Fast All-Metal Six-Inch Valve

A stainless steel, six-inch valve capable of closing in approximately 10 milliseconds has been developed at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center. The valve will be automatically and remotely operable, allowing it to be used in the SLAC beam switchyard area where high radiation levels will prohibit personnel access. The problems of triggering mechanical release, valve gate acceleration and deceleration, and vacuum sealing without elastomers appear to be solved. The knowledge gained relating to this type of gate valve predicts the future design of a valve with a 24-inch opening, capable of operating in time intervals of five to six milliseconds.