Aircraft Drain Grommet Fire Shield Standoff Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
Aircraft drainage holes pose a risk of exposing critical cables to external hazards such as fire flames from nearby jet engines, as they create a direct path for external threats to enter the aircraft cavity.
Innovation Solution
A drain grommet with an integrated fire shield, featuring a hollow body and a fire shield positioned above via standoffs, which prevents external hazards from entering while allowing fluid to exit through the drain tube.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a drainage hole is provided in the aircraft cavity floor, then fluid drainage capability is improved, but protection against external hazards (fire flames) deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The drain grommet is divided into functionally distinct segments: a hollow body for fluid drainage, a fire shield for hazard protection, and standoffs for spatial separation. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function optimally while working together as an integrated system.
Solution Approach 2:
The fire shield acts as an intermediary element positioned between the external hazard (fire flames) and the vulnerable components (cables) within the aircraft cavity. It mediates the interaction by blocking harmful flames while permitting beneficial fluid drainage through the hollow body.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If a fire shield is added to protect against external hazards, then protection against fire flames is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The fire shield, hollow body, and standoffs are merged into a single integrated drain grommet assembly. This combination reduces the number of separate components and assembly steps compared to installing fire shields and drain grommets as separate elements, thereby reducing overall device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The integrated drain grommet serves multiple functions simultaneously: the hollow body enables fluid drainage, the fire shield provides fire protection, and the standoffs maintain proper spacing. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for separate components for each function, simplifying the overall system.
Data Source
AI summary
A drain grommet with integrated fire shield. In one embodiment, the drain grommet includes a drain tube configured to extend through a drain, and to pass fluid through the drain via an opening into a hollow channel of the drain tube. The drain grommet further includes a fire shield integrally coupled with the drain tube via a standoff, wherein the standoff supports the fire shield at a vertical distance above the opening of the drain tube, and wherein the fire shield is larger than the opening of the drain tube in a horizontal plane.