Integral Bypass Valve Body for Leak-Free High-Pressure Service
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
High-pressure piping systems with valves face challenges due to unbalanced forces caused by pressure differentials, making it difficult to open closed valves, and typical bypasses are prone to fabrication defects and leaking, especially in space-limited applications.
Innovation Solution
A valve body with an integral bypass, seamlessly integrated without welds or mechanical connections, allowing for a monolithic casting that reduces unbalanced forces and enhances manufacturing precision, eliminating leak paths and improving sealing surfaces.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a typical bypass is constructed from common pipe fittings welded or mechanically coupled together, then the bypass can be manufactured using standard components, but the connections are prone to fabrication defects and leaking
Solution Approach 1:
The bypass is seamlessly integrated with the primary valve body portion through integral formation, eliminating separate welding or mechanical coupling operations. The bypass and primary valve body are formed as a single monolithic structure, removing the connection interfaces that were previously prone to defects and leakage.
Solution Approach 2:
The valve body is divided into a primary valve body portion and a bypass portion that are separately formed but then integrally combined through casting or additive manufacturing, allowing each portion to be optimized independently while achieving a seamless connection in the final monolithic structure.
2Force
If a large-diameter valve includes a bypass attached to the primary valve body, then the unbalanced force on the valve is reduced, but space and equipment clearance are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The bypass is positioned within the footprint of the primary valve body, nesting the bypass structure inside or adjacent to the main valve body contours. This allows the bypass to be integrated without significantly increasing the overall envelope dimensions of the valve assembly.
Solution Approach 2:
The bypass is configured to extend in a direction that utilizes unused space within the valve body geometry, rather than projecting outward in a direction that would increase the valve's external dimensions. The bypass leverages the three-dimensional space already allocated in the valve body design.
3Reliability
If a seamless integral bypass is used, then leak paths are eliminated and sealing is improved, but the manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Traditional mechanical joining methods (welding, flanging, bolting) are replaced with additive manufacturing or integral casting processes that directly form the seamless bypass structure. This substitution eliminates the need for separate assembly operations and connection hardware.
Solution Approach 2:
The manufacturing process parameters are changed from conventional subtractive or assembly-based methods to additive manufacturing or integral casting, which can directly produce complex seamless geometries that would be difficult or impossible to achieve with traditional methods.
Data Source
AI summary
A valve body with an integral bypass includes a primary valve body portion defining a primary bore extending through the primary valve body portion from a primary upstream end to a primary downstream end, the primary bore defining an axis, the primary bore including a primary upstream bore extending through the primary upstream end and a primary downstream bore extending through the primary downstream end, the primary valve body portion configured to house a valve member between the primary upstream bore and the primary downstream bore; and the bypass seamlessly integrated with the primary valve body portion, the bypass defining a bypass bore, the bypass bore including a bypass upstream bore and a bypass downstream bore, the bypass including a bypass valve body disposed between the bypass upstream bore and the bypass downstream bore.