Floating Ball Valve Seat with Multi-Ring Sealing Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
Prior art ball valve seats fail to provide effective sealing under both high and low pressures, leading to leakage, particulate entrapment, and increased wear, which compromises the isolation of pressurized fluids and requires higher torque to operate.
Innovation Solution
A ball valve seat design featuring a front face with low and high pressure contact rings extending at different heights, a toroidal form with a triangular cross-section, and channels to reduce particulate entrapment, providing redundant sealing surfaces and a spring force that maintains contact with the valve ball under varying pressures.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a smooth sealing face is used to match the valve ball contour, then manufacturing is simplified, but sealing effectiveness under low pressure deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The valve seat sealing face is segmented into multiple contact rings (first contact ring and second contact ring) with different heights and positions, rather than using a single smooth surface. This segmentation allows each ring to perform specific sealing functions under different pressure conditions, resolving the contradiction between manufacturing simplicity and sealing reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the valve seat sealing face are given different local qualities through the multi-ring structure. The first contact ring has a first height and the second contact ring has a second height, creating localized sealing zones that engage under different pressure conditions, thereby maintaining effective sealing across varying pressure ranges while keeping the overall structure manufacturable.
2Reliability
If the valve ball deflects downstream under pressure, then the upstream valve seat loses sealing contact, but this deflection is a natural pressure response
Solution Approach 1:
The valve seat incorporates a multi-ring contact structure that dynamically adapts to pressure-induced valve ball deflection. Under low pressure, the first contact ring maintains sealing contact, while under high pressure when the ball deflects downstream, the second contact ring engages to maintain sealing. This dynamic adaptation resolves the contradiction between maintaining sealing contact and responding naturally to pressure deflection.
Solution Approach 2:
The valve seat is pre-configured with multiple contact rings at different heights and positions before pressure application. This preliminary structural arrangement ensures that as the valve ball deflects under pressure, different rings will sequentially engage to maintain sealing contact, preventing loss of sealing interface without requiring active control mechanisms.
3Duration of action of stationary object
If particulates are trapped behind the valve seat, then wear accelerates and torque increases, but trapping is difficult to prevent with smooth surfaces
Solution Approach 1:
The multi-ring contact structure converts the potentially harmful effect of particulate trapping into a beneficial feature. The gaps and channels between the rings allow particulates to be washed through by fluid flow rather than trapped against the sealing surfaces. This transforms what would be a wear-accelerating condition into a self-cleaning mechanism that extends valve seat service life while reducing operating torque.
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
The design ensures effective sealing under both high and low pressures, reduces wear, and minimizes torque requirements by maintaining contact with the valve ball, even when deflected, thereby extending the valve seat's lifespan and preventing fluid leakage.
Implementation Method 1
The front face includes two or more low pressure contact rings and two or more high pressure contact rings
Data Source
AI summary
A ball valve includes a valve body, a ball chamber within the valve body and a valve ball within the ball chamber. The ball valve further includes valve seats in contact with the valve ball. Each valve seat includes a front face, a rear face and an outer face. The front face includes two or more low pressure contact rings and two or more high pressure contact rings that provide enhanced sealing against the valve ball under both high and low pressure conditions. The rear and outer face each include independent seal zones.