Unitary Additive Valve Trim for Non-Plugging Pressure Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional multi-stage valve trims for dirty service applications require multiple components and sealing elements, leading to increased height, leakage risks, and the need for modifications in fluid flow control devices, which can be impractical and costly.
Innovation Solution
A non-plugging, multi-stage valve trim manufactured using additive manufacturing techniques, featuring a single, unitary cage body with integrated passageways and flow restricting passages, eliminating the need for sealing elements and reducing the overall height, allowing for more compact and efficient pressure reduction within existing device galleries.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional multi-stage valve trims use multiple components and sealing elements, then pressure reduction function is achieved, but device height increases and leakage risks increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple separate cage components into a single unitary cage body formed by additive manufacturing. This integration eliminates the need for multiple sealing elements between components, thereby reducing leakage risks while simultaneously reducing the overall height of the valve trim assembly.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts and eliminates the sealing elements from the traditional multi-component valve trim design. By using a unitary cage body, the sealing elements that were necessary to prevent leakage between multiple components are completely removed, simplifying the design and reducing potential failure points.
2Reliability
If conventional multi-stage valve trims use multiple components, then pressure reduction function is achieved, but manufacturing complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple machined bar-stock parts into a single additively manufactured cage body. This merging eliminates the complex assembly process required for traditional multi-component valve trims, significantly simplifying manufacturing while maintaining the pressure reduction function through the integrated multi-stage flow passages.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces traditional mechanical machining and assembly processes with additive manufacturing technology. This substitution enables the creation of complex internal flow passages and integrated structures that would be difficult or impossible to achieve through conventional machining, thereby simplifying the overall manufacturing process.
3Power
If conventional multi-stage valve trims require modifications to fluid flow control devices, then pressure reduction capability is improved, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and eliminates the need for bonnet spacers and other modifying components that were previously required to accommodate multi-stage valve trims. The reduced height of the unitary cage body allows direct installation in existing fluid flow control devices without any modifications to the device structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the dimensional parameters of the valve trim, specifically reducing the overall height through the unitary cage design. This parameter change enables the valve trim to fit within existing device galleries and eliminates the need for additional components like bonnet spacers, thereby reducing device complexity.
4Reliability
If multi-stage valve trims use larger flow passages, then plugging is prevented, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses additive manufacturing to create complex internal flow passages within the unitary cage body. This manufacturing approach enables the formation of optimized passage geometries that prevent plugging while maintaining structural integrity, without requiring the assembly of multiple complex machined parts.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges the flow passage geometry with the cage body structure in a single additively manufactured component. This integration allows for optimized flow paths that are inherently resistant to plugging, while the complex geometry is achieved through additive manufacturing rather than complex machining and assembly operations.
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 provides effective multi-stage fluid pressure reduction without plugging, reduces leakage risks, and simplifies manufacturing, enabling more pressure reducing stages within the device without the need for additional modifications, such as bonnet spacers, while being easier and less costly to produce.
Implementation Method 1
a multi-stage pressure reducing fluid flow passageway formed within the unitary cage body and extending between the cage inlet and the cage outlet
Data Source
AI summary
A non-plugging, multi-stage valve trim and a fluid flow control device employing the same. The valve trim includes a unitary cage body extending along a longitudinal axis, and a valve plug movably disposed within the unitary cage body to control fluid flow through the unitary cage body. The unitary cage body includes an outer wall arranged to engage the valve body, an inner wall spaced radially inwardly of the outer wall, a cage inlet formed in the outer wall, a cage outlet formed in the outer wall, and a pressure reducing fluid flow passageway formed within the unitary cage body and extending between the cage inlet and the cage outlet.