Pneumatic Valve
The pneumatic valve is a bidirectional valve controlled via a pressure input.
The pneumatic valve has 3 connections: input, output, and control. The "input" side will be the input/output connection with the highest pressure, and can switch sides, making the valve bidirectional.
The valve will open when the pressure on the output side is lower than the pressure on the control side by [data] kPa.
The valve will close when the pressure of the output side reaches the pressure of the control side within [data] kPa.
For example, a pneumatic valve with a control pressure of 500 kPa will open when the output pressure is 500 kPa - [data] kPa or lower, and it will close when the output pressure is 500 kPa - [data] kPa or higher.
The valve's control pressure is determined by a pipenet connection, and as such can be adjusted on the fly by a pump or another source of pressure control.
Differences to Pumps
The pneumatic valve is different from a pump which moves gas via work. The pneumatic valve is a passive device that moves gas based on the higher pressure of the input gas, and as such it can sometimes fill volumes faster than a pump can.
For example, a pneumatic valve with a control pressure of 500 kPa will fill a volume faster than a pressure pump set to 500 kPa. However, the pump will be able to maintain the pressure in the volume more accurately.
The pneumatic valve can be used in a variety of applications, for example:
- To automatically vent gasses in a burn chamber based on control input
- The filling of a volume quickly, based on a customizable control pressure