Cavity Valve Head Structure for Lightweight High-Pressure Pumps
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Solution Overview
Problem
High-power pumps, particularly those used in hydraulic fracturing operations, experience significant wear and failure of valve and seal components due to abrasive and corrosive fracturing fluids, leading to high maintenance and replacement costs.
Innovation Solution
A valve member design with a dome-shaped cavity that reduces mass while maintaining strength, incorporating a cavity interior extending from a seal engaging surface to a cavity end, enhancing the strength-to-weight ratio and reducing material usage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If the valve member uses traditional solid construction, then strength is maintained, but mass is increased leading to higher manufacturing and shipping costs
Solution Approach 1:
The valve head is segmented into solid and hollow regions through the cavity structure. The cavity divides the valve head volume into functional segments: the outer shell provides structural strength while the inner hollow space reduces mass. This segmentation allows the valve member to achieve both strength and weight reduction simultaneously.
Solution Approach 2:
The cavity is strategically positioned and shaped to create local quality variations within the valve head. The wall thickness and cavity geometry are optimized to maintain strength in critical areas while removing material in non-critical regions. This local quality approach ensures the valve head maintains sufficient strength-to-weight ratio without compromising overall structural integrity.
2Weight of moving object
If the valve member mass is reduced through material removal, then manufacturing and shipping costs decrease, but structural integrity under high-pressure conditions may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The cavity is designed with dome-shaped or curved surfaces rather than sharp corners or flat surfaces. This spheroidality distributes stress more evenly throughout the valve head structure, preventing stress concentration points that could lead to failure under high-pressure conditions. The curved geometry of the cavity walls enhances the valve head's ability to withstand hydraulic fracturing pressures while maintaining reduced mass.
Solution Approach 2:
The valve member may incorporate composite material structures, combining different materials or material densities in specific regions. The cavity structure itself acts as a composite design element, creating a lightweight yet strong configuration that mimics composite material behavior by distributing loads through the remaining material structure.
Data Source
AI summary
A valve member, and related assemblies, systems, and methods, for a high-power pump may include a valve body having a valve head. The valve head may have a seal engaging surface positioned to receive a valve seal. The seal engaging surface may have a first axial position relative to a valve body axis. The valve head further may have a cavity at least partially defining a cavity interior. The cavity interior may extend between a cavity opening and a cavity end. The cavity interior may extend from the cavity opening at a second axial position spaced from the first axial position of the seal engaging surface and at least partially through the first axial position to the cavity end at a third axial position, thereby to reduce mass of the valve member and substantially maintain the strength of the valve head.