Drain Vent Flange Adapter for Petrochemical Pump Housing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Fluid pumping devices used in petroleum and chemical applications face high costs and labor-intensive testing due to the use of weldments for attaching drain and vent tubes, which are time-consuming and prone to stress fractures, necessitating additional weldments and inspections.
Innovation Solution
Drilling a tubular conduit within the fluid housing to communicate with the inlet or outlet, allowing a flanged adapter member to be secured using bolts, eliminating the need for weldments and providing a sealed connection with o-ring seals.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If weldments are used to attach drain and vent tubes to the pump casing, then the connection is structurally secure, but the manufacturing cost and inspection time increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The drain/vent tube assembly is divided into separate modular components (tube section, flange adapter, cap) that can be independently manufactured and assembled using bolts, eliminating the need for complex weldments and reducing inspection requirements
Solution Approach 2:
The welding process is replaced with a mechanical fastening system using flange adapters and bolts, which eliminates the need for radiography and liquid penetrant inspections while maintaining connection integrity
2Reliability
If weldments are used to secure drain and vent tubes, then the assembly is durable, but additional weldments are required to prevent stress fractures, increasing complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The assembly is segmented into modular components with flange adapters that distribute mechanical stresses away from the pump casing, eliminating the need for additional weldments to prevent stress fractures
Solution Approach 2:
Flange adapters serve as intermediary components between the drain/vent tubes and the pump casing, absorbing and distributing stresses to prevent stress fractures without requiring additional weldments
3Ease of operation
If a flange is mounted extending outwardly from the pump housing, then the drain/vent connection is accessible, but stress fractures occur at the junction between the tube and casing
Solution Approach 1:
Flange adapters mounted on the pump casing serve as intermediaries that provide accessible connection points for drain/vent tubes while distributing stresses to prevent fractures at the casing junction
Solution Approach 2:
The flange adapters extend the connection interface to a different spatial dimension (outward from the casing surface), providing accessibility while maintaining structural integrity at the casing junction through distributed stress paths
Data Source
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AI summary
A fluid pumping device 10 for use in the petroleum and/or chemical industries includes a cast fluid housing 11 having an inlet 13 to or an outlet 13 from the fluid pumping device, a drain/vent tubular connection 12 extending through the cast fluid housing to communicate with the inlet to or the outlet of the fluid pumping device and a flange adapter 20 sealingly secured to the cast fluid housing 11. A method of providing a drain/vent tube 12 to structurally communicate with an inlet 13 to or the outlet 13 from a fluid pumping device is disclosed.