Vacuum Valve Wedge Edge for Flow Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Vacuum valves with circular cross-sectional openings and circular arc-shaped valve plates experience a large change in open area when the valve plate starts to open, leading to increased size and weight, which negatively impacts high-speed operation.
Innovation Solution
A vacuum valve design featuring a wedge-shaped edge portion on the valve opening, where the vertex of the wedge is positioned at the point where the valve plate first contacts the opening, allowing for a moderate change in open area with respect to the opening degree without altering the valve plate's shape, and the wedge edge portion is optionally detachable.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a circular arc-shaped valve plate is used with a circular opening portion, then the valve structure is simple and easy to manufacture, but the change in open area with respect to opening degree is large at the start of opening
Solution Approach 1:
The valve opening is designed with different edge shapes at different locations: a wedge-shaped edge portion at the region where the valve plate starts to open, and a circular arc-shaped edge portion at other regions. This local differentiation allows precise control of open area change at the critical opening start region while maintaining simplicity in other areas.
2Productivity
If the edge end portion of the valve plate is offset inward or projected outward to improve flow controllability, then flow controllability is improved, but the size and weight of the valve plate increase
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of modifying the entire valve plate edge, only a specific region (the edge end portion corresponding to the opening start region) is given a wedge-shaped profile. This localized modification achieves flow controllability improvement without increasing the overall size and weight of the valve plate.
Solution Approach 2:
The valve opening edge is designed with asymmetric geometry: a wedge-shaped edge portion with specific angle at the opening start region, and a circular arc-shaped edge portion at other regions. This asymmetric design optimizes flow characteristics at the critical opening phase while maintaining compact overall dimensions.
3Device complexity
If the wedge edge portion is made as an integral part of the valve opening structure, then the structure is simple, but the adaptability for different opening characteristics is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The valve opening structure is segmented into a wedge edge portion and a circular arc edge portion. The wedge edge portion can be configured as a separate component that is detachably attached to the valve body, allowing easy replacement or adjustment of this specific geometric feature without affecting the entire valve structure.
Data Source
AI summary
A vacuum valve includes a valve opening and a valve plate that opens and closes the valve opening. A part of an edge of the valve opening is a wedge edge portion having a wedge shape projected outward. The wedge edge portion is provided in a region where the valve plate starts to open the valve opening when the valve plate is moved to open the valve opening.