Interior Barrier Layer for Fuel Container Diffusion
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing liquid containers for motor vehicles, such as plastic fuel containers, face challenges in minimizing diffusion-related emissions due to mechanical stress on exterior barrier layers, which can lead to increased fuel leakage and environmental contamination.
Innovation Solution
A liquid container design featuring interiorly arranged barrier layers on support layers, protected from mechanical stress, with integral joining of half-shells and specific material combinations for the barrier and support layers, ensuring continuous diffusion barrier effectiveness. The barrier layers are strategically positioned inside the container, away from environmental influences, and materials like EVOH, HDPE, and PA are used to maintain chemical resistance and prevent fuel diffusion.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If an exterior barrier layer is used on the support material, then the barrier layer is exposed to mechanical stress from road stones and environmental influences, but this increases the risk of barrier destruction and diffusion-related emissions
Solution Approach 1:
The barrier layer is inverted from its conventional exterior position to an interior position on the support material. This reversal protects the barrier layer from mechanical stress and environmental damage while maintaining its diffusion barrier function. The interiorly arranged barrier layer is no longer exposed to road stones, UV radiation, and other external factors that could compromise its integrity and increase emissions.
2Reliability
If the barrier layer is placed on the exterior side of the support material, then it is accessible for application but vulnerable to mechanical damage, whereas interior placement protects it but makes application more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The barrier layer is merged with the support material by integrating it onto the interior side of the support material during the molding process. This combination ensures the barrier layer is permanently protected while being applied in a controlled manufacturing environment rather than requiring post-application exposure to external conditions.
3Reliability
If molded elements are integrated into the storage volume without penetrating the barrier layer, then the barrier integrity is maintained, but connecting elements and support structures cannot be properly formed
Solution Approach 1:
The support material is designed with locally differentiated properties: the interior side provides a smooth, barrier-friendly surface for the barrier layer, while the exterior side contains integrated molded elements for structural support and connection. This local quality differentiation allows the barrier layer to remain intact while enabling necessary structural features.
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
This design significantly reduces diffusion-related emissions by ensuring the structural integrity and barrier effectiveness of the container, even under mechanical stress, while allowing for reliable fuel storage and handling without compromising the barrier's integrity.
Implementation Method 1
the barrier effect of the barrier layers, which acts against diffusion-related emissions of, for example, fuel stored in the liquid container
Data Source
AI summary
A liquid container for a motor vehicle, having a first half-shell and a second half-shell, the half-shells delimiting a storage volume for accommodating liquid, the first half-shell having a first support layer and a first barrier layer, the second half-shell having a second support layer and a second barrier layer, the first barrier being situated on a side of the first support layer facing the storage volume, and the second barrier layer being situated on a side of the second support layer facing the storage volume.