Patent ID: 8066031

Claim:
An electro-hydraulic valve apparatus comprising: a flow channel configured for transmission of a fluid; a hydraulic control channel adjacent to the flow channel; a flexible wall interposed between the flow channel and the hydraulic control channel at the electro-hydraulic valve junction, the flexible wall transitioning between an undeformed state and a deformed state, the deformed state occluding the flow channel; a bi-phase material within the hydraulic control channel adjacent to the electro-hydraulic valve junction, the bi-phase material having a solid phase and a liquid phase, the bi-phase material having a melting point higher than a melting point of the fluid; and a heating/cooling element adjacent to the hydraulic control channel, the heating/cooling element being controllable to generate sufficient energy to cause the bi-phase material to selectively transition between the solid phase and the liquid phase so as to transition the flexible wall between the deformed state and the undeformed state, and further including: an on-board, blow-down hydraulic pressure source operatively connected to the hydraulic control channel, wherein the on-board, blow-down hydraulic pressure source comprises a pressurized fluid source, a single-use valve, and a hydraulic sink.