Abstract

This article presents a novel design for a Rotational Valve (ROVA) electro-pneumatic (pilot+main) valve combo developed for our rocket RFA ONE, where rotation governs the internal piston movement (in commercial valves, translation is the traditional movement). The need for such a new design comes from two facts: (1) commercial valve design operational pressure at maximum 10bar limits some rocket applications, where higher pressures are used to drive larger purelypneumatic both actuators and valves; (2) dents and scratches cause pistons to get stuck, leading to maintenance downtime and costs. It is the thesis of this study that a valve design employing rotation may alleviate this jamming problem. The 10bar limit problem (emerging from a seal being lift-off due to excessive pneumatic pressure) is resolved by making that seal insensitive to driving pressure. The ROVA valve combo internal operation is explained in detail, being visualized using Computer-Aided Design (CAD) and free to download at an open-source repository. Physical calculations show that the pressurization of internal paths plus the piston’s rotation is achieved with times comparable to commercial valves. This new design pushes the envelop on the electro-pneumatic valve capability to handle larger piloting pressures (that commercial options), and potentially extends valve life by using rotation as a preferred means of operation.

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