Non-Circular Orifice Valve for High-Purity Flow Conductance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing fluid delivery valves in high-purity applications face challenges with contamination from mechanical shafts and seals, particularly in handling hazardous fluids, and struggle to achieve maximum flow conductance due to limitations in orifice design.
Innovation Solution
The development of a high-conductance valve with a non-circular orifice ridge and a planar control plate, which increases the effective opening area by utilizing a shape with a greater periphery length, such as kidney-like or petal-like configurations, to enhance fluid flow while minimizing contact with the controlled fluid.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a circular orifice is used in conventional valve design, then the valve structure is simple and compact, but the effective opening area and flow conductance are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies asymmetry by replacing the conventional circular orifice ridge with a non-circular shape (such as kidney-bean or petal-like configurations). This asymmetric geometry increases the periphery length of the orifice ridge, which directly enlarges the effective opening area between the control element and the orifice ridge, thereby improving flow conductance without requiring a larger valve body
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes dimensional optimization by extending the orifice ridge geometry into a non-circular planar configuration. By increasing the periphery length through shape modification rather than simply enlarging the orifice diameter, the design achieves greater effective opening area within the same valve footprint, effectively using geometric dimensioning to resolve the conductance limitation
2Reliability
If mechanical shafts and packing type seals are used in valve actuators, then the valve structure is simple and cost-effective, but particulate contamination occurs in high purity fluid delivery
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a flexible metallic bellows as the actuator sealing mechanism. This bellows structure provides hermetic sealing between the actuator and the controlled fluid environment without requiring mechanical shafts or packing seals. The flexible metallic membrane maintains fluid purity by preventing particulate contamination while accommodating actuator movement, thus resolving the contradiction between simple structure and high purity requirements
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces traditional mechanical shaft and packing seal systems with a bellows-based flexible membrane sealing system. This substitution eliminates the mechanical contact interfaces that generate particulate contamination, thereby improving fluid purity while maintaining actuator functionality through the flexible metallic bellows structure
3Productivity
If the orifice ridge periphery length is increased to enhance flow conductance, then fluid handling efficiency improves, but the control element positioning precision becomes more challenging
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by ensuring that the control plate surface in contact with the non-circular orifice ridge maintains high precision and smoothness, while other portions of the control element can have less stringent requirements. This localized precision approach ensures accurate sealing and positioning at the critical interface without requiring ultra-precise manufacturing throughout the entire control element, thus managing the complexity of positioning while maintaining flow efficiency
Data Source
Figure 1~1A
Figure 2A~2B
Figure 3~3A
AI summary
A high conductance valve for use in fluid delivery systems is comprised of a flat non-circular orifice ridge adjacent to which a control plate having a planar control surface is proximally positioned to adjust the valve effective opening area and thereby the conductance of the valve. The length of the non-circular orifice ridge periphery is substantially greater than the circumference of a similarly sized circular orifice and therefore the realized effective opening area is also substantially greater despite having a similar footprint.