overflow of the tank.
This under registering will decrease the revenue of the water authorities and
is referred to as apparent loss. The
higher the surface area of the tank the higher is the loss as the low flow lasts
much longer.
Following our
design prototype we replaced the ball valve with our development and we found
out that this effect was completely eliminated as can be seen from figure 3 below. This is off course due to the fact that
our valve is either completely open or completely closed allowing full flow.
One can notice that the inlet meter now registered more because the toilet
cisterns in the bathrooms logged on meter c were still using the ball valve. The difference is however much lower as the
low flow period when using a ball valve
in a toilet cistern is much lower due to a much smaller surface area.
 |
Figure 3: Data Logging of Water Meters at Roof
Tank Inlet and Outlet
with
the Abertax® Water Valve
installed. |
To try and eliminate this apparent loss the Water Services
Corporation is installing a high cost water meters, which are capable to
detect these induced low flows. The corporation has also decided to change these
high cost water meters regularly, to ensure accuracy and this is eventually
charged indirectly on the water consumption. Apart from, the end user is faced with high water bills which haven't been the case
prior to the installation of such meters. Any leakages due
to very minor water leaks even from the ball valve itself are now being
registered and some customers are getting surprising water bills.
We are very proud
to say that some of these dissapointed customers, who were faced with this problem, have solved the problem by installing Abertax Water Valve.
As explained
earlier the most commonly used float and
lever type valves waste water due to the leaking caused by aging of the valve
or by varying water pressure. This is not the case with the Abertax® Water Valve, which was designed to use the water pressure to assist its operation and
to ensure a perfect seal at all times when closed, preventing any leaks.
We have been promoting this product world
wide by the fact that;
"Water is precious! Why not save it? It is
so easy with Abertax Water Valve."
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with Abertax® Water Valve:
|
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Figure 4: The Abertax® Water Valve -
4 bar for domestic applications
|
The Water Valve Design
This characteristic was possible thanks to
the design based on differential area principle.
This water valve
is a normally
open, pilot operated, diaphragm-type valve, it features a mini
float with an embedded magnet that operates a diaphragm inside the valve. The
rising water level lifts the valve’s float. The magnet within this float is
magnetically coupled to a pilot plunger. This plunger, in turn, actuates the
diaphragm to close (or open if the water level is receding). The “shut-off” of
the valve is instantaneous with full water flow in open valve position; there
is simply no attenuated flow.
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| Figure 5: Technical drawing of the part external dimensions |
In the open valve
position water passes into chamber X. The pressure under the diaphram is the same due to the bleeding hole. Under this condition the diaphragm becomes neutral and the water
flows from chamber X to chamber Y and eventually to the outlet of the
valve. Under this condition the pressure and area on both sides of the
diaphragm are the same and hence there is no net force on the diaphragm.
 |
Figure 6: The
Water Valve in open position
|
As the float moves
upwards by the upthrust on the float, it carries the
magnetically coupled plunger in the sealed chamber Z. As soon as the plunger
closes the metering hole there will be a net force upwards on the diaphragm due
to an increase in pressure and hence force. As soon as the diaphragm toggles
upwards area A of the upper diaphragm side, remains at atmospheric pressure,
while area A’ will be exposed to the static water pressure. Due to the
difference in the upper and lower area which is subjected to the system static
pressure there will be a net force upward. This force depends on the area A and
the pressure of the water. Therefore the closing force is directly proportional
to the pressure in the system, since area A and area A' are constant.
F = P (A' - A)
 |
Figure 7: The
Water Valve in closed position
|
Thanks to this design we came up with a
valve, which:
- Fills much faster than any
other valve
- Is fully opened to a fixed
defined level
- Shuts-off promptly without
slowing down the flow. Thus it is fully opened or absolutely closed, there
is no intermediate flows.
Our research led us also to find optimum
material selection for different applications, such as:
- Domestic - suitable for
Potable Water
- Industrial - suitable for
secondary class water and resistant to most chemicals and soaps - designed
and developed to meet harsh working environments
Since research and development never stops at
Abertax® we are able
to customize our valve for any specific applications.
Tests, Certifications & Patents
After
achieving the desired valve design we have field tested it:
- In-house for over 500,000
thousand
operations
- By quite a number of households all over
Malta
- By the Water Services
Corporation
and
- In various industrial / commercial applications (such as
hotels, machine floor cleaning industry, agriculture)
We have successfully tested it and certified it according to stringent
international standards:
- TUV in Germany
- WRAS in the UK
- International: PCT/EP2006/065119
- USA: 11/997,748
- Australia: 200677943
- Canada: 2618037
- Brazil: PI0614383-0
- India: 117/MUMNP/2008
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| Figure 8: Abertax Patents |
This way we can secure our product from being
copied and therefore secure the working places for our employees and keep
employment increase with the sales increase.
The Water Valve production and quality control
|
We know that without quality even the best
invention won't sell, and being ISO 9001 certified and with strong Total Quality Management
principles, we at Abertax® practice 100% Quality Control to the latter.
Also in-house production gives as a total
control on the quality.
With our versatile work force we at Abertax® are not only designing,
developing and producing a quality product, but also our own equipment,
automation and tools within our own Tool Shop. And having facilities like
that, i.e. from A to Z it gives us flexibility and great responsiveness to
the market needs.
|
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All these
in-house activities led also to employment increase.
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Figure 9:
Employment statistics (number of employees increase per year)
|
We at Abertax® are
devoted to developing, producing and marketing top quality articles
predominantly conceived to make careful use of resources, such as electric
energy and water consumption. And since we are aiming at products of reliable highest standard in
function and design, whilst keeping in consideration the quality of our
local and global environment, we do recycle and
reuse where possible.
Marketing and Sales
|
We also gave a lot of importance to the marketing which now-a-days
is another key to sales increase.
The Water Valve has been marketed
both locally and internationally.
We have also invested in a promotional video which can be seen on our
websites:
www.abertax.com www.thewatervalvecom
We also attend every year international fairs and conferences as this way we can
get great exposure and meet in person our potential Customers. We can get to
know their product needs and also this gives us the opportunity to explain the
advantages and use of our product.
|
  |
After commencing the marketing activities
we've observed a sharp
increase in sales in a number of countries, such as in
the UK,
Australia, Canada, USA, Germany, and many others.
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Figure 10: The
Water Valve Sales increase
|
Installation
Suggestions
We can proudly say
that we have developed a speciality with one of its biggest advantage being the
smallest water inlet valve on the market. We have a robust valve with
dimensions which make it versatile and ideal for installation in almost any water tank design one
could think of. This allows the designer to freely develop tank shapes which
are not possible with the standard bulky float or lever operating valve. Our in
house designers took this advantage and together with our engineers designed a
state of the art flushing units which at the moment are being tested at our
premises. These flushing units use the potential energy to reduce the consumption
of each flush.
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| Figure 11: Abertax Toilet Cistern design with incorporated Abertax Water Valve |
In this set up a 4
litre flushing cistern could be used due to the height which creates enough
head to compensate for the water tank capacity. This meant a decrease from the normal flush of 6 - 8 litres to only 4 litres, resulting in a decrease of 20% to 30% of the
total houshold consumption.
In order to gain
space, flushing cisterns could be easily fitted in confined spaces like for
example above sofits, in shafts or embedded in the wall. This can only be possible by installing a small valve and surely the Abertax®
Water Valve is the ideal choice a unique product on the market.
An important
feature is its silent operation. It is possible to install a silencer which
will guide the water right to the bottom of any water container (being a
flushing cistern, cold water storage tank, etc.) and preventing noisy splash of
water when striking the bottom. This is reaaly a huge advantage especially in the
UK where the water tank is usually in the attic above the bedroom.
 |
Figure 12: Example
of Toilet Cistern installation with fitted silencer
|
The Abertax® Water Valve can be easily installed in any
tank and even directly to the tank lid - unlike the bulky ball valves; hence
making full use of the tank capacity. This is an advantage especially in
limited spaces and also you use the capacity of the tank you paid for and never
again less.
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| Figure 13: The Water Valve Installation in the water tank lid |
The Abertax® Water Valve is also an excellent solution
for unattended applications like in floor cleaning machines, that now-a-days
are wildly used in many commercial places, such as airports, hospitals,
factories, etc.
Before user had to wait until the tank on the
machine will be filled one by one wasting precious time. Instead with our water
valve one can connect several machines at ones and therefore save time, which costs money. Sometimes machines are left with the host pipe in
it to overflow wasting precious water.
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Figure 13:
Advertisement for The Abertax® Water Valve -
for Floor Cleaning
(Scrubbing) Machines
|
The Water Valve can be also simply clipped on any type of a container
since no leverage is exerted on the pipe connection point.
 |
Figure 14: Some of
unattended applications examples
|
Our Water Valve is an ideal device for use anywhere
water filling and constant water level control is required. INNOVATION on the part of the
user is here unlimited.
Advantages
The Water Valve
has no moving parts on the outside and the robust design maks it ideal for
various applications, unlike other valves existing on the market, which are
prone to breakages and damages.
It is possible to
mount it and install it in different tank shapes and sizes, in various ways and
with different plumbing systems.
This valve uses a
technology that does away with mechanical leverage and movements.
This valve is the
simplest on the International Market, it is maintenance free and will never
leak with pressure variation.
It also fills much
faster than any other valve as it is fully open up to the very last moment when
it then shuts-off promptly without slowing down the flow. Thus it is ideal to be used with pressure switched pumps as it has a quick shut
off.
Conclusion
This is one of the
success stories for Abertax® having developed an innovative
product which has simply EXCELLENT OPERATING PERFORMANCE.
Ing. Anna Dulska
Senior Engineer
The Abertax® Water Valve Engineering Team
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Ing. Anna Dulska
|
Project Team Leader engineer specialising in Product
Development
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Profs. Dr. Joseph Cilia
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Research Director expert in
electromechanical applications and energy efficiency
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Ing. Joseph Pule
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Mechanical Engineer specialising in Product
Design and Injection Moulding
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Ing. George Schembri
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Mechanical Engineer specialising in Product
Design and Automation
|
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Ing. Aaron Farrugia
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Mechanical Engineer specialising in Product
Development
|
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Mr. Anthony Cassar
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Mechanical Engineer specialising in Automation
Design
|
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Mr. Simon Cutajar
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Mechanical Engineer specialising in Mould
Design
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Ing. Carmel Ellul
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Mechanical Engineer specialising in polymers
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Ing. Malcolm Tabone
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Electrical Engineer specialising in System
Design
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Ing. Neville Azzopardi
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Electrical Engineer specialising in Power
Conversion & Solar Installation
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