Bellows Fluid Duct Structure for Multi-Angle Flexibility
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional flexible fluid ducts used in automotive applications face challenges with reduced bending flexibility out of the plane of maximum flexibility due to rigidifying sections, leading to stress and potential rupture under thermal and mechanical forces, while also complicating assembly and disassembly.
Innovation Solution
A fluid duct design featuring bellows with convolutes that wrap around the duct channel by a specific angle, providing high bending flexibility in a range of angles and stiffness in the flow direction, achieved through a combination of interconnected bellows and non-bellows tube portions, allowing for compact, robust, and easy assembly.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If conventional bellows are provided with rigidifying sections (convolutes that do not completely encircle the tube or molded ribs), then the tube gains stiffness in the flow direction, but the bending flexibility in directions other than the plane of maximum flexibility is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The bellows is divided into multiple convolutes that are interconnected but not continuous. Each convolute is a separate element that contributes to both stiffness and flexibility, resolving the contradiction by segmenting the structure into functional units that can independently respond to different types of loading.
Solution Approach 2:
The convolutes wrap around the duct channel in a three-dimensional configuration, creating flexibility in multiple directions simultaneously. This dimensional approach allows the bellows to accommodate movements in both the plane of maximum flexibility and directions perpendicular to it, while maintaining flow direction stiffness through the wrap-around geometry.
2Stability of the object's composition
If rigidifying sections are added to the bellows, then the tube maintains its shape under thermal and mechanical loads, but the assembly becomes more difficult due to increased overall rigidity
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the bellows into discrete convolutes with gaps between them, the structure maintains shape stability through the collective behavior of multiple segments while allowing easier assembly. The segmented design reduces the overall rigidity compared to a fully continuous structure, enabling simpler installation without sacrificing load-bearing capability.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the convolutes completely encircle the tube, then the bending flexibility is maximized, but the stiffness in the flow direction is reduced leading to elongation under high temperature and pressure
Solution Approach 1:
The convolutes are designed with non-uniform characteristics along their length, with varying wrap-around angles and spacing. This local variation in geometry allows certain regions to provide bending flexibility while other regions maintain flow direction stiffness, optimizing both functions simultaneously through spatially differentiated structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The convolutes wrap around the duct channel by angles between 180° and 720°, creating a three-dimensional configuration that provides both bending flexibility and flow direction stiffness. The wrap-around geometry in multiple dimensions allows the structure to resist elongation while accommodating bending movements.
Data Source
AI summary
Provided herein is a fluid duct 2 comprising a tubular base wall 11 surrounding a duct channel and at least one bellows 10 formed along a section of the tubular base wall 11. The bellows 10 comprises a plurality of convolutes 12 having a profile 14 projecting radially from the base wall 11. At least one convolute 12 wraps around the duct channel at a wrap-around angle Ω of between 180° and 720° from a first end 22a to a second end 22b of the convolute 12, said second end 22b being offset in a flow direction F parallel to a centerline C of the duct channel by a non-zero offset distance D from the first end 22a.