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Issued patent

Magnetically Damped Check Valve

An issued NASA patent from the Technology Transfer catalog.

View at technology.nasa.gov
Media from NASA Technology Transfer

About this technology

Overview

Innovators at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) have developed a Magnetically Damped Check Valve for eliminating chatter in passive valve systems. At low flow rates, passive valves often chatter (i.e., slightly open and shut at some frequency). Check valves, for example, are designed for full-flow conditions but oftentimes experience much lower flow levels. Over time, this chatter mechanism can degrade if not destroy a valve and/or the overall system. Valve experts have employed other damping solutions over time to minimize chatter, but such attempts would only work under certain flow conditions. NASA's Magnetically Damped Check Valve eliminated chatter under all flow conditions tested. The invention is applicable to check valves, but could also benefit other systems using passive valves.