Structural Optimization and Fluid–Structure Interaction Analysis of a Novel High-Speed Switching Control Valve

Laver fluffy is an indispensable link in the processing of laver products. After fluffing, the laver acquires an appealing color, which is conducive to better marketability. During the primary mechanical processing of laver, a valve capable of rapid opening and closing is required to ensure that the laver’s surface becomes fluffy and lustrous post-processing. However, valve products that can meet the specific requirements of laver fluffing are scarce. This study proposes a novel principle for a high-speed switching control valve. This valve can quickly turn on or cut off the high-pressure gas path during laver processing while also taking into account the response speed and service life. The structure and principle of the new control valve were introduced. Different flow field models in the valve were designed, and their flow characteristics and flow field performance under various schemes were compared and discussed by using Fluent. Subsequently, an optimized control valve structure model was proposed. Based on this, a strength analysis of the control valve was conducted via fluid–structure interaction, revealing the response characteristics of the valve under the working state. The results indicate that, when different cone angles and bell shapes were selected for the upper chamber inlet of the control valve, the number and intensity of vortices in the upper chamber can be reduced. The height of the upper chamber affected the formation of the throttle between the top and bottom surfaces of the upper chamber. When the height of the upper chamber was 32 mm, the energy loss in the upper chamber remains basically stable. Simultaneously changing the inlet shape and height of the upper chamber can effectively prevent the throttle formed by the height of the upper chamber, which was conducive to increasing the valve outlet flow rate. Through the analysis of the flow field with different valve chamber structures, the improved control valve adopted the bell-shaped inlet, with an upper chamber height of 32 mm and curved transition for the internal flow channel. Compared to the original fluid domain, when the opening was 100%, the outlet flow rate of the 10° conical tube and bell-shaped inlet increased by 12.77% and 12.59%, respectively. The outlet flow rate at the curved transition position rose by 15.35%, and the outlet flow of the improved control valve increased by 32.70%. When the control valve was operating under a preload pressure of 1 MPa, at 20% opening, the maximum equivalent stress of the valve body was 52.51 MPa, and the total deformation was 12.56 microns. When the preload pressure exceeded 1.5 MPa, the equivalent stress and total deformation of the control valve body and T-shaped valve stem exhibited an upward trend with further increases in the preload pressure.