Ben:
Good point about the pressure possibly being too low for this valve; not
one I had considered.
Bill
On Fri, Oct 9, 2020 at 8:54 AM Ben Brockert <wikkit@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Solenoids can be bubble tight, and it’s reasonable to expect it in
operation. Running the valve close to its rating can improve leak
performance because NC valves are almost always pressure assisted close.
Valves with softer seals are also more likely to seal; don’t use PTFE seal
valves if you’re not working with oxidizers. And solenoid valves are very
sensitive to debris, so whatever valve you have you should make the tools
to be able to disassemble it to clean, clear and make sure there’s no seat
damage.
The little electric actuated ball valves may be more mass effective for
higher Cvs, but I’ve flown a lot of Parker and Gems solenoid valves with
good results.
And as a general warning, don’t ever make your own version of the
components inside a solenoid valve without doing massive high fidelity
testing. The engineering of parts that slam open and closed thousands of
times are nontrivial. Bad designs will work until they don’t.
Ben
On Thursday, October 8, 2020, William Claybaugh <wclaybaugh2@xxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
Testing shows that the Lake Axial Solenoid valve in my pneumatic payload
separation system is leaking at 125 psia despite a 1000 psia rating (two
valves tested, both leaked); the leak is through the valve and caused the
latchup of the payload to the vehicle to fail within an average of four
minutes. Additional testing on my vibe table showed latch failure in less
than one minute in ten tests.
Can anyone suggest a solenoid valve good for at least 250 psia and
unlikely to leak under vibration?
Alternative suggestions to using a solenoid valve are welcome.
Thanks,
Bill