Abstract:
An extended stem globe valve for use with cryogenic fluids, wherein the elongated shaft between the valve seal or disk and the actuator is constructed so that rotational movement of the actuator results in linear movement of the shaft, without imparting a large rotational movement of the shaft about its longitudinal axis and with reduced thermal conduction between the mating parts. Coupling of the valve disk to a valve disk retainer is effected in the area above the valve seat. The valve also includes a shaft insulator so constructed and arranged to retain leakage fluid in a volume space closer to the valve seat. Optionally the valve can include bellows sealing of the shaft to prevent fluid from contacting the uppermost portion of the shaft.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application is a Continuation-in-Part of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/042,405 filed Mar. 13, 1998, now abandoned. 
    
    
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
     Not applicable 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention pertains to globe valves especially globe valves for use in cryogenic service. 
     Cryogenic fluids e.g. liquid hydrogen, liquid oxygen, liquid nitrogen, liquid helium, and liquid argon are delivered in large over the road tanker trucks to a customer location where the cryogenic liquid is off loaded from the truck into a large storage tank, as is well known in the art. 
     Both the tank truck and the storage receptacle or customer station, as they are known in the industry, include flow control valves which are used to both fill and dispense the cryogenic liquid. 
     Conventional valves are of the globe type having an extended stem to space the bonnet assembly of the valve from the valve seat, so that cryogenic liquid leaking along the shaft is warmed prior to coming in contact with the valve actuator so that the valve actuator does not freeze and render the valve inoperative. 
     Extended stem globe valves for use in cryogenic service can be either manually or pneumatically actuated to control flow into or out of the trailer or tank. The valves can also be vacuum jacketed to enhance insulation of the valve and thus further minimize the effect of cryogenic fluid leakage inside the valve. 
     Conventional extended shaft globe valves incorporate a plug body/fluorocarbon disk sandwich held together by a bolt/stud assembly. This type of assembly requires a nut and washer on the bottom of the plug assembly in order to hold the fluorocarbon plastic material (KEL-F) disk to the plug body. It is conventional for the nut to be staked in place, or a cotter pin is inserted through the bolt stud to prevent the assembly from coming apart during the service life of the valve. The problem with this type of assembly is that the nut and washer assembly is located below the fluorocarbon plastic material and is therefore exposed to the seat flow/pressure boundary of the valve. If the nut comes loose or falls off during the service life of the valve several problems can occur. One problem is that the nut/washer/fluorocarbon plastic material seat can all be lost and total control of the seating of the valve is lost. In addition, if this happens the compressed stream with which the valve is used will become contaminated and a potential source of a spark has been introduced into the system. Potential spark or ignition sources are a definite hazard where the valve is used with oxygen. If a cotter pin is used it is probable that only the nut will come loose but the assembly will stay attached. This type of design requires that the assembly have a through drilled orifice for attachment and, if the assembly becomes loose, there is potential for multiple leak paths through the assembly itself, even if the valve is in the “full-off position” where a greater amount of leakage can occur. 
     In addition, in conventional extended stem or shaft valve designs the ends of the shaft are generally flat and can be attached with a dovetail arrangement to both the plug body seat assembly on one end and the actuator on the other end, to permit disassembly of the valve. It is also possible to use rigid threaded connections on either end of the extended stem or shaft. The flat end design of conventional valves permits high heat leakage by conductance across the shaft. With flat ends rigidly connected to the valve plug assembly there is a potential for eccentric axial loading from the top of the stem to the plug assembly, which in turn can cause premature wear of the internal components of the valve. 
     It is also a common problem with current valve designs that when a valve is installed near a dynamic pressure application, i.e. such as the outlet side of a cryogenic liquid pump, that the valve “top works” in the area of the bonnet assembly and will begin to accumulate frost. The frost accumulation is a sign of minor failure or leakage in the “top works” of the valve. It is believed that a large volume of gas in the free space is the contributing factor to this type of premature failure. As the pressure surges inside of the piping and the associated valve, these surges are being introduced into the large gas pocket inside the valve and a combined pressure swing along with new colder gas being introduced by the percolating effect introduce excessive cold temperatures and wear on the valve packing. 
     Furthermore, it is conventional for extended stem cryogenic valves to incorporate a chevron style polytetrafluoroethylene(TEFLON) or Grafoil Packing. The packing acts as a seal/barrier between the external atmosphere, which is at relatively low pressure and warm and the higher pressure, cold temperature cryogenic process service. This is commonly called a “packed stem”. Usually, this packed stem has a nut or other means to permit a user to tighten the packing during the normal service life of the valve. The packing acts as a seal between the process stream and the atmosphere, as well as for providing for relative movement of the valve hand wheel or actuator stem and thus is commonly referred to as a dynamic seal. 
     Several problems exist with the chevron style packing used with extended stem cryogenic valves. First, the polytetrafluoroethylene and graphite materials have less than desirable friction coefficients as they wear due to the dynamic stem rotation and linear actuation of the stem. Furthermore, in cold weather, the polytetrafluoroethylene (TEFLON) shrinks to a much greater degree than the surrounding materials. This relative shrinkage can produce leakage and frosting at this location. Typically this is resolved in the field by tightening down on the packing nut. Although tightening of the packing nut will temporarily resolve the leak the packing has now been over tightened. Over tightening of the packing causes the Teflon to cold flow and when the valve warms up again the packing will now tend to bind the valve stem and the binding can create premature wear thus greatly reducing the service life of the packing assembly. In conventional valves the hand wheel is fixed to the upper stem piece by an internal or external thread thus, rotation of the handwheel introduces axial movement for linear valve plug movement. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It has been diskovered that an improved extended stem (shaft) globe valve suited for cryogenic service results from using a slip fit connection on either end of the shaft with the ends of the shaft configured to minimize heat transfer, together with the way in which the valve disk is assembled to a valve seal retainer on the end of the shaft juxtaposed to the valve seat. 
     Thus, in its broadest form the present invention pertains to a globe valve having an extended stem with a first end adapted to position a valve disk for opening and closing a valve seat to control flow of fluid through the valve, a second end of the valve stem is connected to an operator being one of a hand wheel or a pneumatic actuator to move the shaft by rotational forces applied by the hand wheel or pneumatic actuator, the improvement comprising; means on a first end of the shaft to couple a valve seal retainer to the shaft, the means permitting axially movement of the valve seal retainer while minimizing rotational movement of the valve seal retainer from rotational forces applied to the shaft; a valve disk coupled to the valve seal retainer, the valve disk adapted to, in a closed position prevent fluid flow through the valve; the second end of the shaft having means to couple the shaft to the operator, permitting axial movement of the shaft while minimizing rotational movement of the shaft from rotational forces applied to the shaft by the operator. 
     According to the invention the valve disk has a generally flat surface juxtaposed to the valve seat with a tapered peripheral edge adapted to engage a complimentary shaped portion of the valve seat. Furthermore, the invention includes a valve disk having a generally cylindrical shaped portion adapted to be inserted into a complimentary shaped opening in the valve seal retainer, the assembly rigidly connected by means of a spring pin, roll pin or dowel pin, the cylindrical portion and the pin positioned above the valve seat. 
     According to the invention the valve disk is preferably fabricated from a fluorocarbon material, e.g. KEL-F. 
     In yet another embodiment, the valve according to the present invention includes a stem insulator fixed to that portion of the valve supporting the actuator with the valve stem insulator extending for a substantial length around and along the stem from the supporting means toward the valve seal retainer. 
     The stem insulator is preferably fabricated from polytetrafluoroethylene (TEFLON). 
     In another embodiment of the invention the valve can include a bellows sealing assembly disposed between an upper end of the shaft and means to position the means to couple the second end of the shaft to the operator, the bellows sealing assembly positioned to prevent gas leakage around the second end of the shaft. 
     For certain applications, e.g. hydrogen service, the valve can include means to purge the area proximate the second end of the shaft and above the valve seat. 
     In yet another embodiment the valve can include an insulating or vacuum jacket assembly around the housing containing the shaft and the globe portion of the valve. 
     According to another embodiment of the invention the valve disk can include a projection extending below the valve seat the projection adapted to receive a disk cap having the general shape of a truncated cone with the cap acting as a linear flow control device. It is preferred that the disk cap is fixed to the projection by a spring pin, roll pin or dowel pin with the disk cap fabricated from brass and the spring pin fabricated from stainless steel. 
     In a preferred embodiment the valve includes a bonnet assembly having external threads to position the hand wheel actuator containing complementary internal threads, the hand wheel actuator adapted to move the shaft linearly as the hand wheel is rotated about an axis generally coincident with the longitudinal axis of the shaft. 
     According to the present invention the valve can optionally include means to purge detect the presence of unwanted gases in the bonnet assembly. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1, is a partial fragmentary partial vertical cross section through a valve according to the present invention. 
     FIG. 1 a,  is an enlarged fragmentary view, partially in section, of the lower end of the shaft of the valve according to the present invention. 
     FIG. 1 b,  is an enlarged partial fragmentary plain view of the shaft of FIG.  1  and FIG. 1 a.    
     FIG. 1 c,  is a further enlarged partial fragmentary plain view of the shaft of FIG. 1, FIG. 1 a  and FIG. 1 b  illustrating a feature of the present invention. 
     FIG. 1 d,  is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the bonnet assembly with shaft extender and hand wheel actuator of a valve according to the present invention. 
     FIG. 2, is a fragmentary longitudinal section illustrating an alternate embodiment of the valve seat portion of the present invention. 
     FIG. 3, is a fragmentary longitudinal section illustrating an alternate embodiment of the invention. 
     FIG. 4, is a longitudinal section illustrating the top purge feature for a valve according to the present invention. 
     FIG. 5, is a vertical view of partially in section illustrating a pneumatic actuator with the valve of the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Referring to FIG. 1, the cryogenic valve according to the present invention is shown generally as  10 . Valve  10  includes a lower assembly or globe portion  12  which includes inlet and outlet conduits  14 ,  16  respectively with the flow direction being shown by arrow  18 . Fluid entering conduit  14  flows through the body  20  of lower assembly  12  past the valve seat  22  and outwardly through the exit conduit  16 . The lower assembly includes an extended cylindrical portion  24 , which receives a support tube  26  to which is connected to a flange  28 . Flange  28  supports an upper or bonnet assembly  30 , which includes a first or lip portion  32  which is sealingly engaged to the flange  28  by fasteners  34 ,  36  and a coil spring seal  38 . Coil spring  38  is sold by Fluorocarbon Co. Ltd. of the United Kingdom, under the trade name Egiloy Spring Seal. 
     The bonnet assembly  30  includes an externally threaded portion  40 , threads  40  mating with complimentary threads on the inner bore of hand wheel actuator  42 . Hand wheel actuator  42  can be rotated clockwise or counter clockwise to permit the valve to be opened or closed, as will be hereinafter more fully explained. 
     Disposed within the support tube  26  is an elongated shaft  44 . Shaft  44 , is also referred to as a stem by workers skilled in the art. The first or lower end  46  of shaft  44  projects into an upper counter bore recess in a valve disk retainer  48 . Valve disk retainer  48 , is also referred to as a valve seal retainer, by workers skilled in the art. Valve disk retainer  48  includes a bottom tapered portion containing an internal counter bore  50  which is adapted to receive a stud portion  52  of the valve disk  54 . The valve disk  54  contains a tapered annular disk portion  53  with a peripheral edge shaped to mate with the valve seat  22  of body  20 . The valve disk  54  includes a bottom projection  56 , which is adapted to be inserted into a mating counter bore or hole in a disk cap  58 . Both bottom projection  56  and the mating hole in disk cap  58  can be threaded with male and female threads respectively to facilitate attaching the disk cap  58  to the valve disk  54 . Workers skilled in the art often refer to the disk cap  58  as a bottom cap or bottom plug. The valve disk  54  is fixed to the valve disk retainer  48  by means of a pin  60 , which may be a spring pin, a roll pin or a dowel pin. In a like matter the disk cap  58  is fixed to the downward projection  56  on the valve disk  54  by pin  62 , which may be a spring pin, a roll pin or a dowel pin. An interference or tight fit, which will prevent critical parts from separating during the life of the valve  10 , can be achieved by fabricating the pins  60 ,  62  from a material such as stainless steel, fabricating the valve disk  54  from a material such as KEL-F, and fabricating the bottom disk cap  58  from brass. Since the KEL-F and brass will shrink to a much greater degree at cryogenic temperatures than the stainless steel pin and valve disk retainer, this results in a strong force exerted on the pins, thus assuring the interference (tight) fit. 
     As shown in FIG. 1 a  valve disk retainer  48  can be coupled to the lower, or first end of shaft  44  by means of a stem washer  45 , plug nut  64  and pin  66 . As shown in FIG. 1 a,  FIG. 1 b  and FIG. 1 c , the first end  46  of shaft  44  includes a stepped down portion adapted to receive a stem washer  45 . Stem washer  45  bears against an inner surface of plug nut  64  and is fixed to shaft  44  by means of a spring pin  47 . Spring pin  47  extends through a transverse aperture  49  in the stem washer  45 , which is aligned with a transverse aperture  51  in the shaft  44  as illustrated in the drawings. Plug nut  64  is slipped over the shaft  44  and rests on stem washer  45 . When plug nut  64  is threaded into a threaded aperture in valve disk retainer  48  and a spring pin  66  is driven into a suitably placed aperture the valve disk retainer  48  is coupled to shaft  44 . 
     The upper (second) end, shaft  44  contains a slip fitting assembly  68  which fits into a shaft extender  70 . The shaft extender  70  is sealed to the upper housing or bonnet assembly  30  by means of an upper valve stem packing  74  which contains internal and external recesses which in turn contain sealing devices such as O-rings  76 ,  78 . As shown in FIG. 1 d,  the upper valve stem packing  74  is fixed to bonnet assembly  30  by means of a snap ring  75 . Snap ring  75  has a large central aperture that permits shaft extender to move upwardly or downwardly as the hand wheel  42  is rotated. The upper end of shaft extender  70  fits through an oversized central hole in the hand wheel  42 . A threaded portion on the extreme upper end of the shaft extension  70  and a suitable nut  72  in cooperation with a washer  73  couples the shaft extension  70  to the hand wheel. The diameter of the portion of shaft extender  70  extending in and through the central hole in hand wheel  42  is less than the diameter of the central hole in the hand wheel  42 . Thus as the hand wheel  42  is rotated to open or close the valve, very little rotary motion is imparted to the shaft extension  70 , shaft  44  and valve disk retainer  48  while imparting linear motion to these components of the valve  10 . 
     Disposed inside of the support tube  26  is an insulator  80 , which extends from the upper flange  28  insert  82  toward the first end of the shaft  46 . The insulator fits over the shaft  44  and is fixed to the assembly  82  with threads so that it will not slip down or be out of position thus, defining a void space only near the bottom of the support tube  26 . Preferably the insulator is made from a material such as Teflon. 
     FIG. 1 b  and FIG. 1 c  show unique features of shaft  44 . As shown in FIG. 1 c  the first end  46  and the bottom and top surfaces of slip fitting assembly  68  are tapered at angles shown as a, b, and c respectively. A preferred taper for each of a, b, and c is 3°. The tapered surfaces are the three contact surfaces of the shaft  44 . Since there is true axial loading of the valve when it is in service, the tapered surfaces provides for reduced heat leak paths due to conduction into the shaft  44  since each tapered or rounded surface facilitates contact along a fraction of the respective mating surfaces. The tapered or rounded contact surfaces of shaft  44  provide for reduced torque transmission from the shaft extender  70  to the shaft  44  and from the shaft  44  to the valve disk retainer  48  because of the minimized surface contact. Torque transmission is reduced since the resulting friction between components acts at a shorter distance from the centerline of the shaft  44 . 
     FIG. 2, illustrates a quick opening version of the valve according to the present invention wherein the valve disk  54  terminates in a flat surface  55  and does not include the lower projection and the disk cap shown in FIG.  1 . Thus, as soon as the valve seal or disk  54  is withdrawn from the seat  22  flow is initiated through the valve. 
     FIG. 3, illustrates an embodiment of the valve  10  wherein a bellows assembly  90  is disposed around the upper portion of the shaft  44  being sealed there to by fillet welds at location  92 . The bellows assembly  90  is fixed at its upper end to a collar  94  which in turn is sealingly engaged to the bonnet assembly by means of fluid tight gaskets  96 ,  97 . Communicating with the portion of the valve defined at the upper end of the shaft is a “bottom purge system” or port assembly  98  so that prior to using a valve with a bellows assembly  90  in service, warm gas can be introduced to purge out above the valve seat. This is a valve that is particularly suited for service in dispensing and or transferring liquid or gaseous hydrogen. 
     FIG. 4, illustrates a “top purge system”  100  which can be incorporated into the bonnet assembly  30  of a valve incorporating a bellows assembly to detect failure of the bellows by use of a pressure indicator or hydrocarbon detector coupled to the purge system  100 . 
     FIG. 5, illustrates an actuator system  102  which is coupled to the shaft extender  70  which projects through the bonnet assembly  104 . Such pneumatic actuators are well known to users of cryogenic valves by connecting the upper end of the valve stem assembly  70  to the actuator system  102  for remote actuation or automatic actuation by operators (not shown) that are well known in the art. 
     From the foregoing description it can be seen that several features of the valve according to the present invention provide for benefits heretofore unknown in extended stem cryogenic valves. The valve disk retainer is designed with an extension above that part of the valve disk that actually seats against the valve seat. The valve disk is attached to the valve disk retainer which is conventionally made of stainless steel, by being inserted into a receiving aperture in the valve retainer, with the assembly held in place with a stainless steel spring pin, roll pin or dowel pin. Attachment of the valve disk to the valve disk retainer occurs above the seat, i.e. on the downstream side of the valve. The valve disk is a solid piece of material with no through holes that can be exposed to both sides of the valve seat. Thus, it is impossible to develop a leak across the assembly with the design of the present invention, which eliminates the multiple leak path problems inherent in prior art devices. The spring pin attachment is more effective in holding the components together since the KEL-F shrinks at a much greater rate than the stainless steel in cryogenic service. Therefore any concerns that the pin can come out are erased since over and above the frictional force the pin has been designed to generate to hold the assembly together, the KEL-F will be a shrink fit onto the pin while it is in service. 
     In the flow control embodiment (FIG. 1) of the valve according to the present invention the KEL-F valve seal material is now extended as single piece by adding a length of male thread that extends down below the seat. This lower projection or stud is then used to attach the flow control plug. The flow control plug, which can have various shapes, is a solid brass material and is attached to the stud on the valve seal with a female thread. The assembly also incorporates a spring pin to prevent the plug from backing off the KEL-F stud. The same mechanisms for extra spring pin engagement resilience are incorporated into this embodiment since both the brass plug and the KEL-F stud shrink to a much greater degree than a stainless steel spring pin. An additional benefit results from the fact that the control plug is fabricated from a single piece of brass. Since brass is very compatible for oxygen service where immediately as the valve is shut-off and flow is stopped, adiabatic compression occurs when a sudden surge of liquid and gas is introduced and compressed at the point of flow stoppage. The sudden compression generates heat and in some instances this can become a source of ignition. Since the plug is made of brass, a large piece of highly conductive metal, it will act as a heat sink, this in turn will minimize surface temperature elevation of the plug in an adiabatic compression situation, thus automatically incorporating a safety feature into the valve. This is particularly desirable for valves used in oxygen service. 
     In view of the fact that the present design incorporates rounding or tapering of the lower end and slip fit contact surfaces of the shaft  44  by adding a taper, e.g. about 3°, there is true axial loading of the valve while it is in service. In addition this design provides for a reduction heat leak due to conduction across the stem due to point contact instead of flush contact between the shaft and the valve seal retainer. 
     The present valve has been designed to all but eliminate the amount of available space in the area below the top works of the valve. The Teflon insulator fills the extended stem void and is attached to the bottom “top works”. This design eliminates the free volume at the top of the valve and relocates it down at the location of the valve seal retainer assembly closest to the process stream where it is required and is needed for valve stroke. Prototypes of the valve were tested by having the downstream end installed close to a pump. This testing proved the value of the location of the Teflon insulator. 
     In the bellows seal design, the Teflon stem insulator is counter bored to accept the bellows assembly. In this design the insulator acts as a bellows squirm inhibitor when the valve is in the full open position and the bellows is compressed. It is well known that bellows are designed for axial compression and extension but are not designed for lateral deflection. Without means for guiding the bellows they can laterally deflect as they are being compressed. Lateral deflection can result in premature failure of the bellows assembly. Thus the present invention utilizes the counter bored stem insulator as the means for external guiding. 
     The standard for extended stem cryogenic valves has been and still is to incorporate a chevron style Teflon or Grafoil packing. 
     The present invention incorporates a brass bushing (upper stem sleeve or valve packing  74 ) with several O-rings instead of a chevron packing. The bushing design combined with the external thread design and the hand wheel method of attachment provides for several significant improvements over existing extended stem valves which are currently on the market. Due to the hand wheel design the present invention does not need to incorporate an internal thread. Also the present invention results in a valve that does not require that the hand wheel to be rigidly fixed to the upper stem. This allows for the method of attachment of the hand wheel to address axial movement only, relative to the upper stem. Thus, the present invention permits free rotation of the hand wheel resulting in the desired axial movement of the extended valve stem and valve plug or valve seal support without having to rotate the upper stem itself. This is very desirable since it eliminates the radial wear component of the packing. Thus, the O-ring packing of the present invention only sees frictional forces due to pure axial loading. This structure along with the incorporation of the resiliency of O-rings as opposed to Teflon or Grafoil style packing in dynamic sealing applications is a dramatic improvement in sealing for an extended stem cryogenic valve. It is anticipated this design will produce a much greater service life as well as lower the probability of leakage commonly associated with prior art extended stem valves. 
     Having thus described my invention as illustrated and described herein with reference to certain specific embodiments, the present invention is nevertheless not intended to be limited to the details shown. Further, various modifications may be made in the details within the scope of the invention desired to be secured by letters patent of the United States as set forth in the appended claims.