Dewatering Apparatus Support Ribs for Rigidity and Weight
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing dewatering apparatuses for fiber web machines are heavy, rigid, and difficult to manufacture accurately, with local stress peaks and poor planarity, making them inefficient and costly to produce and maintain.
Innovation Solution
A dewatering apparatus with a body longer than wide, featuring brackets and support ribs with coupling slots for attaching foil blade attachment rails, allowing for precise alignment and easy assembly without machining, using sheet metal components welded according to a predefined welding line plan.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If a foil box is manufactured from several sheet metal components by welding with various supports and stiffeners to achieve sufficient rigidity, then the rigidity and strength are improved, but the weight increases and manufacturing becomes slow and complex
Solution Approach 1:
The foil box is divided into modular components: a base structure, multiple support ribs spaced along the longitudinal direction, and individual foil blades. Each component can be manufactured separately and assembled through welding at predefined locations, reducing overall complexity and weight while maintaining rigidity through the distributed support rib structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The support ribs serve multiple functions: they provide structural reinforcement to prevent local stress peaks, act as mounting positions for foil blades, and define the geometric framework of the apparatus. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate stiffening components, lowering weight and manufacturing complexity.
2Strength
If various supports and stiffeners are added to achieve sufficient rigidity in a welded foil box, then the structural strength is improved, but the manufacturing complexity and time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The positions of support ribs and welding locations are predetermined in the design phase. The support ribs are positioned to optimally distribute stress and provide reinforcement where needed, eliminating the need for complex trial-and-error manufacturing processes. This preliminary planning simplifies production while ensuring structural integrity.
3Strength
If a box-like frame construction with multiple sheet metal components is used, then the structural strength is improved, but the manufacturing precision and alignment accuracy deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple support ribs and the base structure are welded together to form an integrated rigid framework. This merging of components creates a unified structure with high dimensional stability, ensuring that foil blades remain properly aligned during operation. The welded joints between support ribs and base eliminate gaps and improve overall precision.
4Reliability
If local stress peaks are created in the foil box during use, then the structural integrity may be compromised, but adding more supports increases weight and complexity
Solution Approach 1:
Support ribs are strategically positioned at locations where stress concentration is most likely to occur during dewatering operations. This localized reinforcement approach provides structural integrity exactly where needed, preventing stress peaks from compromising the overall structure, while avoiding unnecessary weight addition in low-stress areas.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2A~2C
Figure 3~4
AI summary
Invention relates to a dewatering apparatus for a fiber web machine comprising a body (22) being greater in its length than width, and a number of brackets (22.4) attached to the body (22) spaced along the longitudinal direction (L) of the body, and at least one foil blade attachment rail (28) that is parallel to the body (22) and fixed to the body (22) via the brackets (22.4) for supporting a foil blade (26) in the apparatus. The dewatering apparatus further comprises a number of support ribs (30) parallel to the brackets (22.4), which the foil blade attachment rail (28) is attached to, and in which the support ribs (30) are fixed to the brackets (22.4) such that one or more support ribs (30) are partly overlapping with, and against to one or more brackets (22.4) and that the attachment between the support rib (30) and the bracket (22.4) is arranged to the overlapping area (A).