Switching Valve Seal Structure for Leak-Resistant Mass Flow Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing valve arrangements in refrigerating and heating circuits have limited service life and sealing effectiveness, especially when handling different media, leading to potential leaks and reduced performance.
Innovation Solution
A valve arrangement featuring a valve seat with adjacent stop and sealing surfaces and a valve-closing member with supporting and gasket surfaces, utilizing an elastic sealing element with a sealing projection that provides form-fitting sealing, allowing for reduced closing force on the seal and accommodating volume expansion, while maintaining tight sealing through a circumferential bead or annular collar configuration.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a valve-closing member with sealing element is used to ensure tight sealing, then sealing effectiveness is improved, but the closing force exerts full effect on the seal leading to reduced service life
Solution Approach 1:
The valve seat is segmented into two distinct surfaces: a stop surface for force transfer and a sealing surface for sealing contact. This segmentation allows the closing force to be transferred at the stop surface while the sealing surface maintains contact with reduced force, preventing seal damage and extending service life while preserving sealing effectiveness.
Solution Approach 2:
The elastic sealing element is designed to be compressible and resilient, providing a cushioning effect between the valve-closing member and the valve seat. This beforehand cushioning protects the seal from excessive closing forces, allowing the valve to handle different media and operate longer without seal failure.
2Reliability
If closing force is increased to ensure sealing, then sealing effectiveness is improved, but the seal experiences excessive stress reducing its lifespan
Solution Approach 1:
By dividing the valve seat into a stop surface and a sealing surface, the design separates the force transfer function from the sealing function. The stop surface receives the full closing force, while the sealing surface maintains only the necessary contact pressure for sealing, significantly reducing stress on the seal material.
Solution Approach 2:
The elastic sealing element acts as an intermediary between the valve-closing member and the valve seat. It distributes the closing force evenly across the sealing surface and provides a compliant interface that reduces peak stresses, protecting the seal from damage while maintaining effective sealing.
3Manufacturing precision
If the sealing element is made rigid for precise sealing, then sealing precision is improved, but the valve cannot accommodate volume expansion of the seal
Solution Approach 1:
The sealing element is designed as a flexible elastic component that can deform and adapt to volume changes. This flexibility allows the seal to accommodate thermal expansion, pressure-induced swelling, or manufacturing tolerances while maintaining precise sealing contact with the valve seat.
Solution Approach 2:
The elastic sealing element's physical parameters (shape, volume, density) can change in response to operating conditions such as temperature and pressure. This parameter adaptability allows the seal to maintain its sealing function despite environmental variations, combining precision with versatility.
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 solution extends the service life of the valve arrangement by reducing the closing force on the seal, ensuring effective sealing even with media changes, and allowing for expansion without compromising the seal, thus preventing leaks and maintaining performance.
Implementation Method 1
an elastic sealing element is provided on the valve seat or valve-closing member, on which sealing element the sealing surface or gasket surface is formed
Data Source
AI summary
A valve arrangement for a switching valve and to a switching valve for regulating a mass flow in a refrigerating circuit or a heating circuit, comprising a valve housing, which comprises a feed opening and a discharge opening, comprising a valve piston, which comprises a valve-closing member, which buts against a through-hole between the feed opening and the discharge opening in a closed position on a valve seat and closes the through-hole, wherein the valve seat comprises a stop surface and a sealing surface which are oriented so as to be adjacent to one another, the valve-closing member comprises a supporting surface and a gasket surface which are oriented so as to be adjacent to one another, an elastic sealing element is provided on the valve seat or the valve-closing member, on which sealing element the sealing surface or gasket surface is formed, a sealing projection is provided on the sealing surface or the gasket surface and is oriented towards the opposite gasket surface or sealing surface, the supporting surface of the valve-closing member and the stop surface of the valve seat but against one another in the closed position and form a travel limitation between the valve-closing member and the valve seat, and the sealing projection is at least partially pressed into the sealing element.