Hollow Ball Valve With Thermoplastic Coating
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Solution Overview
Problem
Ball valves face issues with increased weight and wear due to traditional materials, leading to higher inertia and reduced service life, especially during fast switching processes and due to material pairing in seals.
Innovation Solution
A hollow ball valve design with a metal core (brass, gunmetal, or stainless steel) covered with thermoplastics like polyoxymethylene, polyamide, or polyurethane reduces weight and wear, utilizing these materials for the outer wall and seals to enhance strength and abrasion resistance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If a solid metal ball is used, then the ball has high strength and durability, but the weight increases leading to higher inertia and slower switching
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies nesting by placing a hollow spherical shell around a solid core, creating a layered structure where the hollow ball is positioned within the overall ball assembly. This nested configuration reduces the overall density and weight of the ball while maintaining structural integrity through the core, directly resolving the contradiction between strength and weight.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs composite materials by combining a hollow spherical shell (likely lightweight material) with a solid core (metal or dense material). This composite structure allows the ball to achieve optimal balance between weight reduction and strength maintenance, as the hollow portions reduce mass while the core provides necessary structural support and durability.
2Reliability
If traditional seal materials are used, then the seal provides initial sealing, but wear between the seal and ball increases over time reducing service life
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies composite materials by combining a hollow spherical shell (likely lightweight material) with a solid core (metal or dense material). This composite structure allows the ball to achieve optimal balance between weight reduction and strength maintenance, as the hollow portions reduce mass while the core provides necessary structural support and durability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the material parameters of the ball by transitioning from solid metal to a hollow structure with a core, fundamentally altering the density, weight, and inertial characteristics. This parameter change enables faster switching speeds while maintaining sufficient strength through the core structure, resolving the contradiction between weight and strength.
Data Source
Figure 1
AI summary
The present invention relates to a ball valve with a housing (12) having an installation space (18) between an inlet opening (14) and an outlet opening (16), and a ball (20) arranged in the installation space (18) for closing or opening the installation space (18), wherein the ball (20) is connected to a rotatable actuating spindle (22) for closing or opening the installation space (18). The ball (20) is designed as a hollow sphere and has at least two spherical openings (26) in its wall (24) which form a passage channel between the two spherical openings (26). At least one outer surface of the hollow sphere is formed from a thermoplastic.Since the friction between the hollow sphere and the sealing of the passage channel depends significantly on the materials used, the present invention proposes to use polyoxymethylene, polyamide or polyurethane to form at least one outer surface of the hollow sphere in order to reduce friction and the associated wear.