Ball Valve Ring-Driven Seat Loading for High-Pressure Sealing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing ball valve assemblies that rely solely on fluid pressure to compress annular seats against the ball often fail to establish effective seals under high operational conditions, limiting their use in certain applications.
Innovation Solution
The ball valve assembly employs a mechanical system with rotatable and non-rotatable rings, driven by a drive plate and bearing elements, to compress the annular seats against the ball, providing a more significant sealing force than fluid pressure alone, allowing for operation in conditions unsuitable for traditional fluid-pressure-based systems.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Force
If fluid pressure is used to compress annular seats against the ball, then the sealing force is sufficient for low-pressure applications, but the sealing force becomes insufficient under high operational conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The sealing system is segmented into multiple independent components: annular seats, rotatable rings, non-rotatable rings, drive plates, and bearing elements. This segmentation allows the mechanical force transmission path to be separated from the fluid pressure path, enabling the sealing force to be mechanically amplified and transmitted effectively to the annular seats regardless of fluid pressure conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
The rotatable and non-rotatable rings act as intermediary mechanical elements that transmit and amplify force from the drive plate to the annular seats. The bearing elements serve as intermediaries that enable the rotatable rings to rotate and drive the non-rotatable rings, creating a mechanical advantage system that generates sufficient sealing force under high operational conditions where fluid pressure alone would fail.
2Force
If a mechanical system with rings and bearing elements is added to compress annular seats, then sealing force is significantly increased, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The drive plate is non-rotatably coupled to the ball, merging the rotation of the ball with the driving action of the mechanical system. The rotatable rings and non-rotatable rings are coupled through bearing elements, creating a compact integrated mechanism where multiple functions (force amplification, rotation control, and sealing) are combined in a single coordinated system, reducing overall complexity despite the additional components.
Solution Approach 2:
The mechanical system is self-activating through the rotation of the ball itself. As the ball rotates, the drive plate rotates with it, automatically driving the rotatable rings and non-rotatable rings to compress the annular seats against the ball. This self-service mechanism eliminates the need for external actuators or additional control systems, reducing operational complexity while maintaining high sealing force.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This mechanical system ensures effective sealing in high-pressure and high-flow applications, enabling the ball valve assembly to be used in scenarios where fluid-pressure-only systems would fail, by applying increased force to the annular seats, thus enhancing operational reliability.
Implementation Method 1
Rotation of the rotatable ring causes the bearing elements to drive the rotatable ring and the non-rotatable ring away from one another
Data Source
AI summary
A ball valve assembly includes a ball configured to rotate between an open position and a closed position. The ball valve assembly also includes an annular seat configured to engage the ball and a rotatable ring having a first engagement feature. In addition, the ball valve assembly includes a non-rotatable ring positioned adjacent to the rotatable ring. The ball valve assembly also includes a drive plate non-rotatably coupled to the ball. The drive plate includes a second engagement feature, and the second engagement feature is configured to engage the first engagement feature to drive the rotatable ring to rotate in response to rotation of the drive plate. Furthermore, the ball valve assembly includes a bearing element configured to drive the rotatable ring and the non-rotatable ring away from one another to compress the annular seat against the ball in response to rotation of the rotatable ring.