Seat Valve Noise Reduction via Plastic Damping
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Seat valves experience significant switching noises during closure, particularly due to the interaction between metal sealing components, which are not effectively mitigated by existing methods like throttling or braking, and these noises are not adequately reduced across a wide temperature range.
Innovation Solution
The use of a plastic sealing body with lower modulus of elasticity and higher damping than metal, combined with an injection-molded encapsulation and fastening flange made from thermoplastic, such as glass-fiber-reinforced PA6 or PA6.6, to dampen structure-borne sound by introducing multiple material boundaries, thereby reducing noise transmission.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If metal sealing components are used in the seat valve, then the valve achieves high strength and durability, but significant switching noises occur during closure due to structure-borne sound transmission
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a plastic component as an intermediary element between the metal valve body and the metal sealing components. This plastic intermediary absorbs and dampens the structure-borne sound generated during closure, preventing its transmission through the metal components. The plastic material serves as a noise-isolating mediator that maintains the functional connection while blocking the noise transmission path.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs composite material construction by combining metal components with plastic components in the valve assembly. Specifically, the valve body is made of metal while sealing components and intermediate elements are made of plastic materials with different acoustic properties. This composite approach allows the metal parts to provide structural strength while the plastic parts provide noise damping, resolving the contradiction between strength and noise reduction.
2Object-generated harmful factors
If throttling or braking measures are applied to reduce switching noises, then noise levels decrease slightly, but the effect is very limited across a wide temperature range
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the material parameter of the sealing components from metal to plastic, specifically selecting plastics with appropriate damping characteristics. This material parameter change fundamentally alters the acoustic behavior of the closure process, providing effective noise reduction across a wide temperature range without relying on throttling or braking measures that have limited effectiveness.
3Object-generated harmful factors
If the sealing body is produced from plastic with lower modulus of elasticity and higher damping, then switching noises are reduced, but the material selection is limited to specific high-performance plastics
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by selecting specific plastic materials for specific components (sealing body, encapsulation, fastening flange) where noise damping is most effective. Rather than requiring all components to be made from specialized plastics, the design strategically places damping materials at critical noise transmission points, maintaining manufacturing feasibility while achieving noise reduction goals.
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 approach significantly reduces switching noises independently of temperature without substantial increases in production costs, effectively minimizing both structure-borne and airborne sound disturbances.
Implementation Method 1
the sealing body of the seat valve is produced from a plastic which has a considerably lower modulus of elasticity and considerably higher damping than the types of metal suitable for this purpose
Implementation Method 2
Glass-fibre-reinforced PA6 or PA6.6, for example, is used as the thermoplastic
Data Source
AI summary
A seat valve with electromagnetic actuation having switching noises during closure of the seat valve should be noticeably reduced independently of a temperature of a fluid in the seat valve, without considerably increasing the production costs of the seat valve. A sealing body of the seat valve is produced from a plastic which is selected from the group (PEEK, PEI, PASU and LCP), and the flow of force for fastening and for transmitting structure-borne sound from a sealing seat to a fastening surface has at least one transition from a metallic component to a component composed of plastic and a transition from the component composed of plastic to a fastening surface of some other metallic component. The seat valve may be used in hydraulic brake systems of vehicles, but also in gear mechanisms or hydraulic systems.