Field Flow Fractionator Valve Presets for Stable Mode Switching
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Solution Overview
Problem
Field flow fractionators face challenges in efficiently switching between operational modes and determining optimal valve positions for stable separation processes, leading to suboptimal performance in separation tasks.
Innovation Solution
A computer-implemented method and system that measures and stores optimal valve positions for mass and pressure control valves, and calculates a focus flow offset value to adjust pump flow settings, allowing for seamless mode switching between focus, elution, and injection modes in a field flow fractionator.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If manual adjustment of valve positions is used for mode switching, then operator control flexibility is maintained, but switching efficiency and precision deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The system automatically measures and stores optimal valve positions for different operational modes without requiring manual intervention. The computer system performs self-service by autonomously determining and recording the precise valve positions needed for focus mode, elution mode, and injection mode, thereby improving switching efficiency while maintaining precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback mechanisms by measuring actual valve positions and comparing them against stored optimal values. This feedback loop enables the system to automatically adjust and maintain precise valve positions during mode transitions, resolving the contradiction between switching speed and positioning accuracy.
2Loss of time
If optimal valve positions are pre-stored for each mode, then switching speed improves, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by pre-measuring and storing optimal valve positions for all operational modes before actual use. This advance preparation eliminates the need for real-time calculations during mode switching, reducing transition time while the complexity is confined to the initial setup phase rather than ongoing operations.
3Reliability
If focus flow offset values are determined through experiments, then separation performance improves, but time and resource consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs focus flow offset determination through experiments during the initial setup phase, storing the calibrated values for future use. This preliminary action ensures high separation performance reliability during actual operations while confining the time-consuming experimental calibration to a one-time setup process rather than repeated during each separation task.
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure describes a method, a system, and a computer program product of performing a separation on a field flow fractionator. In an embodiment, the method, the system, and the computer program product include executing, by a computer system, a set of logical operations measuring a mass flow control valve position of a control valve connected to a mass flow controller coupled to a field flow fractionator and a pressure control valve position of a control valve connected to a pressure controller coupled to the field fold fractionator in an optimal stability state, storing, by the computer system, the valve positions to a data store as preset values, and executing, by the computer system, a set of logical operations retrieving the preset values from the data store and setting initial conditions for the controllers corresponding to the preset values, resulting in a switch mode of the field flow fractionator.