Brace Bar Aperture Design for Coriolis Flow Meter Brazing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vibrating Coriolis flow meters face issues with stress on welded joints due to flawed brazing between flow tubes and brace bars, resulting in voids and increased costs, as the gap between the flow tubes and brace bars must be minimized to prevent damage during insertion while ensuring sufficient space for insertion without causing flaws in the brazing material.
Innovation Solution
The design of a brace bar with specific apertures and gaps that can be reduced in diameter through a clamping force, allowing for uniform and suitable gaps for brazing, which can be further closed by sliding surfaces or wedge portions to ensure strong and uniform coupling, reducing the risk of voids and excessive material usage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If the flow tube gap is minimized to prevent brazing flaws, then the brazing quality improves, but the difficulty of inserting flow tubes into the brace bar increases
Solution Approach 1:
The brace bar aperture is designed with a larger diameter than the flow tube outer circumference, creating preliminary clearance that facilitates easy insertion. After insertion, a clamping mechanism reduces the aperture diameter to match the flow tube dimensions, achieving tight brazing gaps without insertion difficulty.
2Ease of operation
If the flow tube gap is increased to allow easy insertion, then the ease of operation improves, but the risk of brazing flaws such as voids increases
Solution Approach 1:
The brace bar aperture transitions from a static large diameter to a dynamic structure that can change size. The aperture starts large to allow easy insertion, then uses clamping force to reduce its diameter, creating a tight gap for high-quality brazing without voids.
3Ease of manufacture
If excessive brazing material is used to fill large gaps, then the ease of manufacture improves, but the cost and potential for defects increase
Solution Approach 1:
The invention changes the gap parameter dynamically - large during insertion, then reduced to an optimal small value for brazing. This eliminates the need to use excessive brazing material to fill large gaps, reducing cost and preventing defects while maintaining manufacturing ease.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach minimizes the flow tube gap to a width suitable for brazing, ensuring strong and uniform coupling, reducing the risk of voids and excessive material usage, thereby enhancing the durability and cost-effectiveness of the brace bars.
Implementation Method 1
Brace bars are used on flow meters to reduce stress on welded joints where the flow tubes are attached to the manifolds
Implementation Method 2
The brace bars are typically brazed to the flow tubes on the brace bar's inner circumference
Implementation Method 3
Each fluid tube is driven to oscillate at resonance in one of these natural modes
Implementation Method 4
vibrating Coriolis flow meter as disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 4,491,025 issued to J.E. Smith
Data Source
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AI summary
A brace bar (300, 400, 500, 600, 700) is provided. The brace bar (300, 400, 500, 600, 700) includes a brace bar body (302, 402, 502, 602, 702) with a perimeter, a first aperture (304a, 404a, 504a, 604a, 704a) and a second aperture (304b, 404b, 504b, 604b, 704b) in the brace bar body (302, 402, 502, 602, 702), and a gap (306, 406, 506, 606, 706) formed in the brace bar body (302, 402, 502, 602, 702) connecting the first aperture (304a, 404a, 504a, 604a, 704a) and the second aperture (304b, 404b, 504b, 604b, 704b) wherein the gap (306, 406, 506, 606, 706) is wholly contained within the perimeter of the brace bar body (302, 402, 502, 602, 702).