US-12618400-B2 - Valve for a piston compressor, and method for operating such a valve

US12618400B2US 12618400 B2US12618400 B2US 12618400B2US-12618400-B2

Abstract

A valve for a reciprocating compressor having a valve seat with a plurality of flow channels which open into an end face of the valve seat; a valve plate having a planar sealing surface which is designed to control the flow channels of the valve seat and has passage openings which are spatially offset relative to the flow channels of the valve seat, at least one projection being arranged on the end face of the valve seat, which projection projects into a passage opening of the valve plate at least in a closed valve state.

Inventors

Reiner Schulz

Assignees

BURCKHARDT COMPRESSION AG

Dates

Publication Date: 20260505
Application Date: 20230210
Priority Date: 20220210

Claims (13)

1 . A valve for a piston compressor, comprising a valve seat with a plurality of flow channels that open into an end face of the valve seat; a valve plate having a planar sealing surface which is designed to control the flow channels of the valve seat; wherein the valve plate extends in a plane parallel to the end face of the valve seat, is arranged concentrically to the valve seat and has passage openings which are spatially offset relative to the flow channels of the valve seat, wherein at least one projection is arranged on the end face of the valve seat which, at least in a closed valve state, projects into a passage opening of the valve plate, wherein the at least one projection is designed as a part that can be inserted into the valve seat and removed from the valve seat, the at least one projection is made of plastic, and the valve seat is made of metal.
2 . The valve according to claim 1 , further comprising a catcher which is arranged such that the valve plate extends between the valve seat and the catcher.
3 . The valve according to claim 2 , wherein springs are arranged on the catcher to load the valve plate against the end face of the valve seat.
4 . The valve according to claim 2 , further comprising an auxiliary plate extending between the valve plate and the catcher in a plane parallel to the end face of the valve seat.
5 . The valve according to claim 4 , wherein springs that are arranged on the catcher to load the valve plate against the end face of the valve seat protrude through holes in the auxiliary plate to load the valve plate against the end face of the valve seat.
6 . The valve according to claim 4 , wherein the passage openings of the valve plate are formed as arcuate slots and the projections on the end face of the valve seat are formed as corresponding arcuate projections.
7 . The valve according to claim 1 , wherein in the closed valve state, the planar sealing surface of the valve plate rests in contact areas on the end face of the valve seat, wherein the contact areas extend perpendicularly to the flow channels of the valve seat.
8 . The valve according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one projection is a plurality of projections arranged on the end face of the valve seat, which at least in the closed valve state each project into a corresponding passage openings of the valve plate.
9 . The valve according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one projection has a cross-section which tapers towards the valve plate.
10 . A piston compressor comprising a valve according to claim 1 .
11 . A method of operating a valve for a reciprocating compressor, the valve comprising a valve seat and a valve plate, wherein the valve seat has a plurality of flow channels and an end face into which the flow channels open, and the valve plate has passage openings which are spatially offset relative to the flow channels of the valve seat, wherein in a closed valve state the valve plate blocks the flow channels and releases them in an open valve state, and wherein the valve plate assumes the open state when it automatically lifts off the valve seat due to a fluid pressure applied to the valve, so that fluid flows through the flow channels of the valve seat and downstream through the passage openings of the valve plate, wherein fluid is directed via at least one projection, arranged on the valve plate of the valve seat, into a passage opening of the valve plate, wherein the at least one projection is designed as a part that can be inserted into the valve seat and removed from the valve seat, the at least one projection is made of plastic, and the valve seat is made of metal.
12 . The method according to claim 11 , wherein the fluid is directed via the at least one projection, and the at least one projection is a plurality of projections arranged on the end face of the valve seat into a respective corresponding passage opening of the valve plate.
13 . The method according to claim 11 , wherein the fluid is directed into at least one passage opening of the valve plate via at least one projection tapering towards the valve plate.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This application is the U.S. national phase of PCT Application No. PCT/EP2023/053362 filed on Feb. 10, 2023, which claims priority to EP Patent Application No. 22156044.4 filed on Feb. 10, 2022, the disclosures of which are incorporated in their entirety by reference herein. The invention relates to the technical field of reciprocating compressors. Nowadays, inlet and outlet valves for reciprocating compressors with larger stroke volumes, plate valves with a number of concentrically arranged flow openings are mostly used, which are usually covered by a valve plate made of steel or plastic. With one-piece valve plates, all areas of the plate are forced to move together, which results in a relatively uniform load when opening and closing. However, such plates have disadvantages in terms of flow control and the associated flow losses. It has already been proposed to provide plate valves with sealing surfaces that are inclined in the direction of flow, both on the valve seat and on the valve plate. This leads to less flow deflection and therefore lower flow losses. Such profiled valve seats and valve plates were described in AT514712A1. However, the valve plates used therein have the disadvantage that in the event of unavoidable, minimal dimensional deviations during manufacture and/or different thermal expansion behavior, small gaps inevitably form in sealing rings with inclined seating surfaces, which only close after the closing pressure is applied due to deformation of the ring. The connecting radial bars between the sealing rings must therefore be specially designed to counteract this undesirable sealing behavior. The production of the sealing plate is complex and cost-intensive. It is therefore the problem of the present invention to overcome the disadvantages in the prior art. In particular, it is the problem of the present invention to provide a valve for a reciprocating compressor which ensures improved flow control, wherein the valve plate can nevertheless be manufactured simply and inexpensively. This problem is solved by a valve and a method having the features of the independent claims. The problem is solved in particular by a valve for a piston compressor, comprising a valve seat with a plurality of flow channels that open into an end face of the valve seat;a valve plate having a planar sealing surface which is designed to control the flow channels of the valve seat; wherein the valve plate extends in a plane parallel to the end face of the valve seat, is arranged concentrically to the valve seat and has passage openings which are spatially offset relative to the flow channels of the valve seat, characterized in that at least one projection is arranged on the end face of the valve seat, which, at least in a closed valve state, projects into a passage opening of the valve plate. For the purposes of the invention, a “planar” design of the sealing surface means that the valve plate does not have a profiled sealing surface, in particular does not have a beveled edge of a passage opening towards the valve seat. Typically, the valve plate has no protrusions or indentations at all. The valve plate is particularly preferably formed from a planar substrate, for example a stainless steel sheet, in particular punched, milled or cut. Typically, an angle of essentially 90° is formed therewith between the sealing surface and the walls of the passage openings. The advantage of the valve according to the invention is that the flow deflection is optimized and flow losses are reduced, which improves the valve efficiency. Nevertheless, the planar valve plate can be manufactured cost-effectively and efficiently. The planar sealing surface of the preferably one-piece valve plate ensures a uniform load during opening and closing across the various areas of the sealing surface. Due to the uniform nature of the surface, the leakage rate can be kept low. In a preferred embodiment, the valve as described above additionally comprises a catcher, which is arranged such that the valve plate extends between the valve seat and the catcher. The catcher may have recesses, e.g. blind bores, to accommodate springs. The valve as described above may include springs arranged on the catcher to load the valve plate against the face of the valve seat so that the valve is closed when depressurized. It is preferable that the valve plate and the valve seat each have the shape of an annular plate. It is particularly preferable that the flow channels and the passage openings are each designed as slots in the form of concentric circular arcs when viewed from above. Plate valves of this type are known in various designs. When such valves are operated, the valve plate performs a lifting movement between the valve seat and the catcher, alternately closing (closed valve state) and opening (open valve state) the flow channels of the valve seat. However, such plate valves tend to suffer flow losses due to the c