Cryogenic Coupler Vacuum Structure for Emergency Detachment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing emergency detachment mechanisms for fluid handling devices handling liquid hydrogen suffer from poor heat insulation, leading to evaporation of liquid hydrogen during circulation and liquefaction of oxygen, posing safety risks due to the accumulation of flammable liquid oxygen.
Innovation Solution
The emergency detachment mechanism features a vacuum double-wall structure with a thin connecting flange for minimal heat conduction between internal and external tube parts, utilizing low-heat-conductive materials and a triple seal structure to minimize heat transfer and oxygen liquefaction, ensuring efficient fluid handling and enhanced safety.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of energy
If conventional single-wall structure is used for couplers, then device complexity is reduced, but heat insulation performance deteriorates causing liquid hydrogen evaporation
Solution Approach 1:
The coupler is divided into an internal tube part and an external tube part with a vacuum space between them, creating a segmented structure that provides thermal insulation while maintaining functional integrity
Solution Approach 2:
The internal tube part is nested within the external tube part, forming a double-wall structure where the vacuum space acts as an insulating layer, effectively reducing heat transfer while maintaining a compact design
2Strength
If thick connecting flange is used to ensure structural strength, then connection reliability is improved, but heat conduction between internal and external tube parts increases
Solution Approach 1:
The connecting flange is designed with non-uniform thickness, being thinner at the distal end where heat conduction is most problematic, while maintaining sufficient strength through strategic thickness distribution and structural design
Solution Approach 2:
The connecting flange incorporates low-heat-conductive materials or composite structures that provide both mechanical strength and thermal insulation properties, reducing heat transfer while maintaining connection reliability
3Speed
If valve body is exposed during emergency detachment, then emergency operation speed is improved, but oxygen liquefaction risk increases due to cold exposure
Solution Approach 1:
The valve body distal end part acts as an intermediary protective element between the cold internal tube and the external environment, reducing direct heat transfer and minimizing oxygen liquefaction while allowing rapid valve operation
Solution Approach 2:
The valve body distal end part is designed as a thin-walled structure that provides thermal protection while maintaining operational flexibility and rapid response capability during emergency detachment
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 configuration achieves exceptional heat insulation, reducing fluid evaporation and oxygen liquefaction, thereby improving safety and efficiency in handling liquid hydrogen by minimizing heat conduction and preventing the accumulation of flammable liquid oxygen.
Implementation Method 1
an internal tube part 2 through which a fluid passes, an external tube part 3 which is more enlarged in diameter at a distal end side than the internal tube part 2, and a connecting flange part 4 that closes off a space between the internal tube part 2 and the external tube part 3, a vacuum layer 9 being formed between the internal tube part 2 and the external tube part 3
Implementation Method 2
the connecting flange part 4 has a wall thickness less than a wall thickness of the external tube part 3, and is provided between distal ends of the internal tube part and the external tube part 3 where a clearance between the internal tube part 2 and the external tube part 3 is greatest; and when the couplers 1 are connected to each other, a heat-conducting part between the internal tube part 2 and the external tube part 3 is only the connecting flange part 4
Data Source
AI summary
To provide an emergency detachment mechanism for a fluid handling device that has exceptional heat insulation performance and enables liquid hydrogen or another very-low-temperature fluid to be handled. An emergency detachment mechanism for a fluid handling device provided with a pair of couplers 1, wherein each of the pair of couplers 1 has a coupler body part 5 including an internal tube part 2 in which a fluid passes through an interior and which opens at a distal end side, an external tube part 3 which forms a vacuum layer 9 with the internal tube part 2 and which opens at a distal end side, and a connecting flange part 4 that closes off a space between the internal tube part 2 and the external tube part 3, a wall thickness of the connecting flange part 4 being less than a wall thickness of the external tube part 3.