High-Purity Control Plate With Nested Orifice Ridges for Leak-Tight Flow
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing fluid control valves struggle to achieve high purity and proportional control while ensuring leak-tight shut-off in fully closed conditions, particularly in industrial processes like semiconductor manufacturing.
Innovation Solution
A high purity fluid control valve design featuring a moveable control plate with flow-through passages, utilizing nested orifice ridges to achieve high conductance with small actuator movement, and ensuring complete shut-off with a continuous uninterrupted flat portion.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a conventional valve design is used, then the structure is simple, but the fluid stagnation occurs and purity is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The control plate is segmented into multiple functional zones: a continuous uninterrupted flat portion for shut-off contact with the orifice ridge, and multiple flow-through passages (radial and axial) that divide the fluid flow path. This segmentation allows different regions of the control plate to perform different functions - sealing in one area while maintaining flow and preventing stagnation in other areas.
Solution Approach 2:
The control plate incorporates nested flow paths where radial flow paths terminate in a counterbore that connects to axial flow paths, creating a multi-level nested structure. Fluid flows radially outward through the control plate body, converges in the counterbore, then flows axially through to the intermediate valve chamber portion. This nested arrangement maximizes fluid sweep coverage within the limited space of the control plate.
2Productivity
If nested orifice ridges are used to achieve high conductance with small actuator movement, then the valve conductance is high, but the manufacturing precision requirement increases
Solution Approach 1:
The orifice ridges are pre-formed as integral features of the valve body through precision machining or molding, establishing their relative positions and orientations before final assembly. The coplanar arrangement of multiple orifice ridges is built into the valve body structure, eliminating the need for complex post-assembly alignment procedures and reducing cumulative positioning errors.
Solution Approach 2:
The design transitions from a single large orifice to multiple nested orifice ridges with varying dimensions and orientations. By changing the geometric parameters of the orifice structures (number, size, shape, arrangement), the valve achieves higher effective conductance area while maintaining compact dimensions and acceptable manufacturing tolerances through the cumulative effect of multiple flow paths.
3Reliability
If a continuous uninterrupted flat portion is used for shut-off, then the shut-off reliability is high, but the control plate area increases
Solution Approach 1:
The control plate exhibits local quality variations where specific regions have different functional properties. The continuous uninterrupted flat portion is localized to only the area necessary for contact with the orifice ridge seal line, while other regions of the control plate contain flow-through passages. This localized sealing surface provides adequate shut-off reliability without requiring the entire control plate to be a large continuous surface.
Solution Approach 2:
The sealing function is achieved through precise positioning in the axial dimension rather than relying solely on lateral area. The continuous flat portion is positioned at a specific axial location where it contacts the orifice ridge, and the sealing effectiveness is enhanced by the axial movement of the control plate during valve operation. This dimensional approach allows a relatively small area to achieve reliable shut-off.
Data Source
AI summary
A high purity control valve for use in high conductance, proportional control applications includes a moveable control plate having a flow-through passage to enhance fluid sweep of the internal valve volume. Nested orifice ridges are used to achieve high conductance with small actuator movement. Enhanced leak tightness can be provided by incorporating into the control plate materials softer than the material comprising the orifice ridge. The control plate comprises a control plate body having a counterbore in fluid communication with a conduit, radial fluid flow paths and axial fluid flow paths. A flat side of the control plate includes a continuous uninterrupted flat portion to shut-off fluid flow in the valve. The radial fluid flow paths provide fluid communication from the counterbore to a circumferential perimeter of the control plate and the axial fluid flow paths provide fluid communication with the fluid conduit through an intermediate valve chamber portion.