Rigid connector and cavity assembly unit thereof

Abstract

This invention relates to rigid connectors for structural applications, and more particularly to a rigid connector and its cavity assembly unit, comprising a hollow tube (1), the hollow tube (1) including a tube body section (11), and a connecting section (2) provided at one or both ends of the tube body section (11), the wall thickness of the connecting section (2) being greater than the thickness t of the tube body section (11). This invention provides a rigid connector for structural connections that can be used for direct rotary friction welding with a single steel plate, or for simultaneous friction welding with two double steel plates, offering advantages such as simple manufacturing and construction, and high connection strength of the resulting cavity assembly unit.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to rigid connectors for structural applications, and more particularly to a rigid connector and its cavity assembly unit. Background Technology

[0002] Existing rigid connectors used between single and double steel plates mostly employ ordinary welding, clamping, or tenoning. Ordinary welding requires a relatively high distance between the two steel plates; if the distance is too small, the workpiece or personnel cannot enter the welding area. Ordinary clamping or tenoning, on the other hand, places particularly high demands on the butt joint and connection between the two steel plates, and the stability of the connection is also relatively poor. Summary of the Invention

[0003] This invention addresses the issue that in existing technologies, the connecting parts between single or double steel plates are mostly rods or connecting blocks, using segmented snap-fit ​​or tenon joints. The connection process and technology are complex, time-consuming, and labor-intensive. This invention provides a rigid connecting part and its cavity assembly unit that can be used for direct rotary friction welding with a single steel plate or simultaneous friction welding with two double steel plates.

[0004] To solve the above-mentioned technical problems, the present invention provides the following technical solution:

[0005] A rigid connector includes a hollow tube, the hollow tube comprising a tube body segment, and a connecting segment provided at one or both ends of the tube body segment, wherein the wall thickness of the connecting segment is greater than the thickness t of the tube body segment.

[0006] The wall thickness of the pipe body section is t. The wall thickness of the connecting section increases first and then decreases or remains unchanged from the pipe body section to the connecting section.

[0007] The end structure of this patent forms a rigid connection between the hollow tube and the top plate. By embedding the parallel and narrowed edges of the inner and outer walls into the top plate, the shrinkage stress at the connection point is reduced, while the compressive stress at the connection point is increased. Since welding fatigue cracking is mainly caused by tensile stress, the connection stiffness and shear resistance of this patent are improved compared to general connections. The generation of the first buckling half-wave of the tube shell under shear or pressure is the earliest and most sensitive stage. The increased stiffness of the connection point, the increased compressive stress, and the reduced tensile stress can delay the occurrence of the first buckling half-wave of the hollow tube shell, thereby improving the ultimate bearing capacity and shear resistance of the tube shell.

[0008] Preferably, the cross-section of the hollow tube is a regular hexagon, a regular dodecagon, or a regular hexagon. The tube segment has a high load-bearing capacity with a relatively thin wall thickness, but it is sensitive to defects and prone to bifurcation buckling and sudden buckling caused by defects. This patent, while manufacturing a high-precision circular tube segment, provides a tube segment with a central regular polygonal shape and circular ends. The regular polygon is a regular hexagon or larger, preferably with 12 or 16 sides. Rolling the central regular polygonal shape creates the tube wall shape of the faces and corners, making it less sensitive to initial defects. Furthermore, rolling each corner creates buckling-resistant edges, further improving the load-bearing capacity. Finally, rolling increases the metal's resistance to cold working.

[0009] Preferably, the connecting section includes a thickening ring that connects to the pipe body section, and the thickening ring is connected to the embedded section, with the end face of the embedded section serving as the connecting end face. The wall thickness of the thickening ring is T, and the wall thickness of the embedded section is N.

[0010] The ends of the connecting section are equipped with thickened rings and embedded sections. When the embedded sections are welded to the panel or top plate, they form a mechanically interlocked shear-resistant structure, creating a structure that combines welded body and mechanical interlocking for shear resistance. This reduces the sensitivity to welding defects at the connection point. The double thickened rings on the panel or top plate increase the transition zone between the tube section and the panel or top plate thickness, constraining the first buckling half-wave of the tube section under load. This avoids the "elephant foot" effect of the general tube section when yielding, delays the occurrence of the first buckling half-wave, thereby increasing the load-bearing capacity and reducing the probability of sudden buckling of the tube section.

[0011] Preferably, the wall thickness of the embedded section is N, and the wall thickness N of the embedded section remains constant or gradually decreases from the connecting end face to the pipe body section, while the wall thickness T of the thickening ring gradually decreases from the connecting end face to the pipe body section.

[0012] Preferably, the bottom surface of the flanged section is welded to the panel or top plate to be connected, the end of the tube section is embedded in the panel or top plate, and the panel or top plate of the hollow part in the middle of the tube section is embedded in the tube section to form an interlocking ring connection. The panel or top plate of the inner or outer wall of the tube section connection is prepared with a thickening ring.

[0013] Preferably, the connecting section includes a flanged section formed by the outward folding of the pipe wall of the pipe body section. The support or constraint of the panel or base plate inside and between pipes is greater inside the pipe than between pipes, and the constraint efficiency per unit area is the best. There are three forms: lattice, linear, and grid-like.

[0014] A balanced arrangement of hollow tubes with adjacent hollow tubes reduces distance differences or dispersion, maximizing the material's performance.

[0015] Preferably, the flanged section is bent to form a reinforcing section. The reinforcing section can improve the structural strength of the hollow tube before welding and improve the overall strength of the entire structural unit after welding.

[0016] Preferably, the hollow tube material is one or a combination of steel, aluminum alloy, or titanium alloy. The friction weld embedding depth of the face plate or top plate of the metal cavity plate and the hollow tube is greater in the length direction of the plate than in the width direction.

[0017] Preferably, the diameter of the tangent circle between adjacent hollow tubes is between 0.3 and 1.3 times the outer diameter of the hollow tube.

[0018] A cavity assembly unit includes the aforementioned rigid connector, including at least one panel, wherein the connecting section on the hollow tube is rotary friction welded to the panel.

[0019] As a preferred embodiment, a top plate is also included, with the hollow tube placed between the panel and the top plate, and the hollow tube being simultaneously friction-welded to the panel and the top plate.

[0020] The present invention uses rigid connectors for structural connection, which can be used for direct rotational friction welding with a single steel plate, or for simultaneous friction welding with two double steel plates. It has the advantages of simple manufacturing and construction, and high connection strength of the cavity combination unit. Attached Figure Description

[0021] Figure 1 This is a three-dimensional view of a rigid connector.

[0022] Figure 2 For the present invention Figure 1 A sectional view.

[0023] Figure 3 for Figure 2 Enlarged view of the embodiment with the oblique side of the middle I section.

[0024] Figure 4 for Figure 2 Enlarged view of the embodiment of the vertical side of the middle I section.

[0025] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the cavity assembly unit structure.

[0026] Figure 6 for Figure 5 Enlarged view of section II.

[0027] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the rigid connector in Example 3.

[0028] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of the single-panel cavity combination unit structure in Example 3.

[0029] Figure 9 for Figure 8 Cross-sectional view of the hollow cavity combined unit structure.

[0030] Figure 10 for Figure 9 Enlarged view of section III.

[0031] Figure 11 This is a schematic diagram of the double-sided cavity combination unit structure in Example 4.

[0032] Figure 12 for Figure 11 Cross-sectional view.

[0033] Among them, 1—hollow tube, 2—connecting section, 4—panel, 5—top plate, 11—tube body section, 21—thickening ring, 22—embedded section, 23—connecting end face, 24—flanged section, and 25—reinforcing section. Detailed Implementation

[0034] The following is in conjunction with the appendix Figure 1 To be continued Figure 11 The present invention will be further described in detail with reference to specific embodiments: Example 1

[0035] A rigid connector, such as Figure 1 , 2 As shown in Figure 3, the device includes a hollow tube 1, which includes a tube body section 11. A connecting section 2 is provided at one or both ends of the tube body section 11, and the wall thickness of the connecting section 2 is greater than the thickness t of the tube body section 11.

[0036] The wall thickness of pipe section 11 is t. The wall thickness of connecting section 2 increases first and then decreases or remains constant from pipe section 11 to connecting section 2.

[0037] The connecting section 2 includes a thickening ring 21 connected to the pipe body section 11. The thickening ring 21 is connected to the embedded section 22, and the end face of the embedded section 22 is the connecting end face 23. The pipe wall thickness of the thickening ring 21 is T, and the pipe wall thickness of the embedded section 22 is N. The thickening ring 21 or thickening section provided in the pipe body section 11 and the connecting section 2 not only ensures the increase of the effective welding cross section, but also, because its thickening section is greater than the basic wall thickness of the pipe body section 11, reduces the damaging force arm of the weld root on one side of the pipe wall and the weld toe on the other side of the pipe wall when the weld is under stress, thereby reducing the force arm of the weld root or weld toe.

[0038] In addition, the thickened section allows for a reduction in the embedding depth of the connecting section 2 into the substrate under the same friction welding end strength when using advanced friction welding technology. This makes it possible to use a thinner substrate and avoids the common problem in the industry where thin substrates are easily penetrated during friction welding.

[0039] The cross-section at the farthest end of the connecting segment 2 in this patent is designed to have a reduced or constant wall thickness at the farthest welding end, while maintaining the wall thickness at the same or increased thickness. This ensures easy insertion of the embedded end and maintains a compressive stress welding interface with the substrate. In particular, it solves the problem in the industry where simply thickened segments experience end wear during friction welding. Because the wall thickness is reduced after end wear, a pit is formed on the substrate due to the difference between the initial diameter and the worn thickness diameter. Although this pit is filled by the friction welding melt, the weld quality is affected because it is not the base metal and contains impurities such as oxides. This patent's embedded segment 22 with a reduced or constant end thickness effectively solves the above problems.

[0040] The connecting section 2 includes a thickening ring 21 connected to the tube section 11. The thickening ring 21 is connected to the embedded section 22, and the end face of the embedded section 22 is the connecting end face 23. The wall thickness of the thickening ring 21 is T, and the wall thickness of the embedded section 22 is N. The tube section 11 of the hollow tube 1 has a high load-bearing capacity with a relatively thin wall thickness, but the tube section 11 is more sensitive to defects and is prone to bifurcation buckling and sudden buckling caused by defects. This patent, while preparing a high-precision circular tube section 11, also provides a tube section 11 with a middle section of regular polygonal shape and both ends still circular. The regular polygonal shape is a regular hexagon or larger, preferably with 12 or 16 sides. Through the rolling of the middle section of regular polygonal shape, on the one hand, the tube wall shape of the face and corners is formed, which is not sensitive to initial defects. On the other hand, by rolling each corner, buckling-resistant edges are formed, further improving the load-bearing capacity. Furthermore, the rolling process increases the metal's resistance to cold working.

[0041] The wall thickness of the embedded section 22 is N. The wall thickness N of the embedded section 22 remains constant or gradually decreases from the connecting end face 23 to the pipe body section 11. The wall thickness T of the thickening ring 21 gradually decreases from the connecting end face 23 to the pipe body section 11.

[0042] The hollow tube 1 is made of steel. The friction weld embedding depth of the face plate or top plate of the metal small cavity plate and the tube section 11 is greater in the length direction of the plate than in the width direction.

[0043] The diameter of the tangent circle between adjacent hollow tubes 1 is 0.5 times the outer diameter of hollow tube 1. The above arrangement forms a multi-support continuous plate with the panel 4, top plate 5 and hollow tube 1 rigidly connected to the tube wall, and forms a radial force transmission mechanism for the external load under three or four axes. Since each hollow tube 1 is connected to a panel 4 or top plate 5 of a unit width and the diameter of the hollow tube 1 is on the same order of magnitude as the panel 4 or top plate 5 of the unit width, the shear lag weakening effect of the panel 4 or top plate 5 is avoided or eliminated, and the panel 4 or top plate 5 is subjected to force transmission in three axial directions to form a double film effect.

[0044] A cavity assembly unit, such as Figure 5 , 6 As shown, it includes the rigid connector mentioned above, and a panel 4. The connecting section 2 on the hollow tube 1 and the panel 4 are formed by rotary friction welding to form a single tube and single plate structural unit.

[0045] like Figure 11 , 12 As shown, it also includes a top plate 5. The hollow tube 1 is placed between the panel 4 and the top plate 5. The hollow tube 1 is synchronously friction-welded with the panel 4 and the top plate 5. The hollow tube 1 is held in place by a clamping and rotating mechanism, and then rotated at high speed. At the same time, pressure is applied to the panel 4 and the top plate 5, causing friction between the panel 4, the top plate 5 and the upper and lower ends of the hollow tube 1 to generate a high temperature and heat state until the hollow tube 1 is fused and welded to the panel 4 and the top plate 5 respectively. The clamping and rotating mechanism includes an annular inner support and an outer support, which are connected by a transmission mechanism. The inner support can tighten and hold the hollow tube 1, and the outer support is driven to rotate by external power, and drives the inner support to rotate through the transmission mechanism. The inner support drives the hollow tube 1 to rotate, thereby achieving the rotational welding of the hollow tube 1 with the panel 4 and the top plate 5.

[0046] Example 2

[0047] like Figure 1 , 2 As shown in Figure 4, in this embodiment, the thickness of the thickening ring 21 gradually increases from the cross-sectional thickness of the pipe section 11 to the connecting end, while the thickness of the embedded section 22 remains unchanged. The gradually thickened middle section at the connecting end is to increase the welding cross-section and the transition of the connection stiffness between the panel and the pipe shell. The parallel or tapered end of the embedded section 22 is to enhance the compressive stress of the weld, reduce weld blurring or the retention of molten residue impurities, and form a pure connection interface of the base metal.

[0048] like Figure 5 , 6 The diagram also includes a top plate 5, with a hollow tube 1 placed between the panel 4 and the top plate 5. The hollow tube 1 is simultaneously friction-welded to the panel 4 and the top plate 5. The distance between the panel 4 and the top plate 5 is 20mm-500mm. Even with a small cavity, this patent can still achieve the connection between the hollow tube 1 and the panel 4 and the top plate 5 through friction welding.

[0049] Example 3

[0050] like Figure 7 , 8As shown in Figures 9 and 10, the connecting section 2 includes a flanged section 24 formed by the outward folding of the pipe wall of the pipe section 11. The bottom surface of the flanged section 24 is connected to the panel or top plate to be connected, the end of the pipe section 11 is embedded in the panel or top plate, and the panel or top plate of the hollow part of the pipe section 11 is embedded in the pipe section 11, forming an interlocking ring connection. The inner or outer wall of the pipe section 11 connected to the panel or top plate are all prepared with thickened rings. The flanged section 24 is bent to form a reinforcing section 25. Through a secondary fold, the reinforcing section 25 is formed. On the one hand, the contact welding area between the flanged section 24 and the panel is larger, and the connection strength of the flanged section 24 is higher and more stable compared with the structure in Example 1. On the other hand, the reinforcing section 25 enhances the overall strength of the flanged section 24 at the welding part with the panel 4, resulting in a better welding effect. The flanged section 24 and the panel 4 are friction-welded to form a single-panel cavity assembly unit.

[0051] Example 4

[0052] The difference between this embodiment and embodiment 1 is that both panel 4 and top plate 5 are curved plates. In this embodiment, considering that when force is transmitted in the length direction of the cavity plate, it is often under tension or compression at one end, while the side direction of the width is often under shear, the strength of the tensile stress area needs to be strengthened in the structure. This embodiment constructs a curved panel or top plate, which makes the embedding depth of the tensile stress area deeper and the connection strength higher. The above structure can also form the pre-arch of the steel plate, achieving a perfect match between the two.

[0053] In summary, the above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention. All equivalent changes and modifications made within the scope of the claims of the present invention should be covered by the present invention.

Claims

1. A rigid connector, comprising a hollow tube (1), characterized in that: The hollow tube (1) includes a tube body section (11), and a connecting section (2) is provided at one or both ends of the tube body section (11). The wall thickness of the connecting section (2) is greater than the thickness t of the tube body section (11). The connecting section (2) includes a thickening ring (21) connected to the tube body section (11). The thickening ring (21) is connected to the embedded section (22). The end face of the embedded section (22) is the connecting end face (23). The wall thickness of the embedded section (22) is N. The wall thickness N of the embedded section (22) remains unchanged or gradually decreases from the tube body section (11) to the connecting end face (23). The wall thickness T of the thickening ring (21) gradually decreases from the connecting end face (23) to the tube body section (11).

2. A rigid connector according to claim 1, characterized in that: The connecting section (2) includes the flange section (24) formed by the outward turning of the pipe wall of the pipe body section (11).

3. A rigid connector according to claim 2, characterized in that: The flanged section (24) is bent to form the reinforcing section (25).

4. A rigid connector according to claim 1, characterized in that: The hollow tube (1) is made of one or more of steel, aluminum alloy or titanium alloy.

5. A rigid connector according to claim 1, characterized in that: The diameter of the tangent circle of adjacent hollow tubes (1) is between 0.3 and 1.3 times the outer diameter of hollow tube (1).

6. A cavity assembly unit, comprising the rigid connector as described in claim 1, characterized in that: It includes at least one panel (4), and the connecting section (2) on the hollow tube (1) is connected to the panel (4) by rotational friction welding.

7. A cavity assembly unit according to claim 6, characterized in that: It also includes a top plate (5), a hollow tube (1) placed between the panel (4) and the top plate (5), and the hollow tube (1) is simultaneously friction welded with the panel (4) and the top plate (5).

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