Double-Seat Valve Deflecting Surface Reduces Seal Wear
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing double-seat valve devices face challenges in maintaining high processing reliability, particularly in ensuring reliable separation of incompatible products and preventing leakage during cleaning and sterilization processes, due to wear on sealing elements and direct fluid impact on valve seats.
Innovation Solution
A double-seat valve device design featuring a first and second closing member with sealing elements, a valve housing with circular cylindrical seat surfaces, and a deflecting surface that deflects fluid jets away from the sealing elements, ensuring a radial seal and preventing direct impact, which includes a concavely curved or inflected deflecting surface to guide fluid jets tangentially and a throttle section to reduce pressure on sealing elements.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If sealing elements are used to ensure reliable separation of incompatible products, then separation reliability is improved, but wear on sealing elements occurs during cleaning and sterilization processes
Solution Approach 1:
The valve device is divided into two independent closing members (first closing member with first sealing element, second closing member with second sealing element) that can operate independently. This segmentation allows one sealing element to be protected while the other undergoes cleaning or sterilization, preventing wear on both sealing elements simultaneously and extending their service life while maintaining separation reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The deflecting surface is positioned to deflect fluid jets away from the sealing elements before the cleaning or sterilization process begins. This preliminary protective action prevents direct impact on the sealing elements during cleaning/sterilization operations, reducing wear and extending their operational life while maintaining the ability to perform thorough cleaning.
2Ease of manufacture
If fluid jets are directed at valve seats for cleaning purposes, then cleaning effectiveness is improved, but direct impact damages sealing elements
Solution Approach 1:
The deflecting surface acts as an intermediary element between the fluid jets and the sealing elements. It redirects the fluid jets away from the sealing elements while still allowing effective cleaning of the valve seats, thus mediating between the need for effective cleaning and the need to protect sealing elements from damage.
Solution Approach 2:
The deflecting surface converts the potentially harmful direct impact of fluid jets on sealing elements into a beneficial redirected flow that still achieves effective cleaning of the valve seats. The harmful kinetic energy of the jets is redirected to clean surfaces that need cleaning rather than damaging the sealing elements.
3Ease of operation
If single seat-lift separation is implemented for cleaning, then cleaning accessibility is improved, but product leakage risk increases during transition
Solution Approach 1:
The valve device uses two independent closing members that can be operated separately. This segmentation allows one closing member to be lifted for cleaning while the other remains closed to maintain product separation and prevent leakage. The independent operation of each closing member ensures cleaning accessibility while maintaining leakage prevention through the other closed member.
Data Source
AI summary
A double-seat valve device, with a valve seat region, includes a first circular cylindrical-shaped seat surface with a first diameter, which with a first sealing element forms a radial seal for a connection opening to a first housing part, and a second circular cylindrical-shaped seat surface with a second diameter smaller than the first, which with a second sealing element forms a radial seal for the opening to a second housing part. A third seat surface is arranged between the first and second surfaces. In a closed position of the first closing member, the contact region rests against the third seat surface, to form a solid-state stop for the contact region. A deflecting surface is arranged between the first and third seat surfaces. The deflecting surface has an outlet edge offset to the third seat surface. A direction vector at the outlet edge points away from the second sealing element.