Aircraft Fuel Pipe Coupling With Double-Walled Socket
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing aircraft fuel pipe couplings, particularly those with double-walled designs, face issues with leakage protection, manufacturing complexity, and flexibility due to multiple components and complex electrical bonding, leading to increased weight, volume, and risk of malassembly.
Innovation Solution
A coupling design featuring a pipe-end fitting and a double-walled socket arrangement with strategically positioned seal rings that allow for pivoting and sliding movements, reducing the number of components and enhancing flexibility, while maintaining effective sealing and electrical connectivity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If multiple seal rings and flexible coupling parts are used to provide sealing and flexibility, then sealing reliability and flexibility are improved, but device complexity and manufacturing cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple sealing functions into a single seal ring structure that simultaneously seals both the inner and outer walls of the double-walled pipe. The coupling body integrates the sealing surfaces for both walls, eliminating the need for separate seal rings for each wall and reducing the overall number of components while maintaining reliable sealing.
Solution Approach 2:
The single seal ring is designed to perform multiple sealing functions simultaneously - it seals both the inner wall and outer wall of the double-walled pipe, and accommodates both axial and angular movements. The coupling body serves multiple purposes including structural support, sealing, and flexibility accommodation.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple components are used to accommodate angular deflection and side loads, then flexibility is improved, but weight and volume increase
Solution Approach 1:
The coupling body is designed with dynamic characteristics that allow it to accommodate angular deflections and side loads through its inherent structural flexibility. The single seal ring can deform elastically to accommodate angular movements between the inner and outer pipe sections, eliminating the need for additional flexible components.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple seal rings with different centers of rotation are used to allow relative movement, then flexibility is improved, but side loads on seals increase and wear increases
Solution Approach 1:
The coupling design incorporates asymmetric sealing surfaces on the coupling body that are specifically shaped to accommodate angular deflections while maintaining uniform contact pressure on the single seal ring. The sealing surfaces are designed with different radii of curvature to match the angular movement characteristics, ensuring even load distribution.
Data Source
AI summary
A coupling for fuel pipe includes a pipe end fitting, which includes a male outer surface including a groove and a female inner surface including a groove. The coupling includes a double-walled socket including a female outer socket and a male inner shaft. The pipe end fitting is accommodated in the region between the female outer socket and the male inner shaft. A first seal ring seals between the female inner surface and the male inner shaft. A second seal ring, which may be substantially coplanar with the first, seals between the male outer surface and the female outer socket of the double-walled socket. The coupling may be so arranged that the pipe end fitting and the double-walled socket are able to pivot relative to each other by up to at least ±2 degrees and are able to slide both towards and apart from each other.