Effect of magnetic field environment on the performance of 3/2 solenoid valve

Abstract

• 3/2 solenoid valve functionality has been checked under external magnetic field environment. • External magnetic field limit has been defined below which 3/2 solenoid valve functions well. • Magnetic shielding of the 3/2 solenoid valve has been proposed. ITER, an experimental fusion reactor uses solenoid valves to close cryogenic control valves instantly in case of any incidental event in the ITER cryogenic system takes place. Many of these solenoid valves are functioning with the magnetic field environment of the order of ∼25 m T. Since a solenoid valves is an electrically activated valve, presence of the environment magnetic field can lead to partial or non-closing of the valve. In this paper, the effect of magnetic field environment on the performance of 3/2 solenoid valves through simulation and experiment is studied. The variable external magnetic field is generated by supplying variable power from Switched Mode Power Supply (SMPS) to the magnetic coil and magnetic field readings are recorded with a tesla meter. The validation of the magnetic field profile of the magnetic coil is done by comparing the E-mag analysis simulation performed on ANSYS® platform and the experimental results. An experiment setup, inside ITER-India cryogenic laboratory, has been assembled to see the functionality of the 3/2 solenoid valve in the presence of an external magnetic field. A 3/2 solenoid valve is placed in the external magnetic field which has been generated with the help of an air core inductor magnetic coil. The external magnetic field from the coil is varied from 10 m T to 35 m T with the help of a variable power supply and checked the functionality of the solenoid valve in different orientation and different external magnetic fields strengths. The outcome of the study shows that the 3/2 solenoid valve stopped functioning over the external magnetic field strength of 14.29 m T. The paper also concludes the requirement of the magnetic shielding and correct orientation of the solenoid valves to be installed in order to nullify the effect of external magnetic field on the functionality of the 3/2 solenoid valves.