Plugged Honeycomb Structure Manufacturing via Elastic Container Deformation
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Solution Overview
Problem
The manufacturing of plugged honeycomb structures often results in depressions or protrusions of the plugging portions due to vacuum states formed between the honeycomb body and the container during the plugging process, leading to defects such as sinkage or dropped plugs.
Innovation Solution
A method involving a plugging slurry injection operation where the honeycomb formed body is inserted into a bottomed cylindrical inside container with specific mechanical properties and then pulled out, minimizing the vacuum state by changing the shape of the inside container, thereby preventing depression or protrusion of the plugging portions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If the honeycomb formed body is pulled out from the container after plugging slurry injection, then the plugging material is filled into the cells, but a vacuum state forms between the honeycomb body and container causing depression or protrusion of plugging portions
Solution Approach 1:
A release film is introduced as an intermediary between the honeycomb formed body and the container. The film prevents direct adhesion between the plugging slurry and the container, eliminating the vacuum state that causes depression and protrusion. The film acts as a mediator that allows the plugging material to be filled properly without creating harmful vacuum forces during withdrawal.
Solution Approach 2:
The release film is a disposable, low-cost component that is used once during the plugging process and then discarded. It serves its purpose of preventing vacuum formation during the injection and withdrawal operations, and is not intended for reuse, aligning with the principle of using cheap, single-use objects to solve process problems.
2Quantity of substance
If the plugging slurry is injected by immersing the honeycomb formed body in slurry-containing container, then the cells are filled with plugging material, but the plugging material may be pulled out causing dropped plugs
Solution Approach 1:
The release film serves as a mediator that prevents direct contact between the plugging slurry and the container surface. This eliminates the adhesion forces that would otherwise cause the plugging material to be pulled out during withdrawal, ensuring the material remains intact within the cells.
Solution Approach 2:
The release film provides beforehand cushioning by creating a protective barrier before the plugging slurry comes into contact with the container. This pre-established protective layer prevents the harmful adhesion effect from occurring in the first place, ensuring the plugging material maintains its integrity throughout the process.
3Manufacturing precision
If a mask is bonded to the end face and holes are made by laser processing, then precise cell selection is achieved, but the process complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The complex mask bonding and laser processing steps are extracted and replaced by a simpler method. Instead of using a mask system that requires precise bonding and hole-making operations, the invention uses direct injection through the open ends of the honeycomb structure, eliminating the need for the mask subsystem entirely.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of approaching the problem by first bonding a mask and then creating holes to access specific cells, the invention inverts the approach by directly injecting plugging slurry into the open ends of the honeycomb structure. This reverses the conventional sequence and eliminates the intermediate mask step, simplifying the overall process while maintaining precision.
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 method effectively inhibits the formation of depressions or protrusions, ensuring consistent quality and preventing plugging material from being pulled out of the honeycomb body, thus maintaining the integrity of the end face during the plugging process.
Implementation Method 1
by inserting the honeycomb formed body into a bottomed cylindrical inside container containing the plugging slurry and having a Young's modulus of 5 to 550 MPa and a tensile stress of 0.5 to 11 MPa and being disposed in a bottomed cylindrical outside container and by pressing one end portion against the bottom face of the inside container, and then the honeycomb formed body is pulled out from the inside container
Data Source
AI summary
A method for manufacturing a plugged honeycomb structure includes: a step of forming a columnar honeycomb formed body, and a plugging step of forming plugging portions in each of cells of the honeycomb formed body; wherein the plugging step has a plugging slurry injection operation where plugging slurry is injected into the cells by inserting the honeycomb formed body into a bottomed cylindrical inside container containing the plugging slurry and having a Young's modulus of 5 to 550 MPa and a tensile stress of 0.5 to 11 MPa and being disposed in a bottomed cylindrical outside container and by pressing one end portion against the bottom face of the inside container, and then the honeycomb formed body is pulled out from the inside container. There is provided a method for manufacturing a plugged honeycomb structure, the method being capable of inhibiting depression and protrusion of plugging portions.