Fire Extinguishing Valve Dynamic Burst Disk Actuation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional fire extinguishing systems for vehicles lack an efficient mechanism to rapidly dispense fire extinguishing agents, such as heptafluoropropane and sodium bicarbonate, in response to fire threats, with existing valves not effectively managing the flow of these agents under pressure.
Innovation Solution
A valve system that includes a housing with an ingress and egress aperture, a rupturable disk with a line of weakness, and an annular spool, where the spool's movement in response to an actuation signal changes the effective clamping perimeter on the burst disk, allowing for rapid release of the extinguishing agent by exposing the line of weakness and overcoming pressure differentials.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If a conventional valve system is used to dispense fire extinguishing agents, then the system structure is simple, but the discharge speed is slow and cannot rapidly respond to fire threats
Solution Approach 1:
The valve system employs a dynamic burst disk mechanism where the clamping perimeter is not fixed but can be rapidly changed. The support member moves from a first position to a second position, dynamically altering the effective clamping perimeter on the burst disk, enabling rapid transition from sealed to discharge state in response to fire threats
Solution Approach 2:
The valve system segments the clamping function by using a movable support member that can be positioned at different locations. This segmentation allows independent control of the burst disk's clamped versus unclamped portions, enabling precise control over discharge timing and rate without requiring a completely complex valve mechanism
2Productivity
If the burst disk is fully clamped to prevent leakage, then sealing reliability is high, but the discharge rate is slow when activation occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The support member provides dynamic control over the burst disk clamping state. When activation occurs, the support member rapidly moves to uncover the line of weakness, instantly changing from a sealed configuration to a discharge configuration, thereby achieving both high sealing reliability during storage and high discharge rate during activation
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary action by pre-positioning the support member to clamp the burst disk in a sealed state. The line of weakness is pre-formed but concealed, and the support member is pre-positioned to protect it. Upon activation, the support member moves to reveal the line of weakness, enabling rapid discharge without requiring complex activation mechanisms
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
Enables the rapid discharge of fire extinguishing agents within milliseconds, ensuring effective protection against fires by efficiently managing the flow of extinguishing agents from the container to the egress aperture.
Implementation Method 1
a burst rating greater than a maximum pressure of the fire extinguishing agent in the container
Implementation Method 2
The rupturable disk has a line of weakness at least partially disposed around the longitudinal axis
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2A~2D
Figure 3
AI summary
A valve for a fire extinguishing system includes a housing, a flow control apparatus, an actuator apparatus, and a manual override apparatus. The flow control apparatus is disposed in a cavity to prevent or permit flow of the fire extinguishing agent from an ingress aperture to an egress aperture of the housing. The flow control apparatus includes a burst disk clamped between the first and second annular faces and an annular spool axially movable along the longitudinal axis relative to the housing. The actuator apparatus includes a bearing sleeve angularly movable around a longitudinal axis relative to the housing and a latch element operably coupling the bearing sleeve and the annular spool. The manual override apparatus includes a cam operably coupled to the bearing sleeve.