Search

KR-20260064699-A - Gate valve equipped with a removable cartridge

KR20260064699AKR 20260064699 AKR20260064699 AKR 20260064699AKR-20260064699-A

Abstract

The gate valve (1) comprises: a valve body (2) defining a valve body cavity (20) accessible through a valve upper entry opening (50); a removable bonnet (5) closing the upper entry opening (50); a sealing sheet (31) disposed in the valve body cavity (20); a gate closing member (33) held by a closing member holder (34) and movable linearly with respect to the valve body (2) and the sealing sheet (31); and a stem (6) comprising a first end connected to the closing member holder (34) and a second end protruding through the removable bonnet (5) and connected to a valve operating means (11). In such a valve, a sealing sheet (31) is connected to each support element (32) that is removablely received within the valve body cavity (20), and the support element (32) of the sealing sheet (31) defines a sheet (320) that receives a gate closing member (33) and a closing member holder (34) in the valve closed position, and the gate closing member (33), the closing member holder (34), the sealing sheet (31), and the support element (32) of the sealing sheet (31) form a removable closing member assembly (3) that can be inserted integrally into the valve body cavity (20) through an upper entry opening (50) and withdrawn therefrom by acting on the support element (32) of the sealing sheet (31).

Inventors

  • 스카글리아 피에란젤로
  • 레키 스테파노

Assignees

  • 부티 리서치 에스.알.엘.

Dates

Publication Date
20260507
Application Date
20240711
Priority Date
20230908

Claims (13)

  1. As a gate valve (1; 1';1"), the gate valve is - A valve body (2) having a side wall (21) and a bottom wall (22), wherein the side wall (21) is provided with a fluid inlet port (211) and a fluid outlet port (212) having a common axis (XX), and furthermore, the side wall (21) and the bottom wall (22) define a valve body cavity (20) accessible through a valve upper entry opening (50; 50"), the valve body (2). - A removable bonnet (5) that closes the upper entry opening (50; 50'); - A sealing sheet (31) placed inside the above valve body cavity (20), - As a gate closing member (33), the gate closing member (33) is held by a closing member holder (34) and is capable of moving linearly with respect to the valve body (2) and the sealing sheet (31) in a plane perpendicular to the common axis (XX) of the fluid inlet port (211) and the fluid outlet port (212), between a valve open position where the gate closing member (33) allows fluid flow through the valve body (2) and a valve closed position where the gate closing member (33) is sealed to the sealing sheet (31) to prevent fluid flow through the valve body (2). - A stem (6; 6") comprising a first end connected to the above-mentioned closing member holder (34), and a second end protruding through the above-mentioned removable bonnet (5) and connected to the valve operating means (11). Equipped with, The sealing sheet (31) is connected to each support element (32) that is removablely accommodated within the valve body cavity (20), and The support element (32) of the sealing sheet (31) defines a sheet (320) that accommodates the gate closing member (33) and the closing member holder (34) at the valve closing position, and The gate closing member (33), the closing member holder (34), the sealing sheet (31), and the support element (32) of the sealing sheet (31) form a removable closing member assembly (3) that can be inserted integrally into the valve body cavity (20) through the upper entry opening (50; 50") and withdrawn therefrom by acting on the support element (32) of the sealing sheet (31).
  2. In claim 1, the support element (32) of the sealing sheet (31) is directly or indirectly removablely connected to the removable bonnet (5), or is in direct or indirect longitudinal contact with the bonnet (5), gate valve (1; 1'; 1").
  3. In claim 1 or 2, the support element (32) of the sealing sheet (31) comprises a side wall (3211, 3213) having flat surfaces that at least partially define the sheet (320), a bottom wall (322), and an opening (323) facing the bottom wall (322), through which the gate closing member (33) and the closing member holder (34) can be inserted into and withdrawn from the sheet (320), and the side wall (3211, 3213) comprises a main surface (3211) provided to receive the sealing sheet (31) and having an opening (3212) coaxial with the fluid inlet port (211) and the fluid outlet port (212), and two mutually parallel flanks (3213) extending perpendicularly to the main surface (3211) from the transverse edges of the main surface. Valve(1; 1'; 1").
  4. In any one of claims 1 to 3, the support element (32) of the sealing sheet (31) comprises a guide means (3215) intended to work in cooperation with a corresponding guide means (3431) of the closure member holder (34) to guide the movement of the gate closure member (33) between the valve opening position and the valve closing position, gate valve (1; 1'; 1").
  5. In any one of claims 1 to 4, the side wall (21) of the valve body (2) has an inner surface including a first flat surface (213) through which the fluid outflow port (212) opens into the valve body cavity (20), and the first flat surface (213) is perpendicular to the common axis (X-X) of the fluid inflow port (211) and the fluid outflow port (212), and the side wall of the valve body also includes a second flat surface (214) axially opposite to the first flat surface (213) through which the fluid inflow opening (211) opens into the valve body cavity (20), and the second flat surface (214) is inclined longitudinally with respect to the common axis (X-X), and in the valve assembly state, the sealing sheet (31) is in contact with the first flat surface (213), and the closing member holder (34) is In the valve closed position, the gate valve (1; 1'; 1") contacts the second flat surface (214) by each correspondingly longitudinally inclined flat contact surface (3412).
  6. In any one of claims 1 to 5, the stem (6) is an extended stem, the valve body (2) has a valve body extension (4), the valve body extension together with the valve body (2) defines the valve internal chamber (40) and defines the upper entry opening (50), the support element (32) of the sealing sheet (31) has a support element extension (8), the support element extension has a first longitudinal end (81) that is removablely connected to the support element (32) of the sealing sheet (31) and a second longitudinal end (82) located near or at the upper entry opening (50), gate valve (1; 1').
  7. In claim 6, the second longitudinal end (82) is longitudinally abutted to the removable bonnet (5) or connected to the valve removable upper member (820), and the upper member (820) is located at the upper entry opening (50) and is longitudinally abutted to the bonnet (5) directly or indirectly, gate valve (1; 1').
  8. In claim 6 or 7, the support element extension (8) is a tubular member surrounding the extended stem (6), a gate valve (1; 1').
  9. In claim 8, a gate valve (1; 1') further comprising a bellows seal (9) disposed around the extended stem (6) within an annular hollow space (80) defined between the tubular member and the extended stem (6).
  10. In claim 9, the gate valve (1; 1') further comprises a sealing plate (820) that sealably closes the tubular member at the second longitudinal end (82), and the longitudinal end of the bellows seal (9) is fixed to one side of the sealing plate (820).
  11. A gate valve (1) further comprising, in any one of claims 6 to 10, a thermal insulation assembly (7) configured to be removablely accommodated within the inner chamber (40) and to thermally separate a first region of the inner chamber (40) adjacent to the valve body (2) from a second region of the inner chamber (40) adjacent to the upper entry opening (50).
  12. In claim 11, the gate valve (1), wherein the closure member assembly (3), the support element extension (8) of the support element (32) of the sealing sheet (31), the extended stem (6), and the thermal insulation assembly (7) form a removable unit (10) that can be inserted integrally into the inner chamber (40) through the upper entry opening (50) and withdrawn therefrom.
  13. A gate valve (1) further comprising, in any one of claims 1 to 12, a valve body (2) and, where present, a jacket (12) surrounding the valve body extension (4) and preferably forming a hollow space (120) around it.

Description

Gate valve equipped with a removable cartridge The present invention generally falls within the technical field of gate valves. In particular, the present invention relates to a gate valve comprising a valve body accessible through an upper entry opening, wherein a gate closing member and each sealing seat can be inserted into and withdrawn from the valve body through the upper entry opening. The gate valve of the present invention can be easily manufactured as a valve having an extended configuration, and is preferably used for cryogenic applications, but is not limited thereto. Gate valves are widely known and used today in both the private and industrial sectors, particularly as shut-off valves, due to their advantageous hydrodynamic performance (especially the ability to achieve very low pressure drop and high flow rates when the valve is open) and their relatively simple and compact structure. In various industrial applications, there is a need for valves that can be maintained even when installed in-line. For this purpose, valves with an upper entry configuration have been developed, in which the closing member and each seal seat(s) can be inserted into or withdrawn from the valve body through the valve's upper entry opening. This configuration enables access for maintenance or replacement of the valve body and the valve components most susceptible to wear—namely the closing member and seal seat(s)—without the need to remove the valve from each line. In particular, as a gate valve of an upper entry configuration, it is known that, in addition to the gate closing member, sealing seat(s) are also removablely accommodated within the valve body cavity. In this case, to perform work on these components, the bonnet closing the upper entry opening of the valve must first be removed. The valve stem is removed, simultaneously with or after the removal of the bonnet, along with the gate closing member, which is typically supported by a closing member holder removablely connected to the end of the stem itself. At this point, the valve body cavity is freely accessible and the sealing seat(s) can be removed. The valve can be reassembled by performing the same steps described above in reverse order. Although the steps described above can be performed with the valve installed in the line, it has been found that the combination of the need to directly access the valve body cavity to remove and subsequently reposition the sealing seat(s) and the fact that the sealing seat(s) and the closing member must be withdrawn from and inserted into the valve body cavity separately—that is, in two different steps—can make maintenance work practically quite complex and time-consuming. This is particularly evident in valves with extended configurations, but is not limited thereto, where the work to be performed inside the valve body cavity becomes more difficult because the distance between the upper entry opening and the valve body cavity itself is longer. In light of the foregoing, the main objective of the present invention is to provide a gate valve having an upper entry opening, through which a gate closing member and a respective sealing sheet can be inserted into and withdrawn from the valve body, and also to enable easier and faster maintenance than conventional gate valves of the same type even in an in-line installation state. More specifically, the object of the present invention is to provide a gate valve of the aforementioned type, the structure of which simplifies and reduces the work that must be performed inside the valve body for maintenance. Another objective of the present invention is to provide a gate valve having the aforementioned features, having a structure as simple as possible, and being manufactureable at a competitive cost. According to the present invention, this objective is achieved by a gate valve having the features of claim 1. In particular, the present invention relates to a gate valve comprising the following: - A valve body having a side wall and a bottom wall, wherein the side wall is provided with a fluid inlet port and a fluid outlet port having a common axis, and further, the side wall and the bottom wall define a valve body cavity accessible through an upper valve entry opening, the valve body - A removable bonnet that closes the upper entry opening; - A sealing sheet disposed within the above valve body cavity, - A gate closing member, which is maintained by a closing member holder and is capable of moving linearly with respect to the valve body and the sealing sheet in a plane perpendicular to the common axis of the fluid inlet port and the fluid outlet port, between a valve open position in which the gate closing member allows fluid flow through the valve body and a valve closed position in which the gate closing member is sealed to the sealing sheet to prevent fluid flow through the valve body, and - A stem comprising a first end connected to the above-mentioned closing member holder,