Bidirectional sealing wafer type electric butterfly valve

Abstract

The invention relates to the technical field of fluid control equipment, and discloses a two-way sealing wafer type electric butterfly valve which comprises a wafer type valve body, a valve shaft penetrating through the valve body, a butterfly valve plate fixedly installed on the valve shaft, an electric actuator driving the valve shaft to rotate and a sealing pair arranged in an inner cavity of the valve body. The sealing pair comprises plate sealing faces symmetrically formed on the two sides of the circumference of the butterfly valve plate and floating valve seat assemblies correspondingly arranged in an inner cavity of the valve body. The floating valve seat assembly comprises two flexible sealing rings facing the butterfly valve plate, two mounting grooves for mounting the flexible sealing rings, and a pressure cavity for sealing the inner wall of the valve body; and a plurality of groups of pressure guide holes are formed in the butterfly valve plate and are communicated with the pressure cavity. With the adoption of the structure, the sealing device has the following advantages that the bidirectional sealing performance is excellent, and the service life is long; the driving torque is greatly reduced, and energy conservation and high efficiency are achieved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of fluid control equipment technology, and in particular to a bidirectional sealing wafer-type electric butterfly valve. Background Technology

[0002] Butterfly valves, characterized by their simple structure, rapid opening and closing, and low flow resistance coefficient, are widely used in various fluid pipeline systems. Wafer-type butterfly valves, with their compact structure, light weight, and convenient installation, have become the preferred choice for many applications. The introduction of electric actuators has further enhanced the level of automation control for butterfly valves.

[0003] However, in demanding operating conditions requiring bidirectional zero-leakage sealing, traditional wafer-type electric butterfly valves face significant technical bottlenecks:

[0004] 1. To achieve bidirectional high-pressure sealing, a multi-eccentric structure or a huge torque output from the actuator is usually required to forcibly compress the sealing pair. This results in large actuators, high energy consumption, and frequent high-stress compression, which accelerates the wear of the seals and reduces the service life of the valve.

[0005] 2. The sealing performance of wafer valves is highly susceptible to the effects of pipe flange parallelism, concentricity, and bolt preload uniformity. Even minor deformation of the valve body caused by improper installation can directly lead to leakage, requiring a very high level of technical skill from the installers.

[0006] 3. Ordinary electric butterfly valves lack the ability to sense and adapt to their own sealing status, installation stress, and wear level, and therefore cannot achieve predictive maintenance and operational optimization.

[0007] Therefore, this invention proposes an innovative wafer-type electric butterfly valve that can solve problems such as high torque, difficult installation, complicated maintenance, and insufficient intelligence while ensuring bidirectional zero-leakage sealing. Summary of the Invention

[0008] I. Technical problems to be solved

[0009] The technical problems to be solved by this invention are the contradiction between sealing performance and driving torque, high installation dependence, difficult maintenance and low level of intelligence.

[0010] II. Technical Solution

[0011] To solve the above-mentioned technical problems, the technical solution provided by the present invention is as follows: a bidirectional sealing wafer-type electric butterfly valve, comprising a wafer-type valve body, a valve shaft penetrating the valve body, a butterfly valve plate fixedly installed on the valve shaft, an electric actuator for driving the valve shaft to rotate, and a sealing pair disposed in the inner cavity of the valve body;

[0012] The sealing pair includes plate sealing surfaces symmetrically formed on both sides of the circumference of the butterfly valve plate, and a floating valve seat assembly correspondingly disposed in the inner cavity of the valve body;

[0013] The floating valve seat assembly includes two flexible sealing rings facing the butterfly valve plate, two mounting grooves for mounting the flexible sealing rings, and a pressure chamber sealed on the inner wall of the valve body.

[0014] The butterfly valve plate has multiple sets of pressure guiding holes inside, and all sets of pressure guiding holes are connected to the pressure chamber.

[0015] As an improvement, the valve body has multiple sets of through holes located on the inner wall between the two sets of mounting slots, and the through holes intermittently connect the pressure chamber with the pressure guide hole.

[0016] As an improvement, the flexible sealing ring is fixedly installed inside the mounting groove, and its outer wall is in contact with the side wall of the mounting groove. Multiple sets of through holes two and three that are always open are provided between the bottom of the mounting groove and the outer wall of the flexible sealing ring, so as to connect the flexible sealing ring with the pressure chamber.

[0017] As an improvement, the multiple sets of pressure guiding holes are evenly distributed along the circumference of the butterfly valve plate, and the multiple sets of pressure guiding holes are coupled into a whole through the pressure guiding channel on the inner side of the butterfly valve plate, so that the high pressure medium at any pressure guiding hole can be quickly transmitted to all pressure guiding holes and pressure chambers.

[0018] As an improvement, the sealing contact surface of the flexible sealing ring in its unexpanded state contacts the outer circumferential wall of the butterfly valve plate;

[0019] The expanded sealing ring has a concave curved surface that matches the edge of the sealing surface of the plate, and its sealing surface completely covers and seals the opening of the pressure guiding hole.

[0020] As an improvement, the electric actuator includes a controller configured to execute a torque-position coordinated control algorithm, the algorithm including:

[0021] During the learning phase, when the valve is initially debugged, the butterfly valve plate is driven to complete a full closing operation, and the torque and position relationship during the closing process is recorded as a standard curve.

[0022] During the adaptive operation phase, the relationship between torque and position is monitored in real time during each subsequent closing operation and compared with the standard curve. Based on the comparison results, the final closing angle of the valve is dynamically adjusted to compensate for wear of the sealing pair or installation deviation.

[0023] As an improvement, the controller is also configured to, during the closing or opening process, control the electric actuator to perform a protective reversal or stop action when the real-time monitored torque value exceeds a preset threshold of the torque value at the corresponding position of the standard curve.

[0024] As an improvement, at least one stress sensing ring is embedded in each of the two end connection surfaces of the valve body, and the stress sensing ring integrates a sensor for sensing the pressure deformation of the two end connection surfaces of the valve body.

[0025] The sensor is communicatively connected to the controller of the electric actuator to provide guidance on the uniformity of installation preload or monitoring data on the stress state of the pipeline during operation.

[0026] With the above structure, the present invention has the following advantages:

[0027] 1. Superior bidirectional sealing performance and long service life: Utilizing the principle of "self-reinforcing medium pressure," the flexible sealing ring is driven by the pressure of the pipeline medium itself to achieve a seal. The sealing force automatically increases with the increase of medium pressure, ensuring zero leakage under high pressure differentials. This principle transforms "rigid compression" into "flexible adaptive tightening," significantly reducing the relative friction and wear of the sealing pair and greatly extending the valve's service life.

[0028] 2. Significantly reduced drive torque, energy-efficient and high-performance: During the closing process, the electric actuator only needs to drive the valve plate to the sealing position, without requiring a large sealing clamping force. During opening, a slight rotation of the valve plate triggers pressure relief in the pressure chamber, making opening exceptionally easy. Compared to traditional bidirectional sealing butterfly valves, the required actuator torque can be reduced by more than 50%, achieving high-performance sealing with a low-power actuator, resulting in significant energy savings.

[0029] 3. Strong resistance to installation deformation and easy installation: The built-in stress sensing ring and sensor can monitor the preload distribution of the mounting bolts in real time, guiding installers to achieve uniform tightening, effectively avoiding valve body deformation and leakage caused by improper installation, and reducing the stringent requirements for installation accuracy.

[0030] 4. Intelligent Operation and Predictive Maintenance: The intelligent electric actuator's built-in torque-position coordinated control algorithm can adaptively compensate for normal wear of seals and minor installation deviations, maintaining optimal sealing performance at all times. Simultaneously, continuous monitoring of operating torque and pipeline stress provides data support for predictive maintenance, enabling early warning of potential faults. Attached Figure Description

[0031] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of a bidirectional sealing clamp-type electric butterfly valve according to the present invention.

[0032] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the valve body structure of a bidirectional sealing clamp-type electric butterfly valve according to the present invention.

[0033] Figure 3 This is a right view of the valve body of a bidirectional sealing wafer-type electric butterfly valve according to the present invention.

[0034] Figure 4 This is a cross-sectional view (AA) of a bidirectional sealing wafer-type electric butterfly valve according to the present invention.

[0035] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the butterfly valve plate structure of a bidirectional sealing clamp-type electric butterfly valve according to the present invention.

[0036] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the flexible sealing ring structure of a bidirectional sealing clamp-type electric butterfly valve according to the present invention.

[0037] As shown in the figure: 1. Valve body; 2. Valve shaft; 3. Butterfly valve plate; 31. Plate sealing surface; 32. Pressure guide hole; 4. Electric actuator; 41. Controller; 5. Floating valve seat assembly; 51. Flexible sealing ring; 52. Pressure chamber; 53. Mounting groove; 54. Through hole one; 55. Through hole two; 56. Through hole three; 6. Stress sensing ring; 61. Sensor. Detailed Implementation

[0038] The technical solutions of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings of the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present invention, and not all embodiments. All other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of the present invention without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0039] Example 1

[0040] As attached Figure 1 and attached Figure 2 As shown, a bidirectional sealing wafer-type electric butterfly valve includes a wafer-type valve body 1, a valve shaft 2 penetrating the valve body 1, a butterfly valve plate 3 fixedly installed on the valve shaft 2, an electric actuator 4 that drives the valve shaft 2 to rotate, and a sealing pair disposed in the inner cavity of the valve body 1.

[0041] As attached Figure 3 Appendix Figure 4 Appendix Figure 5 and attached Figure 6 As shown, the sealing pair includes plate sealing surfaces 31 symmetrically formed on both sides of the circumference of the butterfly valve plate 3, and a floating valve seat assembly 5 correspondingly disposed in the inner cavity of the valve body 1;

[0042] The floating valve seat assembly 5 includes two flexible sealing rings 51 facing the butterfly valve plate 3, two mounting grooves 53 for mounting the flexible sealing rings 51, and a pressure chamber 52 sealed on the inner wall of the valve body 1.

[0043] The butterfly valve plate 3 has multiple sets of pressure guiding holes 32 inside, and the inner wall of the valve body 1, located between the two sets of mounting grooves 53, has multiple sets of through holes 54. The through holes 54 intermittently connect the pressure chamber 52 with the pressure guiding holes 32. When the valve is fully closed, the pressure guiding holes 32 and the through holes 54 are aligned to form a pressure guiding passage; when the valve is open, the two are misaligned, and the passage is cut off. This structure ensures that pressure transmission only occurs in the closed position.

[0044] Multiple sets of pressure guiding holes 32 are evenly distributed along the circumference of the butterfly valve plate 3. The multiple sets of pressure guiding holes 32 are coupled into a whole through pressure guiding channels on the inner side of the butterfly valve plate 3, so that the high pressure medium at any pressure guiding hole 32 can be quickly transmitted to all pressure guiding holes 32 and pressure chamber 52.

[0045] The flexible sealing ring 51 is fixedly installed inside the mounting groove 53, and its outer wall is in contact with the side wall of the mounting groove 53. Multiple sets of through holes 2 55 and through holes 3 56 that are always connected are provided between the bottom of the mounting groove 53 and the outer wall of the flexible sealing ring 51, which connect the flexible sealing ring 51 to the pressure chamber 52, so that the medium pressure in the pressure chamber 52 can act directly and uniformly on the interior of the flexible sealing ring 51, driving it to produce radial expansion deformation.

[0046] The unexpanded sealing ring 51 has its sealing contact surface in contact with the outer circumference of the butterfly valve plate 3; the expanded sealing contact surface of the flexible sealing ring 51 is a concave curved surface that matches the edge of the sealing surface 31 of the plate, and its sealing contact surface completely covers and seals the opening of the pressure guiding hole 32, cutting off the path of high pressure medium to leak back into the pipeline, thus forming a mechanical self-sealing.

[0047] Example 2

[0048] Based on Example 1, as shown in the appendix Figure 1 and attached Figure 2 As shown, the electric actuator 4 includes a controller 41, which is configured to execute a torque-position coordinated control algorithm, the algorithm including:

[0049] During the learning phase, when the valve is initially debugged, the butterfly valve plate 3 is driven to complete a complete closing operation, and the torque and position relationship during the closing process is recorded as a standard curve.

[0050] During the adaptive operation phase, the relationship between torque and position is monitored in real time during each subsequent closing operation and compared with the standard curve. Based on the comparison results, the final closing angle of the valve is dynamically adjusted to compensate for wear of the sealing pair or installation deviation.

[0051] The controller 41 is also configured to, during the closing or opening process, when the real-time monitored torque value exceeds a preset threshold of the torque value at the corresponding position of the standard curve, control the electric actuator 4 to perform a protective reverse or stop action.

[0052] At least one stress sensing ring 6 is embedded in each of the two end connecting surfaces of the valve body 1. The stress sensing ring 6 integrates a sensor 61 for sensing the pressure deformation of the two end connecting surfaces of the valve body 1. The sensor 61 is communicatively connected to the controller 41 of the electric actuator 4 and is used to provide guidance on the uniformity of the installation preload or monitoring data on the stress state of the pipeline during operation.

[0053] The specific usage method is as follows:

[0054] Installation and debugging:

[0055] Clamp the valve between the two pipe flanges, insert and initially tighten the connecting bolts. View the real-time pressure data fed back from each stress sensing ring 6 via the controller 41 of the electric actuator 4. The controller 41 can be a local HMI or wirelessly connected to a mobile phone / computer. Following the prompts of the controller 41, tighten the bolts symmetrically and gradually until the stress values ​​at all detection points are uniform and within the recommended range, completing the high-precision installation.

[0056] The valve undergoes a "learning phase" operation: A complete shut-off operation is initiated via controller 41, allowing the system to automatically record and store standard torque-position curves. The valve accepts remote or local open / close commands. During shut-off, the actuator operates according to an adaptive algorithm, automatically optimizing the final shut-off position for reliable sealing. During open-off, the actuator starts easily. During operation, controller 41 continuously monitors torque and stress data, which can be uploaded to a monitoring center via network.

[0057] When the controller 41 detects a systematic shift in the shut-off torque curve or abnormal stress data, it issues a maintenance warning.

[0058] Sealing principle:

[0059] The electric actuator 4 drives the butterfly valve plate 3 to rotate to a preset fully closed angle, such as 90°. At this time, the circumference of the plate sealing surface 31 of the butterfly valve plate 3 initially contacts the inner surface of the flexible sealing ring 51 in its unexpanded state, forming a basic contact pre-seal. At this stage, only bearing friction needs to be overcome, and the actuator torque is very small.

[0060] Meanwhile, the pressure guiding holes 32 evenly distributed on the circumference of the butterfly valve plate 3 are aligned with the through holes 54 on the inner wall of the valve body 1, forming a connecting path from the valve flow channel to the pressure chamber 52.

[0061] Regardless of whether the medium flows in from the left or right, the side blocked by the butterfly valve plate 3 is the upstream high-pressure side. The high-pressure medium immediately rushes in through the pressure guide hole 32 located on this side.

[0062] Since all the pressure guiding holes 32 are coupled into a whole through channels inside the valve plate, the high-pressure medium instantly fills the entire pressure guiding network and is rapidly injected into the pressure chamber 52 through through hole one 54. The high-pressure medium then enters the flexible sealing ring 51 through through holes two 55 and three 56. At this moment, the pressure guiding hole 32 located on the downstream low-pressure side is also filled with high pressure from the upstream, forming a "high inside, low outside" pressure difference at its orifice. This pressure difference effectively prevents the downstream low-pressure medium from flowing back into the system, achieving automatic locking of fluid dynamics.

[0063] Under the pressure of the internally injected medium, the two sets of flexible sealing rings 51 undergo radial elastic expansion deformation. Their sealing contact surfaces change from initial line contact or small-area contact to a large-area concave curved surface that perfectly matches the edge contour of the two sets of plate sealing surfaces 31, sealing the pressure guide holes 32 on both sides and stopping the entry of high-pressure medium. The actuator does not need to provide additional clamping force during this stage.

[0064] It should be noted that, in this document, relational terms such as "first" and "second" are used only to distinguish one entity or operation from another, and do not necessarily require or imply any such actual relationship or order between these entities or operations. Furthermore, the terms "comprising," "including," or any other variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements includes not only those elements but also other elements not expressly listed, or elements inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus.

[0065] Although embodiments of the invention have been shown and described, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes, modifications, substitutions and alterations can be made to these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

[0066] The present invention and its embodiments have been described above. This description is not restrictive, and the accompanying drawings are only one embodiment of the present invention; the actual structure is not limited thereto. In conclusion, if those skilled in the art are inspired by this description and design similar structures and embodiments without departing from the spirit of the invention, such designs should fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A bidirectional sealing wafer-type electric butterfly valve, comprising a wafer-type valve body (1), a valve shaft (2) penetrating the valve body (1), a butterfly valve plate (3) fixedly mounted on the valve shaft (2), an electric actuator (4) driving the valve shaft (2) to rotate, and a sealing pair disposed in the inner cavity of the valve body (1), characterized in that: The sealing pair includes a plate sealing surface (31) symmetrically formed on both sides of the circumference of the butterfly valve plate (3), and a floating valve seat assembly (5) correspondingly disposed in the inner cavity of the valve body (1); The floating valve seat assembly (5) includes two flexible sealing rings (51) facing the butterfly valve plate (3), two mounting grooves (53) for mounting the flexible sealing rings (51), and a pressure chamber (52) sealed on the inner wall of the valve body (1); The butterfly valve plate (3) is provided with multiple sets of pressure guiding holes (32), and all sets of pressure guiding holes (32) are connected to the pressure chamber (52).

2. The bidirectional sealing, double-jacketed electric butterfly valve according to claim 1, characterized in that: The valve body (1) has multiple sets of through holes (54) on its inner wall between two sets of mounting grooves (53). The through holes (54) intermittently connect the pressure chamber (52) with the pressure guide hole (32).

3. A bidirectional sealing double disc gate valve according to claim 2, characterized in that: The flexible sealing ring (51) is fixedly installed inside the mounting groove (53), and its outer wall is in contact with the side wall of the mounting groove (53). Multiple sets of through holes 2 (55) and through holes 3 (56) that are always connected are provided between the bottom of the mounting groove (53) and the outer wall of the flexible sealing ring (51) to connect the flexible sealing ring (51) with the pressure chamber (52).

4. The bidirectional sealing, double-jacketed electric butterfly valve according to claim 1, characterized in that: Multiple sets of pressure guiding holes (32) are evenly distributed along the circumference of the butterfly valve plate (3). Multiple sets of pressure guiding holes (32) are coupled into a whole through pressure guiding channels on the inner side of the butterfly valve plate (3), so that the high pressure medium at any pressure guiding hole (32) can be quickly transmitted to all pressure guiding holes (32) and pressure chamber (52).

5. The bidirectional sealing, double-jacketed electric butterfly valve according to claim 1, characterized in that: The flexible sealing ring (51) in its unexpanded state has its sealing contact surface in contact with the outer circumference of the butterfly valve plate (3); The sealing contact surface of the expanded flexible sealing ring (51) is a concave curved surface that matches the edge of the sealing surface (31) of the plate, and its sealing contact surface completely covers and seals the opening of the pressure guiding hole (32).

6. The bidirectional sealing, double-jacketed electric butterfly valve according to claim 1, characterized in that: The electric actuator (4) includes a controller (41) configured to execute a torque-position coordinated control algorithm, the algorithm including: During the learning phase, when the valve is initially debugged, the butterfly valve plate (3) is driven to complete a complete closing operation, and the torque and position relationship during the closing process is recorded as a standard curve. During the adaptive operation phase, the relationship between torque and position is monitored in real time during each subsequent closing operation and compared with the standard curve. Based on the comparison results, the final closing angle of the valve is dynamically adjusted to compensate for wear of the sealing pair or installation deviation.

7. A bidirectional sealing, double-joint electric butterfly valve according to claim 6, characterized in that: The controller (41) is also configured to control the electric actuator (4) to perform a protective reversal or stop action when the real-time monitored torque value exceeds a preset threshold of the torque value at the corresponding position of the standard curve during the closing or opening process.

8. The bidirectional sealing, double-jacketed electric butterfly valve according to claim 7, characterized in that: At least one stress sensing ring (6) is embedded on each of the two end connecting surfaces of the valve body (1). The stress sensing ring (6) integrates a sensor (61) for sensing the pressure deformation of the two end connecting surfaces of the valve body (1). The sensor (61) is communicatively connected to the controller (41) of the electric actuator (4) to provide guidance on the uniformity of installation preload or monitoring data on the stress state of the pipeline during operation.

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