Additive Manufactured Pressure Regulating Shut-Off Valve
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional pressure regulating shut-off valves used in aircraft engines face challenges in extreme temperature and pressure conditions, requiring materials that are both durable and lightweight, while also being prone to defects from machining stresses and excess weight.
Innovation Solution
The valve body is formed using an additive manufacturing process, allowing for precise control of size and geometry, with internal passageways and ducts formed integrally, reducing material usage and eliminating the need for separate pipework, and incorporating a single or dual piston system for regulating and shut-off functions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional machining processes are used to manufacture the valve body, then the valve can be produced with traditional methods, but the valve experiences machining stresses and defects that reduce reliability
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces conventional mechanical machining processes with additive manufacturing technology. This substitution eliminates machining stresses and defects while maintaining the ability to produce complex valve geometries, internal passages, and integrated ducts that would be difficult or impossible to achieve with traditional machining methods.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the fundamental manufacturing parameter from subtractive machining to additive layer-by-layer construction. This parameter change enables the creation of optimized wall thicknesses, integrated internal structures, and complex geometries without the limitations and defects associated with conventional machining processes.
2Strength
If the valve body is made thicker to withstand extreme temperatures and pressures, then the valve's strength and durability improve, but the valve's weight increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by varying wall thickness throughout the valve body according to specific structural and functional requirements. Additive manufacturing enables different regions of the valve to have optimally tailored thicknesses - thicker where strength is needed and thinner where weight reduction is prioritized - rather than using uniform thickness throughout the entire component.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes the third dimension by creating complex internal geometries, hollow structures, and integrated ducts within the valve body. These three-dimensional features reduce material usage and weight while maintaining structural integrity through optimized spatial arrangement of material, something impossible to achieve with conventional two-dimensional machining approaches.
3Device complexity
If separate pipework is used to provide fluid communication, then the valve can be assembled from modular components, but the overall device complexity and weight increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the valve body and internal fluid communication ducts into a single integrated component manufactured by additive technology. This consolidation eliminates separate pipework, reduces assembly steps, decreases the number of parts, and reduces overall weight while maintaining all necessary fluid pathways and functional characteristics.
Solution Approach 2:
The additive-manufactured valve body simultaneously serves multiple functions: it provides the structural housing, contains internal fluid passages, integrates mounting features, and incorporates ducts for fluid communication. This multi-functionality in a single component reduces device complexity and eliminates the need for separate modular assemblies.
Data Source
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AI summary
There is provided a pressure regulating shut-off valve comprising a valve body (101), at least one piston serving as a regulating piston (104) and/or a shut-off piston (108), a solenoid valve (110), and a pressure relief valve (112); wherein the valve body defines an inlet (116) and an outlet (130), and comprises at least a portion formed by an additive manufacturing process.