Concept

Solenoid valve

Summary
A solenoid valve is an electromechanically operated valve. Solenoid valves differ in the characteristics of the electric current they use, the strength of the magnetic field they generate, the mechanism they use to regulate the fluid, and the type and characteristics of fluid they control. The mechanism varies from linear action, plunger-type actuators to pivoted-armature actuators and rocker actuators. The valve can use a two-port design to regulate a flow or use a three or more port design to switch flows between ports. Multiple solenoid valves can be placed together on a manifold. Solenoid valves are the most frequently used control elements in fluidics. Their tasks are to shut off, release, dose, distribute or mix fluids. They are found in many application areas. Solenoids offer fast and safe switching, high-reliability, long service life, good medium compatibility of the materials used, low control power and compact design. There are many valve design variations. Ordinary valves can have many ports and fluid paths. A 2-way valve, for example, has 2 ports; if the valve is open, then the two ports are connected and fluid may flow between the ports; if the valve is closed, then ports are isolated. If the valve is open when the solenoid is not energized, then the valve is termed normally open (N.O.). Similarly, if the valve is closed when the solenoid is not energized, then the valve is termed normally closed (N.C.). There are also 3-way and more complicated designs. A 3-way valve has 3 ports; it connects one port to either of the two other ports (typically a supply port and an exhaust port). Solenoid valves are also characterized by how they operate. A small solenoid can generate a limited force. An approximate relationship between the required solenoid force Fs, the fluid pressure P, and the orifice area A for a direct acting solenoid valve is: Where d is the orifice diameter. A typical solenoid force might be . An application might be a low pressure (e.g., ) gas with a small orifice diameter (e.g.
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