Fused Alignment Pin for Controlled Yield in Bolted Assemblies
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Solution Overview
Problem
Alignment pins used in component mounting can create unintended load paths and thermal restraints, leading to stress and potential failure in mating components when loads exceed their yield point, as they are not designed to handle significant inertial, thermal, or deflection loads.
Innovation Solution
A fused alignment pin with a lower yield strength material and altered geometry, such as a notch, that yields or fails at a specified load, redirecting loads through bolts and designed load paths, preventing unintended stress on mating components.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If alignment pins are made of strong materials to maintain structural integrity during assembly, then alignment precision is improved, but unintended load paths and thermal restraints are created that can alter stress distribution and cause component failure
Solution Approach 1:
The alignment pin material properties are changed by selecting a material with lower yield strength than the mating components. This parameter change allows the pin to yield at low loads (maintaining alignment function) while preventing it from carrying service loads (avoiding unintended load paths and thermal restraint issues).
Solution Approach 2:
The alignment pin is designed as a sacrificial, single-use component that yields and is removed after assembly. This disposable approach eliminates the problem of intact pins creating unintended load paths during service, while still providing precise alignment during the assembly process.
2Measurement precision
If alignment pins are left in place after bolting to maintain alignment, then alignment precision is preserved, but the pins act as restraints during thermal expansion and create unwanted stresses
Solution Approach 1:
The alignment pin is designed to be removed after serving its alignment purpose. By yielding at low loads during assembly and then being removed, the pin provides alignment precision during assembly but eliminates thermal restraint issues during service when temperature variations occur.
Solution Approach 2:
The alignment pin performs its alignment function preliminarily during assembly before the component is subjected to service conditions. The pin yields and is removed after alignment is achieved, ensuring that subsequent thermal expansion and contraction occur without restraint from the alignment pin.
3Strength
If alignment pins are made from high strength materials, then the pins can withstand higher loads, but they create unintended load paths that alter the intended stress pathways through the component and mounting bracket
Solution Approach 1:
The yield strength parameter of the alignment pin is deliberately set lower than that of the mating components. This allows the pin to yield at low loads, transferring the alignment function while eliminating the creation of unintended load paths that would occur with high-strength materials.
Solution Approach 2:
The alignment pin is designed as a sacrificial component that yields and is removed after assembly. This disposable approach ensures that the pin never carries service loads, thereby completely eliminating the problem of unintended load paths altering the intended stress distribution through the component and mounting bracket.
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
Ensures that loads are transferred through designed paths, preventing component deformation or failure by allowing the alignment pin to yield and removing it as a load path, thus ensuring the mating components and bolts handle expected loads effectively.
Implementation Method 1
The alignment pin is configured to yield upon an application of a specified load thereto
Data Source
AI summary
A mating assembly is provided and includes a first mating component, a second mating component, a bolt to bolt first and second mating components together and an alignment pin. The alignment pin aligns the first and second mating components so that the first and second mating components can be bolted together. The alignment pin is configured to yield upon an application of a specified load thereto. A magnitude of the specified load is less than magnitudes of loads expected to be transferred between the first and second mating components through the bolt once bolting is complete.