Abstract
A 2-way-cartridge valve has become the most popular type in Europe. This type of valve has a lot of advantages, for instance, simple and compact in construction, quick response, etc. There is a great difference, however, between the valve's opening and closing times, since the opening and the closing mechanisms differ from each other. In this paper, the switching characteristics of the 2-way-cartridge valve is investigated by numerical simulation, approximate calculation and experimental work. That is, the effects of design parameters of the main valve, including the area ratio, the mass of the main valve, the spring constant and the initial displacement of the spring, on the switching time is examined and the possibility to equalize the valve's opening and closing times is discussed.
