Durable for high-frequency and high-speed opening and closing use.
Traditionally, ball valves and butterfly valves have been widely used as compressed air-operated automatic valves that can open and close quickly and have low fluid flow resistance. However, they have had issues with "durability and high-speed operation." These issues are rarely problematic under normal usage conditions, but they can become significant in the switching valves for cooling water in the hot rolling lines of steel mills, which are used for high-frequency and high-speed opening and closing. Because the valve seat is made of a dynamic seal or metal seat, repeated operations lead to wear and damage of the valve seat, making it difficult to maintain good sealing performance over long periods. The limit for the number of open and close cycles was around 100,000 to 200,000 (about 10,000 to 20,000 cycles if the internal fluid is gas). Additionally, in cases of short opening and closing times (high-speed operation), the rapid stopping can cause a water hammer phenomenon, leading to a sudden pressure rise upstream of the valve, which adversely affects the seat packing and the valve body support bearings. This can damage the seat packing and support bearings, rendering the valve inoperable.
To address these issues, we began the development of a cylinder valve as an automatic operation valve. As a result, we were able to not only solve the aforementioned problems but also complete the valve with various additional features.