Bellows Accumulator Safety Stop and Flushing Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
Hydraulic accumulators with bellows as movable separating elements face risks of damage, particularly during sudden contraction, which can lead to compressive strain and operational safety issues.
Innovation Solution
The immovable end of the bellows features an end body with a projecting region that serves as a safety stop and fluid connection, including inclined and axial fluid passages for flushing, ensuring the closure body rests on the safety stop before adjacent folds compress, thus preventing damage and enhancing operational safety.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the bellows is allowed to contract completely, then the accumulator can achieve maximum fluid volume change, but the adjacent folds of the bellows are compressed which may cause damage
Solution Approach 1:
The end body with its projecting region is pre-configured to act as a safety stop before the bellows folds can be compressed. This preliminary structural arrangement prevents the harmful action (fold compression) from occurring in the first place by limiting the contraction travel of the closure body.
Solution Approach 2:
The projecting region of the end body serves as an intermediary element between the closure body and the bellows folds. It mediates the contraction motion by providing a stopping surface that prevents direct contact and compression between the closure body and the delicate bellows folds.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the closure body is allowed to move freely during contraction, then the bellows can fully expand and contract, but the closure body may tilt or become unstable when resting on the end body
Solution Approach 1:
The end body is designed with multiple functions: it serves as both the fluid connection interface and the safety stop for the closure body. This multi-functional design allows the closure body to rest stably on the end body during contraction while maintaining its primary function of sealing the bellows.
3Ease of manufacture
If the end body has a simple flat surface, then it is easy to manufacture, but it cannot effectively flush out dirt particles accumulated in the annular space
Solution Approach 1:
The end body surface is designed with different local qualities: the central region provides a stable resting surface for the closure body, while the inclined peripheral regions create flushing channels that guide dirt particles toward the annular space for removal by the flushing mechanism.
Solution Approach 2:
The inclined surfaces of the end body convert the potentially harmful accumulation of dirt particles into a beneficial flushing mechanism. By directing dirt particles along the inclined surfaces into the annular space, the design transforms a contamination problem into a self-cleaning feature.
Data Source
AI summary
A bellows accumulator has a bellows (13) serving as a movable separating element between a gas side (11) and a fluid side (21). At the movable bellows end during expansion and contraction in the accumulator housing defining a longitudinal axis (9), a closure body (25) closes off the interior space (33) of the bellows (13) in a fluid-tight manner. At its other bellows end (27), the bellows is immovably fixed to the accumulator housing (1). The immovable bellows end (27) is fixed to an end body (31) fixed to the housing, which end body (31) is in the form of a disk with region (37) projecting axially into the interior (33) of the bellows (13) from the main plane (35) of the disk. At least one fluid passage (41, 43) is formed on the projecting region (37), which fluid passage (41, 43) connects the interior space (33) associated with the fluid side (21) to a fluid connection (17) of the accumulator housing (1).