Magnetically, Critically-Damped Check Valve

Check valve chatter is a destructive phenomenon in which there is not enough ΔP across the valve to fully open the valve. Instead, the valve rapidly opens and closes which results in damaging “chatter” that can increase leakage rates and create FOD within a system. Valve chatter is often encountered within spaceflight systems and other industrial applications. Notable recent examples of valve chatter have occurred on multiple launch vehicles/spacecraft. Members of ER14 have successfully had a patent issued for a magnetically damped check valve, that utilizes the Lenz Effect the damp oscillations. Previous test articles by ER14 have shown that the concept is able to reduce the chatter oscillations, but they have not been able to preclude chatter altogether. Further investigation shows that the previous test articles were under-damped. ER14 has developed an analysis method to determine the total amount of achieved damping for a given design configuration. This new analysis method, in addition to known design quantities such as poppet mass and spring rate allow for ER14 to tune magnetic damper configurations to a allow for a critically damped design. ER14 believes that a critically damped check valve will preclude chatter all together. ER14, through coordination with the NASA Engineering & Safety Center, has been put in contact with electromagnetic design and analysis experts at Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC-5440). Personnel within GSFC-5440 have provided ER14 with a higher efficiency magnetic damper concept, which will provide damping values an order of magnitude greater than previous design configurations. Through this highly efficient magnetic damper design, ER14 will design, analyze, manufacture, and test, a flight-like Magnetically Critically Damped Check Valve with the goal of eliminating all chatter. This development will significantly benefit spaceflight systems and industries that routinely struggle with the damaging effects of check valve chatter.

Design, analyze, manufacture, and test a Flight-Like, Magnetic, Critically-Damped Check Valve utilizing GSFC’s efficient damper design. Through testing, ER14 has shown that reduction of FOD, which the Magnetically, Critically-Damped Check Valve will accomplish, is critical for the success of the CFM Valves that ER14 is developing for STMD-CFM-108 (Valves, Actuators & Components). The coupling interfaces in STMD-OSAM-3, -11, and -020 (In-Space Berthing and Docking Mechanisms) are reliant on seals that are FOD sensitive. Additionally, STMD-PROP-004 (Cryogenic Propulsion) goal of developing affordable, highly reusable cryogenic propulsion solutions is reliant on maintaining system cleanliness, of which FOD reduction is a critical component. The concept applies to NASA Taxonomy Areas of TX01.1.3 (Cryo. Prop.), TX01.1.5 (Hybrid Prop.), TX01.4.3 (NTP), and TX13.1.7 (Damage Resistant Systems). This technology is a development push. This concept is transformative (New technology & process).

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