Pressure Sensor Plug Seal Design for Aerospace Applications
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional pressure-sensor modules in aerospace and commercial systems face failures due to high loading pressures causing seal failures at the oil-fill port, which necessitates thick walls and deep-penetration sealing welds to mitigate this issue.
Innovation Solution
Relocating the oil-fill port internally within the header housing allows for equal pressure distribution across a plug, enabling a thin-wall construction and shallow penetration sealing, or a press fit seal, using a plug with ends exposed to both process fluid and coupling fluid within separate chambers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If the oil-fill port is positioned externally on the header, then the assembly is easier to manufacture with standard positioning, but high pressure differential loading causes seal failures requiring thick walls and deep-penetration welding
Solution Approach 1:
The oil-fill port is relocated from an external position on the header to an internal position within the header housing. This spatial repositioning changes the pressure distribution geometry, allowing pressures to act more equally on both sides of the plug seal, thereby reducing differential loading and improving seal reliability without requiring thick walls or deep-penetration welds
2Reliability
If thick walls and deep-penetration sealing welds are used at the oil-fill port, then seal reliability is improved, but the device complexity and manufacturing difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
By relocating the oil-fill port to an internal position within the header housing, the patent changes the three-dimensional pressure distribution geometry. This allows the plug seal to experience more equal pressures from both sides, reducing the need for over-engineered solutions like thick walls and deep-penetration welds, thereby simplifying the overall device structure while maintaining seal reliability
3Strength
If thick walls are used at the oil-fill port to prevent seal failure, then strength is improved, but the housing weight and material usage increase
Solution Approach 1:
The internal repositioning of the oil-fill port within the header housing fundamentally changes the pressure loading geometry. This allows the plug seal to be subjected to more balanced pressures from both sides, eliminating the need for excessive wall thickness to compensate for differential pressure loading, thereby reducing housing weight and material usage while maintaining sufficient strength
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 configuration enhances reliability by preventing seal failures and allows for a more robust and efficient sealing mechanism without the need for deep-penetration welds, improving the durability and performance of pressure-sensing modules.
Implementation Method 1
An electronic circuit is disposed within the second chamber and is configured to be pressure coupled by the coupling fluid and isolator assembly to the flow circuit
Implementation Method 2
A plug having first and second ends occupies the fill port thereby sealing the second chamber
Data Source
AI summary
A pressure-sensing module includes a housing having a process-fluid port configured to be coupled to a process-fluid-flow circuit. The housing defines a first chamber into which the process fluid can flow through the process-fluid port. An isolator assembly is disposed within the housing and includes a fill port. The isolator assembly is configured to define a second chamber into which pressure-coupling fluid may be injected through the fill port. An electronic circuit is disposed within the second chamber and is configured to be pressure coupled by the coupling fluid and isolator assembly to the flow circuit. A plug having first and second ends occupies the fill port thereby sealing the second chamber. The first end is exposed to the process fluid in the first chamber, and the second end is exposed to the coupling fluid in the second chamber.