Ball Valve Seal Pressure Injection for Tolerance-Resistant Sealing
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing ball valve designs face challenges in achieving reliable sealing due to manufacturing and assembly tolerances, leading to increased complexity and cost in achieving the required pre-tension of seals, which can result in leakage and damage, especially in harsh environments.
Innovation Solution
A hydraulic fluid injection system is used to apply pressurized fluid to the gap between the seal and the housing, providing a consistent and adjustable force to ensure a fluid-tight seal, allowing for accurate tensioning of the seal against the ball, regardless of manufacturing variations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If shim plates are used to tension the seal against the ball, then sealing reliability is improved, but assembly complexity and time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the shim plates from the sealing assembly, replacing the mechanical tensioning method with a hydraulic tensioning method. The seal is tensioned against the ball using hydraulic pressure applied through fluid channels, eliminating the need for multiple shim plates of different thicknesses and reducing assembly complexity while maintaining sealing reliability.
2Manufacturing precision
If trial and error method is used to determine shim plate configuration, then required pre-tension is achieved, but manufacturing cost and assembly time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical shim plate system with a hydraulic system. Fluid channels are formed in the housing to direct hydraulic pressure onto the seal, tensioning it against the ball. This substitution allows for precise and adjustable pre-tension control without the need for trial and error assembly of multiple shim plate configurations, significantly reducing assembly time while achieving the required pre-tension accuracy.
3Manufacturing precision
If multiple shim plates of different thicknesses are provided, then required pre-tension can be achieved, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and eliminates the shim plates from the design, replacing them with a hydraulic tensioning system. Fluid channels are integrated into the housing structure to deliver hydraulic pressure to the seal. This simplifies manufacturing by removing the need to produce and inventory multiple shim plate variants with different thicknesses, while maintaining precise pre-tension control through hydraulic pressure regulation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the method of pre-tension control from mechanical (shim plate thickness) to hydraulic (fluid pressure). By forming fluid channels in the housing and applying hydraulic pressure to the seal, the system achieves precise pre-tension control through pressure parameter adjustment rather than mechanical dimension selection, simplifying manufacturing and reducing parts complexity.
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 solution simplifies the assembly process, reduces the likelihood of leakage, and ensures reliable sealing by accurately applying pressure to the seals, thereby enhancing the operational reliability and reducing the chances of faulty assembly and damage.
Implementation Method 1
a hydraulic fluid injection port configured to receive pressurised fluid from a pressurised fluid source, and a plurality of fluid channels connected to the injection port and configured to be arranged, in use, around the interior of the ball valve to direct the pressurised fluid to a gap between a seal of the ball valve and a housing of the ball valve to exert a force on the seal towards a ball of the ball valve
Data Source
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AI summary
A sealing arrangement for a ball valve, the sealing arrangement comprising a hydraulic fluid injection port (230) configured to receive pressurised fluid from a pressurised fluid source, and a plurality of fluid channels (226, 228) connected to the injection port and configured to be arranged, in use, around the interior of the ball valve to direct the pressurised fluid to a gap (240) between a seal (600) of the ball valve and a housing of the ball valve to exert a force on the seal towards a ball of the ball valve.