Gate Valve Seat Spring Structure for Low-Pressure Sealing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current gate valve designs with solid seats fail at low pressures due to limited contact pressure interfaces, leading to high failure rates, especially under industry standards requiring 10% of rated working pressure as an acceptable low-pressure limit.
Innovation Solution
The proposed solution involves a gate valve with a seat design comprising a first piece with a seat body and a second piece with a spring system, including a cavity and a spring section that protrudes outward. The spring section moves inward to reduce the cavity volume when the gate contacts it, enhancing contact pressure at low pressures.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If solid seats are used in gate valve design for full differential, then the valve can handle high pressure differentials, but the contact pressure interface becomes limited at low pressures leading to seal failure
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the physical state of the seat material from solid to a compressible state (using foam or elastomeric materials). This parameter change allows the seat to deform and maintain contact pressure at low pressures while still withstanding high pressure differentials when compressed by the gate, thereby resolving the contradiction between strength and reliability across different pressure ranges.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs composite material structures where a compressible material (foam or elastomer) is combined with a solid support structure. This composite approach provides both the compliance needed for low-pressure sealing and the structural strength required for high-pressure differential handling, simultaneously addressing both requirements.
2Reliability
If seal designs are used to create contact pressure between seat and gate, then sealing is achieved at high pressures, but the contact pressure interface is limited at low pressures causing high failure rates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the mechanical properties of the seat from rigid to compressible, enabling the material to generate and maintain contact pressure through elastic deformation. This parameter change ensures reliable sealing at low pressures without limiting operational availability, as the compressible nature allows consistent contact pressure generation across the full pressure range.
3Strength
If industry standards require 10% of rated working pressure as minimum operating pressure, then high pressure handling is ensured, but most real-world low pressure operations result in valve failure
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transforms the seat material parameter from solid to compressible, enabling effective sealing at pressures as low as 10% of rated working pressure or lower. This parameter change allows the valve to reliably operate in the low-pressure regime that constitutes most real-world applications, while maintaining the strength required for high-pressure operations.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This design significantly increases contact pressure at low pressures, reducing gate valve failures and improving performance under real-world conditions, where most operation is at low pressures.
Implementation Method 1
the spring system includes a cavity disposed between the first inner surface and the second outer surface and a spring section positioned between the cavity and the second inner surface
Implementation Method 2
the spring section is configured to move inward and reduce a volume of the cavity when the gate contacts the spring section
Data Source
AI summary
A gate valve can include a valve body, a bore positioned within the valve body, where the bore traverses a width of the valve body and comprises an inlet and an outlet, and a gate slidably disposed within the bore. The gate valve can further include a seat disposed around the bore and adjacent to the gate and the valve body, where an inner surface of the second piece is adjacent to the gate, where an outer surface of the first piece is adjacent to the valve body, where the first piece and the second piece are adjacent to each other, where a spring system includes a cavity disposed between the first piece and the second piece and a spring section, where the spring section protrudes outward relative to the second piece and moves inward to reduce a volume of the cavity when the gate contacts the spring section.