Heater Blower Housing Sealing Arrangement for Flashback Prevention
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Heaters face issues with flashbacks during ignition, leading to damage from deflagrations and gas leaks, which existing solutions fail to completely prevent, and require complex modifications or significant structural changes.
Innovation Solution
A sealing arrangement between the housing parts of the fan is designed to maintain a sealing effect even during deformation, using a recessed groove and rib configuration that compensates for pressure-induced deformation distances, ensuring the seal remains in contact and prevents leaks.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a conventional sealing arrangement is used between housing parts, then the structure is simple and easy to manufacture, but the sealing effect is lost when deformation gap occurs during flashback
Solution Approach 1:
The sealing arrangement incorporates a resilient seal element that can dynamically deform and adapt to pressure changes during flashback events. The seal element is designed to be compressed between the first and second housing parts, allowing it to maintain sealing contact even when the housing parts move relative to each other due to deformation gaps.
Solution Approach 2:
The sealing arrangement utilizes the compressibility and elasticity parameters of the seal element to compensate for deformation gaps. By selecting appropriate material properties and geometric dimensions for the seal element, the system maintains sealing effectiveness across a range of pressure and positional conditions without requiring complex additional components.
2Reliability
If the housing parts are rigidly connected to prevent deformation gap, then sealing is maintained, but the structure cannot withstand sudden pressure increases from flashback
Solution Approach 1:
The housing parts are designed with controlled relative movement capability in the axial direction, allowing them to deform slightly under sudden pressure increases without breaking. The resilient seal element accommodates this movement while maintaining the sealing function, creating a dynamic system that balances rigidity and flexibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The seal element acts as a flexible component between the rigid housing parts, allowing the housing assembly to withstand pressure surges by permitting limited relative movement. The flexibility of the seal element compensates for the deformation gap while maintaining the sealing barrier.
3Reliability
If a deeper recessed groove is used to accommodate seal movement, then sealing is maintained during deformation, but the manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The seal element's material properties (durometer, compression set) and geometric parameters (cross-sectional area, length) are selected to provide adequate compliance within a moderate groove depth. This approach maintains sealing effectiveness while keeping manufacturing tolerances achievable.
Solution Approach 2:
The recessed groove is designed with sufficient depth to accommodate the expected seal compression and housing deformation, but not excessively deep to create unnecessary manufacturing challenges. The groove depth is optimized to provide just enough clearance for the seal to function reliably under normal and abnormal operating conditions.
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 solution effectively reduces the risk of flashbacks and associated damage, allowing continued operation of the heater with minimal structural changes and maintaining the sealing effect during sudden pressure increases.
Implementation Method 1
The sealing arrangement has a sealing surface aligned axially with respect to a shaft or axially to an axis of rotation of an impeller of the blower. The seal is arranged in a groove, wherein one side of the groove forms a first housing part and an other side of the groove forms a second housing part. The first housing part can form a radially outer lateral boundary of the seal, so that the seal can be prevented from being pushed out of an intermediate space between the first and second housing parts due to a gas flow or a pressure difference when a deformation gap occurs.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3~4
AI summary
A heating device (1) is presented, comprising a blower (2) with a blower wheel (18) rotatable about an axis of rotation (22) and a housing (6) comprising at least a first housing part (14) and a second housing part (15) which can be assembled in the direction of the axis of rotation (22) by including a sealing arrangement (23), wherein the sealing arrangement (23) is designed to maintain the sealing effect at least partially even in the event of a deformation gap (25) occurring in the direction of the axis of rotation (22) between the first housing part (14) and the second housing part (15).