Stabilization Membrane Valve for Back-Pressure Shutoff Safety
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Solenoid valves face challenges in maintaining safety during back pressure tests and malfunctions due to high fluid pressures, which can cause the shutter to move from its closed position, reducing safety efficacy.
Innovation Solution
A valve design featuring a first stabilisation membrane with an active wall and an elastic element, configured to maintain the shutter in a closed position by generating a force imbalance that prevents fluid from opening it during back pressure conditions, and additional stabilisation membranes to manage pressure and maintain safety.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the closing force of the shutter is increased to overcome higher back-pressure test requirements, then the safety level is improved, but the energy required for activation increases
Solution Approach 1:
A stabilisation membrane is introduced as an intermediary element between the fluid pressure and the shutter. This membrane selectively transmits or blocks pressure forces, providing a mediating mechanism that enhances shutter stability during back-pressure conditions without requiring additional activation energy. The membrane acts as a pressure regulator that protects the shutter from harmful back-pressure forces.
Solution Approach 2:
The stabilisation membrane creates a counterbalancing pressure distribution that opposes the harmful back-pressure forces acting on the shutter. By strategically positioning the membrane, the design generates opposing pressure forces that compensate for the high back-pressure loads, effectively creating a pressure counterweight that maintains shutter closure stability without increasing activation energy requirements.
2Reliability
If the closing force of the shutter is increased to maintain safety during malfunctions, then the reliability is improved, but the shutter may move from closed position under high fluid pressure
Solution Approach 1:
The stabilisation membrane serves as a protective intermediary that isolates the shutter from direct exposure to harmful fluid pressure during malfunction conditions. The membrane absorbs and redistributes the pressure forces, preventing them from directly acting on the shutter and causing unintended movement. This intermediary protection mechanism maintains both reliability and position stability simultaneously.
Solution Approach 2:
The stabilisation membrane provides beforehand cushioning by pre-positioning a pressure-absorbing element that protects the shutter before malfunction conditions occur. The membrane is designed to activate automatically when back-pressure forces arise, providing immediate cushioning protection that prevents shutter displacement without requiring increased closing force or compromising stability.
3Reliability
If higher pressure is applied during back-pressure tests to verify safety, then the safety verification is improved, but the fluid force acting on the shutter increases causing it to move
Solution Approach 1:
The stabilisation membrane acts as a force-mediated intermediary that decouples the relationship between back-pressure test intensity and shutter loading. During high-pressure back-pressure tests, the membrane intercepts and redistributes the fluid forces, preventing them from fully transmitting to the shutter. This allows comprehensive safety verification at high pressures while maintaining shutter position stability.
Solution Approach 2:
The stabilisation membrane utilizes a flexible thin-film structure that can deform under pressure to absorb and redistribute fluid forces. This flexible barrier dynamically adapts to high back-pressure conditions during testing, providing force distribution that protects the shutter from excessive loading while allowing thorough safety verification at elevated pressures.
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
The valve effectively keeps the shutter in a closed position during back pressure tests and malfunctions, ensuring a high level of safety by balancing pressures and maintaining the shutter's closed state, even under increased fluid pressure conditions.
Implementation Method 1
the pressure of the fluid acting on said active wall generates a force that is lower than the force generated by the pressure of the fluid acting on the rear surface of the shutter
Implementation Method 2
a first stabilisation membrane interposed between the shutter and a fixed portion of the valve
Data Source
AI summary
A valve (1) for fluids, preferably for gases, comprising an inlet passage (2); an outlet passage (3); a shutter (4) interposed between the inlet passage (2) and the outlet passage (3) and movable between an open position and a closed position; actuating means (5) operatively active on the shutter (4); and a first stabilisation membrane (6) interposed between the shutter (4) and a fixed portion (7) of the valve (1). The first stabilisation membrane (6) exposes an active wall (8) to the fluid, which has an outer surface (9) shaped in such a way that the pressure of the fluid acting on the active wall (8) is lower than the pressure of the fluid acting on the rear surface (10) of the shutter (4), preventing the fluid from opening the shutter (4), when the shutter (4) is in the closed position and when the valve (1) is in a back pressure condition.