Cryogenic Container Pressure Relief Valve Gravity Guide
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing pressure relief valves for cryogenic containers are bulky, expensive, and have unreliable automatic opening/closing mechanisms, which can lead to inefficient overpressure relief and potential explosive gas generation during leaks of flammable liquids.
Innovation Solution
A pressure relief valve with a guiding system featuring an integral axis and guide mounted in the opening, utilizing a sealing member for watertight closure, a flyweight to bias the cap towards the open position by gravity, and a transverse blocking member to ensure reliable operation, allowing for efficient overpressure relief without pumping ambient air.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If known pressure relief valves are used, then overpressure relief function is provided, but the device becomes bulky and expensive with unreliable automatic opening/closing mechanism
Solution Approach 1:
The pressure relief valve is segmented into distinct functional components: a cap for closing the opening, an axis integral with the cap for movement, a guide for the axis mounted in the opening, and a sealing member. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently, improving reliability while reducing overall complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The axis is made integral with the cap, merging two components into one unified moving assembly. This reduces the number of parts, simplifies the structure, and eliminates potential failure points from separate connections, thereby improving reliability while reducing device complexity.
2Reliability
If known pressure relief valves are used, then overpressure relief is provided, but the device becomes bulky
Solution Approach 1:
The guide system is nested within the opening structure, with the guide mounted directly in the opening and the axis moving within it. The sealing member is integrated into the cap assembly. This nesting arrangement minimizes the overall volume of the pressure relief valve while maintaining full functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
By merging the axis with the cap and integrating the guide system into the opening structure, the overall volume of the pressure relief valve is reduced. The combined components share space efficiently, eliminating the need for separate housings and mounting structures that would increase size.
3Reliability
If known pressure relief valves are used, then pressure relief function is provided, but the cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The valve is segmented into simple, manufacturable components: cap, axis, guide, and sealing member. Each component can be manufactured using standard processes and assembled straightforwardly, reducing overall manufacturing cost while maintaining reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
Merging the axis with the cap reduces the total part count and assembly steps, lowering manufacturing costs. The integrated design eliminates the need for separate mounting brackets, housings, and complex fastening systems that would increase production expenses.
4Device complexity
If the cap is made movable with simple guidance, then the structure is simplified, but reliable vertical guidance between positions becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The guide system is segmented into a guide component mounted in the opening and an axis component integral with the cap. This segmentation provides clear functional separation: the guide defines the movement path, and the axis follows it, ensuring reliable vertical guidance with minimal complexity.
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 solution provides a compact, reliable, and cost-effective pressure relief mechanism that effectively manages overpressure in cryogenic containers, preventing explosive gas generation and ensuring safe operation by automatically returning to the closed position when pressure is reduced.
Implementation Method 1
the cap (6) being configured to be moved to its second position by an overpressure greater than a determined threshold in the inter-wall spacing (4) and to return to its first position by gravity when the overpressure is greater than said determined threshold
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3
Figure 4
AI summary
Cryogenic container (1), in particular a cryogenic fluid storage tank, comprising an inner wall (2) delimiting a storage volume and an outer wall (3) disposed around the inner wall (2) with a vacuum-insulated inter-wall gap (4), the outer wall (3) being provided with a pressure relief valve (5) configured to discharge excess pressure in the inter-wall gap (4), the pressure relief valve (5) comprising a cap (6) movablely mounted relative to an opening (7) communicating with the inter-wall gap (4) between a first position closing the opening (7) and a second position opening the opening (7), characterized in that the cap (6) is movable and guided vertically between its first and second positions via a system (9,10) a guide located inside the opening (7) and in that the cap (6) is configured to be moved to the second position by an overpressure exceeding a predetermined threshold in the inter-wall spacing (4) and to return to the second position by gravity when the overpressure exceeds said predetermined threshold.