Conduit Joint Metal Seal Ring Conical Bore
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing ball and socket conduit joints in the oil production and refining industries fail to provide a fluid-tight seal for misaligned conduits, particularly due to the lack of a seal ring with a flush bore profile, which affects the integrity of fluid flow.
Innovation Solution
A ball and socket conduit joint design incorporating a metal seal ring with a conical or uniformly tapered bore, featuring sealing surfaces and an annular protrusion, secured by bolts, which ensures fluid-tight engagement and accommodates conduit misalignment through adjustable cone angles, with seals energized by fluid pressure.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a ball and socket conduit joint is used to connect misaligned conduits, then the conduits can be joined at different angles, but the seal integrity deteriorates due to the lack of a flush bore profile
Solution Approach 1:
The seal ring incorporates a conical bore with a specific angle (typically 30 degrees) that creates a localized flush profile at the sealing surface. This local geometric modification ensures that the sealing surfaces remain parallel and maintain fluid-tight engagement even when the conduits are misaligned, thereby preserving seal integrity while accommodating angular deviations.
Solution Approach 2:
The conical bore changes the geometric parameters of the seal ring by introducing a tapered profile instead of a cylindrical one. This parameter change allows the sealing surfaces to converge properly at an angle, maintaining the flush bore profile necessary for reliable sealing while enabling the joint to accommodate misalignment up to the cone angle limit.
2Reliability
If a metal seal ring with conical bore is used, then fluid-tight sealing is improved, but the device complexity increases due to additional sealing surfaces and protrusions
Solution Approach 1:
The seal ring combines multiple functions into a single component: the conical bore provides the flush profile for sealing, the outwardly facing surface creates the sealing surfaces against the ball member, and the annular protrusion provides mechanical attachment. By merging these functions into one integrated part, the design achieves fluid-tight sealing without proportionally increasing overall device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The seal ring serves multiple purposes simultaneously: it creates the flush bore profile for proper fluid flow, provides sealing surfaces for fluid-tight engagement with the ball member, and includes an annular protrusion for mechanical securing. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate components, thereby limiting the increase in device complexity while achieving reliable sealing.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the cone angle is increased to accommodate greater misalignment, then the adaptability improves, but the manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The conical bore design allows the seal ring to dynamically adapt to misalignment within the cone angle capacity. The tapered geometry naturally accommodates angular deviations by distributing the misalignment across the conical surface, reducing the sensitivity to precise manufacturing tolerances compared to a rigid parallel-sealing design.
Solution Approach 2:
By changing the cone angle parameter, the design directly controls both the misalignment accommodation capability and the manufacturing precision requirements. A larger cone angle increases adaptability but requires tighter tolerances on the cone angle itself to maintain sealing effectiveness, creating a trade-off that must be optimized based on application requirements.
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 provides a reliable, fluid-tight connection for misaligned conduits by maintaining a flush bore profile and withstanding maximum misalignment angles, ensuring efficient fluid flow and increased pressure resistance.
Implementation Method 1
The seals between said sealing surfaces and said seats are preferably energized by pressure exerted on the seal ring by fluid flow therethrough
Data Source
AI summary
An all metal ball and socket joint for connecting two misaligned conduits in fluid-tight communication utilizes a metal seal ring having a substantially conical bore which provides a relatively flush bore profile to fluid flowing through the seal ring. The cone angle of the conical bore is chosen in accordance with the maximum misalignment expected. The seal ring is attached to the nose of the ball member preferably by bolts. Seals are pressure energized by fluid flow. An annular o-ring groove and a pressure port can be provided to allow a back seal test to be carried out during installation.