Control valve Kvs

Aerodynamics and networks

The flow capacity of a two-port or three-port valve, with an authority check.

Kvs calculator

Control valve selection

Valve parameters

Medium

Control theory

What is Kvs?

Kvs is the flow coefficient of a valve. It gives the water flow in m³/h through the fully open valve at a pressure drop of 1 bar (100 kPa).

Valve authority (a)

The ratio of the pressure drop across the fully open valve to the pressure drop across the whole controlled circuit.
a = ΔP_valve / (ΔP_valve + ΔP_circuit)

Recommendations

  • For two-port valves, the optimal authority is 0.3 — 0.7.
  • For three-port valves (mixing), authority must be ≥ 0.5.
  • Low authority makes the valve behave like an on/off device and the temperature swing.