Enamelled Collar Segmentation for Sealing Tightness

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Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional components with collars connected by sealing elements often experience unsatisfactory sealing properties due to inadequate contact area, leading to potential leaks, especially when handling highly corrosive products.

Innovation Solution

The component features a collar with an enamel-covered end face that includes continuous indentations around the opening, dividing the contact surface into smaller sub-surfaces, which increases pressure and tightness when connected, and includes concentric depressions in the outermost enamel layer to enhance sealing and prevent liquid accumulation.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If a sealing element is placed between collars to improve sealing, then sealing properties are enhanced, but liquid can still leak out due to capillary effects between the sealing element and collars

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesealing propertiesVSAvoidliquid leakage

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The contact surface of the collar is segmented into multiple smaller contact areas by creating circumferential grooves. This segmentation increases the contact pressure at each individual contact area, preventing liquid from penetrating through the sealing element via capillary effects, while still maintaining overall sealing functionality.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The collar surface is modified with localized grooves that create specific high-pressure contact zones. These localized modifications concentrate the sealing pressure where most needed, enhancing the sealing performance at critical locations without requiring a complete redesign of the entire collar structure.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

2Reliability

If the contact area between sealing element and collars is increased, then sealing pressure is distributed, but the maximum pressure on contact surfaces decreases leading to insufficient tightness

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesealing tightnessVSAvoidcontact pressure

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSStress or pressure

Solution Approach 1:

The total contact area is divided into multiple smaller contact surfaces by circumferential grooves. This segmentation maintains a reasonable total contact area while creating multiple concentrated pressure zones, ensuring both adequate pressure distribution and sufficient maximum pressure at each contact point for effective sealing.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

3Ease of operation

If conventional collars are connected with sealing elements, then product flow between components is enabled, but the connection may have unsatisfactory sealing properties leading to corrosion of component environment

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveproduct flowVSAvoidcorrosion risk

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The collar contact surface is segmented into multiple contact areas by grooves, creating enhanced sealing that prevents corrosive products from escaping and damaging the component environment, while still allowing necessary product flow between components through the pipe connection.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The grooves are designed to create preliminary sealing action by concentrating pressure on the sealing element before corrosive products can potentially leak through, preventing the harmful effect of corrosion before it can occur.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #9Preliminary anti-action

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 design achieves improved sealing by increasing pressure on partial contact surfaces, forming separate liquid barriers, and preventing the sealing element from being dislodged, resulting in enhanced tightness and corrosion protection.

Implementation Method 1

A depression running around the opening makes it possible to divide a contact surface formed by the enamel into two separate sub-contact surfaces which have a smaller area than an enamel without a depression. As a result, when the component is connected to another component, a higher pressure is produced on the partial contact surfaces

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectPressure increase through surface area reduction: Pressure Increase

Implementation Method 2

the sealing element lying in between is partially pressed into the at least one depression and digs into it. This can prevent the sealing element from being blown out of the area between the two components

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectMechanical interlocking through deformation: Plasticity

Data Source

PatentEP3293432B1Component with tube section having enamelled collar

Publication Date: 2019.07.10 ESTRELLA

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AI summary

A component (1) has a pipe section (2) which includes a collar (3) at its end. The collar (3) has an end face (31) around an opening (21) of the pipe section (2), which is covered with enamel (4). The enamel (4) has three continuous recesses (41) extending around the opening (21). These recesses (41) improve the sealing properties of two connected components (1) with a sealing element positioned between them.