Pressure Vessel Venting With Attitude-Adaptive Gas Release
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional pressure vessels have fixed gas release directions, which can be inconvenient due to vehicle attitude and environmental considerations, as the release direction is determined and cannot adapt to changing orientations or surroundings.
Innovation Solution
A pressure vessel with a release direction control unit that includes a guide member capable of rotating relative to the pressure vessel, allowing the gas release direction to change based on the vehicle's attitude, ensuring gas is released in a permitted direction while avoiding restricted directions, using a mechanism that includes projection portions, shield walls, and a motor or gravity-based offsetting.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the pressure relief valve releases gas in a fixed direction, then the structure is simple and reliable, but the release direction cannot adapt to changing vehicle attitudes or environmental conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The guide member is made rotatable relative to the pressure vessel body, transforming the fixed release direction structure into a dynamic one. The guide member can rotate to different angles (e.g., 0°, 45°, 90°, 135°) to adapt to various vehicle attitudes and environmental conditions, while the pressure vessel body remains stationary. This dynamic adjustment capability resolves the contradiction by enabling adaptability without requiring the entire pressure vessel to be movable.
Solution Approach 2:
The pressure relief valve system is segmented into two independent parts: the pressure vessel body (stationary) and the guide member (movable). This segmentation allows the guide member to be independently rotated to change the gas release direction, while the main pressure vessel structure remains fixed and simple. The segmentation enables directional adaptability without increasing the overall structural complexity of the entire pressure vessel system.
2Ease of operation
If the pressure vessel is mounted on a vehicle with fixed orientation, then the mounting structure is simple, but the gas release may be directed toward restricted areas when the vehicle attitude changes
Solution Approach 1:
The guide member's rotatable design enables the system to dynamically adapt to changing vehicle attitudes (such as tilting or rolling) after mounting. When the vehicle attitude changes, the guide member can be rotated to ensure gas is released in a permitted direction away from restricted areas, maintaining safety without requiring complex active sensing or control systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The system can be operated manually by users who simply rotate the guide member to the appropriate angle based on the vehicle's attitude or environmental conditions. This self-service approach allows operators to quickly adjust the release direction without requiring complex electronic controls, sensors, or power sources, thus maintaining ease of operation while ensuring safety.
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
Enables adaptive gas release direction control independent of vehicle attitude or environment, ensuring safe and efficient gas discharge without releasing in restricted areas, thus enhancing safety and operational flexibility.
Implementation Method 1
without depending on an attitude of the pressure vessel, release the gas stored in the pressure vessel as the pressure relief valve opens in a release-permitted direction set in advance with respect to a gravity direction
Data Source
AI summary
Provided is a pressure vessel capable of adapting a release direction of gas in the pressure vessel (i.e., release-permitted direction) and a direction in which the gas in the pressure vessel should not be released (i.e., release-restricted direction) to an attitude of a vehicle or a surrounding environment. A release direction control unit is configured to variably change, with respect to the pressure vessel, a release direction of gas as a pressure relief valve opens, and without depending on an attitude of the pressure vessel, release the gas stored in the pressure vessel as the pressure relief valve opens (only) in the release-permitted direction set in advance with respect to a gravity direction, not in the release-restricted direction set in advance with respect to the gravity direction.