Abstract:
This invention relates to a novel rotary control valve with new joint methods and flow control mechanisms, line-reparability and fully metal seals more particularly to a triple offset butterfly valve or ball valve with those features used for on-off and flow controlling under multiple extreme conditions or in sever service; such as the integrated gasification combined cycle under high temperature and pressure, Fluid Catalytic Cracking under high temperature over 1200 F with hard diamond like catalytic particles, shale fracking process under extreme high pressure and high velocity fluid with solid particles and corrosive additives and other critical applications for products life lasting 5 to 30 years like deepsea flow control systems and nuclear power plants and for the applications of millions cycles like jet or rocket turbine engine fuel delivery systems with high velocity fuel fluid mixed with highly oxidative gas under temperature 1365 F.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application claims the benefit of provisional patent application Ser. No. 61/575,996 filed on Sep. 1, 2011 by Jianchao Shu 
       FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH 
       [0002]    No 
       SEQUENCE LISTING OR PROGRAM 
       [0003]    No 
     
    
     BACKGROUND 
       [0004]    This invention relates to a novel rotary control valve with new joint methods and flow control mechanisms, line-reparability and fully metal seals more particularly to a triple offset butterfly valve or ball valve with those novel features used for on-off and flow fluid controlling under multiple extreme conditions or in sever service; such as the rocket engine fuel control system with highly oxidative fluid under extreme temperature of 1350 F, the integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) under high temperature and pressure, Fluid Catalytic Cracking Unit (FCCU) under high temperature over 1200 F with hard diamond like catalytic particles, shale fracking process under extreme high pressure and high velocity fluid with solid particles and corrosive additives, other applications with flow fluid with high viscosity in field of chemical plants, or conventional power plants, refiners and oilfield, or other critical applications for products life lasting 5 to 30 years like deepsea flow control systems and nuclear power plants and for the applications of millions cycles like jet or rocket turbine engine fuel delivery systems with high velocity fuel fluid mixed with highly oxidative gas under temperature 1365 F or higher without failure. 
         [0005]    This valve comprises a body with a flow port and a stem bore, a stem keyed with a disc is disposed in the stem bore to rotate the disc between open and closed positions, noise/cavitation reducing trims are installed in both ends of the flow port to reduce cavitation or noise, this valve is fully sealed in the stem by a simple, reliable metal K ring with laminated metal packings and in the port by full metal wave seat rings instead of conventional laminated seat with metal rings, graphite rings and gasket. It has a simple base structure with versatile configurations for various applications and is easy for manufacturing and repair, yet robust and reliable. 
         [0006]    Conventional triple offset butterfly valves were developed in 1960, but since then most features have not been changed, historically there is misunderstanding that the triple offset mechanism can solve all rotary metal seal problems, technically it only solve the rubbing problem to a some level, the rubbing happens between the conical seat and conical seat ring during rotation between 0-90 degrees, it damages the seat and seal ring and cause high torque, leak and seat prematurely to wear out and like the most ball valves, 98% of all existing triple offset butterfly valves only solve this rubbing problem between 0-86 degrees at best, it means that the rubbing still happens between 86 to 90 degrees, only 3 degrees but with 60%-100% contact area, it still causes damage on the seat, so how to reach 0-89.95 or 0-89.99 degrees of disengagement becomes an art and a knowhow or trade secret, there are other seven existing problems which have nothing to do with triple offset mechanism (1) metal to metal seat seal, there is no good solution so far, either the original solid seat has high leakage under ANSI class III leakage or the laminated seat with metal rings glued with graphite rings has ANIS class VI leakage at a new condition, but (a) the seat is easily damaged either by flow or a mating seat ring, it is required that high preload is to secure a seal between the seat and disc or body with additional graphite gasket and constantly replacement for the seat (b) the seat can not be used on highly oxidative flow applications when temperature is over 850 F (c) high seating torque, on average, operating torque for triple offset butterfly valves with the laminated seat is at least as twice high as that of the same size of double offset butterfly valve due to high pre-bolting on the seat as well as the nature of seat structure, moreover the actuation forces are unpredictable at closed position, so it is difficult to automate (2) axial bolting joint between retaining ring and seat ring on the disc, most conventional seal ring joint devices employ direct screws or sleeve to secure seal rings, such a method not only produces uneven pressing forces on seal rings and seats, but also has a lower reliability with multiple bolting and high probability of screws falling into a pipe lines under vibration or high cycle conditions, according to Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA), such a structure has the highest severity in high vibration, high temperature applications like turbine or jet engine systems, a risk of bolts falling in a pipeline system is very high due to vibration, quick cycle and high temperature creep (3) the graphite stem seals, the stem seal with graphite needs excessive packing force and constant readjustment or replacement of packing, moreover the actuation forces are unpredictable, so it is difficult to automate, in case of subsea flow devices or nuclear power plants, or jet engine fuel delivery system, the constant readjustment is impracticable (4) key/pin joint between stem and disc, this conventional joints greatly reduce the strength of stem with high stress concentration on disc hub and stem as well as eliminate the freedom for the stem and disc expansion under high temperature and pressure by a pin joint or have freedom of movement but cause loss motion and backlash with a key joint, as a result, either the joint method can cause premature damage on seats and seat leak (5) lack of simple mechanism to reduce the cavitation and noise when the valve is used to throttle the flow (6) unidirectional seal and stem galling under high thermal cycle or high temperature, although many triple offset valve makers claim that their valves are bidirectional, in fact the upstream seal is tended to move the seat away from the body seal ring, moreover there are cumulative clearances between bearing inside diameter and stem, stem and disc hub, body bearing hole and bearing outside diameter, sometime after sudden closing, the valves start to leak due to the clearances, so the current solution is to tight the clearances, as a result, stem will tend to gall with bearing under high temperature or thermal cycle, in short those problems greatly reduce potential usage of the triple offset butterfly valve and prevent it from getting more market share (7) Inline reparability, in some applications, the valves are fully welded with the pipe line, so it is impossible for inline repair, so replacement for the whole valve or offline repair can cost lots money for customers. 
         [0007]    In order to overcome the disadvantages or solve the problems of the conventional triple offset butterfly valve, many efforts have been made in the prior arts. The efforts in five fields were made to improve the conventional valves in the prior arts, but those works within a limited scope. 
         [0008]    The first field is for improving the seat seal, many efforts were made, especially in metal to metal seat seal in high temperature, cryogenic environments or for highly abrasive or erosive fluid applications. The significant efforts were made by Karl Adam as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,442,488 (1969), a butterfly valve with a triple offset arrangement for reducing rubbing between a seat and a seal ring or disc and increasing the life of the seat seal, but the seat seal itself was not improved and has a solid surface vs. a solid surface seal, such a seal causes high operation torque, leakage and requires expensive precision machining and assembly. U.S. Pat. No. 4,667,929 to Franco Narduzzi (1986) discloses a similar offset arrangement on a ball valve, a seat seal is provided with a solid surface on a body against a solid surface on a ball, a seal ring on the ball is made out of a composite metal material with heat resistant and deformable natures, in the reality such an ideal material is difficult to make, moreover a secure means was not clearly disclosed, the secure means is the other key factor for a good metal seal under high temperature, without a good seat secure means, a stable metal seat seal is impossible. U.S. Pat. No. 3,905,577 to Anatole N. Karpenko (1975) discloses a replaceable laminated seat against solid surface of disc, this seat would be a good choice for a metal to metal seat seal, but the bolts and rivets are used as a secure means completely constrain the seat thermal expansion under high temperature, as the temperature increases, the seat will deform and loosen a seal. U.S. Pat. No. 5,377,954 to Siegbert Adam et al (1995) discloses a metal seat seal which has a solid surface vane against a flexible seal ring assembly, the flexible seal ring assembly has multiple rings with one support end and an unmatched seal surface against the vane, such a seat seal is stronger and more stable than seat seal in U.S. Pat. No. 4,037,819, but the seat seal still is unstable under high pressure or high cycle condition and also creates a new problem which is fluid seeping between the rings, although edge welded by a laser welder is provided as a remedy, such a weld process brings out another problem which is deformation of seal ring after welding, such deformation can generate more leakage on external surfaces of the ring, above all, the seat seal is unstable and vulnerable to fluid contamination and any point damage on the seal. U.S. Pat. No. 5,871,203 to Jerry Gassaway (1999) shows a widely used, laminated seat ring as a replaceable seat ring, but the replaceable seat ring without a secure means has a disadvantage in high temperature or high cycle environments, the different thermal expansion between a body and the seal ring can cause leakage through the seat ring. In short all efforts in the prior arts never address or recognize the fundamental problems—laminated seat seal mechanism, rigid flat ring deformation structure with weak graphite rings between them. 
         [0009]    The second field is for improving the joint between the seat and the retaining ring. A conventional mechanical joint means for retaining a seat seal assembly on a valve member or body is accomplished by a retaining ring and multiple bolts as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,079,695 to Jerry Gassaway (2000), such a mechanical joint means requires precision drilling and tapping as well as tedious bolting process, any uneven bolting by manual operation or other process can cause a seat leak and heavy seating and unseating torques specially in large size valves or in high temperature environments, more importantly this mechanical joint means has a high risk of bolts falling into a pipeline system and is prohibited for using in the engines and turbines or other highly vibrated conditions, so a more reliable retaining device was developed as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,692,725 to Hans-Jurgen Fehringer (1997), the retaining device has smaller operating holes which prevents screws or bolts falling into a pipeline system, but the complicated retaining ring can be used only on a stationary body and not on a movable valve member, such a retaining device does not have a self lock, so any reaction force by a high vibration or uneven point forces by screws or bolts can cause screws loose and a seat leak. the fundamental disadvantage for axial bolting method is the direction of the seat loading is the same as that of bolting, so any disengagement between bolt thread and thread hole caused by a creep or vibration will soon amplify, many tests indicates without self lock mechanism, such bolting is not safe under high vibrations and temperature conditions. 
         [0010]    The third field is for improving the stem seal packing. A packing device is one of those efforts shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,886,241 to James R. Davis et al (1989) and U.S. Pat. No. 4,394,023 to Alberto L. Hinojosa (1983) disclose stem seals with graphite packing for high temperature applications, but the stem packing seals require more packing force and constant readjustment. A survey shows that 50% of the control valve failures are contributed by excessive stem packing force, the efforts to improve the stem seal are to add more stem seal packing sets, more seal force with more storing energy to both rotary and reciprocal stems. A live load packing device is one of those efforts shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,230,498 to Charles W. Wood (1993), U.S. Pat. No. 5,503,406 to Leonard T. Armstrong (1996) and U.S. Pat. No. 5,860,633 to Ryan E. Murphy et al (1999). Those packing devices are not only expensive, inefficient and unsuitable for temperatures over 460 F, U.S. Pat. No. 6,202,668 to Robert E. Maki (2001) and U.S. Pat. No. 4,082,105 to Hebert Allen (1978) show fire-resistant stem seals. The fire-resistant stem seals are provided with a first PTFE seal and a secondary metal seal, in case of fire or temperature elevation, the secondary metal seal will replace the first PTFE seal, but in reality such a stem seal proves to be unreliable and has high leakage. In short, those prior arts in the stem seal field have common disadvantages: Inefficiency of packing loading. According to the Hook law and Poisson ratio, only about 30% of axial force in most materials is converted to radial displacements of the packing which helps fill in the gap between the stem and the packing, in addition of frictions, lower density or material creeps under high temperature, the efficiency of the conversion even becomes worse about 10-20%, so the conventional axial loadings for radial seal packing are inefficient and expensive to produce. The stem packing is one of those efforts shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,886,241 to James R. Davis et al (1989) and U.S. Pat. No. 4,394,023 to Alberto L. Hinojosa (1983) disclose stem seals with graphite packing for high temperature applications, but the stem packing seals are subject to more packing force and constant readjustment. A recent survey shows that 50% of the control valve failures are contributed by excessive stem packing force. U.S. Pat. No. 7,004,452 to Chatufale (2006) shows C ring seal for gate valve, but it is unidirectional and not for high temperature, while U.S. Pat. Application No. 2011/0084456 A1 reveals a metal C ring with a insert for high temperature flange seal application, but the C ring only is used for static seal in flanges. 
         [0011]    The fourth field is for improving the mechanical joint between stem and disc U.S. Pat. No. 4,483,513 to Anthony C. Summers (1984) and U.S. Pat. No. 4,828,221 to William B. Scobie (1998) disclose improved joints between a stem and a valve member, but the disadvantage is that the joints eliminate the stem axial freedom, the elimination can force thermal expansion to damage a seat or cause the stem deformation and a seat leak under high temperature, a conventional solution to the problem is to employ a key joint as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,079,695 to Jerry Gassaway (2000), but the key joint weakens the two hubs where the highest stress and stress concentration are located and torques are unevenly transferred, moreover the key joint requires an expensive broaching process for keyway. U.S. Pat. No. 6,029,949 to Robert Joseph Brown et al (2000) shows a plate and bolts for securing a stem on a vane, the design with the plate and bolts can further weakens the stem and vane and adds the cost for materials as well as machining, and there is a high risk of the plate and bolts falling into a pipeline system under high temperatures or high vibration conditions, such a design is prohibited in the turbine and engine systems, finally US 2008/0203346 A1 to Jianchao Shu (2008) shows the two key joints between the stem and disc, but the design cause high stress concentrations on the stem and motion loss. 
         [0012]    The fifth field is for developing special disc or trim to reduce the noise and cavitation, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,338,468 to Ogawa, et al. (2002) a enlarged section of valve body was employed to reduce cavitation, it is simple and low cost but in small opening, the cavitation still exists, many cases indicates the wall of enlarged section is first damaged and flow penetrate the wall and cause leak, finally a valve applications is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,007,908 to Paul. V Smagghe. 
         [0013]    In short, all efforts in the prior arts never address or recognize needs for replacing the axial retaining ring bolting or the laminated seat with metal and graphite stem seal and for developing full metal seat and stem seal under high temperature and fundamentally reducing the operation torque, most efforts are focused on easing the consequence rather than finding the root of cause, finally other inherent problem for butterfly valve is the upstream load support by the stem rather than the stem and seat like ball valve or gate valve, it causes unidirectional seal in most of the butterfly valve if the stem is not properly constructed. 
         [0014]    So the flow control industry has long sought means of improving the performance of butterfly as well as rotary valve, improving the stem seal, creating a robust bidirectional seat seal, enabling the valve to handle various flow under multiple extreme conditions. 
         [0015]    In conclusion, insofar as I am aware, no such butterfly or such rotary valve is formerly developed with fully metal sealed seat, highly reliable seat retaining device without high preload and risk of bolt falling into a pipeline system, easy manufacturing at low cost they can be used for controlling bidirectional fluid between full opening and full closed with no or less cavitation and low noise under multiple extreme conditions or sever service. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0016]    This invention provides a simple, robust, reliable and versatile rotary valves; triple offset butterfly valve and ball valve for server service or under multiple extreme conditions. This triple offset butterfly comprises a body with a flow port, a reliable, robust wedge-eccentric—thread joint/lock mechanism between a stem and a disc in a middle is provided with two wedge keys and secured by a lock plug for providing solid joint without reducing of stem strength and loss motion, the stem is disposed by means of spring bearings in the body, spring bearings are disposed in the bearing hole in the body to compensate valve assembly clearances for downstream seal as well as the thermal expansion of the stem, the full metal wave seats are disposed between conical mating solid seat on the body or the disc for providing seals without any graphite gasket, the seats are secured by a wedge-eccentric-thread join/lock mechanism, which includes retaining ring with a wedged groove to receive three wedged lock rings between the disc and retaining ring, three lock plugs are disposed in the plug holes of the disc, each lock plug has an eccentric groove to hold each lock ring as well push the lock bottom up against wedge surfaces of the retaining ring by rotating the plug, in turn, the wedge lock ring is engaged with wedge surface of groove on the retaining ring is provided for pressing the wave seats, finally a setscrew is disposed in thread hole in the lock plug to prevent the lock plug form rotation. A novel metal K rings comprise an I ring inserted in a groove of the stem and two metal compression rings disposed in the stem below and above the I ring for converting a dynamic radial seal to a dynamic axial seal and providing spring load on two laminated metal packing below and above K ring under high temperature and high pressure with the leakage between 5-50 ppm. 
         [0017]    This rotary valve can be constructed with a ball as the closure member for the applications which requires either full port or reduced port, a pair of right and left segment trims can be used for both ball valve and butterfly valve disposed between two ends of the flow port on the rotary valve body for reducing cavitation or noise, the trim comprises a segment of cylinder bar with multiple holes and a flow port and an internal surface mated with a disc or ball, such trims provides a very effective multiple flow restriction mechanism in a small opening between 0-60 degree where most cavitations happen, the trims can be installed on the body either by means of two position pins to prevent the segment trim from rotation and a step on the body edge to secure the segment trim in a valve axial direction, or by a pair of eccentric lock rings disposed a groove between the body and a groove on the trim, so as the lock rings are rotated into grooves, the thickness of rings due to the eccentric nature is increased until the both side of the ring are engaged with bottoms of the groove and to secure the trim, in case of high velocity applications, a spot welding may need on the tip of lock rings. 
         [0018]    This valve body can be constructed for seat replaceable service on the field, so the seats on those fully weld body valve still can be replaceable without cutting the pipes or body, such inline replaceable feature is very useful for both butterfly valve and ball valve in LNG plant and refiner or gas line, the structure comprises a wedge opening on the body to receive a wedge cover with a gasket around the edge, a body gasket is provided as a secondary seal, a body ring with internal conical surface is engaged with body gasket against the substantially same conical surface of outside body and the cover, bolts and nuts are provided for securing the body and the body ring, finally a pair of wedge rings are installed to adjust axial gaps after a seat is replaced. 
         [0019]    Accordingly, besides objects and advantages of the present invention described in the above patent, several objects and advantages of the present invention are: 
         [0000]    (a) To provide simple highly sealable, reliable, durable seat seal assembly for multiple extreme conditions: high pressure, cryogenic or high temperature or solid particles with corrosive fluid, so such a seal seat assembly can keep good static and dynamic seals with low leakage between 5-50 ppm with low friction and operating torque without high preload and side seal.
 
(b) To provide a highly reliable joint/lock mechanism between seat and retaining ring for a valve, so such a valve can be operated under high vibration and high temperature condition without risk of bolts falling into a pipeline system to damage critical equipment in the downstream
 
(c) To provide a stem seal for extreme conditions: high pressure, cryogenic or high temperature or fire-safe applications. Such a seal ring can keep good static and dynamic seals with low leakage between 5-50 ppm with low friction without constant repacking or readjustment.
 
(d) To provide a reliable stem/disc joint mechanism for a rotary valve, so the joint/lock mechanism can not only increase the disc and stem strength and eliminate backlash and motion loss and reduce stress concentration on stem and disc, also it can prevent stem or hub from cracking or key from falling into pipeline under vibration or quick cycle applications as well as make easy to manufacture and disassemble.
 
(e) To provide a valve with bearings to support a stem under high temperature, high thermal cycle and high pressure, compensate a assembly clearance and thermal expansion, or deformation under high pressure. So such a valve has a bidirectional seat seal under the extreme conditions and high pressure for ANSI class 2500.
 
(f) To provide a rotary valve with simple, low cost, reliable, highly efficient and adaptable flow trims, so such a valve can be used for throttling applications, it not only reduces cavitation and noise, but also provides precision flow condition and long life and high reliability for sever service.
 
(g) To provide a valve body with inline repairable seat feature, so a seat in the welded-end valve can be replaced without cutting out pipes or bodies and re-welding.
 
(h) To provide a simple, compact and safe valve for easy manufacturing, operation, installation, repairing and maintenance, so the valve become much greener to reduce waste, energy consumption and improve the environments.
 
         [0020]    Accordingly, besides objects and advantages of the present invention described in the above patent, several objects and advantages of the present invention are 
         [0021]    Still further objects and advantages will become apparent from study of the following description and the accompanying drawings. 
     
    
     
       DRAWINGS 
       Drawing Figures 
         [0022]      FIG. 1  is an exploded, quarter cut view of a rotary valve constructed in accordance with this invention. 
           [0023]      FIG. 2  is a front view of rotary valve of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0024]      FIG. 3  is a cross sectional view of rotary valve of  FIG. 2  along line A-A. 
           [0025]      FIG. 4  is a detail views of rotary valve of  FIG. 3   
           [0026]      FIG. 5  is a cross sectional views of alternative I rings of  FIG. 4 . 
           [0027]      FIG. 6  is a top view of a bearing in the rotary valve of  FIG. 3 . 
           [0028]      FIG. 7  is a cross sectional view of bearing of  FIG. 6 . along line C-C. 
           [0029]      FIG. 8  is a back view of rotary valve of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0030]      FIG. 9  is a cross sectional view of rotary valve of  FIG. 8  along line B-B. 
           [0031]      FIG. 10  is an iso view of a lock plug of  FIG. 9   
           [0032]      FIG. 11  is a detail view of rotary valve of  FIG. 9   
           [0033]      FIG. 12  is a detail view of rotary valve of  FIG. 9   
           [0034]      FIG. 13  is a front view of an alternative rotary valve of  FIG. 1   
           [0035]      FIG. 14  is a cross sectional view of rotary valve of  FIG. 13  along line L-L. 
           [0036]      FIG. 15  is a detail view of rotary valve of  FIG. 14   
           [0037]      FIG. 16  is a front view of rotary valve of  FIG. 1   
           [0038]      FIG. 17  is a cross sectional view of rotary valve  FIG. 16  along line G-G 
           [0039]      FIG. 18  is a detail view of rotary valve of  FIG. 16   
           [0040]      FIG. 19  is a detail view of rotary valve of  FIG. 17   
           [0041]      FIG. 20  is an iso view of a lock plug of  FIG. 19   
           [0042]      FIG. 21  is an iso view of a lock of  FIG. 19   
           [0043]      FIG. 22  is an exploded view of an alternative rotary valve of  FIG. 1   
           [0044]      FIG. 23  is a front view of an alternative rotary valve of  FIG. 21   
           [0045]      FIG. 24  is a cross sectional view of rotary valve of  FIG. 23  along line D-D. 
           [0046]      FIG. 25  is a an iso view of a trim of  FIG. 24   
           [0047]      FIG. 26  is a front view of an eccentric lock of  FIG. 24   
           [0048]      FIG. 27  is an iso view of a trim of  FIG. 24   
           [0049]      FIG. 28  is an exploded view of alternative valve body of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0050]      FIG. 29  is a side view of valve body of  FIG. 28   
           [0051]      FIG. 30  is a cross sectional view of valve body  FIG. 29  along line E-E. 
           [0052]      FIG. 31  is a detail view of valve body of  FIG. 30   
           [0000]    
         
           
                 
               
                 
                 
               
             
                 
                     
                 
                 
                   Reference Number In Drawing 
                 
                 
                     
                 
               
               
                 
                     
                 
               
            
             
                 
                   100 
                   rotary valve, a, b, c, d 
                 
                 
                   101 
                   body, 
                 
                 
                   102 
                   packing bore 
                 
                 
                   103 
                   flow port 
                 
                 
                   105 
                   wedge groove 
                 
                 
                   106 
                   stem hole 
                 
                 
                   107 
                   solid seat 
                 
                 
                   108 
                   seat seal surface 
                 
                 
                   109 
                   seat recess 
                 
                 
                   110 
                   front surface 
                 
                 
                   111 
                   seat recess inward surface 
                 
                 
                   113 
                   seat opening 
                 
                 
                   114 
                   opening surface 
                 
                 
                   115 
                   body outside surface 
                 
                 
                   117 
                   position pin hole 
                 
                 
                   118 
                   step bore 
                 
                 
                   119 
                   groove 
                 
                 
                   120 
                   stem 
                 
                 
                   121 
                   I ring groove 
                 
                 
                   122 
                   keyway, 122′ 
                 
                 
                   123 
                   stem surface 
                 
                 
                   124 
                   closure member assembly 
                 
                 
                   125 
                   I ring, 125′, 125″ 
                 
                 
                   126 
                   outside surface 
                 
                 
                   127 
                   setscrew 
                 
                 
                   128 
                   packing, 128′ 
                 
                 
                   129 
                   gland 
                 
                 
                   130 
                   closure member, Disc, Ball 
                 
                 
                   131 
                   hub, 131′ 
                 
                 
                   132 
                   stem hole 
                 
                 
                   133 
                   keyway, 133′ 
                 
                 
                   134 
                   step boss 
                 
                 
                   135 
                   solid seat 
                 
                 
                   136 
                   seal surface 
                 
                 
                   137 
                   boss 
                 
                 
                   138 
                   back surface 
                 
                 
                   139 
                   lock slot 
                 
                 
                   140 
                   back groove 
                 
                 
                   141 
                   radial groove 
                 
                 
                   142 
                   gap, 142′142″ 
                 
                 
                   143 
                   plug hole, 143′ 
                 
                 
                   144 
                   retreat slot 
                 
                 
                   145 
                   key slot 
                 
                 
                   146 
                   lock plug, 146′ 
                 
                 
                   147 
                   eccentric groove 
                 
                 
                   148 
                   slot 
                 
                 
                   149 
                   thread hole 
                 
                 
                   150 
                   seat ring, 150′, 150″ 
                 
                 
                   151 
                   Converting surface 
                 
                 
                   153 
                   back surface 
                 
                 
                   154 
                   Inward seal surface 
                 
                 
                   155 
                   outward seal surface 
                 
                 
                   156 
                   front surface 
                 
                 
                   157 
                   key, 157′ 
                 
                 
                   158 
                   wedge surface 
                 
                 
                   159 
                   tongue 
                 
                 
                   160 
                   lock ring 
                 
                 
                   161 
                   base 
                 
                 
                   162 
                   wedge surface 
                 
                 
                   163 
                   retreat hole 
                 
                 
                   164 
                   ring 
                 
                 
                   165 
                   retaining ring 
                 
                 
                   166 
                   wedge groove 
                 
                 
                   167 
                   wedge surface 
                 
                 
                   168 
                   inward surface 
                 
                 
                   169 
                   Inside diameter surface 
                 
                 
                   170 
                   K ring 
                 
                 
                   171 
                   compression ring, 171′ 
                 
                 
                   172 
                   outward surface 
                 
                 
                   174 
                   Inside surface 
                 
                 
                   175 
                   bearing 
                 
                 
                   176 
                   bearing inside surface 
                 
                 
                   177 
                   slot 
                 
                 
                   178 
                   spring pin, 178′, 178″ 
                 
                 
                   179 
                   position pin 
                 
                 
                   180 
                   trim, 180′ 
                 
                 
                   181 
                   port 
                 
                 
                   182 
                   outside surface 
                 
                 
                   183 
                   mating surface 
                 
                 
                   184 
                   groove 
                 
                 
                   185 
                   eccentric lock 
                 
                 
                   186 
                   retreat slot 
                 
                 
                   187 
                   position hole 
                 
                 
                   188 
                   flow hole 
                 
                 
                   189 
                   step 
                 
                 
                   191 
                   body ring 
                 
                 
                   192 
                   internal conical surface 
                 
                 
                   193 
                   cover gasket 
                 
                 
                   194 
                   bolt 
                 
                 
                   196 
                   seat cover 
                 
                 
                   197 
                   body gasket 
                 
                 
                   198 
                   wedge support ring, 198′ 
                 
                 
                   199 
                   nut 
                 
                 
                     
                 
               
            
           
         
       
       
    
    
     DESCRIPTION 
       [0053]      FIGS. 1-3  illustrate a rotary valve constructed in accordance with the present invention. The valve  100  comprises a body  101  having a packing bore  102  extended to a stem hole  106  for receiving respectively gland  129 , packings  128 ,  128 ′ and a K ring  170 , a closure member assembly  124  includes a disc  130  and a stem  120  disposed in the stem hole  106  by means of three spring bearings  175 , disc  130  with wave seats  150 ,  150 ′ is movably disposed in a port  103  for throttling flow fluid between closed and open positions. 
         [0054]    Referring  FIGS. 3-7 , stem  120  includes a groove  121 , K ring  170  comprise two compression rings  171 , 171 ′ and an I ring  125  having a rectangle cross section disposed in groove  121 , two compression rings  171 , 171 ′ are respectively disposed below and above I ring  125 , an inside cylindrical surface  174  of ring  171 , an inside cylindrical surface  174 ′ of ring  171 ′ are tightly engaged respectively with a stem cylindrical surface  123  and an outside surface  126  of I ring  125  for providing seals as compression rings  171 ,  171 ′ are pressed inwardly to each other, a cross section of I ring  125  can be constructed as a circle or with two wedge sides for large stems or as an integral part of stem  120 , two laminated metal packings  128 , 128 ′ are respectively disposed below and above K ring  170  for axial and radial seals. Spring bearings  175  having a cylindrical inside surface  176  are disposed in stem hole  106  with three axial slots  177  for receiving one solid and two hollow pins  178 , 178 ′, stem  120  having cylindrical surface  123  is rotationally disposed in an inside surface  176  of bearings  175 , when stem  120  is rotated to a closed position, bearing  175  with solid pin  178  is against the stem  120  and disc  130  for eliminating cumulative clearances among stem  120 , disc  130  and body  101 , in case of high temperature applications, at lease one spring pins  178 ′ will be used to compensate any thermal expansion or deformation under load between stem  120  and bearing  175 , spring pins  178 ′ can be constructed as spiral pin or a ring with a C section. 
         [0055]    Referring  FIGS. 8 ,  9 ,  10 ,  11 , stem  120  also comprises two wedged keyways  122 , 122 ′ respectively engaged with two mating wedged sides  158 , 158 ′ of keys  157 , 157 ′, while disc  130  includes two hubs  131 , 131 ′ having a stem hole  132  to receive stem  120  and two keyway  133 , 133 ′ engaged with two keys  157 , 157 ′ for transferring movements between stem  120  and disc  130 , key  157 ′ has a flat tongue  159  inserted in a slot  139  of keyway  133 ′, a lock plug  146 ′ having an eccentric groove  147 ′ and a drive slot  148 ′ is movably disposed in plug hole  143 ′ of disc  130  to receive tongue  159 , as plug  146 ′ is rotated, a bottom of groove  147 ′ is pressed against tongue  159  for securing a joint between stem  120  and disc  130 , since plug  146 ′ is first disposed in the plug hole  143 ′, keys  157 , 157 ′ are inserted into keyway  122 , 122 ′ from both side of stem  120  as stem  120  is inserted into a middle position, groove  147 ′ holds tongue  159 , as a result, the plug  146 ′ and key  157 ′ are interlocked and will never fall out without dissembling the stem  120  from disc  130 , while key  157  is securely disposed between keyways  157  and  133 . 
         [0056]    Referring FIGS.  8 , 9 ,  12 , two wave seats  150 , 150 ′ disposed between a solid seat  107  of body  101  and a conical boss  137  of disc  130  are defined respectively by inward conical surfaces  154 , 154 ′, front non-flat surfaces  156 , 156 ′, outward conical surfaces  155 , 155 ′ and back non-flat surfaces  153 , 153 ′, front surface  156  of seat  150  is against a front non-flat surface  138  of disc  130  with a gap  142 , a front surface  156 ′ of wave seat  150 ′ is against back surface  153  of seat  150  with a gap  142 ′, a front surface  168  of a retaining ring  165  is against back surface  153 ′ of seat  150 ′ with a gap  142 ″, as disc  130  is approached to a close position, conical outward seal surfaces  155 , 155 ′ are engaged with a substantially identical angle conical surface  108  of solid seat  107  for providing seals between wave seats  150 , 150 ′ and solid seat  107 , in meantime, wave seats  150 , 150 ′ are bended axially into gaps  142 , 142 ′ 142 ″ under the radial compression, gasp  142 , 142 ′ 142 ″ become smaller, conical inward seal surfaces  154 , 154 ′ are engaged with a substantially identical angle conical surface  136  of boss  137  for providing seals between wave seats  150 , 150 ′ and disc  130 . 
         [0057]    Referring FIGS.  13 , 14 , 15 , a rotary valve  100   a  is based on valve  100 , valve  100   a  has a body  101   a  including a recess  109   a , two wave seat  150   a , 150   a ′ disposed between a solid seat  135   a  of a disc  130   a  and recess  109   a  are defined respectively by inward conical surfaces  154   a ,  154   a ′, front non-flat surfaces  156   a ,  156   a ′, outward conical surfaces  155   a ,  155   a ′ and back non-flat surfaces  153   a , 153   a ′, front surface  156   a  of wave seat  150   a  is against surface  110   a  with a gap  142   a , front surface  156   a ′ of seat  150   a ′ is against back surface  153   a  of seat  150   a  with a gap  142   a ′, a front surface  168   a  of a retaining ring  165   a  is against back surface  153   a ′ of seat  150   a ′ with a gap  142   a ″, as disc  130   a  is approached to an open position from an closed position, inwardly conical seal surfaces  154   a , 154   a ′ are away from substantially identical conical surface  136   a  of solid seat  135   a , at meantime wave seat  150   a , 150   a ′ are tend to return to original position, while gaps  142   a ,  142   a ′ and  142   a ″ become larger and are trended to return to original shape without the radial compression, while conical outward seal surfaces  155   a , 155   a ′ are engaged with a substantially identical conical surface  111   a  of boss  109   a  for seals. 
         [0058]    Referring FIGS.  9 , 12 , 16 , 17 , 19 ,  20 , 21 , a step cylindrical boss  134  of disc  130  has three substantially identical plug hole  143  respectively with three retreat slots  144  equally circumferentially spanned and extending to groove  140 , each of three plugs  146  having an eccentric groove  147 , a drive slot  148  and a thread hole  149  is disposed in plug hole  143 , each of three lock rings  160  having a ring  164  with a wedge side surface  162  and a base  161  and a retreat hole  163  is movably disposed in groove  140 , each base  161  is extend into plug hole  143  and groove  147 , retaining ring  165  having an inside cylindrical surface  169  disposed on boss  134  of disc  130  has front surface  168  against wave seat  150 ′ and a groove  166  having a wedge side surface  167 , as plug  146  is rotated, a bottom of groove  147  is against base  161  outward, as a result, lock ring  160  is moving into groove  166 , wedge side surface  162  of lock ring  160  is engaged with a mating wedge side surface  167  of groove  166  of retaining ring  165  for converting a radial movement to an axial movement and securing seat  150 ′, after plug  146  is rotated fully against to base  161 , setscrew  127  in thread hole is tightened for preventing plug  146  from rotation, since an angle of wedge side  162  is substantially the same as that of wedge side surface  167  and is small enough to have self lock effect, because lock rings  160  is inserted into groove  166  after the plug is installed, plug  146  and lock ring  160  are interlocked, setscrew  127  is longer than slot  148 , so even plug  146  is in full loosed condition, non of plug  146  or setscrew  127  will fall out, retaining ring  165   a , lock plugs  146   a  and lock rings  160   a  in  FIG. 15  has the same function here. 
         [0059]    Referring  FIG. 22 , a rotary valve  100   b  based on valve  100  comprises a body  101   b , a closure assembly  124   b  with a stem  120   b  and a ball  130   b  and a wave seat  150   b  secured by retaining ring  165   b  and lock plugs  146   b  is disposed in body  101   b  for controlling flow in a flow port of  103   b , trims  180   b ,  180   b ′ are disposed in body  101   b  for reducing cavitation and noise, trim  180   b  with a groove  184   b  is installed in a flow port  103   b  and secured by two eccentric lock rings  185   b  disposed in groove  119   b , while trim  180   b ′ is installed in flow port  103   b  and secured by two pins  179   b  and step  189   b    
         [0060]    Referring FIGS.  23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , a rotary valve  100   c  based on valve  100  is used for reducing cavitation and noise, valve  100   c  comprises a body  101   c  having a flow port  103   c  with a groove  119   c , two position pins  179   c , two eccentric segment lock rings  185   c  and a pair of trims  180   c , 180   c ′, flow port  103   c  has a groove  119   c  and a step bore  118   c  having two position pin holes  117   c  in an opposite direction, segment cylindrical left trim  180   c ′ is disposed in flow port  103   c  by engagement between cylindrical step  189   c ′ and mating step bore  118   c  for preventing trim  180   c  from moving inwardly, two pins  179   c  are respectively disposed between the pin holes  117   c  and position holes  187   c ′ of trim  180   c ′ for preventing rotary movements of trim  180   c ′, trims  180   c ′ also comprises a flow opening  181   c ′ extended to spherical mating surface  183   c ′ having multiple through holes  188   c ′, said closure member  130   c  is rotated against the mating surface  183 ′ for throttling a flow and reducing cavitation and noise, while segment cylindrical right trim  180   c  having a groove  184   c  is disposed in flow port  103   c  by means of a pair of eccentric lock rings  185  disposed between groove  184   c  and groove  119   c  for preventing trim  180   c  from movement, as ring  185   c  with a retreat slot  186   c  is rotated, a bottom and a top of eccentric ring  185   c  will press bottoms of grooves  119   c    184   c  for securing trim  180   c , in case of high flow rate, ring  180   c  can be spot-welded with body  101   c , trims  180   c  also comprises a flow opening  181   c  extended to a spherical mating surface  183   c  having multiple through holes  188   c , said closure member  130   c  is rotated against the mating surface  183   c  for throttling flows and reducing cavitation and noise. 
         [0061]    Referring to  FIGS. 28-31 , a valve body  101   d  is used for inline seat repairable application without cutting welded pipe or valve body, valve body  101   d  based on valve body  101  comprises a conical outside surface  115   d  with a seat wedge opening  113   d  for replacing a seat (not shown) and a mating wedge cover  196   d  disposed in opening  113   d  with a cover gasket  197   d  for providing seals, a body ring  191   d  is mounted on outside surface  115   d  and secured by bolts  194   d  and nuts  199   d , body ring  191   d  comprises a conical outside surface  192   d  engaged with a secondary gasket  197   d  and substantially identical angle conical surface  115   d  for providing seals and reinforcing strength of body  101   d , a pair of mating wedged seat support rings  198   d ,  198   d ′ is inserted into body  101   d , support rings  198   d ,  198   d ′ are rotated for supporting and adjusting the seat horizontally. 
       ADVANTAGES 
       [0000]    
       
         1. Reliability. (1) High operational reliability is based on the closure member which is only one moving part secured by wedge-eccentric lock device between the disc and stem; (a) three spring bearings compensate any deformation of the stem under load and absorber any impact load on the stem and reduce the stress (b) the wedge-eccentric joint/lock device between disc and stem evenly distributes load between middle of the disc and middle of the stem without stress concentration and backlash reduce the hub&#39;s overstress which happen in most butterfly valves, even the stem is broken or under vibrations, the keys will not fall into the flow port (c) the wedge-eccentric-thread joint/lock device between retaining ring and seat is designed to hold the seat ring evenly and securely, there is an interlock function between lock ring and lock plug, the lock plugs will not fall into the flow port if the lock ring is broken or loosen up (2) high sealing reliability is based on (a) the wave seat seals, each metal wave seat seal has independent outward and inward seals, seal force is self balanced without preload, side load or side seal (b) K ring stem seal has self energized K ring and pressure/weight balanced laminated ring packing, the weights of stem and disc pushes the pair of compression ring down to help seal, while internal pressure pushes the pair of compression ring up to help seals, a pair of packing is disposed top and button of K ring is made of laminated metal ring or laminated graphite with metal (3) the redundancy for the seal system can be 2 to 6 as number of wave seat ring and packing increase, so it can be used for critical applications like jet, turbine engines air throttling or subsea flow controlling, there is no valve ever developed which has such a high level of reliability like this valve in this invention 
         2. Sealability. The triple offset mechanism only reduces or eliminates the rubbing between seat and closure member between closed and open positions, whether or not it can seal at closed position is other matter. For the first time in the metal butterfly valve history, the wave seat finally resolve the foundational issue for the metal seal butterfly valve, this valve is fully metal-sealed in both static and dynamic manners with ANSI Class VI leakage or bubble tight seal between ANSI class 150-4500, there is no temperature barrier or limit by seal materials like graphite, the seal capacity can take on working temperature between −250 F to 1450 F and to more with highly oxidative fluid or fluid with solid particles, while stem leakage can be between 3-50 ppm with seat sealing surface of fine surface 16 RMS or special coatings gold, sliver and nickel, since the seal assembly in the valve is self energized, compensated and pressure assistant seal, the all seal materials can be the same, there is no constant local adjustment for the whole valve. 
         3. Durability. It is related to four wearing compensation factors between the two parts (1) the novel metal spring bearings compensate any wearing between stem and bearing and absorber impact force due to opening and closing and prolongs life of stem (2) K ring with laminated metal packing provides a forever seal mechanism, any wearing between K ring and packings is compensated by self energized compression ring, downward force caused by weights of stem and disc and upward force caused by internal pressure (3) the wave seat seal acts as a disc spring to store torsion energy when it is approached to closed position and release torsion energy when it is approached to open position, as result the wearing and tearing due to the friction can be further reduced, the operating torque is only 50 to 65% of conventional metal butterfly operating torque, moreover the wave seat acts as a self balanced spring to compensate any wearing on the inward surface or outward surface within a limitedly known range of torque, while conventional metal seal butterfly valves act as an energy dissipater both in closing and opening processes, so the torsion energy can not be destroy or created, so the energy become heat and damages the seat in both closing and opening by forms of friction and heat, in meanwhile, all seals and spring bearing are self energized to compensate any wearing (4) non backlash key joint between the stem and disc eliminates any wearing between them, further the join comes with interlock and falling proof mechanisms, with all benefits of the invention, the valve can last 5 to 30 years without replacement or readjustment and away beyond any existing valve life in the valve industries 
         4. Efficiency. High efficiency comes from two aspects; operation and maintenance (1) with a pair of left and right replaceable trims for reducing noise and cavitations in between 0-60 degrees where most likely noise and cavitations happen, the capacity of this valve with the trims only reduce by 20% in comparison with 50 to 60% of capacity reduction for the same size control valve with noise and cavitation full trims, the trims can be easily replaced and installed between flange ends with pins or with eccentric lock rings and with triple offset ball, the valve can handle full port or reduced port applications (2) the inline repairable body is other advantage to keep cost down, the opening cover is cut from the original body, only things need are the gaskets and taped cover ring, wave seat rings can be easily replaced with seat wedge adjustable ring to secure the seats, yet the body is robust looks beautiful unlike conventional inline repairable body, in short, this invention enable the butterfly valve to break the ANSI class 1500 and 2500 barrier as good options to replace the high pressure ball and gate valve with compact and robust body with the weights about 40% of the same size ball valve weights or 70% of the same size gate valve. 
       
     
       CONCLUSION, RAMIFICATIONS AND SCOPE 
       [0066]    The present invention provides a revolutionary solution for fully metal to metal seal rotary valves, the wave seat in this invention finally solve the metal to metal seal problem, it complete change the conventional rotary metal seal, there are three distinguish differences between the conventional laminated seat and the wave seat (a) the wave seat completely eliminate graphite and the glue, so it breaks the temperature limit beyond 850 F for both dynamic and static seals, specially in jet or rocket engine applications where it is used for throttling high temperature, highly oxidative flows (b) each wave seat has a balanced, independent inward and outward seals and act as a reverse disc spring, it store and release torsion energy unlike the conventional triple offset butterfly valve as an energy dissipater, it not only reduces the torque by 40% and wearing, but increase life of the wave seat, while the conventional laminated seat has metal rings glued with graphite rings together and only one layer first or last to prevent leak in inward or outward seal seals, if the seal layer leaks, the whole seat will leak, while each wave seat has independent seals, based on location, front and back seat can be harder to handle fluid with the particle and buildup and provide good dynamic seals, while middle wave seat can be flexible to good static seals, so it be used for both throttling and shutoff (c) the wave seat has non-flat front and back surfaces without pre-side load and side seals, so any open or closed operation will not generate much friction or heat between the wave seats, such feature greatly increase the sealability as well as the life, the three features are co-existing, without one, the other two cannot exist, with the features the metal seal rotary valve finally can compete against conventional ball valve as well as gate valve at high pressure/temperature applications and sever service, while both gate and ball valve still struggled with unsolvable rubbing problem and tough metal seal issues for special applications where constant replacement of seat is impracticable like subsea devices, nuclear power plants. Finally, wave seats can installed on both the disc and body at the same time, so the replacement will be much cheap and easy in high erosive flow applications or under most sever conditions, while it is required that the ANSI class VI leakage, the body and disc will not replaced but the wave seat does, even wave seats to be replaced can last 5 to 30 years, the wave seat can maintain the class VI seal without replacement, second is outward and inward balanced surface seals, such a seal has no any back seat leak, when wave seat at open position is not under compression, there is no seal need, when wave seat at closed position, the seal force is balanced by inward and outward surfaces, while the seal force in the conventional metal seal butterfly is weakening the graphite side seal and preload to maintain the seal and unbalanced constantly 
         [0067]    The present invention provides a long sought solution—a novel wedge-eccentric—thread joint/lock mechanism to two fundamental problems; one is bolting joint between seat and retaining ring, other is key/pin joint between stem and disc in the conventional valve 
         [0000]    (a) This wedge-eccentric-thread joint/lock mechanism completely change the way of joint/lock between seat and retaining ring (1) 3 or 4 of lock rings to replace 4 to 36 of bolts for securing the retaining ring in the triple offset valve, the locking rings not only reduce the machining time and parts, risk of number of un-tighten bolts, but increase contact area about 3 to 4 times and the reliability of the joint by evenly distributing compression force on the retaining ring (2) the irreversible, redundant, independent wedge-eccentric join/lock mechanism to replace reversible, multiple, non-independent bolting join/lock mechanism, each wedge-eccentric join/lock mechanism is operated by a chain of function of setscrew for preventing rotation of lock plugs, the friction amplified by special surface textures or coatings between the lock plug hole and lock plug for preventing rotation of lock plugs, the wedge engagement with self lock angle between lock ring and groove of the retaining ring for preventing radial inward movement of lock ring, three or four wedge-eccentric-thread joint/lock mechanisms provide three or four redundancies of joint/locking, so any failure of one of the wedge-eccentric-thread join/lock mechanisms will not effect the other mechanisms, any failure of each wedge-eccentric-thread joint/lock mechanisms against the seat has to be accomplished by a series of actions of loosing setscrew, rotation of lock plug, inwardly radial movement of lock ring at the same time, but such a possibility is next to zero, with such high reliability, the valve can be used even under multiple extreme conditions such as a high vibration and high temperature like turbine engine applications due to different natures between wedge and eccentric mechanisms (b) This wedge-eccentric-thread joint/lock mechanism provides other solution for joint between stem and disc, with the middle balance keyways on the disc and two wedges on the stem, the wedge key joint evenly distributes the loading between hubs as compression, because of the wedge engagement between stem and keys, the stem no longer has high stress concentration, the clearance between stem and keys become one dimension unlike conventional keyway with two clearance in X and Y dimensions, the lock plug engaged with the wedge key on one side or two side can eliminated the clearance between stem and keys to prevent loss motion and backlash, which is very important for automation control, in term manufacturing process, cross milling the wedges on the stem is much easier and lower cost than the broaching or position milling keyway on the stem, moreover, wedged key will not fall in a pipeline system even under a loose condition, the load under pressure is shifted from the disc hubs and stem hub joint in the conventional butterfly valve to the center strong section of the disc and the stem, with the self lock angles, friction amplified texture surfaces and anti-loose screws, no screws will not loosen because of vibration or reaction forces, moreover, all bases are constantly engaged with grooves, length of setscrew is longer than that of slot, so no lock plug or setscrew will fall out, more importantly the wedge-eccentric-thread mechanism can be used for any other valves such as plug valves, ball valve, control valve and gate valves. 
         [0068]    The invention provides a breakthrough stem seal concept, just an opposite way to wave seat seal, it converts a dynamic radial seal to an dynamic axial seal, K ring  170  converts a radial seal on stem  120  to an axial seal between compression rings  171 , 171 ′ and packings  128 , 128 ′, according to hook law and Poisson ratio, preload on an axial seal is about ¼ of a radial seal, the conventional large gland, large bolts and exceed load are no longer needed in an axial seal, it is fire safe by nature, compression rings  171 , 171 ′ are metal, I ring  125  can become of part of the stem or made out of any material, metal, graphite, PTFE, in addition, since compression rings  171 , 171 ′ are fixed with stem  120  under compression, it acts a soft stem holder and reduce wearing on seats  150 , 150 ′. 
         [0069]    Other problem the invention solves is bidirectional seal, many valve makes claim that their triple offset valves are bidirectional, in fact when the valve is used for upstream seal, most valves will leak due to nature of the design and cumulative clearances, but with spring bearings  175  in this invention, when valve  100  is used for upstream seal, the spring bearing  175  with three pins is installed in stem hole, one solid pin is disposed in flow port direction, there are two spring pins installed in two opposite directional slots, so stem  120  is at an open position, stem  120  is rotated freely in the bearings, when stem  120  is closed position, all clearances are pressed against solid pin direction, while spring bearings with at least one spring pin can be used for high temperature applications, it will compensate thermal expansion of bearing  175  as well as stem  120 . 
         [0070]    The left and right trims in this invention provides a simple, low cost, flexible and effective solution for noise/cavitation reducing, it comprises a segment cylindrical bar having multiple holes, internal mating surface and flow port, the novel flexible connecting methods and the compact half cylindrical structure provide a wide applications, either with step bore and two position pins for flange, lug and wafer style bodies or eccentric lock ring disposed in two grooves on body and trim for long pattern bodies, they can be used either for retrofit with additional flanges, where sever cavitation happens or complete new valves, the trims not only save lot of material in comparison with conventional trims either complete cylindrical trim or a disc with an integral part of trims, but also provide more flow restriction where cavitation happens, more flow space where restricting flow is unnecessary, the multiple flow holes with internal mating surface provides a very effective way of dissipating the flow energy between fluid—solid interaction and reduce the velocity and noise. 
         [0071]    Finally the inline seat repairable body is other novel feature, it can save million dollars for fully welded valve either butterfly valve or ball valve, in most situations, only the seat is damaged, the seat cost is a small percentage of total cost of valve, but whole valve must be replaced, but with this feature, million valves will be saved, it is constructed as standard valve body with additional cutting, opening cover from original body will be reused along with gasket, body ring with a secondary gasket is provided for sealing and reinforcement, a comparison test indicates wedge opening structure is stronger than the conventional flat top openings by 15 to 30% and less leakage. 
         [0072]    Although the description above contains many specifications, these should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention but as merely providing illustration of some of the presently preferred embodiments of this invention. 
         [0073]    Thus, the scope of the invention should be determined by the appended claims and their legal equivalents, rather than by the examples given.