Aircraft Pylon Firewall Flame Containment Without Sealant
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing firewalls in aircraft pylon structures require fire-resistant sealants to prevent flame spread through fastener holes, which increases maintenance time due to the drying and hardening process.
Innovation Solution
A firewall design featuring a fire-protection chamber within the connecting part between first and second members, including a fastener through-hole, that prevents flames from reaching the connecting part by forming a closed system or using a passageway that diverges from the connecting part, eliminating the need for fire-resistant sealants.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If fire-resistant sealant is applied to prevent flames from passing through fastener holes, then flame protection is improved, but maintenance time increases due to drying and hardening requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the fire protection function from the sealant material and transfers it to a dedicated fire-resistant plate component. This plate is installed separately in the connecting part, allowing the fastener holes to be drilled without requiring sealant application, thereby eliminating the drying and hardening time loss while maintaining flame protection.
Solution Approach 2:
The fire-resistant plate acts as an intermediary element between the fastener holes and the flame. Instead of relying on sealant to block flames through the holes, the plate is positioned to intercept and contain flames, serving as a mediator that protects the connecting part without requiring chemical curing time.
2Reliability
If fire-resistant sealant is used to seal fastener holes, then flame spread prevention is improved, but device complexity increases due to additional sealing components
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the fire resistance function from the sealant and consolidates it into a dedicated fire-resistant plate. This separation allows the plate to be the sole fire protection component, simplifying the overall device by eliminating the need for complex sealant application processes and multiple sealing elements.
Solution Approach 2:
The fire protection system is segmented into distinct functional components: the fire-resistant plate handles flame protection, while the fastener system handles mechanical connection. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently, reducing overall device complexity compared to integrating fire protection into the sealant application process.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables effective prevention of flame spread without fire-resistant sealants, facilitating quicker maintenance and enhanced resistance to vibrations and impacts by maintaining a fire-protection chamber that can deform elastically.
Implementation Method 1
a fire-protection chamber provided inside a fire-protection zone associated with a connecting part between the first and second members
Implementation Method 2
maintaining a fire-protection chamber that can deform elastically
Data Source
AI summary
In order to provide a firewall that is capable of preventing flame passage through a through-hole without any sealant in a connecting part of a component in which a fastener through-hole is formed, a firewall 50 is provided which can prevent a flame from leaking out of the connecting part which connects a first member 51 to a second member 55, particularly through the fastener through-hole TH defined therein. In the firewall 50, the connecting part is a part of a fire-protection chamber 52. As sealing pieces 51d and 51e which also constitute a part of the fire-protection chamber 52 are in contact with each other, the flame is unable to enter into a closed space CA. Thus, the flame would not reach the connecting part, thereby preventing the flame from leaking out of the firewall 50 to the outside of a nacelle 23.