PFI-TT: High Performance, Highly Efficient Valves for Controlling Gas Flows

University Of Minnesota-Twin Cities, Minneapolis MN

Investigators

Abstract

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Partnerships for Innovation - Technology Translation (PFI-TT) project is to bring a new high performance gas valve technology to market. The term gases refers to fluids that have neither shape nor volume, such as air. It is not limited to, but includes, natural gas. Gas valves, also known as pneumatic valves, are used in a huge variety of industrial and medical products. Two applications of particular interest to this project are gas flow controllers for semiconductor fabrication and medical ventilators. The new valves offer extremely fast response and precise flow control, which is beneficial to both applications. For example, improving valve performance in semiconductor fabrication equipment will help increase circuit density in microfabrication processes, thereby facilitating the continuing evolution of microelectronic systems. The valves are also extremely energy efficient, which makes them particularly attractive for use in portable medical devices, such as ventilators used in emergency response vehicles. New microfabrication techniques will be explored for producing low leakage valves that may have application in additional products. The valves developed here have the potential to benefit the gas valve industry as the technology matures. Emerging applications include soft robotics and fusion reactor control systems. The proposed project capitalizes on a discovery of a novel valve technology. The valves function by varying the size of a channel through which the gas flows. Channel size is decreased by moving a plate toward an orifice and vice versa. A highly efficient electric actuator, called a "piezostack", is used to move the plate. However, piezostacks can produce only very small motions, typically tens of micrometers. As a result, past valves using piezostacks have low flow capacity. The valves overcome the flow capacity limitation by replacing a single orifice with an array of micro-orifices. The objective of the research is to advance the new valve technology from a laboratory demonstration to a marketable product and to formulate a commercialization plan for the new valves. The research will yield a valve prototype that can demonstrate the advantages of the new technology to manufacturers of gas valves. Computational fluid mechanics will be used to study flow through the valve to develop improved methods for designing them. New micro-manufacturing methods will be explored to reduce leakage. The technical goals are to maximize flow through the valve, minimize leakage in the fully closed position, and minimize manufacturing cost. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.