The Design of Ortho-Planar Spring for a Normally-Closed Gate Valve

This paper presents the design of an Ortho-planar spring for a normally-closed gate valve using topology optimization. The Ortho-planar valve was designed through developing a MATLAB code to perform a three-dimensional topology optimization. The optimization process was based on dual method, where the objective function was to minimize mass and the constraint was a defined set of displacement. The result of topology optimization process was a layout design of an Ortho-planar spring, which was later developed into a prototype. The behavior of the Ortho-planar spring was analyzed based on the collected force-displacement data. The force-displacement relationship presented the nonlinear characteristic of the Ortho-planar spring. The stiffness of spring increased as deflection increased. The prototype of the Ortho-planar valve was undergone a performance test to check the valve function whether it could prevent leak as a normally closed gate valve. The experimental results showed that the designed Ortho-planar spring could be applied as a normally closed gate valve at the pressure of 2 bars and above. Also, its surface must be thoroughly polished to best prevent leak.