Aircraft Air Duct Coupling Structure for Low Head Loss
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Solution Overview
Problem
Aircraft air duct pipes with internal surface defects due to manufacturing processes or damage cause aerodynamic disturbances and head losses, and existing solutions require complex and costly reinforcement with composite materials and bulky molds.
Innovation Solution
The air duct pipe design features pipe couplings with a tubular body and flange configuration that eliminates the need for internal layer reinforcement, using a convergent and divergent frustoconical interior surface and a flexible external layer to minimize compression forces and surface defects, allowing for simpler and cost-effective manufacturing without complex molds.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If the internal tube is made of composite material with reinforcing fibers to resist compression forces from clamps, then the strength and reliability are improved, but the manufacturing complexity and cost increase due to requiring bulky molds and fiber embedding processes
Solution Approach 1:
The invention divides the pipe structure into distinct segments: an internal tube for fluid transport and an external protective layer with insulation. The external layer absorbs compression forces from clamps, allowing the internal tube to maintain a simpler, smoother structure without requiring composite reinforcement.
Solution Approach 2:
The external layer acts as an intermediary between the clamp compression forces and the internal tube. It shields the internal tube from direct compression, eliminating the need for the internal tube to be structurally reinforced with fibers and complex molding processes.
2Ease of manufacture
If the internal tube surface has defects from manufacturing or damage, then the manufacturing ease is improved, but aerodynamic disturbances and head losses increase
Solution Approach 1:
The invention applies different quality requirements to different parts of the pipe structure. The internal tube requires a smooth surface to minimize aerodynamic disturbances and head losses, while the external layer can have a rougher texture and includes insulation properties, optimizing each layer for its specific function.
3Ease of operation
If clamps exert compression force directly on the internal tube to secure the connection, then the ease of operation is improved, but the internal tube requires fiber reinforcement increasing device complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The external layer serves as a mediator that receives and distributes the compression forces from clamps around the pipe's circumference. This protects the internal tube from direct compression, allowing simple clamping operations without requiring the internal tube to be structurally complex.
Data Source
AI summary
A pipe of an air duct comprising, from the interior toward the exterior, an internal layer, at least one insulating intermediate layer, an external layer and at least at one of its ends a pipe coupling distinct from the internal layer including a first end section that cooperates with the internal layer in sealed manner and a second end section not covered by any of the layers that is configured to cooperate with a connection system. Thus, no clamp of a connection system exerts compression forces on the internal layer of the pipe, which consequently is not necessarily reinforced by means of fibers.