Cable Exit Seal Assembly for Stable Insulation Resistance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional cable sealing methods fail to maintain insulation resistance under varying temperature, humidity, and pressure conditions, particularly in aircraft applications where moisture ingress leads to icing and physical damage.
Innovation Solution
A system comprising metal isolation breaks, a rubber grommet, and compressing plates that form an active seal around the cable, using the grommet's protrusions and indentations to create a gas-tight barrier against moisture and humidity, with the inner housing compressing the grommet between the plates to maintain the seal during thermal and pressure cycling.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional cable sealing methods are used, then the device structure remains simple, but insulation resistance breaks down under temperature, humidity, and pressure variations
Solution Approach 1:
The sealing structure is divided into multiple functional segments: an inner housing for structural support, a rubber grommet for sealing, and compressing plates for applying force. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function optimally, resolving the contradiction between reliability and complexity by creating a modular system where each part contributes to overall performance without unnecessary complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The sealing system incorporates dynamic elements including a resilient rubber grommet that can deform elastically, and a compression mechanism that adjusts sealing force. This dynamic capability allows the seal to adapt to thermal expansion, contraction, and pressure changes, maintaining insulation resistance under varying environmental conditions while using a relatively simple overall structure.
2Adaptability or versatility
If a rigid seal structure is used, then manufacturing precision is easier to achieve, but the seal cannot adapt to thermal expansion and contraction
Solution Approach 1:
The sealing system changes the physical parameters of the sealing material by using a rubber grommet with different thermal expansion properties compared to the rigid housing. This allows the seal to expand and contract with temperature changes while the rigid housing maintains its dimensional stability, achieving both thermal adaptability and manufacturing precision through material parameter differentiation.
Solution Approach 2:
The sealing structure combines different materials with complementary properties: a rigid inner housing (metal or rigid plastic) for structural stability and precise manufacturing, and a resilient rubber grommet for thermal adaptability and sealing. This composite approach allows each material to contribute its optimal properties, achieving both dimensional precision and thermal flexibility.
3Reliability
If compression force is continuously applied to maintain the seal, then sealing effectiveness is improved, but mechanical stress on the cable increases
Solution Approach 1:
The compression force is applied periodically rather than continuously - the compressing plates apply force during assembly to create the seal, then release or reduce the force during normal operation. This periodic application maintains seal effectiveness during critical moments while reducing continuous mechanical stress on the cable, balancing sealing reliability with cable strength preservation.
Solution Approach 2:
The rubber grommet acts as a cushioning element that absorbs and distributes compression forces before they reach the cable. This beforehand cushioning protects the cable from excessive mechanical stress while still allowing sufficient compression force to be applied to the grommet itself to maintain effective sealing, resolving the contradiction between seal effectiveness and cable strength.
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 system effectively prevents moisture and gas ingress, minimizing dielectric and insulation resistance failures by maintaining a consistent seal across temperature and humidity fluctuations, and preventing physical damage from icing conditions.
Implementation Method 1
the inner housing compresses the grommet between the upper compressing plate and the lower compressing plate to form a seal about the one or more metal isolation breaks
Implementation Method 2
a rubber grommet having one or more fourth apertures to receive the one or more metal isolation breaks and the wire
Data Source
AI summary
Systems, devices, and methods including one or more isolation breaks connected between one or more first portions of a first wire and one or more second portions of a second wire, wherein the one or more isolation breaks prevent moisture intrusion between the one or more first portions of the first wire and the one or more second portions of the second wire; an inner housing; an upper compressing plate; a lower compressing plate; a grommet and an outer housing sized to receive the inner housing; where the one or more isolation breaks are connected between the one or more first portions of the first wire and the one or more second portions of the second wire prior to compressing the grommet between the upper compressing plate and the lower compressing plate.