Pipe Hanger Lock Tab Washer for Nut Loosening Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing pipe hangers, such as clevis hangers, face issues with nuts and bolts loosening due to vibrations from seismic events, foot traffic, or fluid flow, leading to potential pipe detachment, especially in hard-to-reach locations where regular maintenance is challenging.
Innovation Solution
A pipe hanger system incorporating a lock tab washer with bent tabs that prevent rotation between the washer, suspension member, and nut, ensuring secure attachment and vibration resistance, allowing for visual inspection and easy identification of loosening.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If nuts and bolts are used to secure pipe hanger parts, then the attachment mechanism is simple and easy to install, but the nuts and bolts can loosen due to vibrations from seismic events, foot traffic, or fluid flow
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a lock tab washer as an intermediary component between the nut and the pipe hanger parts. The washer features tabs that extend through slots in the pipe hanger and can be bent to lock the assembly, preventing nut loosening while maintaining ease of installation. This intermediary element transfers the locking function from the nut itself to a dedicated component.
Solution Approach 2:
The lock tab washer employs dynamic tabs that can be bent during installation to engage with slots in the pipe hanger, creating a flexible locking mechanism. The tabs transition from an unbent state during assembly to a bent state during operation, adapting to the installation process while providing vibration resistance during service.
2Reliability
If regular maintenance is performed on pipe hangers, then loosening can be detected and corrected, but maintenance becomes difficult in hard-to-reach locations
Solution Approach 1:
The lock tab washer incorporates visual indicators through color-coded tabs or painted surfaces that change appearance when loosening occurs. Maintenance personnel can quickly identify problematic connections from a distance by observing color changes or visual cues, eliminating the need for close inspection in hard-to-reach locations.
Solution Approach 2:
The lock tab washer provides self-monitoring capabilities where the tabs themselves serve as indicators of their own status. When vibration causes loosening, the tabs visibly deflect or change position, allowing the system to report its own condition without requiring active inspection, thereby enabling remote monitoring of pipe hanger integrity.
Data Source
AI summary
A hanger for a pipe, the hanger comprising: a suspension member configured to engage the pipe, the suspension member comprising a side edge and defining a hole in through the suspension member; a threaded rod extending through the hole; a nut threaded on the threaded rod; and a lock tab washer disposed on the threaded rod between the suspension member and the nut, the lock tab washer comprising a first tab and a second tab, the first tab bent over a side edge of the suspension member, the first tab configured to prevent the lock tab washer from rotating with respect to the suspension member, the second tab bent over a circumferential side of the nut, the second tab configured to prevent the nut from rotating with respect to the lock tab washer.