Manufacturers rate the flow capacity of valves by which measure?

Manufacturers rate the flow capacity of valves using the CV factor, which quantifies the flow capacity of a valve under specific conditions. The CV, or flow coefficient, indicates the volume of water that can flow through the valve per minute at a specific pressure drop, usually one psi. This measure is crucial in determining how efficiently a valve can handle a fluid under varying conditions of pressure and flow.

The CV factor provides a standardized way to compare different valves across various manufacturers, making it easier to select the right valve for a specific application. Understanding the CV value is essential for engineers and designers to ensure that the selected valve will perform adequately in terms of flow and pressure requirements in the system. Other factors like pressure rating, flow rate, and temperature rating are important in their contexts, but they do not specifically represent the flow capacity of valves in the same standardized way that the CV factor does.