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Nonlinear sealing force of a seawater balance valve used in an 11000-meter manned submersible

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Abstract

Balance valve is a core component of the 11000-meter manned submersible “struggle,” and its sealing performance is crucial and challenging when the maximum pressure difference is 118 MPa. The increasing sealing force improves the sealing performance and increases the system’s energy consumption at the same time. A hybrid analytical—numerical—experimental (ANE) model is proposed to obtain the minimum sealing force, ensuring no leakage at the valve port and reducing energy consumption as much as possible. The effects of roundness error, environmental pressure, and materials on the minimum sealing force are considered in the ANE model. The basic form of minimum sealing force equations is established, and the remaining unknown coefficients of the equations are obtained by the finite element method (FEM). The accuracy of the equation is evaluated by comparing the independent FEM data to the equation data. Results of the comparison show good agreement, and the difference between the independent FEM data and equation data is within 3% when the environmental pressure is 0–118 MPa. Finally, the minimum sealing force equation is applied in a balance valve to be experimented using a deep-sea simulation device. The balance valve designed through the minimum sealing force equation is leak-free in the experiment. Thus, the minimum sealing force equation is suitable for the ultrahigh pressure balance valve and has guiding significance for evaluating the sealing performance of ultrahigh pressure balance valves.

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Abbreviations

ANE:

Analytical—numerical—experimental

FEM:

Finite element method

SHVBS:

Seawater hydraulic variable ballast system

a :

Half of contact width between the ball and the valve seat

C 1 :

A correction factor

C 2, C 3 :

Unknown coefficients used to account for the simplification of the model

d :

Inlet diameter

d b :

Diameter of the ball

D :

Push rod diameter

E :

Young’s modulus of the ball or valve seat

E* :

Equivalent elastic modulus of the ball and valve seat

E 1, E 2 :

Elastic moduli of the ball and the valve seat, respectively

E b, E c :

Elastic modulus of the bearing and the cylinder, respectively

E r :

Relative error

F :

Sealing force between the ball and the valve seat

F h :

Hydraulic force caused by the area difference between the push rod and the inlet

F h1, F h2 :

Hydraulic forces generated by the push rod area and the inlet area, respectively

F min :

Minimum sealing force between the ball and the valve seat

F s :

Spring force

G :

Shear modulus of the ball or valve seat

IT:

Machining accuracy of the valve seat

K :

Bulk modulus of the ball or valve seat

l :

Length of the cylinder in the contact zone

p :

Setting pressure inside the deep-sea simulation device

p e :

Environmental pressure

P :

Normal load on the valve seat

Q :

Rated flow of the balance valve

r :

Contact circle between the ball and the valve seat

R :

Radius of the ball

x :

Position at the contact zone

δ :

Radial deformation of the valve seat

Δ:

Roundness error of the valve seat

v 1, v 2 :

Poisson’s ratios of the ball and the valve seat, respectively

V b, V c :

Poisson’s ratios of the bearing and the cylinder, respectively

σ :

Total contact stress between the ball and the valve seat

σ 1 :

Compensated contact stress generated by the spring force

σ 2 :

Net contact stress

σ max :

Maximum contact stress between the ball and the valve seat

σ s :

Tensile yield strength of the ball or valve seat

σ sc :

Compressive yield strength of the ball or valve seat

θ :

Half cone angle of the valve seat

γ :

Structural parameters of the bearing

ρ :

Density of the ball or valve seat

ξ :

Functional relationship between roundness error and spring force

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 52122502, 51879114, and 52075192).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Mechanical Science and Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430074, China

    Zhenyao Wang, Yinshui Liu, Qian Cheng, Runzhou Xu, Yunxiang Ma & Defa Wu

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  1. Zhenyao Wang
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  2. Yinshui Liu
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Correspondence to Defa Wu.

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Wang, Z., Liu, Y., Cheng, Q. et al. Nonlinear sealing force of a seawater balance valve used in an 11000-meter manned submersible. Front. Mech. Eng. 18, 10 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11465-022-0726-y

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