Beaded Tapered Pipe Forming to Prevent Buckling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Buckling occurs at the gradually-reduced-diameter portion during O-shape bending of pipes with increased large-diameter portions or shortened gradually-reduced-diameter portions.
Innovation Solution
Forming at least one bead along the axis of the pipe in the part corresponding to the gradually-reduced-diameter portion, which improves the stiffness of this area and inhibits buckling during the pipe formation process.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If the diameter of the large-diameter portion is increased or the length of the gradually-reduced-diameter portion is shortened, then the pipe can achieve compact design and larger flow capacity, but buckling occurs at the gradually-reduced-diameter portion during O-shape bending
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by forming beads specifically at the gradually-reduced-diameter portion where buckling is prone to occur. These beads create localized stiffening exactly where needed, rather than uniformly increasing stiffness throughout the entire pipe. This allows the pipe to maintain compact design with increased large-diameter portion or shortened gradually-reduced-diameter portion while preventing buckling at the critical transition zone.
Solution Approach 2:
The beads are formed in advance during the pipe manufacturing process, before the O-shape bending operation. This preliminary action of creating stiffening features beforehand ensures that when the pipe undergoes bending, the gradually-reduced-diameter portion already has enhanced rigidity to resist buckling, rather than trying to prevent buckling during the bending process itself.
2Stability of the object's composition
If beads are formed in the gradually-reduced-diameter portion, then stiffness is improved and buckling is inhibited, but the manufacturing process becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the bead formation process with the existing pipe manufacturing process. The beads are formed during the forming operation from the blank material, combining the structural feature creation with the primary manufacturing step rather than requiring a separate, additional manufacturing process. This integration minimizes the increase in manufacturing complexity while achieving the desired stiffening effect.
Data Source
AI summary
A method of manufacturing a pipe extending along an axis of the pipe includes forming a blank material into a U-shaped member that extends along the axis and has a cross-section of U-shape, and forming the U-shaped member into a shape of the pipe. The pipe includes a large-diameter portion, a small-diameter portion, and a gradually-reduced-diameter portion. The gradually-reduced-diameter portion connects the large-diameter portion and the small-diameter portion to each other. In the method of manufacturing the pipe, at least one bead extending along the axis of the pipe is formed in a part, of the blank material or the U-shaped member, that corresponds to the gradually-reduced-diameter portion.