A seat microvalve nozzle for optimal gas-flow capacity at large-controlled pressure

Seat microvalves are the most common microvalve type for gas-flow control. This paper presents a general method for optimizing the flow capacity of a seat valve nozzle and diminishing the requirements on the valve actuator's stroke length. Geometrical analysis and finite element (FE) simulations show that for controlling large gas flow at elevated pressure, the optimal nozzle design in terms of flow capacity for a given actuator performance is a multiple-orifice arrangement with miniaturized circular nozzles. Experimental results support the design introduced in this paper.