Oblong Fluid Conduit with External Stiffeners for Pressure Resistance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional fluid supply conduits in constrained environments, such as engine environments, face challenges with unequal pressure force distribution in oval section tubes, leading to stress disparities and potential tube deterioration or rupture, and existing solutions like ring or internal stiffeners are complex and costly.
Innovation Solution
A fluid supply conduit is created by die-stamping a circular section tube into an oblong section and encircling it with external stiffeners, which are assembled laterally to provide uniform pressure resistance without affecting the fluid flow, using techniques like welding or brazing, and can be manufactured independently to reduce costs and complexity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If oval section tubes are used to reduce bulk in constrained environments, then the conduit fits better in restricted space, but the pressure forces are not distributed uniformly leading to stress disparities
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by adding stiffeners at specific locations on the oval tube where stress concentration occurs. The stiffeners are positioned at the curved portions of the oval section to provide localized reinforcement exactly where the pressure forces create highest stress, rather than uniformly reinforcing the entire tube.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a composite structure by combining the oval tube with externally attached stiffeners. This composite construction allows the tube to maintain its space-efficient oval geometry while the attached stiffeners provide the additional structural support needed to handle pressure forces uniformly.
2Strength
If ring type stiffeners are inserted into oblong section tubes to compensate stress disparity, then the tube consolidation improves, but the implementation becomes complex and expensive
Solution Approach 1:
The patent inverts the conventional approach by placing stiffeners externally on the tube rather than inserting them internally. This external attachment method simplifies the assembly process and avoids the complexity of inserting and positioning ring stiffeners inside the tube, while still achieving the stress distribution benefits.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the stiffening function into multiple discrete stiffener elements distributed around the tube perimeter. These individual stiffeners can be independently attached to the tube, simplifying the assembly process compared to inserting a single complex ring stiffener, while collectively providing the needed structural reinforcement.
3Strength
If internal stiffeners are positioned inside the oblong section tube to consolidate the tube, then the stress distribution improves, but head losses are generated in the fluid path
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the stiffeners from the internal fluid path and positions them externally on the tube surface. This eliminates the interference with fluid flow that would cause head losses, while the stiffeners continue to provide the necessary structural reinforcement to the tube from the outside.
4Stress or pressure
If oblong section tubes with variable thickness are produced by addition of material, then the stress distribution improves, but finishing phases with high cost are required
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by attaching stiffeners to the tube surface before the tube is subjected to pressure forces. This pre-reinforcement approach allows the use of uniform thickness tube material, eliminating the need for expensive variable thickness manufacturing and finishing operations, while still achieving proper stress distribution when the tube is pressurized.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for providing a fluid supply conduit configured to pass through a constrained environment, including providing a circular section tube of appropriate dimensions, die stamping the circular section tube so as to obtain an oblong section tube of oval section, providing a plurality of external stiffeners of hollowed out shape adapted to the external dimensions of the oblong section tube, assembling the external stiffeners around a portion of the section of the oblong section tube.