Claims
- 1. A valve for controlling a flow of a fluid between a first environment to a second environment, said valve comprising:
a frame adapted to fit within a perimeter of an aperture in a divider separating the first environment from the second environment; a first gate movable within the frame to control a flow of the fluid through the aperture between the first environment and the second environment, the first gate comprising:
a trailing edge comprising a baffle adapted to cover an aft edge of the frame when the first gate is in an open position, the baffle including a plurality of 3-D notches in a front side of the baffle; and a second gate movable within the frame to control a flow of the fluid through the aperture between the first environment and the second environment, the second gate comprising:
a trailing edge comprising a plurality of 3-D notches in a front side of the trailing edge.
- 2. The valve of claim 1, wherein the first gate further comprises:
a substantially aerodynamically clean surface substantially free from protrusions that cause the generation of noise as the fluid flows over the first gate surface; and a rounded leading edge.
- 3. The valve of claim 1, wherein the second gate further comprises a substantially aerodynamically clean surface substantially free from protrusions that cause the generation of noise as the fluid flows over the second gate surface.
- 4. The valve of claim 1, wherein each notch included in the baffle comprises a tapered run-out that begins at a vertex of each notch and obliquely runs out to the trailing edge.
- 5. The valve of claim 1, wherein the first gate has an outer side having a substantially convex shape adapted to reduce vortex shedding of the fluid as the fluid passes over the outer side of the first gate.
- 6. The valve of claim 1, wherein the valve is adapted to maintain a substantially constant or slightly convergent nozzle throat section between the first gate and the second gate, thereby reducing at least one of edge tones and throat tones created as the fluid flows between the first environment and the second environment.
- 7. The valve of claim 1, wherein a front side of the second gate has a general ‘S’ contour adapted to increase adherence to the second gate front side of the fluid flowing over the front side.
- 8. The valve of claim 1, wherein each notch included in the trailing edge of the second gate includes a tapered run-out that begins at a vertex of each notch and obliquely runs out to the trailing edge.
- 9. The valve of claim 1, wherein a back side of the second gate includes a seal adapted to reduce leak tones when the valve is in a closed state.
- 10. The valve of claim 9, wherein the seal extends across the back side in an undulating pattern adapted to create a swirling effect when the valve is in an open position that causes a boundary layer of fluid flow attached to the back side of the second gate to separate upstream from a nozzle throat section of the valve.
- 11. The valve of claim 1, wherein a front side of the first gate and a front side of the second gate both have a 3-D contour that substantially matches a contour of an outer surface of the divider.
- 12. A method for reducing noise generated by a flow of a fluid through a control valve from a first environment to a second environment, the method comprising:
providing a valve to be installed in a divider separating the first environment and the second environment, the valve having a frame, a first gate movable within the frame and a second gate movable within the frame, the first and second gates adapted to control the flow of fluid from the first environment to the second environment, reducing edge tones as the fluid flows through the valve by providing a baffle included in a trailing edge of the first gate adapted to cover an aft edge of the frame when the first gate is in an open position; reducing vortex shedding by providing a plurality of 3-D notches in a front side of the baffle; and reducing vortex shedding by providing a plurality of 3-D notches in a front side of a trailing edge of the second gate.
- 13. The method of claim 12, wherein the method further comprises reducing vortex shedding by providing the first gate with a rounded leading edge and a substantially aerodynamically clean surface substantially free from protrusions that cause the generation of noise as the fluid flows over the first gate surface.
- 14. The method of claim 12, wherein the method further comprises reducing vortex shedding by providing the second gate with a substantially aerodynamically clean surface substantially free from protrusions that cause the generation of noise as the fluid flows over the second gate surface.
- 15. The method of claim 12, wherein providing the plurality of notches in the front side of the baffle comprises providing a tapered run-out within each notch that begins at a vertex of each notch and obliquely runs out to the trailing edge.
- 16. The method of claim 12, wherein the method further comprises reducing vortex shedding by providing the first gate with an outer side having a substantially convex shape.
- 17. The method of claim 12, wherein the method further comprises reducing vortex shedding by aligning the first and second gates within the frame such that a substantially constant or slightly convergent nozzle throat section is maintained between the first gate the second gate during operation of the valve.
- 18. The method of claim 12, wherein the method further includes reducing vortex shedding by increasing adherence to the front side of the second gate of the fluid flowing over the front side by contouring an outer side of the second gate in a general ‘S’ shape.
- 19. The method of claim 12, wherein providing the plurality of notches in a front side of a trailing edge of the second gate comprises providing a tapered run-out within each notch that begins at a vertex of each notch and obliquely runs out to the trailing edge.
- 20. The method of claim 12, wherein the method further includes reducing leak tones when the valve is in a closed position by providing a seal in a back side of the second gate.
- 21. The method of claim 20, wherein the method further comprises extending the seal across the back side in an undulating pattern that creates a swirling effect that causes a boundary layer flow to separate from the back side of the second gate upstream from a nozzle throat section of the valve.
- 22. A mobile platform comprising:
a body comprising an outer shell having an aperture therethrough, and a valve adapted to fit within the aperture for controlling the flow of air between an environment inside the mobile platform and an environment outside of the mobile platform, wherein said valve comprises:
a frame adapted to fit within a perimeter of the aperture; a first gate movable within the frame to control a flow of the fluid through the aperture between the first environment and the second environment, the first gate comprising a trailing edge comprising a baffle adapted to cover an aft edge of the frame when the first gate is positioned to have a small opening angle, wherein a front side of the baffle includes a plurality of 3-D notches having a tapered run-out that begins at a vertex of each notch and obliquely runs out to the trailing edge; and a second gate movable within the frame to control a flow of the fluid through the aperture between the first environment and the second environment, the second gate comprising a trailing edge including a front side comprising a plurality of 3-D notches having a tapered run-out that begins at a vertex of each notch and obliquely runs out to the trailing edge.
- 23. The valve of claim 22, wherein the first gate further comprises a rounded leading edge and a substantially aerodynamically clean surface substantially free from protrusions that cause the generation of noise as the fluid flows over the first gate surface.
- 24. The valve of claim 22, wherein the second gate further comprises a substantially aerodynamically clean surface substantially free from protrusions that cause the generation of noise as the fluid flows over the second gate surface.
- 25. The valve of claim 22, wherein the valve is adapted to maintain a substantially constant or slightly convergent nozzle throat section between the first gate and the second gate, thereby reducing at least one of edge tones and throat tones created as the fluid flows between the first environment and the second environment.
- 26. The valve of claim 22, wherein a back side of the second gate includes the seal extending across the back side in an undulating pattern to create a swirling effect when the valve is in an open position that causes a boundary layer of fluid flow attached to the back side of the second gate to separate upstream from a nozzle throat section of the valve.
Parent Case Info
[0001] CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0002] This application is a Continuation-In-Part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/651,152 filed on Aug. 28, 2003, which is a Continuation-In-Part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/301,378 filed on Nov. 21, 2002. The disclosures of the above applications are incorporated herein by reference.
Continuation in Parts (2)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
10651152 |
Aug 2003 |
US |
Child |
10831673 |
Apr 2004 |
US |
Parent |
10301378 |
Nov 2002 |
US |
Child |
10651152 |
Aug 2003 |
US |