A ventilation duct
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Solution Overview
Problem
Ventilation ducts with large cross-sectional areas and ability to withstand partial vacuum surges face issues of mechanical weakness, particularly in corner regions and large planar surfaces, leading to buckling and deformation, which limits their scalability and reliability.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating longitudinal bead-like projections with fibre material and binder agent, featuring internal longitudinal rigidifying elements, which provide additional mechanical strength and rigidity, and using a configurationally stabilizing suspension device to secure the duct effectively.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Area of moving object
If the ventilation duct is scaled up to large cross-sectional areas, then flow resistance and energy consumption are reduced, but the duct collapses and compresses under partial vacuum
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by concentrating fibre material and binder agent in specific regions (corner regions and longitudinal joints) where mechanical strength is most needed, rather than uniformly distributing material throughout the duct structure. This allows the duct to achieve large cross-sectional areas while maintaining sufficient strength at critical locations to withstand partial vacuum pressures.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs composite materials by combining fibre material with binder agent to create a structurally superior duct wall. This composite structure provides both the large cross-sectional area needed for low flow resistance and the mechanical strength required to resist collapse under partial vacuum, as the binder agent binds fibres together to form a rigid yet flexible composite structure.
2Loss of energy
If the duct has large planar surfaces, then flow losses are reduced, but the surfaces buckle under partial vacuum
Solution Approach 1:
The patent addresses buckling of large planar surfaces by applying local quality through concentrated reinforcement at critical locations (corners and joints) rather than uniformly thickening the entire duct wall. This allows large planar surfaces to maintain low flow losses while the locally reinforced regions provide structural stability to prevent buckling under partial vacuum pressure differentials.
3Ease of manufacture
If the duct is flattened and rolled up for storage, then compactness is achieved, but fibres are ruptured and broken at fold lines
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-positioning longitudinal rigidifying elements and concentrating binder agent at fold lines and corner regions before the flattening and rolling process. This preparatory reinforcement ensures that when the duct is subsequently flattened and rolled for compact storage, the fibres at critical locations are protected from rupture, maintaining structural integrity after deformation.
4Strength
If the duct corner regions are reinforced, then mechanical strength is improved, but the duct becomes more complex to manufacture
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the reinforcement function into the existing duct manufacturing process by concentrating fibre material and binder agent at corner regions and longitudinal joints during the same forming process used to create the duct walls. This integration of reinforcement into the base manufacturing process achieves enhanced mechanical strength without significantly increasing manufacturing complexity, as no separate reinforcement step is required.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3~5
AI summary
A duct comprises a number of wall sections (1, 2, 3) which are at least partly produced from fibre material and a binder agent. Together, the wall sections (1, 2, 3) define a closed, elongate flow space. The wall sections (1, 2, 3) which meet one another are united by the intermediary of at least one longitudinal fold or joint line. In the fibre material and the binder agent of the duct, there are disposed longitudinal rigidifying elements (6). On the outside of the duct, there are longitudinal bead-liked projections (5) which comprise the fibre material and the binder agent.