Modular Slide Valve Actuator Frame With Protected Instrumentation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing FCCU slide valve actuators are custom-designed and expensive, with instrumentation vulnerable to damage and complex machining requirements, and lack effective manual engagement mechanisms, leading to inefficiencies in assembly and servicing.
Innovation Solution
The actuator frame is assembled by bolting, allowing for standardized configurations and containing instrumentation within the frame, with a new manual engagement system using a hand-operated wheel, split nuts, and cam followers for improved engagement and rapid assembly and servicing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If actuators are custom designed and manufactured for each project with welded frame elements, then the actuator can be tailored to specific project requirements, but the design and manufacture becomes more expensive, time-consuming, and involves significant machining
Solution Approach 1:
The actuator frame is divided into separate modular components (side plates, end plates, reinforcement plates) that can be independently manufactured and then assembled together using bolting. This segmentation allows each component to be standardized for cost-effective production while still enabling customization through different combinations and configurations of the modular parts.
Solution Approach 2:
The standardized modular frame components are designed to be universal and interchangeable across different actuator applications. The same side plates and end plates can be used in various actuator configurations, reducing the need for custom manufacturing while maintaining adaptability to different project requirements through selective assembly.
2Ease of operation
If instrumentation is disposed external to the actuator, then the instrumentation is accessible for installation and maintenance, but it is subject to strikes that can damage the instrumentation
Solution Approach 1:
The instrumentation is nested within the actuator frame structure, specifically mounted on the internal surfaces of the end plates and side plates. This nesting provides physical protection against external strikes while maintaining accessibility through the frame's internal configuration and service access points.
Solution Approach 2:
The actuator frame itself serves as an intermediary protective structure between external hazards (strikes) and the instrumentation. The frame's robust construction absorbs external impacts while the instrumentation remains protected within the enclosed space, yet still accessible for maintenance through designated access points.
3Ease of operation
If a clamshell-type jaw block is used to transmit force from the hand-operated wheel, then manual actuation is enabled, but the jaw block tends not to engage as well as might be desired
Solution Approach 1:
The traditional clamshell-type jaw block mechanical engagement system is replaced with a cam-based mechanical advantage system. The cam mechanism provides more reliable engagement through its geometric design that converts rotational motion into controlled linear motion, ensuring positive engagement between the manual actuation elements and the traveling block.
Solution Approach 2:
The engagement mechanism uses cam profiles with specific geometric parameters (rise, fall, dwell periods) that optimize the force transmission characteristics. By carefully designing the cam parameters, the system achieves reliable engagement and disengagement while maintaining smooth manual actuation operation.
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 solution enables rapid assembly and servicing of FCCU slide valve actuators, protects instrumentation from damage, and enhances manual engagement efficiency, reducing downtime and manufacturing costs.
Implementation Method 1
a hand-operated wheel operatively connected to a threaded drive shaft such that turning the hand-operated wheel causes the threaded drive shaft to rotate and a traveling block having an engagement system encompassing the threaded drive shaft
Implementation Method 2
The traveling block includes a first engagement shaft extending from the manual engagement lever on a first side of the threaded drive shaft, the first engagement shaft being operatively engaged with a first cam
Data Source
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AI summary
Actuators for fluid catalytic cracking unit slide valves and similar valves are disclosed. The actuator frame is assembled by bolting, allowing for standardized configurations that permit stocking of parts and avoids prior art problems of dealing with actuators designed for each individual project, allowing for rapid assembly of new actuators on demand that suit each project by varying the incorporated components, as well as permitting for more-rapid servicing when necessary. Additionally, the instrumentation for the actuator is contained within the actuator frame, better protecting the instrumentation from damage such as from being struck. The actuator includes a new manual engagement system, providing for better engagement of manual controls to actuate the actuator and the accompanying valve when necessary.