Asymmetric Piston Suction Valve to Reduce Flapper Fatigue
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Solution Overview
Problem
Reciprocating compressors face premature degradation and failure of flapper valves due to constant bending and fatigue stress, which affects gas intake and performance.
Innovation Solution
A reciprocating compressor with a valve design featuring a sealing portion, attachment portion, support portion, and connecting portion that allows for a non-circular shape and flexible movement, reducing bending and fatigue stress.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a thin flapper valve is used to permit gas flow through the suction port, then gas intake is improved, but the valve experiences extreme bending and fatigue stress resulting in premature degradation and failure
Solution Approach 1:
The valve body is designed with an asymmetric structure where the thickness varies at different locations. The valve is thicker at the attachment portion and support portion to reduce bending stress, while maintaining adequate thickness at the sealing portion for proper sealing. This asymmetric thickness distribution allows the valve to maintain durability while still permitting adequate gas flow.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention transitions from a traditional thin, uniformly thick flapper valve to a three-dimensionally varied valve structure with different thicknesses at different locations. The valve body includes a support portion that extends radially outward from the attachment portion, creating a dimensional structure that provides structural support while maintaining gas flow capability.
2Reliability
If the valve is made thicker to reduce bending stress, then valve durability is improved, but gas flow through the suction port is restricted
Solution Approach 1:
The valve employs local quality by having different thicknesses at different locations to serve different functions. The attachment portion has greater thickness to reduce bending stress and improve durability, while the sealing portion maintains adequate thickness for sealing but not excessive thickness that would restrict gas flow. This localized variation in thickness optimizes both durability and gas intake performance.
3Ease of manufacture
If a traditional circular valve design is used, then manufacturing is simplified, but the valve experiences higher bending stress during operation
Solution Approach 1:
The valve body is designed with an asymmetric structure where the thickness varies at different locations. The valve is thicker at the attachment portion and support portion to reduce bending stress, while maintaining adequate thickness at the sealing portion for proper sealing. This asymmetric thickness distribution allows the valve to maintain durability while still permitting adequate gas flow.
Solution Approach 2:
The support portion extends radially outward from the attachment portion to distribute and equalize the stress distribution across the valve structure. By providing additional structural support at strategic locations, the design equalizes the stress potential throughout the valve body, reducing peak bending stresses that would occur in a traditional uniform design.
Data Source
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AI summary
A reciprocating compressor (100), comprising a piston (202), wherein the piston (202) is slidably mounted in a compression chamber (208) and is provided with a suction inlet (220). A valve (204) selectively allows gas to flow through the suction inlet (220), and comprises: a sealing part (244) arranged above the suction inlet (220); an attachment part (240) mechanically connected to a compression surface (222) of the piston (202); a supporting part (242) extending radially away from the attachment part (240), such that the attachment part (240) is arranged between the sealing part (244) and the supporting part (242), the supporting part (242) being provided with a flat end (272) arranged radially opposite the sealing part (244), such that the valve (204) has a non-circular shape; and a connecting part (246) mechanically connecting the supporting part (242) to the sealing part (244), and allowing the sealing part (244) to move between an open position and a closed position.