A PRESSURE REGULATOR FOR MAINTAINING A STABLE FLOW LEVEL OF A FLUID

Abstract: A flow regulator for maintaining a stable rate of flow of a fluid in a flow channel (2), comprising a flow-actuated element (4) which is movable under the influence of a pressure drop in the fluid flow, and a throttle valve (10) for regulating the fluid flow under the influence of said element (4). The fluid-actuated element (4) constitutes a control element for a servo means (11) comprising a pilot valve (17) for controlling the movement of a drive means (12) coupled to a valve body (19) in the throttle valve (10), and which, by means of the servo means (11), is arranged to be moved in a smooth manner independently of sudden changes in the fluid flow. The control element is influenced by a prestressed spring (9) acting in the opposite direction to the flow direction, so that the control element (4) is moved in the flow direction only when the rate of flow exceeds a preselected level.

Description: A PRESSURE REGULATOR FOR MAIMTA-DSII G A STABLE FLOW LEVEL OF A FLUID The invention relates to a flow regulator for main taining a stable rate of flow of a fluid in a flow channel comprising a flow-actuated element which is movable under th influence of a pressure drop in the fluid flow, and a throttl valve for regulating the fluid flow under the influence of sai element. A typical field of use for such a regulator is i connection with hydraulic pumps for unloading cargo tanks for oi or the like on e.g. a tanker, wherein the pumps are connected t and driven from a ring conduit transporting hydraulic liqui under a very high pressure, more specifically about 300 bar (30 000 kPa). It is here the question of pumps of very larg power, of the order of megawatts. In front of each pump ther then has to be used a flow regulator for ensuring a stable liqui supply for the operation of the pumps in order to prevent the from "running riot" when they are about to empty the reservoi and start sucking air. Such a situation with overspeed of th pump will result in damage thereof in the course of a very shor time. Different types of regulators have been developed fo this purpose, where the regulators then see to it that the suppl of hydraulic liquid is restricted or throttled as soon as ther occur changes of the operating conditions having a tendency t increase the liquid supply in the flow channel to the pump motor The known types of flow regulators are, however, encumbered wit problems in that they are complicated and in that they absorb considerable amount of energy under normal operating condition (i.e. with a little throttling of the liquid flow). This is consequence of the fact that a considerable pressure drop has t be established across these known regulators in order to produc the forces used for stabilizing the through-put. With a condui pressure of about 300 bars, it may for example be the questio of a pressure drop of about 10 bars for each regulator. This i the reality involves an energy loss of the order of 30 kW, whic results in a substantial heating of the oil, something which i turn requires artificial cooling. It is obvious that this i economically unfavourable at the same time as the syst structure is made more complicated. Thus, it is an object of the invention to provide flow regulator which is able to operate with a substantiall reduced pressure drop in the flow channel in relation to th known regulators. A further object is to provide such a flow regulato giving a sensitive regulation with a short response time and smoother response than what is achieved with the regulator according to the prior art. The above-mentioned objects are achieved with a flo regulator of the introductorily stated type which, according t the invention ^ is characterized in that the flow-actuated elemen constitutes a control element for a servo means comprising pilot valve for controlling the movement of a drive means couple to a valve body in the throttle valve, and which, by means of th servo means, is arranged to be moved in a smooth manner indepen dently of sudden changes in the fluid flow, the control elemen being arranged to be moved in the flow direction only when th rate of flow exceeds a preselected level. In the flow regulator according to the invention, th flow-actuated element operates as a control element in a serv control of the throttle valve. By means of this technique ther is achieved an efficient stabilization of the fluid flow with very moderate pressure drop across the regulator. It is estimate that the pressure drop may be reduced to approximately 1 bar, i.e. to 1/10 of the pressure drop required in the regulators according to the prior art. The servo control absorbs som energy, but this is quite unessential compared to the energy los in the existing solutions. The flow regulator according to the invention distin¬ guishes itself in that it has a small energy demand under normal operating conditions, and in that it maintains a stable flow level even if sudden changes in the operating conditions occur. By, inter alia, designing the throttle valve such that an efficient balancing is obtained of the pressure forces influen¬ cing the valve body in the throttle valve, the flow control functions well with a very moderate use of servo. Thus, by means of the utilized technique, a very "smooth" and precise flow regulation has been achieved, even with a fluid pressure of up to 300 bars. The invention will be further described below in connection with an exemplary embodiment with reference to the 5 drawings, wherein Fig. 1 shows a longitudinally sectioned view of a flow regulator according to the invention; and Figs. 2 and 3 show enlarged sectional views of the servo means with the pilot valve in Fig. 1 in two different o operational positions. In the following, the flow regulator according to the invention will be described in connection with the regulation of a liquid flow, but it is emphasized that the solution is suitable for any fluid. s As appears from Fig. 1, the shown embodiment of the flow regulator comprises a body 1 containing a flow channel 2 and in which the regulator elements are built in as shown next to the flow channel. In the flow channel 2, there is provided a pressure-drop producing means in the form of an orifice 3 for the o generation of a flow-dependent force for actuating or influencing the flow-actuated element of the regulator. In the illustrated embodiment, this element is a piston 4 which is movable in a cylindrical cavity which is divided by the piston into a first chamber 5 and a second chamber 6. The first chamber 5 is 5 connected to the channel 2 through a port 7 upstream of the orifice 3, and the second chamber 6 is connected to the channel 2 through a port 8 downstream of the orifice 3. Thus, the pressure in the chamber 6 is reduced in relation to the pressure in the chamber 5 with a value corresponding to the pressure drop o which is generated across the orifice 3 and which in turn is dependent on the rate of flow (the flow level) in the channel 2. Thus, the piston 4 is influenced by a force seeking to move the piston in the flow direction. However, the piston 4 is also influenced by a suitably prestressed spring 9 counteracting the 5 first-mentioned force on the piston 4, so that the liquid flow has to exceed a certain level before the piston 4 is moved in the flow direction. The arrangement in connection with the spring 9 will be further described later. The regulator comprises a throttle valve 10 for regulating the liquid flow in the channel 2 under the influen of the piston 4, the piston constituting a control element f a servo means 11 for controlling movement of a drive means 12 f operating the throttle valve. As shown in Fig. 1, the drive means 12 is arranged the second chamber 6 and comprises a piston housing 13 which fixedly mounted in the body 1, and a drive piston 14 whic together with the piston housing, defines a third chamber 15 the side of the piston 14 facing away from the throttle valve 10 The piston housing 13 is formed from a cup-shaped body which i outwardly open on the side of the drive piston 14 facing th throttle valve 10, so that the piston at this side is influence by the pressure in the second chamber 6. On its opposite side th piston 14 is influenced by the force from a suitably prestresse drive spring 16 and by the pressure from liquid which has bee supplied to the third chamber 15 by means of the pilot valve 1 of the servo means 11. The piston 14 is fixedly connected through a piston rod 18 - to a valve body 19 in the throttl valve 10. The pilot valve 17 of the servo means 11 comprises centre shaft 20 arranged on the control element piston 4 an consisting of a pair of members 21, 22 extending at opposit sides of the piston, and a guiding sleeve 23 arranged for th centre shaft 20 and which is connected to the drive piston 14 an extends outside of the third chamber 15 towards the piston 4. Th centre shaft 20 on its surface is provided with a number o longitudinally extending channels 24 which, at one end, communi cate with the second chamber 6 through first ports 25 through th wall of the guiding sleeve 23, and which, at their other end, ca be brought into connection with the third chamber 15 throug second ports 26 in the wall of the guiding sleeve. Further, th centre shaft 20 comprises a transverse passage 27 which can b brought into connection with the second ports 26 of the guidin sleeve 23 when these are shut off from the channels 24, and whic communicates with a passage 28 extending through the centre shaf 20 in the longitudinal direction thereof and communicates wit an outlet 29 for the escape of liquid from the third chamber 15. This outlet may debouch into the external ambient pressure of 1 atmosphere. The longitudinal passage 28 of the centre shaft 2 extends as shown throughout the centre shaft and debouches a opposite ends thereof, so that it is pressure-balanced in th axial direction. The control function of the pilot valve consists i that it controls liquid to or from the third chamber 15 in suc a manner that the drive piston 14 at any time is forced to follo the movement of the control element piston 4 and therewith th movement of the centre shaft 20. As will be understood, the driv piston 14 is moved in one or the other direction when th resulting force from the drive spring 16 and the liquid pressur in the third chamber 15 exceeds or becomes less than the forc influence on the piston because of the pressure in the secon chamber 6. By the servo means one achieves that the drive pisto 14 is moved in a smooth manner even if a sudden pressure chang occurs in the liquid- flow in the channel 2, and consequently sudden movement of the flow-actuated piston 4, the drive pisto 14 only being moved when the chamber 15 is filled or emptie sufficiently for achieving the necessary differential pressur across the piston 14. The operating principle of the pilot valve is furthe shown in Figs. 2 and 3 wherein the shown arrows indicate th liquid flow in the servo mechanism. Fig. 2 shows the liquid flo when the piston 4 and the centre shaft 20 are moved downwards an the chamber 15 is filled with liquid so that the drive piston 1 is moved correspondingly downwards, and Fig. 3 shows the liqui flow when the piston 4 is moved upwards and the chamber 15 i emptied of liquid so that the drive piston 14 is moved correspon dingly upwards. As shown in Fig. 1, the upper part 22 of the centr shaft 20 at the outlet 29 is introduced into a cavity 30 in closing body 31 which, in a manner not further shown, i adjustable in the longitudinal direction of the centre shaft i the body 1. The cavity 30 has an outlet opening 32 which i directed towards the piston 4 and is defined by a collar 33 whic is arranged to cooperate with an annular seat 34 around th centre shaft. The outlet 29 thereby may be closed in connectio with shutting-off of the throttle valve 10, as described below. The above-mentioned prestressing spring 9 for pr adjustment of the flow level through the regulator is, as show restrained between the outlet end of the closing body 31 and support member 35 at the end of the centre shaft 20, so that t s prestressing force of the spring 9 is reduced by movement of t closing body 31 in the direction towards the seat 34. The throttle valve 10 of the regulator comprises housing 36 having a cylindrical cavity 37 wherein the valve bo 19 is slidably arranged in a sealing manner. In the sho ιo embodiment, a sealing ring 38 is arranged between the valve bod 19 and the adjacent housing wall. However, this sealing ring ma be omitted with an accurate adaptation and polishing of th sliding surfaces. The cavity 37 merges into the outlet openin 39 of the regulator, the downstream end of the cavity communi i5 eating with the flow channel 2 through a number of radial port 40 symmetrically arranged in the peripheral wall of the housin 36, and through an annular space 41 arranged in the body 1 aroun the housing 36. As shown, the valve body 19 is provided with through 0 going axial channels 42 for equalizing the pressure differenc between the end surfaces of the valve body. By the axial movemen of the valve body there is obtained a stepless and not ver force-demanding change of the effective flow cross-sectio through the radially arranged ports 40. When the flow regulato 5 is completely closed, the lower edge of the valve body 19 i pressed against a seat 43 in the valve housing 36. This seat i disposed at a certain distance from the ports 40 for minimizin pressure effects when the valve body 19 causes a considerabl throttling of the liquid flow. 0 The through-put of the regulator may be adjusted to desired level by establishing a given prestressing of the sprin 9. The prestressing of the spring is dependent on the positio of the closing body 31 which in this context may also be designa ted "control cylinder". This may be positioned by manual o 5 pneumatic control according to known technique. In Fig. 1, th control cylinder is raised to its uppermost position whereby th regulator is adjusted to maximum through-put. Further, it may be assumed that the liquid flow through the system corresponds to the set level. The force trying to press the piston 4 downwards, then is equal to and oppositely directed in relation to th tension of the spring 9. In this situation the throttle valv body 19 is maintained in a position allowing full through-put o through-flow via the ports 40 of the throttle valve 10. If the external conditions change and the liquid flo starts increasing, the piston 4 immediately will be presse downwards and quickly see to it that the throttle valve 10 enter into operation and thereby maintains the flow level. An importan property of the illustrated embodiment is that the piston 4 i not influenced by forces which may create instability in th liquid regulation. Thus, importance is attached to balancin undesired pressure effects on the centre shaft. All port therefore are symmetrically placed and, as mentioned, the throug passage of the centre shaft provides for eliminating undesire axial forces. When the control cylinder 31 is positioned in it lowermost position, the collar 33 rests sealingly against th seat 34, so that the outlet 29 is closed. In this situatio liquid can not be discharged from the chamber 15, and this i filled gradually with liquid until the spring 16 has pressed th throttle valve body 19 downwards against the seat 43, so that th throttle valve is closed. I the illustrated embodiment, the valve body 19 i disposed at the inside of the ports 40 in the valve housing 36. in an alternative embodiment (not shown) the valve body may b disposed at the outside of the ports, but this would entail a undesired dimensional increase of the movable parts. It is als conceivable to place the flow-actuated piston 4 in the liqui flow in the flow channel, and thereby avoid the special pressure- drop generating means 3. It has been found, however, that this gives a somewhat poorer stability.

Claims: Patent Claims 1. A flow regulator for maintaining a stable rate of flo of a fluid in a flow channel (2), comprising a flow-actuate 5 element (4) which is movable under the influence of a pressur drop in the fluid flow, and a throttle valve (10) for regulatin the fluid flow under the influence of said element (4), CHARAC TERIZED IN that flow-actuated element (4) constitutes a contro element for a servo means (11) comprising a pilot valve (17) fo o controlling the movement of a drive means (12) coupled to a valv body (19) in the throttle valve (10), and which, by means of th servo means (11), is arranged to be moved in a smooth manne independently of sudden changes in the fluid flow, the contro element (4) being arranged to be moved in the flow direction onl s when the rate of flow exceeds a preselected level. 2. A flow regulator according to claim 1, CHARACTERIZED I that the control element (4) is influenced by a prestresse spring (9) acting in the opposite direction to the flow direc tion, and of which the prestressing force is adjustable fo o setting of the preselected flow level. 3. A flow regulator according to claim 1 or 2, CHARAC TERIZED IN that the control element (4) is a piston forming partition between a first chamber (5) connected to the flo channel (2) upstream of a pressure-drop orifice (3) in th 5 channel, and a second chamber (6) connected to the channel (2) at the downstream side of the orifice (3), and that the driv means (12) is arranged in the second chamber (6) and comprises a piston housing (3) and a drive piston (14) which together defines a third chamber (15) at the side of the piston (14) facing away from the throttle valve (10), the third chamber (15) by means of the pilot valve (17) being arranged to be filled with fluid from the second chamber (6) or emptied of fluid in dependence on the movement of the control element (4), the drive piston (14) at the side facing the throttle valve (10) being influenced by the pressure in the second chamber (6), and on the opposite side being influenced by the force from a prestressed drive spring (16) and by the pressure from the fluid supplied to the third chamber (15), so that the drive piston (14) is moved when the resulting force from the drive spring (16) and the fluid pressure in the third chamber (15) exceeds or becomes less tha the force influence from the pressure in the second chamber (6) 4. A flow regulator according to claim 3, CHARACTERIZED I that the pilot valve (17) comprises a centre shaft (20) arrange on the control element piston (4) and a guiding sleeve (23 arranged for the centre shaft and which is connected to the driv piston (14) and extends outside the third chamber (15), th centre shaft (20) on its surface being provided with a number o longitudinally extending channels (24) which, at one end communicate with the second chamber (6) through first ports (25 through the wall of the guiding sleeve (23), and which at thei other end can be brought into connection with the third chambe (15) through second ports (26) in the wall of the guiding sleev (23), and the centre shaft (20) further comprising a transvers passage (27) which can be brought into connection with the secon ports (26) of the guiding sleeve (23) when these are shut of from the channels (24), and which communicates with a passag (28) extending through the centre shaft (20) in the longitudina direction thereof and communicating with an outlet (29) fo escape of fluid from the third chamber (15). 5. A flow regulator according to claim 4, CHARACTERIZED I that the longitudinally extending passage (28) of the centr shaft (20) extends throughout the centre shaft (20) and debouche at opposite ends thereof, so that the shaft is pressure-balance in the axial direction. 6. A flow regulator according to claim 4, CHARACTERIZED I that the end of the centre shaft (20) at said outlet (29) i inserted into a cavity (30) in a closing body (31) which i adjustable in the longitudinal direction of the centre shaf (20), the cavity (30) having an outlet opening (32) which i directed towards the control element piston (4) and is arrange to cooperate with a seat (34) in order to close the outlet (29 to cause closing of the throttle valve (10). 7. A flow regulator according to claim 2 and 6, CHARAC TERIZED IN that the prestressing spring (9) is constraine between the outlet end of the closing body (31) and a suppor member (35) at the end of the centre shaft (20), so that th prestressing force of the spring (9) is reduced with movement o the closing body (31) in the direction towards said seat (34). 8. A flow regulator according to any of the claims 3-7 CHARACTERIZED IN that the drive piston (14) of the drive mean (12) through a piston rod (18) is directly connected to the valv body (19) of the throttle valve (10). 9. A flow regulator according to any of the precedin claims, CHARACTERIZED IN that the throttle valve (10) comprise a housing (39) having a cylindrical cavity (37) wherein the valv body (19) is slidably arranged and which merges into the outle opening (39) of the regulator, the downstream end of the cavit (37) communicating with said flow channel (2) through a numbe of radial ports (40) which are symmetrically arranged in th peripheral wall of the housing (36). 10. A flow regulator according to any of the precedin claims, CHARACTERIZED IN that the valve body (19) of the throttl valve (10) is provided with through-going axial channels (42) fo equalizing the pressure difference between the end surfaces o the valve body (19).

Inventors: OTTESTAD NILS TERJE, OTTESTAD, NILS, TERJE
Applicants: OTTESTAD BREATHING SYST AS, OTTESTAD NILS T, OTTESTAD BREATHING SYSTEMS AS, OTTESTAD, NILS, TERJE
Application year: 1992
Main classification: F16K17
IPC codes: F16K17, F16K31, G05D7