snap switch selector valve

This type of valve has been used in a PSA demonstration plant and enabled the use of up to 108 possible operating options or combin-
ations thereof. The picture shows one of a total of 24 of these 5-way valves as installed. Each of the valves is driven by an hydr-
aulic actuator especially designed for the purpose.

A single (air) signal sends the valve into a selected position without requiring feed back to the control system. It snaps into the selected position without requiring any mechanical brake.

Hydraulic actuators, backed by an hydraulic oil accumulator, produce the highly concentrated power required for quickly acting rotary valves. It enables an extremely flexible operation with split-second diversion of gas streams according the selected connection of
line #1 with one among the lines 2, 3, 4 and 5.
An air driven hydraulic pump automatically restores the pressure in the accumulator up to a fixed oil to air pressure ratio. The concept may be used in any system, requiring very fast diversions of streams into a multiplicity of directions. The inherently safe, relatively large burst of power is not easily realized otherwise.

This picture shows the air driven oil pump, underneath the oil holdup tank (at the center), and the high pressure oil accumulator (at the right) .

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