Pressure Activated Seal With Flexible Flaps For Eccentric Tubes
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing pressure activated seals fail to effectively seal between adjacent surfaces with eccentric or expanding diameters, irregular shapes, and warped plates due to material expansion or distortion, such as oval, square, or hexagonal shapes, and warping of adjacent surfaces.
Innovation Solution
A pressure activated seal design featuring a main body with flexible flaps that are activated by fluid pressure to bias the sealing surface outwardly, allowing for sealing between inner and outer tubes or plates with varying diameters and shapes, including those that are not perfectly round or parallel, by using a radially outer or inner main wall with side walls and flaps that define a main chamber for pressure activation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a conventional O ring seal is used between coaxial tubes, then the seal can be installed easily, but the seal fails when the outer tube diameter becomes enlarged due to eccentricity, expansion, or warping
Solution Approach 1:
The seal transitions from a static O-ring to a dynamic structure with flexible flaps that can move and adapt their position. The flaps are designed to flex and conform to the actual tube surface geometry, allowing the seal to maintain contact and sealing effectiveness even when tube dimensions vary due to eccentricity, thermal expansion, or warping.
Solution Approach 2:
The seal incorporates flexible flaps made of elastomeric or polymeric materials that can bend and deform to match the tube surface. These thin, flexible elements conform to irregular geometries including oval, square, or hexagonal cross-sections, ensuring continuous contact and sealing across varying dimensional conditions.
2Difficulty of detecting and measuring
If the outer tube is made of expandable materials or subjected to heating, then the tube can accommodate thermal expansion, but the inside diameter becomes enlarged and distorted causing seal failure
Solution Approach 1:
The seal design accommodates parameter changes in the tube dimensions by using flexible flaps that can adjust their position and contact pressure. As the tube expands or distorts due to thermal effects or material properties, the flaps flex to maintain sealing contact, effectively compensating for dimensional variations without requiring precise manufacturing tolerances.
Solution Approach 2:
The flexible flap structure is designed with inherent compliance to absorb and cushion against dimensional variations before they cause seal failure. The flaps act as a buffer that can deform elastically to accommodate unexpected changes in tube geometry, preventing leakage even when the tube expands beyond nominal dimensions.
3Adaptability or versatility
If adjacent plates are subjected to warping or wear, then the spacing between surfaces becomes enlarged or distorted, but conventional seals cannot adapt to these irregularities
Solution Approach 1:
The flexible flaps are designed to conform to warped and worn plate surfaces, maintaining sealing contact even when the plates are no longer parallel. The elastomeric material allows the flaps to bend and adapt to surface irregularities, ensuring continuous sealing across distorted geometries where conventional rigid seals would fail.
Solution Approach 2:
The seal structure incorporates dynamic flexibility through movable flaps that can adjust their position and orientation in response to surface irregularities. This dynamic adaptation allows the seal to maintain effective contact with warped or worn surfaces, compensating for spacing variations and surface distortion.
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 seal effectively compensates for inconsistencies in surface diameters and shapes, forming a reliable seal across a range of configurations, including eccentric and expanding tubes and warped plates, by using fluid pressure to expand the sealing surface and flaps, ensuring a secure and adaptable sealing mechanism.
Implementation Method 1
the main wall, the side walls, and the first and second flexible flaps define a main chamber configured to receive fluid pressure for activating the pressure activated seal
Implementation Method 2
the seal effectively compensates for inconsistencies in surface diameters and shapes, forming a reliable seal across a range of configurations, including eccentric and expanding tubes and warped plates
Data Source
AI summary
A pressure activated seal includes a main wall, side walls connected to the ends of the main wall, and flexible flaps connected to the side walls. The main wall, side walls, and flexible flaps define a main chamber adapted to receive fluid pressure for activating the pressure activated seal to form a seal between opposing adjacent surfaces. The pressure activated seal can be placed between concentric tubes or between adjacent plates, with one of the tubes or plates including one or more orifices leading to the main chamber to allow fluid pressure to activate the pressure activated seal to form a seal between the opposing adjacent surfaces of the tubes or plates.