Flow-Through Control Plate for High-Conductance Valve Shut-Off
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Solution Overview
Problem
High-purity fluid control valves require a solution that balances leak-tight shut-off with proportional control, especially in applications like semiconductor manufacturing, where existing valves face challenges in fluid stagnation and internal dead space, limiting their conductance and dynamic response.
Innovation Solution
A high-conductance fluid control valve design featuring a moveable control plate with nested orifice ridges and flow-through passages, allowing for efficient fluid sweep and reduced closing force, while maintaining a continuous uninterrupted surface for shut-off, enabling high conductance with low closing force.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a traditional valve design with solid control plate is used to achieve leak-tight shut-off, then shut-off reliability is improved, but internal dead space causes fluid stagnation and reduced conductance
Solution Approach 1:
The control plate is designed with through-holes that allow fluid to pass completely through it. This porous-like structure eliminates dead spaces where fluid could stagnate while the surrounding continuous surface material provides the sealing function for leak-tight shut-off when the plate contacts the seat.
Solution Approach 2:
The control plate is segmented into functional zones: a continuous uninterrupted surface portion for sealing against the seat, and through-holes for fluid passage. This segmentation allows simultaneous achievement of shut-off reliability and elimination of fluid stagnation.
2Quantity of substance
If nested orifice ridges are used to increase control gap length, then conductance is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple orifice ridges are nested concentrically within the valve body, creating multiple control gaps in sequence. Fluid flows through each control gap in turn, achieving a total control path length equivalent to multiple separate orifices while using a compact integrated structure rather than multiple discrete components.
Solution Approach 2:
Multiple orifice ridge structures are merged into a single integrated valve body component rather than using separate parts. This combining achieves the cumulative control gap length of multiple orifices while reducing the number of separate components and simplifying the overall device structure.
3Productivity
If control plate has flow-through passages to eliminate dead space, then fluid sweep is improved, but manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The control plate is segmented into sealing portions and flow passages, allowing each to be optimized independently. The continuous surface portions can be manufactured with standard precision for sealing, while the through-holes provide automatic fluid sweep without requiring ultra-precise geometry control.
Solution Approach 2:
The through-holes in the control plate enable fluid to automatically sweep through the valve internal volume during normal operation. This self-cleaning action occurs without additional components or complex mechanisms, reducing manufacturing precision requirements compared to active cleaning systems.
Data Source
Figure 1A~1D
Figure 2A~2D
Figure 3A~3D
AI summary
A high purity fluid control valve includes a moveable control plate having a flow-through passage to enhance fluid sweep of the internal valve volume. The valve is of jet and seat type using nested orifice ridges to achieve high conductance with small actuator movement. The flow-through control plate is especially useful in fast acting proportional control applications such as gas delivery in semiconductor manufacturing.