Baffled Fluid Container Assembly Top Drain Valve
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing fuel containers face issues with leaks from the drain valve and lack of structural integrity, particularly when pressurized, which can lead to fluid loss and safety concerns during transportation and storage of petroleum products and mine waste.
Innovation Solution
A baffled fluid container design featuring a square or rectangular housing with a baffle assembly that divides the interior volume into smaller sections, providing structural reinforcement and preventing leaks through full seam welding, allowing for pressurization and controlled fluid removal without the need for continuous gas pressurization, and incorporating features like a containment cap for security and fluid management.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a drain valve is located at the bottom of the container for fluid removal, then fluid can be easily drained under gravity, but leaks from the drain valve occur compromising leak-proof integrity
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the drain valve from the bottom wall and relocates it to the top wall of the container. This allows fluid removal to occur through the top rather than through a bottom-mounted valve, eliminating the leak risk associated with bottom drain valves while maintaining ease of operation.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of draining fluid from the bottom up (conventional approach), the invention inverts the drainage approach by positioning the valve at the top, allowing fluid to be removed from the top down. This inversion resolves the contradiction by maintaining drainage functionality while eliminating the leak vulnerability of bottom-mounted valves.
2Productivity
If the container is pressurized to remove fluid efficiently, then fluid removal speed increases, but structural integrity is compromised leading to potential failure
Solution Approach 1:
The internal volume of the container is segmented into multiple compartments by vertical baffle walls. This segmentation distributes the pressurization stress across multiple smaller sections rather than one large volume, reducing the overall stress on the container structure while maintaining efficient fluid removal capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The baffle walls are strategically positioned to create localized stress distribution zones. By dividing the container into sections, the local quality of stress distribution is improved, allowing the structure to withstand pressurization better while maintaining fluid removal efficiency.
3Volume of stationary object
If the container volume is large for efficient storage, then storage capacity increases, but fluid surging occurs during movement compromising safety
Solution Approach 1:
The large internal volume is segmented into multiple smaller compartments using vertical baffle walls. This maintains the overall storage capacity while preventing fluid surging by dividing the fluid into separate sections that cannot surge across the entire container length during movement.
Solution Approach 2:
The baffle walls act as intermediary structures between the fluid and the container walls during movement. These intermediaries absorb and distribute the impact forces of moving fluid, preventing harmful surging while maintaining the container's storage capacity.
Data Source
AI summary
A rectangular or square fluid container having a baffle assembly configured to fit inside an interior volume within the fluid container. The fluid container is capable of being pressurized and has a number of valves or ports on a top wall thereof, which valves or ports allow for the fluid container to be filled with a fluid, for the fluid container to be pressurized, and for the removal of fluid from the fluid container.