Valve With Pressure Balance Pathway for Supercritical Fluid Injection
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Solution Overview
Problem
In the fluid sequestration industry, maintaining fluids in the supercritical phase for injection into formations can cause excessive wear on valves, leading to increased costs and delays due to premature damage.
Innovation Solution
A valve design with a pressure balance pathway and a biasing arrangement that maintains the piston in a closed position, combined with a pressure reduction arrangement downstream to delay phase change from supercritical to gas, reducing wear and extending valve reliability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the fluid is maintained in the supercritical phase for injection into the formation, then the operational benefits of supercritical fluid injection are achieved, but the valves are damaged more frequently leading to increased cost and delay
Solution Approach 1:
The valve is designed to open before the supercritical fluid undergoes phase change, preventing the phase change from occurring within the valve. The pressure balance pathway equalizes pressures on both sides of the piston, allowing the valve to open at a controlled point before the harmful phase change occurs downstream.
Solution Approach 2:
The pressure balance pathway acts as an intermediary mechanism that decouples the upstream supercritical pressure from the valve actuation pressure. By porting pressure to both ends of the piston, it creates a controlled environment for valve opening that is independent of the harmful phase change conditions downstream.
2Productivity
If the valve is designed to handle supercritical fluid flow, then the fluid can be injected maintaining supercritical phase, but the valve components experience excessive wear and premature failure
Solution Approach 1:
The valve opens at a predetermined pressure point before the supercritical fluid reaches conditions that would cause phase change within the valve body. This preliminary opening action ensures that the valve operates only in the stable supercritical regime, avoiding the wear associated with phase change conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
The harmful phase change process is extracted from the valve interior and relocated to occur downstream. The pressure balance pathway and outlet configuration ensure that phase change happens after the fluid exits the valve, separating the valve operation from the harmful phase transition.
3Reliability
If a biasing arrangement is used to maintain the piston in closed position, then the valve remains sealed under pressure, but the actuator requires sufficient force to overcome the biasing force during opening
Solution Approach 1:
The biasing arrangement provides a counteracting force that balances the upstream pressure on the piston. By porting pressure to both ends of the piston through the pressure balance pathway, the system creates a balanced state where the biasing force counterweights the pressure differential, enabling reliable sealing while controlling the force required for opening.
Solution Approach 2:
The pressure balance pathway changes the pressure parameters acting on the piston by equalizing pressures on both sides. This parameter change reduces the net force differential that the actuator must overcome, while the biasing arrangement maintains the necessary sealing force in the closed position.
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 effectively reduces valve wear and increases efficiency by maintaining the supercritical phase of fluids until downstream of the valve, thereby minimizing operational costs and delays.
Implementation Method 1
a pressure balance pathway through the housing porting the same pressure to both first and second ends of the piston
Implementation Method 2
a biasing arrangement configured to bias the actuator toward a closed position of the valve
Implementation Method 3
delaying phase change of the fluid from supercritical to gas until the fluid in which phase change is taking place is downstream of the valve
Data Source
AI summary
A valve including a housing having an inlet and an outlet, a piston disposed in the housing, the piston having a first end and a second end, the piston movable between a position blocking fluid flow between the inlet and the outlet and a position allowing fluid flow between the inlet and the outlet, a pressure balance pathway through the housing porting the same pressure to both first and second ends of the piston, an actuator responsive to applied pressure on the valve, the actuator attached to the piston and a biasing arrangement configured to bias the actuator toward a closed position of the valve. A method for injecting a sequestration fluid including maintaining the fluid at a supercritical phase upstream of a valve, opening the valve by increasing pressure of the fluid, delaying phase change of the fluid from supercritical to gas.