Ice Bubble Pressure Compensator With Tapered Plunger Relief
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Solution Overview
Problem
Reservoirs containing liquids that freeze, such as urea, face rapid freezing issues in cold conditions, leading to excessive pressure buildup and degradation of technical modules due to the formation of ice, which existing solutions like deformable cavities and flexible membranes fail to adequately address, especially in severe outdoor winter temperatures.
Innovation Solution
A pressure compensator with a mobile plunger having a vertical tapering body that rises to create additional volume within the ice bubble, reducing pressure and allowing trapped liquid to escape, thereby mitigating mechanical stress on the technical module components.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a closed reservoir with a technical module is placed in cold conditions, then the liquid begins to freeze and form ice, but the volume expansion of ice creates excessive pressure that degrades the technical module
Solution Approach 1:
The reservoir is divided into two distinct pressure zones: an upper gaseous part at atmospheric pressure and a lower liquid bubble that may form under pressure. The technical module is positioned to remain in the atmospheric pressure zone, isolating it from the pressure effects of freezing liquid.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention introduces a vertical dimension to pressure management by creating a stratified structure where the technical module operates in an upper zone free from the pressure effects occurring in the lower liquid bubble zone.
2Stress or pressure
If deformable cavities or flexible membranes are used to compensate for ice volume expansion, then pressure can be regulated, but these solutions require additional means to retain the compressible bubble and have reduced mechanical characteristics at low temperatures
Solution Approach 1:
The harmful liquid bubble under pressure is extracted and isolated from the technical module by positioning the module in the upper gaseous part of the reservoir, eliminating the need for complex retention mechanisms near the module.
Solution Approach 2:
The gaseous part of the reservoir acts as an intermediary zone that separates the technical module from the pressurized liquid bubble, allowing pressure regulation without requiring additional retention means.
3Stress or pressure
If fixed ducts are provided to allow pressurized liquid to rise to the surface, then pressure relief is possible, but insulation or heating means are required to prevent freezing inside the duct
Solution Approach 1:
The pressurized liquid is extracted from the confined reservoir environment and allowed to escape into the atmospheric pressure zone, eliminating the need for insulated ducts by using the reservoir's own gaseous space as an escape route.
4Temperature
If the technical module remains immersed in liquid during freezing, then it is protected from cold, but the volume expansion of freezing liquid creates mechanical stresses that exceed material resistance
Solution Approach 1:
The reservoir is segmented into a protected upper zone with atmospheric pressure where the technical module resides, and a lower zone where liquid freezing and pressure buildup occur, allowing the module to remain warm while isolating it from mechanical stresses.
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 pressure compensator effectively reduces the negative effects of excess pressure on the technical module, preventing its deterioration and ensuring the reservoir's components remain functional by regulating pressure within the ice bubble and allowing liquid to escape safely.
Implementation Method 1
the pressure existing inside this bubble of liquid entirely surrounded by ice could then reach very high values of approximately several tens of bars
Implementation Method 2
an additional volume is created within the space occupied by the bubble of liquid, and contributes towards reducing the pressure in this space
Data Source
AI summary
A pressure compensator for regulating the pressure in a bubble of liquid entirely enclosed in a forming volume of ice, atop which is a volume of gas, and which is contained in a reservoir closed by walls. The compensator includes a plunger formed of a head atop a body. The faces of the body of the plunger have a taper which is positive or zero in an essentially vertical, top to bottom direction.