Curved Pipe Wear Resistance via Thermal Shrink Fit
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing solutions for creating curved tubular joints for transferring abrasive materials like concrete are complex, heavy, expensive, and prone to breakage due to incomplete filling, and they complicate the production process with difficult assembly and long execution times.
Innovation Solution
A method involving separately making a curved external and internal tubular element, where the internal element is made of wear-resistant material, using a forming mold to heat and cool the external element, allowing it to shrink and adhere to the internal element without gaps, simplifying the process and reducing weight and production time.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If spacer elements are used to clamp two tubular parts together to create an interspace filled with concrete, then the tube becomes solid and reliable, but the production becomes complex and the tube becomes very heavy and expensive
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts and eliminates the spacer elements and concrete filling from the assembly process. Instead of using two separate tubular parts with spacers and concrete filling, the invention uses a single integrated tubular part that achieves the same structural reliability without the additional components and complex assembly steps.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention merges the function of multiple components (external tubular part, internal tubular part, spacer elements, and concrete filling) into a single integrated tubular part. This consolidation eliminates the need for complex assembly and reduces the overall weight and cost while maintaining structural reliability.
2Strength
If spacer elements are used to clamp two tubular parts together, then the tube becomes solid with the internal element, but the tube becomes very heavy and expensive
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts and eliminates the heavy spacer elements and concrete filling from the design. The single integrated tubular part achieves the required structural strength through its own design and material properties without relying on additional heavy components.
3Duration of action of stationary object
If curved tubular elements are made with high wear resistance material, then the working life increases, but the material becomes very fragile and prone to breakage
Solution Approach 1:
The invention uses composite material construction with a metallic base material that provides toughness and resistance to breakage, combined with a ceramic coating layer that provides wear resistance. This composite structure allows the curved tubular element to achieve extended working life through wear protection while maintaining the ductility and impact resistance of the metallic substrate.
4Ease of manufacture
If it is provided to make the internal tubular element in sectors with circumferential extension, then the assembly is simplified, but another clamping step is necessitated
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts and eliminates the need for multiple clamping steps by using a single integrated tubular part. The seamless construction removes the requirement for additional clamping operations that would be necessary if assembling multiple sector pieces or nested tubular elements.
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 method results in a lightweight, long-lasting, and cost-effective curved tube with improved resistance to wear and stress, eliminating the complexity and weight issues of previous solutions while ensuring a secure and gap-free connection.
Implementation Method 1
heating the curved external tubular element to a value near its temperature of deformation
Implementation Method 2
cooling the tubular elements. Thanks to the shrinkage effect due to cooling, and the combined effect of the pressure generated by the mold, a tube without gaps between the curved external tubular element and the curved internal tubular element is thus obtained
Data Source
AI summary
A method and apparatus for producing a curved tubular segment includes obtaining a curved external tubular element and a curved internal tubular element. The curved internal tubular element is made of a material having a resistance to wear greater than that of the curved external tubular element and has a cross section such as to cover at least part of the internal surface of the curved external tubular element. The curved internal tubular element is inserted inside the curved external tubular element after heating the latter by a heating unit. To form the curved external tubular element on the exact geometry of the curved internal tubular element, a molding unit and a cooling unit are used to obtain a curved tubular segment without spaces between the curved external tubular element and the curved internal tubular element.