Aircraft Seal Insert Reduces Manufacturing Expenditure
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional seals for aircraft components require high manufacturing expenditure due to the need for precise surface quality to ensure effective sealing, which is costly and time-consuming, especially for components with large cross-sectional areas like aircraft airfoil and wing units.
Innovation Solution
A seal design that incorporates an insert with a peripheral recess, allowing for separate processing and simplification of manufacturing, using connecting members and an adhesive layer to ensure sealing without additional surface treatment, and enabling independent wall thickness selection for material savings.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If high surface quality is achieved by grinding or polishing of sealing surfaces, then sealing effectiveness is improved, but manufacturing expenditure increases considerably
Solution Approach 1:
The sealing system is divided into separate components: an insert with sealing surfaces, an inner cover, and an outer cover. The insert can be manufactured separately with high surface quality requirements only where needed for sealing, while the covers can be manufactured with standard surface quality. This segmentation allows concentrated investment in surface quality only where critical, reducing overall manufacturing expenditure.
Solution Approach 2:
High surface quality is required only at specific local areas where sealing contact occurs between the insert and covers, rather than across entire sealing surfaces. The insert provides locally high-quality sealing surfaces at the interfaces with the covers, while other areas can have lower surface quality, thus reducing the overall manufacturing complexity and cost.
2Reliability
If additional sealing means are arranged between covers and component to compensate for surface unevenness, then sealing reliability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The insert is designed with built-in compensation capabilities that preemptively address surface unevenness issues. The connecting members allow for adjustment and compensation of minor misalignments or surface imperfections before they compromise sealing, eliminating the need for additional sealing means such as gaskets or sealing rings.
Solution Approach 2:
The connecting members enable adjustment of the insert position and orientation, allowing parameter changes in the sealing interface to accommodate surface variations. This adjustability provides sealing reliability without requiring additional sealing components, as the geometry and positioning parameters can be optimized during assembly.
3Ease of operation
If peripheral recesses or cutouts are incorporated in component for centering covers, then ease of assembly is improved, but manufacturing complexity of component increases
Solution Approach 1:
The insert is pre-formed with integrated centering features such as protrusions or guide elements that automatically align with corresponding features in the component opening during assembly. This preliminary incorporation of centering functionality eliminates the need for separate peripheral recesses or cutouts in the component, maintaining component structural integrity while ensuring easy assembly.
Data Source
AI summary
A seal for sealing component openings in components of a means of transport, in particular for sealing openings in aircraft airfoils and tail units, comprising an inner cover connected to an outer cover via connecting members. An insert may be arranged in the component opening the outer cover being at least locally adjacent to an insert outer surface, and the inner cover being at least locally adjacent to an insert inner surface. Due to the insert arranged in the component opening, manufacturing of the seal, e.g., by an injection molding technique, may be possible, producing already at manufacturing level a high surface quality of the resulting sealing surfaces between the insert, the inner cover, as well as the outer cover.