GB2555664A

GB2555664A - Valve assembly for use in a fluid conduit

Info

Publication number: GB2555664A
Application number: GB1703595.7A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Higgins Steven
Original assignee: Gall Thomson Environmental Ltd
Current assignee: Gall Thomson Environmental Ltd
Priority date: 2017-03-07
Filing date: 2017-03-07
Publication date: 2018-05-09
Anticipated expiration: 2037-03-07
Also published as: GB201703595D0; GB2555664B

Abstract

A valve assembly, for use in a fluid conduit, comprises an assembly housing 22, 24, a valve 26, and an energised seal 38. The housing 22, 24 defines a hollow bore, and the valve 26, which can be a petal valve, is moveable between open and closed positions. In the open position flowable material is allowed to flow through the bore, and in the closed position it prevents flowable material from flowing through the bore. The energised seal 38 seals a clearance zone between the valve 26 and the assembly housing 22, 24 when the valve 26 is in the valve closed position. The valve 26 can be mounted on the housing 22, 24 and can be rotatable between the open and closed positions. The energised seal 38 can include a flexible jacket housing which can have a pair of lips defining an open profile. This open profile can be U-shaped or V-shaped. A resilient element, such as a spring, can be housed within the jacket housing, between the lips. A pipeline coupling comprises the valve assembly previously described, and this coupling is used as a breakaway or release coupling.

Description

(54) Title of the Invention: Valve assembly for use in a fluid conduit Abstract Title: Valve assembly with energised seal (57) A valve assembly, for use in a fluid conduit, comprises an assembly housing 22, 24, a valve 26, and an energised seal 38. The housing 22, 24 defines a hollow bore, and the valve 26, which can be a petal valve, is moveable between open and closed positions. In the open position flowable material is allowed to flow through the bore, and in the closed position it prevents flowable material from flowing through the bore. The energised seal 38 seals a clearance zone between the valve 26 and the assembly housing 22, 24 when the valve 26 is in the valve closed position. The valve 26 can be mounted on the housing 22, 24 and can be rotatable between the open and closed positions. The energised seal 38 can include a flexible jacket housing which can have a pair of lips defining an open profile. This open profile can be U-shaped or V-shaped. A resilient element, such as a spring, can be housed within the jacket housing, between the lips. A pipeline coupling comprises the valve assembly previously described, and this coupling is used as a breakaway or release coupling.

22,24 ²⁶ 30

Figure 3

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Figure 2a

2/4

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Figure 3

22,24

Figure 4

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Figure 5b

VALVE ASSEMBLY FOR USE IN A FLUID CONDUIT

This invention relates to a valve assembly and a pipeline coupling for use in a fluid conduit, such as a pipeline.

It is known to use a valve to control the flow of flowable material through a fluid conduit. The valve may be activated so as to be in a valve closed position, thus preventing the flow of flowable material through the fluid conduit.

According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a valve assembly, for use in a fluid conduit, comprising:

an assembly housing defining a hollow bore along which flowable material may flow;

a valve moveable between a valve open position and a valve closed position, the valve when in the valve open position opening the hollow bore so as to allow flowable material to flow along the hollow bore, the valve when in the valve closed position closing the hollow bore so as to prevent flowable material from flowing along the hollow bore; and an energised seal arranged to seal a clearance zone between the valve and the assembly housing when the valve is in the valve closed position.

When the valve is in the valve closed position, it is desirable to prevent any leakage of flowable material past the closed valve. The configuration of the valve in the valve assembly may be such that a clearance zone must be present between the valve and the assembly housing in order to allow the valve to move between the valve open and closed positions, and the clearance zone cannot be closed off by the valve itself. For example, the valve may be configured to be rotatable between the valve open position and the valve closed position. The presence of the clearance zone between the valve and the assembly housing however may result in the leakage of flowable material past the closed valve via the clearance zone when the valve is in the valve closed position.

Conventionally elastomer seals with circular cross-sections, which are also commonly known as Ο-rings, are used to provide a seal between the valve and the assembly housing. A typical installation of an O-ring to seal the clearance zone between a valve and an assembly housing is shown in Figure 1. Such sealing of the clearance zone between the valve and the assembly housing relies on the magnitude of the contact force between the valve and the assembly housing to provide the required compression of the seal.

In comparison to the conventional O-ring, the provision of an energised seal in the valve assembly of the invention provides a more effective seal of the clearance zone between the valve and the assembly housing when the valve is in the valve closed position. This is because the energy contained within the energised seal can be used to provide the desired sealing between the valve and the assembly housing, which allows any external sealing force to be reduced. In other words, the integrity of the sealing of the clearance zone between the valve and the assembly housing is not required to rely heavily on the magnitude of the contact force between the valve and the assembly housing.

The configuration of the valve in the valve assembly may vary. For example, the valve may be mounted on the assembly housing. When the valve is rotatable between the valve open position and the valve closed position, the valve may be pivotally mounted on the assembly housing.

The energised seal may be arranged in different ways to enable it to readily seal the clearance zone between the valve and the assembly housing when the valve is in the valve closed position. In an exemplary arrangement, the energised seal may be located between the valve and the assembly housing. In a further exemplary arrangement, the energised seal may be arranged to be compressed between the valve and the assembly housing to seal the clearance zone between the valve and the assembly housing when the valve is in the valve closed position. In a still further exemplary arrangement, the energised seal may be located in a receptacle in the assembly housing.

The energised seal may have an annular shape. This allows the energised seal to provide effective sealing of a clearance zone that is formed around the cross-section of the hollow bore of the assembly housing.

The energised seal may be shaped to provide anisotropic sealing of the clearance zone between the valve and the assembly housing when the valve is in the valve closed position. An energised seal configured to provide such anisotropic sealing is more efficient at sealing the clearance zone between the valve and the assembly housing in comparison to a conventional O-ring seal that acts equally in all directions.

The energised seal may be configured in different ways so that it contains the required energy to provide the desired sealing of the clearance zone between the valve and the assembly housing.

In embodiments of the invention, the energised seal may be shaped to have a resilient geometry. Such resiliency provides the energised seal with the required energy to provide the desired sealing of the clearance zone between the valve and the assembly housing.

In further embodiments of the invention, the energised seal may include a flexible jacket housing.

The jacket housing may include a pair of lips defining an open profile of the jacket housing. In such embodiments, the open profile of the jacket housing may be U-shaped, substantially U-shaped, V-shaped, or substantially V-shaped.

The provision of the pair of lips defining an open profile of the jacket housing provides the energised seal with a flexible geometry.

In addition the provision of the pair of lips defining an open profile of the jacket housing enables pressure from the flowable material blocked by the valve and the seal to energise the lips in order to assist in sealing the clearance zone between the valve and the assembly housing. This allows the lips to compensate for any dimensional discrepancy between the valve and the assembly housing, thus further improving the effectiveness of the sealing of the clearance zone.

The energised seal may further include a resilient element housed within the jacket housing. The resilient element provides the energised seal with the required energy to provide the desired sealing of the clearance zone between the valve and the assembly housing.

When the jacket housing includes the pair of lips, the resilient element may be located between the pair of lips. This allows the resilient element to act on the pair of lips to provide the sealing of the clearance zone between the valve and the assembly housing when the valve is in the valve closed position.

The resilient element may be, but is not limited to, a spring element.

The valve may be, but is not limited to, a petal valve.

According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a pipeline coupling, for use in a fluid conduit, comprising the valve assembly according to the first aspect of the invention or any one of its embodiments.

The features and advantages of the valve assembly of the first aspect of the invention and its embodiments apply mutatis mutandis to the pipeline coupling of the second aspect of the invention.

The pipeline coupling may include a pair of shut-off valve housings releasably coupled to each other, the shut-off valve housings configured to be decoupleable from each other, wherein at least one of the shut-off valve housings includes the valve assembly according to the first aspect of the invention or any one of its embodiments, the or each valve being biased to move to the valve closed position on separation of the shut-off valve housings.

Examples of pipeline couplings includes a breakaway coupling (such as a marine breakaway coupling) and a release coupling (such as an emergency release coupling).

Pipeline couplings are used in situations where a fluid conduit may be exposed to a tensile loading which, in the absence of a pipeline coupling, could cause the fluid conduit to fracture. Typically such a fluid conduit may be one used for carrying material between two locations, e.g. between ships or between a ship and a dock. If such a fracture occurs, the material being conveyed along the fluid conduit flows freely out of the fractured ends of the fluid conduit. This can cause significant spillage that is expensive to clear and may be environmentally undesirable. The presence of a pipeline coupling enables the fluid conduit to fracture at a specified location (i.e. at the coupling) and for spillage to be avoided by the valve moving to the valve closed position to close the hollow bore of the fluid conduit when the fluid conduit fractures.

According to a third aspect of the invention, there is provided a use of a pipeline coupling as a breakaway coupling or a release coupling, wherein the pipeline coupling is in accordance with the second aspect of the invention or any one of its embodiments.

A preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of a non-limiting example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 shows a conventional O-ring seal for use in a pipeline coupling;

Figures 2a and 2b show schematically a pipeline coupling according to an embodiment of the invention;

Figure 3 shows schematically a shut-off valve housing of the pipeline coupling of Figures 2a and 2b;

Figure 4 shows schematically an energised seal of the shut-off valve housing of Figure 3; and

Figures 5a and 5b show schematically close up views of the energised seal of Figure 4.

The figures are not necessarily to scale, and certain features and certain views of the figures may be shown exaggerated in scale or in schematic form in the interests of clarity and conciseness.

A pipeline coupling according to an embodiment of the invention is shown in Figures 2a and 2b, and is designated generally by the reference numeral 20. The pipeline coupling is preferably for use as a breakaway coupling (such as a marine breakaway coupling) or a release coupling (such as an emergency release coupling).

As shown in Figure 2a, the pipeline coupling 20 comprises a pair of shut-off valve housings 22,24 directly secured to each other by means of a plurality of fastening arrangements (not shown). The shut-off valve housings 22,24 define a hollow bore along which flowable material may flow. In use, the shut-off valve housings 22,24 are respectively coupled to first and second pipeline portions (not shown) such that securing the shut-off valve housings 22,24 to each other interconnects the first and second pipeline portions to form a pipeline.

The fastening arrangements may be configured to permit controlled separation of the shutoff valve housings 22,24 from each other on operation of an actuator operably engaged with each fastening arrangement.

Alternatively the fastening arrangements may be configured to each include a respective frangible element such as a breakstud, which is formed to include a weakened portion that breaks on exposure to a tensile load exceeding a predetermined limit. Such a tensile load may be applied to the pipeline as a result of unexpected movement of objects connected to the ends of the pipeline or due to excessive pressure within the pipeline. The use of a respective breakstud with the weakened portion permits the automatic separation of the shut-off valve housings 22,24 in response to the tensile load exceeding a predetermined limit. More particularly, upon application of such a tensile load, each breakstud breaks at its weakest section, thus permitting the shut-off valve housings 22,24 to separate from each other. Such automatic separation can be carried out independently of any control and/or monitoring system.

A respective petal valve 26 is located within the hollow bore of each shut-off valve housing 22,24, as shown in Figure 2b. Each petal valve 26 includes a plurality of petal elements, each of which has a pivot portion 28 and a valve portion 30. It will be understood that each petal valve 26 may include any number of petal elements. The plurality of petal elements may be identical in shape and/or size, or may differ from each other in terms of their shapes and/or sizes.

The valve portion 30 of each petal element is pivotally moveable relative to the hollow bore via the respective pivot portion 28 that is pivotally mounted to the wall of the respective shut-off valve housing 22,24. Each petal element is rotatable between a fully retracted position which corresponds to a valve open position of the corresponding petal valve 26, and a fully extended position which corresponds to a valve closed position of the corresponding petal valve 26. In the valve closed position of each petal valve 26, all the valve portions 30 abut one another to form a cone which faces or opposes the direction of flow of the flowable material along the pipeline. For each petal valve 26, the apex of the cone defines a meeting point for all the petal elements when the petal valve 26 is in the valve closed position. It will be appreciated that the edge of one or more of the petal elements may optionally include a seal formed thereon.

Each petal valve 26 when in the valve open position opens the hollow bore of the corresponding shut-off valve housing 22,24 so as to allow flowable material to flow along the hollow bore. Each petal valve 26 when in the valve closed position closes the hollow bore of the corresponding shut-off valve housing 22,24 so as to prevent flowable material from flowing along the hollow bore.

The pipeline coupling 20 further includes an internal sleeve 32 arranged within the shutoff valve housings 22,24. When the shut-off valve housings 22,24 are secured to each other as shown in Figure 2a, the internal sleeve 32 is arranged to push against both petal valves 26 so that their petal elements are in their fully retracted positions and the petals valves are in their valve open positions. When the shut-off valve housings 22,24 separate from each other as shown in Figure 2b, the internal sleeve 32 is arranged to move away from the petal valves 26 so that their petal elements are allowed to move from their fully retracted positions to their fully extended positions in order to close the petal valves 26.

In other embodiments of the invention, it is envisaged that the pipeline coupling may include only one of the petal valves, with the single petal valve being located in one of the shut-off valve housings.

The rotational movement of each petal valve 26 between the valve open and closed positions requires the presence of a clearance zone 34 between the pivot portions 28 of each petal valve 26 and the wall 36 of the corresponding shut-off valve housing 22,24. Otherwise, if the clearance zone 34 is not present, the direct contact between the pivot portions 28 of each petal valve 26 and the wall 36 of the corresponding shut-off valve housing 22,24 prevents the rotational movement of each petal valve 26 between the valve open and closed positions.

Each shut-off valve housing 22,24 includes an energised seal 38 in the form of an annular member which is located between the petal valve 26 and the shut-off valve housing 22,24. More specifically, in each shut-off valve housing 22,24, the energised seal 38 rests in a receptacle 40 formed in the wall 36 of the shut-off valve housing 22,24, and is located adjacent to the pivot portions 28 of the petal valve 26.

Figure 3 shows schematically the location of the energised seal 38 in the shut-off valve housing 22,24. Figure 4 shows schematically a profile of the energised seal 38.

The energised seal 38 includes a flexible jacket housing 42 having a pair of lips 44 extending from a housing body 46. The pair of lips 44 define an U-shaped open profile of the jacket housing 42, but in other embodiments may define an V-shaped open profile of the jacket housing 42. The energised seal 38 further includes a resilient element in the form of a spring 48 housed within the jacket housing 42. The shape of the jacket housing 42 allows the lips 44 to deflect outwards when the spring 48 applies a spring force to the pair of lips 44.

When a given petal valve 26 is in the valve open position as shown in Figure 5a, the pivot portion 28 of each petal element is spaced apart from the energised seal. The outward deflection of the lips of the jacket housings in combination with the applied spring force enables the energised seal to push against the pivot portions 28 of the petal valve 26 and the wall of the corresponding shut-off valve housing 22,24 so as to close off the gap between the petal valve 26 and the shut-off valve housing 22,24.

When a given petal valve 26 is rotated to the valve closed position as shown in Figure 5b, each pivot portion 28 of the petal valve 26 is brought closer to the wall 36 of the shut-off valve housing 22,24 so that the energised seal 38 is compressed between the pivot portions 28 of the petal valve 26 and the wall 36 of the shut-off valve housing 22,24. The spring energy contained in the energised seal 38 provides an effective sealing of the clearance zone 34 between the petal valve 26 and the shut-off valve housing 22,24 by pushing the lips 44 against the petal valve 26 and the shut-off valve housing 22,24, which allows for a reduction in the required amount of compression force between the pivot portions 28 of the petal valve 26 and the wall 36 of the corresponding shut-off valve housing 22,24 without affecting the effectiveness of the sealing of the clearance zone 34. This in turn reduces the constraints on the design of the petal valves 26 and the shut-off valve housing 22,24, since the integrity of the sealing of the clearance zone 34 between each petal valve 26 and the corresponding shut-off valve housing 22,24 is not required to rely heavily on the magnitude of the compression force between the pivot portions 28 of each petal valve 26 and the wall 36 of the corresponding shut-off valve housing 22,24.

The shape of the jacket housing 42 and the provision of the spring 48 allows each energised seal 38 to act predominantly in the direction between the pivot portions 28 of the corresponding petal valve 26 and the wall 36 of the corresponding shut-off valve housing 22,24, which provides anisotropic sealing of the clearance zone 34 between each petal valve 26 and the corresponding shut-off valve housing 22,24 when each petal valve 26 is in the valve closed position. Such anisotropic sealing is more efficient at sealing the clearance zone 34 between each petal valve 26 and the corresponding shut-off valve housing 22,24 in comparison to a conventional O-ring seal that acts equally in all directions.

Once each energised seal 38 has closed off the respective clearance zone 34, any further compression of the energised seal 38 acts to further increase the effectiveness of the sealing of the clearance zone 34. In addition each energised seal 38 having the pair of lips 44 defining an open profile of the jacket housing 42 enables pressure from the fluid blocked by the corresponding petal valve 26 and the energised seal 38 to energise the lips 44 in order to assist in sealing the clearance zone 34 between the corresponding petal valve 26 and the corresponding shut-off valve housing 22,24. This allows the lips 44 of each energised seal 38 to compensate for any dimensional discrepancy between the corresponding petal valve 26 and the corresponding shut-off valve housing 22,24, thus further improving the effectiveness of the sealing of the clearance zone 34.

Claims

1. A valve assembly, for use in a fluid conduit, comprising:

2. A valve assembly according to Claim 1 wherein the valve is rotatable between the valve open position and the valve closed position.

3. A valve assembly according to Claim 1 or Claim 2 wherein the valve is mounted on the assembly housing.

4. A valve assembly according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the energised seal is located between the valve and the assembly housing.

5. A valve assembly according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the energised seal is arranged to be compressed between the valve and the assembly housing to seal the clearance zone between the valve and the assembly housing when the valve is in the valve closed position.

6. A valve assembly according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the energised seal is located in a receptacle in the assembly housing.

7. A valve assembly according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the energised seal has an annular shape.

8. A valve assembly according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the energised seal is shaped to provide anisotropic sealing of the clearance zone between the valve and the assembly housing when the valve is in the valve closed position.

9. A valve assembly according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the energised seal is shaped to have a resilient geometry.

10. A valve assembly according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the energised seal includes a flexible jacket housing.

11. A valve assembly according to Claim 10 wherein the jacket housing includes a pair of lips defining an open profile of the jacket housing.

12. A valve assembly according to Claim 11 wherein the open profile of the jacket housing is U-shaped, substantially U-shaped, V-shaped, or substantially V-shaped.

13. A valve assembly according to any one of Claims 10 to 12 wherein the energised seal further includes a resilient element housed within the jacket housing.

14. A valve assembly according to Claim 13 when dependent from Claim 11 or Claim 12 wherein the resilient element is located between the pair of lips.

15. A valve assembly according to Claim 13 or Claim 14 wherein the resilient element is a spring element.

16. A valve assembly according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the valve is a petal valve.

17. A pipeline coupling, for use in a fluid conduit, comprising the valve assembly according to any one of the preceding claims.

18. Use of a pipeline coupling as a breakaway coupling or a release coupling, wherein the pipeline coupling is in accordance with Claim 16 or Claim 17.

Intellectual

Property

Office

Application No: GB1703595.7 Examiner: Kris Wojciechowski

18. A pipeline coupling according to Claim 17 including a pair of shut-off valve housings releasably coupled to each other, the shut-off valve housings configured to be decoupleable from each other, wherein at least one of the shut-off valve housings includes the valve assembly according to any one of Claims 1 to 16, the or each valve being biased to move to the valve closed position on separation of the shut-off valve housings.

19. Use of a pipeline coupling as a breakaway coupling or a release coupling, wherein the pipeline coupling is in accordance with Claim 17 or Claim 18.

Amendments to the claims have been filed as follows:

27 03 18

1. A valve assembly, for use in a fluid conduit, comprising:

an assembly housing defining a hollow bore along which flowable material may

5 flow;

a valve moveable between a valve open position and a valve closed position, the valve being a petal valve, the valve when in the valve open position opening the hollow bore so as to allow flowable material to flow along the hollow bore, the valve when in the valve closed position closing the hollow bore so as to prevent flowable material from

10 flowing along the hollow bore; and an energised seal arranged to seal a clearance zone between the valve and the assembly housing when the valve is in the valve closed position.

2. A valve assembly according to Claim 1 wherein the valve is rotatable between the 15 valve open position and the valve closed position.

20 4. A valve assembly according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the energised seal is located between the valve and the assembly housing.

5. A valve assembly according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the energised seal is arranged to be compressed between the valve and the assembly housing

25 to seal the clearance zone between the valve and the assembly housing when the valve is in the valve closed position.

6. A valve assembly according to any one of the preceding energised seal is located in a receptacle in the assembly housing.

7. A valve assembly according to any one of the preceding energised seal has an annular shape.

claims wherein the claims wherein the

8. A valve assembly according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the

35 energised seal is shaped to provide anisotropic sealing of the clearance zone between the valve and the assembly housing when the valve is in the valve closed position.

27 03 18

10. A valve assembly according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the

5 energised seal includes a flexible jacket housing.

10 12. A valve assembly according to Claim 11 wherein the open profile of the jacket housing is U-shaped, substantially U-shaped, V-shaped, or substantially V-shaped.

15. A valve assembly according to Claim 13 or Claim 14 wherein the resilient element

20 is a spring element.

16. A pipeline coupling, for use in a fluid conduit, comprising the valve assembly according to any one of the preceding claims.

25 17. A pipeline coupling according to Claim 16 including a pair of shut-off valve housings releasably coupled to each other, the shut-off valve housings configured to be decoupleable from each other, wherein at least one of the shut-off valve housings includes the valve assembly according to any one of Claims 1 to 15, the or each valve being biased to move to the valve closed position on separation of the shut-off valve housings.