Pressure Vessel Feedthrough With Threaded Sealing and Multi-Access Ports
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing feedthroughs for pressure vessels face challenges in providing sufficient access and sealing properties, especially when accommodating multiple components and maintaining pressure integrity.
Innovation Solution
A feedthrough design featuring a body with rounded or square threads and an insulator that forms a seal when screwed into the body, allowing for multiple components and enhanced sealing through compression and deformation of the barrel portion.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional feedthroughs are used in pressure vessels, then the structure is simple, but the sealing performance is insufficient and access for multiple components is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The feedthrough is divided into separate components: a body portion with threaded through-holes and an insulator portion with external threads. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently for sealing and component access while maintaining overall structural integrity.
Solution Approach 2:
The insulator is screwed into the body through threaded engagement, creating a nested configuration where the insulator fits within the body structure. This nested design provides multiple sealing interfaces and allows accommodation of multiple components through different through-holes.
2Reliability
If conventional threads are used in feedthroughs, then the manufacturing is simple, but the sealing between threads is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The thread profile is changed from conventional V-threads to rounded or square threads. This parameter change in thread geometry provides inherent sealing capability between mating threads while maintaining manufacturability through standard threading processes.
Solution Approach 2:
Rounded or square thread profiles are used instead of sharp V-threads. The curved or blunted thread geometry creates better contact surfaces and deformation characteristics that enhance sealing between the insulator and body threads.
3Adaptability or versatility
If a single through-hole is provided in feedthroughs, then the structure is simple, but access for multiple components such as fill tubes and conductors is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The body is designed with multiple threaded through-holes that can accommodate various components including fill tubes, conductors, and other accessories. Each through-hole can be independently threaded and sealed, allowing the feedthrough to serve multiple functions simultaneously.
Solution Approach 2:
Multiple separate through-holes are provided in the body instead of a single opening. This segmentation allows each through-hole to be independently configured with appropriate threading and sealing, enabling access for multiple different components while maintaining individual sealing integrity.
4Reliability
If the body is compressed to form seals, then the sealing performance is improved, but the manufacturing process becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The body is designed to be compressible or deformable during assembly, allowing it to be compressed radially to form interference seals with the insulator and threaded components. This dynamic deformation capability enables seal formation through controlled compression rather than requiring complex sealing structures.
Solution Approach 2:
The physical state of the body changes from uncompressed to compressed during assembly. This parameter change in compression allows the body material to deform and form seals with mating components, transforming the assembly process into a seal-forming operation.
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 design provides improved sealing and accommodates multiple components, ensuring pressure integrity and facilitating gas and liquid exchange, as well as electrical access to the pressure vessel.
Implementation Method 1
compressing the body to form seals between the component and the through-hole in the insulator and the threads of the insulator and the body
Implementation Method 2
compressing the body to form seals between the component and the through-hole in the insulator and the threads of the insulator and the body
Implementation Method 3
inserting a component through a through-hole in the insulator such that an interference seal is formed between the component and the insulator
Data Source
AI summary
A feedthrough for use with a pressure vessel is presented. In some embodiments, the feedthrough is formed with an insulator portion with insulator threads that mate with threads of a body portion. In some embodiments, the threads can be rounded or square threads. In some embodiments, the insulator portion includes a through hole and a fill structure. The fill structure can include a fill-tube that can be used to communicate with the pressure vessel where the body portion is attached. In some embodiments, the insulator portion can include additional through-holes to receive one or more conductors.