Battery Bath Joint Assembly Seal for Corrosion Resistance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Lead-acid battery manufacturing processes, such as charging, immersing, and testing, often result in acidic liquids damaging battery bath surfaces, causing deformation, cracking, and leakage, leading to frequent replacements.
Innovation Solution
A joint assembly with a seal is used between flanges of a battery bath's sections, allowing for shape changes and deformations by maintaining a gap and using a seal that mates with retention features to prevent contact and fluid leaks, thereby accommodating thermal and corrosive-induced expansions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If battery bath surfaces are exposed to acidic liquids during manufacturing processes, then the liquid performs its function (charging, cooling, rinsing, testing), but the acidic liquid damages the bath surfaces causing deformation, cracking, and leakage
Solution Approach 1:
The battery bath is divided into multiple sections with flanges at the ends. Each section can be independently sealed and replaced, preventing damage propagation throughout the entire bath structure. The segmentation allows the bath to be constructed from modular units that resist acidic liquid damage better than a single monolithic structure.
Solution Approach 2:
A seal is introduced as an intermediary element between adjacent bath sections. This seal prevents direct contact between acidic liquids and the flange interfaces, protecting the structural integrity of the bath sections from chemical corrosion and mechanical damage at the joints.
2Stability of the object's composition
If the battery bath sections are rigidly connected to maintain structural stability, then the assembly maintains its shape, but thermal expansion and corrosive-induced deformations cause stress concentration and potential failure
Solution Approach 1:
The joint assembly incorporates a seal that can dynamically adjust to shape changes and deformations of the bath sections. The seal maintains its sealing function even when sections expand, contract, or deform due to thermal effects or corrosion, allowing the structure to adapt while maintaining stability.
Solution Approach 2:
The seal acts as a flexible element between rigid bath sections. This flexible component accommodates thermal expansion and corrosive-induced deformations by deforming itself, while the rigid sections maintain their structural stability. The flexible seal absorbs stress that would otherwise concentrate at rigid joints.
3Area of stationary object
If flanges are positioned close together to minimize space, then the assembly is compact, but the lack of gap prevents accommodation of thermal expansion and deformation
Solution Approach 1:
The seal is positioned within the gap between flanges, effectively nesting the flexible sealing element within the available space. This allows the flanges to be positioned closer together while still maintaining the necessary gap for seal functionality and accommodation of dimensional changes.
Solution Approach 2:
The solution moves the accommodation mechanism from the lateral dimension (gap between flanges) to the vertical dimension (thickness of the seal). By using a seal with appropriate thickness and compressibility, the system can accommodate expansion and deformation without requiring large lateral gaps, thus maintaining a compact footprint.
Data Source
AI summary
A joint assembly and a tub assembly for a battery bath. The joint assembly has a seal that extends between a first flange of a first section and a second flange of a second section. The seal sealing a gap defined between the first and second flanges.