Burning Vessel Wick Cap Tapered Wall Fuel Leakage
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional burning vessels for liquid fuels, such as candle replicas, face issues with fuel leakage, incomplete combustion, and residue accumulation due to low-viscosity fuels, leading to inefficient flame production and messy handling.
Innovation Solution
A combustion vessel design featuring a cylindrical fuel container with a wick cap that includes a tapered portion and a circumferential wall to catch and guide liquid fuel back into the container, along with a vent opening to ensure uniform combustion and prevent leakage, allowing for multiple uses without additional sealing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a wick cap is used in conventional burning vessels, then fuel can be contained and combustion can occur, but liquid fuel accumulates on the wick cap and flows down the outside of the container causing leakage and mess
Solution Approach 1:
The wick cap is divided into functional zones: an upper tapered portion for fuel accumulation, a circumferential wall forming a basin, and a lower cylindrical portion for insertion. This segmentation allows different areas to perform specific functions - the basin catches leaking fuel and redirects it back into the container, preventing external mess while maintaining reliable fuel containment
Solution Approach 2:
The circumferential wall acts as an intermediary structure between the wick cap interior and the exterior environment. It creates a basin that serves as an intermediate collection point for fuel that would otherwise leak externally, redirecting it back into the container through the tapered portion and preventing harmful fuel accumulation on the outside
2Ease of operation
If low-viscosity liquid fuels are used, then easier flow and combustion are achieved, but fuel leaks more easily and accumulates residue
Solution Approach 1:
The design converts the harmful effect of low-viscosity fuel flowing too easily (causing leakage) into a beneficial feature. The circumferential wall and tapered portion work together to channel the freely flowing fuel back into the container, transforming what would be external leakage into internal circulation, thus benefiting from easy fuel flow without the harmful leakage effects
3Device complexity
If the vessel is designed for single use, then simpler construction is achieved, but resource waste and environmental impact increase
Solution Approach 1:
The removable wick cap design enables recovery and reuse of the fuel container. After the wick cap is removed, any remaining fuel can be recovered from the container, and the container itself can be cleaned and refilled for multiple uses. This transforms a single-use design into a reusable system, reducing substance waste and environmental impact while maintaining relatively simple construction
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
The design prevents fuel leakage and residue accumulation, ensuring a uniform flame and allowing the vessel to be reused, with the ability to handle higher-viscosity fuels that are safer and odorless, maintaining cleanliness and efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
if liquid fuel gets onto the wick cap, it can be caught in a basin-like area formed by the upper surface of the tapered portion of the wick cap and the projecting circumferential wall
Implementation Method 2
the vent opening being arranged above an upper end of the circumferential wall of the cylindrical container
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3a~3c
AI summary
A combustion vessel comprises a cylindrical fuel reservoir for receiving a liquid fuel, the cylindrical fuel reservoir being open at one axial end. A wick cap is inserted into the open end of the cylindrical fuel reservoir, the wick cap having an upwardly tapered section. A circumferential wall of the cylindrical fuel reservoir projects upward beyond the lower end of the upwardly tapered section. The wick cap has a cylindrical section below the upwardly tapered section, which is inserted into the cylindrical fuel reservoir. A fluid passage is formed between the wall of the cylindrical fuel reservoir and the cylindrical section, fluidically connecting the interior of the cylindrical fuel reservoir to a region between the projecting circumferential wall and the upwardly tapered section.