High pressure ball valve for radiative environment - has electrically heated actuating rod to force ball off seat

摘要

The ball valve is contained in a tube (1) sealed at the inlet end by a plug (5) having an inlet orifice (6). The ball (3) is held closed by a spring (4). The actuator is housed in the outlet side of the tube (1) and maintained in position by a welded plug (15). The actuator consists of a rod (10) with an integral operating spindle (9) enclosed in a spirally wound electrical heater (11). When the actuator is heated, the spindle (9) forces the ball (3) off the valve seat and fluid passes around the actuator to the outlet (12,12A). The device is used in high temp. environments having a high neutron and/or gamma photon flux.