Importance

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Abstract

A valve construction relies upon solenoid-driven axial elongation of an annular magnetostrictive core element for opening displacement of an elongate poppet-valve member that is carried within the annulus of the core element. A first stiffly compliant preload independently urges the poppet-valve member into its seated position of lock-up at valve closure, and a second stiffly compliant preload independently prestresses the annular magnetostrictive core element into a fixed referencing abutment with valve-body structure. The currently preferred material of the core is Terfenol-D, which offers a strong elongation response to inductively coupled excitation. The elongation response is sufficient to serve the purposes of (1) closing a pretravel clearance prior to a flange engagement with the poppet-valve member and (2) also, via the flange engagement, displacing the poppet-valve member out of its normal valve-closing engagement with the valve seat. In the preferred embodiments, inlet and outlet ports for the valve are centered at the respective axial ends of the valve-body structure.

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First Claim