Drain valve sealing arrangement
A sealing arrangement for a ball valve. The sealing arrangement includes a hydraulic fluid injection port configured to receive pressurised fluid from a pressurised fluid source, and a plurality of fluid channels connected to the injection port and configured to be arranged, in use, around the interior of the ball valve to direct the pressurised fluid to a gap between a seal of the ball valve and a housing of the ball valve to exert a force on the seal towards a ball of the ball valve.
1 . A ball valve assembly comprising: a seal, a ball and a valve housing, the ball valve assembly further comprising:
a hydraulic fluid injection port on the housing configured to receive pressurized fluid from a pressurized fluid source; and
a plurality of fluid channels formed in the valve housing and connected to the injection port arranged around an interior of the ball valve assembly to direct the pressurized fluid to a gap between the seal and the valve housing of the ball valve assembly to exert a force on the housing and on the seal to force the seal towards the ball of the ball valve assembly.
2 . The ball valve of claim 1 , wherein the hydraulic fluid injection port is a single injection port and is common to the plurality of fluid channels.
3 . The ball valve assembly of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of fluid channels include an upper fluid channel and a lower fluid channel.
4 . The ball valve assembly of claim 3 , wherein the plurality of fluid channels further includes:
a plurality of upper sub-branches directing the fluid from the upper fluid channel; and
a plurality of lower sub-branches directing the fluid from the lower fluid channel.
5 . The ball valve assembly of claim 3 , further comprising:
connection ports fluidly connecting the upper fluid channel to the lower fluid channel.
6 . The ball valve assembly of claim 1 , further comprising:
wherein the valve ball is rotatably mounted in the valve housing; and
wherein the seal includes a plurality of seals arranged between the valve ball and the valve housing.
7 . The ball valve assembly of claim 6 , wherein the plurality of seals includes an upper seal and a lower seal and the plurality of channels feed the fluid to a gap above or to the side of each of the upper seal and the lower seal.
8 . The ball valve assembly of claim 6 , wherein the valve housing comprises:
an upper housing part; and
a lower housing part;
wherein the upper and lower housing parts joins together to form the valve housing around the ball, the upper housing part having one of the plurality of seals and the lower housing part having one of the plurality of seals, and
wherein the plurality of channels include channels to the upper housing part and channels to the lower housing part.
9 . The ball valve assembly of claim 6 , wherein the injection port is a nipple extending through the valve housing and coupled to the plurality of fluid channels within the housing.
10 . The ball valve assembly of claim 6 , further comprising:
a handle extending through the valve housing connected to the ball inside the housing, such that rotation of the handle by a user causes rotation of the ball relative to the valve housing.
11 . The ball valve assembly of claim 6 , wherein the gap is located such that the fluid in the gap applies an axial pressure on the seal, with respect to an axis between a top and bottom of the valve housing.
12 . The ball valve assembly of claim 6 , wherein the housing is formed by additive manufacturing.