Liquid Sampling Valve with Rotatable Shuttle for Contamination Control
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional liquid sampling valves fail to provide a sustained, continuous flow to secondary analysis devices like mass spectrometers, often causing contamination and inaccurate analysis due to back-and-forth switching mechanisms that return carrier fluid to the primary flow stream.
Innovation Solution
A liquid sampling valve with a rotatable shuttle system that allows 360° rotation, enabling the transfer of a controlled portion of the primary stream to a secondary stream without returning any fluid from the secondary stream to the primary, and includes a discharge function to flush out leftover volume before reconnection, preventing contamination.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a conventional back-and-forth switching mechanism is used to transfer liquid samples, then the sample can be transferred to the secondary stream, but the carrier fluid from the secondary stream is returned to the primary stream causing contamination
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts and removes the harmful return flow of carrier fluid from the secondary stream by introducing a separate waste stream that captures and discards the returned fluid, preventing it from contaminating the primary stream while maintaining the sample transfer function
Solution Approach 2:
The waste stream acts as an intermediary that receives and isolates the returned carrier fluid from the secondary stream, preventing direct contact between the secondary stream fluid and the primary stream, thus eliminating contamination while allowing continuous operation
2Ease of operation
If a back-and-forth switching mechanism is used, then the valve components experience wear from repeated switching, but the continuous rotation mechanism increases component life span
Solution Approach 1:
The invention transitions from a static back-and-forth switching mechanism to a dynamic continuous rotation mechanism, where the rotor rotates continuously in one direction rather than reversing direction, reducing mechanical wear and increasing component life span while maintaining the ability to switch between streams
3Duration of action of stationary object
If the rotor rotates continuously in one direction, then component wear is reduced and life span is increased, but the discharge function is needed to flush leftover volume
Solution Approach 1:
The discharge function performs a preliminary flushing action before the rotor returns to its initial position, clearing any leftover volume from the previous cycle to prevent contamination, ensuring that the continuous rotation mechanism maintains sample integrity without requiring complex additional components
Data Source
AI summary
A liquid sampling system includes a liquid sampling valve for transferring a liquid sample from a primary stream to a secondary stream. The liquid sampling valve includes a rotor having a movable shuttle that is in selective fluid communication with the primary stream or the secondary stream. The rotor shuttle passes through a discharge station prior to completion of the valve cycle to discharge contaminants prior to re-exposure to the primary stream.