Conical Rotary Valve Linear Flow Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current air flow valves for internal combustion engines, such as poppet, butterfly, and rotary valves, face challenges in controlling gaseous stream flow rates effectively, particularly in exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) systems, with steep flow increases, poor controllability, and significant restrictions even when fully open.
Innovation Solution
A conical rotary valve with a variable flow area, modulated by a valve actuator, featuring a frustum of a cone design with intersecting fluid passageways that provide a substantially linear and monotonically increasing flow area as a function of rotational angle, offering improved controllability and flow rates comparable to or exceeding those of butterfly valves.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If a poppet valve is used, then the valve structure is simple, but the flow rate control is poor with steep flow increase at early opening
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a conical valve body with curved surfaces instead of flat poppet surfaces. The conical geometry with its gradual curvature allows for progressive flow area increase as the valve opens, providing linear flow control characteristics while maintaining structural simplicity.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention transitions from a two-dimensional poppet valve geometry to a three-dimensional conical geometry. The conical valve body rotates about its axis, creating a variable flow area that increases linearly with rotation angle, thereby improving flow control across the entire opening range.
2Quantity of substance
If a butterfly valve is used, then the valve provides high flow capacity, but the controllability is poor through significant range of valve movement
Solution Approach 1:
The conical valve body with its curved surface geometry creates a progressive exposure of flow area as the valve rotates. This curved geometry ensures that small angular changes at any position produce proportional flow area changes, providing linear controllability throughout the full rotation range while maintaining high flow capacity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the geometric parameters of the valve body from a flat butterfly shape to a conical shape with specific angle and dimensions. This parameter change transforms the nonlinear flow characteristic of butterfly valves into a linear relationship between rotation angle and flow area, improving controllability while preserving high flow capacity.
3Ease of operation
If a rotary valve is used, then the valve provides good controllability, but the valve remains a significant restriction in the controlled flow stream even when fully open
Solution Approach 1:
The conical valve body geometry with its curved surfaces and tapered shape creates a flow path that expands as the valve opens. When fully open, the conical geometry provides a large effective flow area with minimal restriction, unlike flat rotary valves that maintain significant blockage even at full opening.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention utilizes three-dimensional conical geometry rotating about its axis, creating a variable flow area that can achieve near-full opening flow capacity. This dimensional approach allows the valve to provide both precise controllability during rotation and high flow capacity when fully open, eliminating the restriction problem of conventional rotary valves.
Data Source
AI summary
A conical rotary valve includes a conical valve body including a frustum of a cone and a first fluid passageway. The valve further includes a conical engagement body at least partially covering the conical valve body, where the conical engagement body comprising a second fluid passageway. The valve includes a valve actuator rotatably engaged to the conical valve body to provide a variable flow area that includes an intersecting area of the first fluid passageway and the second fluid passageway. The first fluid passageway and the second fluid passageway are structured such that a value δAf/δθv is monotonically increasing, where Af is the variable flow area and θv is a rotational angle of the conical valve body.