Desalter Bushing Seal Assembly for Pressure and Temperature Fluctuations
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current desalter entrance bushings fail due to loosening of sealing surfaces under pressure and temperature fluctuations, and inadequate compression of sealing surfaces when the insulating rod is not sufficiently heated.
Innovation Solution
A desalter entrance bushing assembly featuring an insulating rod with a tapered sealing surface and a shoulder, a biasing component, and a hub nut with a spring seat, which applies a force of at least 350 PSI to maintain a seal between the sealing surfaces when tightened to a predetermined torque, ensuring a consistent seal despite temperature and pressure changes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a mechanical seal is used between insulating rod and flange, then sealing is achieved, but the seal fails under pressure and temperature fluctuations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from a static mechanical seal to a dynamic seal mechanism using a bellows component that can expand and contract. The bellows dynamically adjusts to pressure and temperature fluctuations, maintaining seal integrity where rigid mechanical seals fail. This dynamic adaptation allows the sealing surface to remain stable under varying operational conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the physical parameters of the sealing system by introducing a bellows component that alters its shape and volume in response to pressure and temperature changes. This parameter change enables the seal to accommodate thermal expansion and pressure variations without compromising sealing effectiveness, resolving the instability issue.
2Ease of operation
If insulating rod is installed cold, then installation is easier, but sealing surfaces do not compress sufficiently
Solution Approach 1:
The patent incorporates a bellows component that is pre-configured to provide compression force. This preliminary action ensures that sufficient sealing surface compression is achieved during installation without requiring the insulating rod to be heated, making installation easier while maintaining sealing precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The bellows acts as an intermediary component between the insulating rod and flange, providing the necessary compression force for sealing. This mediator enables sufficient sealing surface compression without requiring thermal expansion of the insulating rod, resolving the contradiction between installation ease and sealing precision.
3Ease of manufacture
If hub nut is tightened to specified torque, then mechanical seal is formed, but seal loosens over time
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the static torque-dependent mechanical seal with a dynamic bellows-based seal. The bellows maintains consistent sealing pressure through its elastic properties, eliminating the loosening issue that occurs with fixed torque mechanical seals over time. This dynamic system ensures long-term seal reliability without requiring repeated tightening.
Solution Approach 2:
The bellows component provides self-adjusting sealing pressure through its elastic recovery properties. As the hub nut tightens the bellows, the bellows naturally maintains compression force on the sealing surfaces, creating a self-sustaining seal that does not loosen over time. This self-service mechanism eliminates the need for periodic maintenance.
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 effectively maintains a tight seal between the insulating rod and the flange, preventing failures caused by pressure and temperature fluctuations, and ensuring reliable operation of desalter entrance bushings.
Implementation Method 1
a biasing component configured to apply a spring force onto the insulating rod to compress the tapered sealing surface into an interference fit with the tapered sealing surface of the flange
Implementation Method 2
the seal between the tapered sealing surface of the insulating rod and the tapered sealing surface of the flange; the interference fit with a tapered sealing surface
Data Source
AI summary
A method and assembly for improving and maintaining a seal between an insulating rod and a flange in a desalter entrance bushing assembly. The assembly includes an insulating rod with a shoulder for a biasing component, a hub nut with a spring seat for a biasing component, a biasing component, and a flange to which the insulating rod can create a fluid tight seal. The shoulder and spring seat can form approximately 90-degree platforms on which the biasing component can apply force when the hub nut is appropriately secured to the flange. The method includes threading the hub nut containing the biasing component into the flange. The nut is secured to a predetermined torque and the biasing component ensures that the seal is maintained during temperature and pressure fluctuations.