Pressure Vessel Caps Bonded to Pipe Ends
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing pressure vessels with multi-part container bodies are complex and costly to manufacture, despite offering advantages like low structural weight and resistance to corrosive media.
Innovation Solution
A pressure vessel design featuring caps glued to pipe ends with a cover laminate that overlaps the cap and central part, allowing for a lightweight, efficient construction using fiber composite materials, and optionally metal components, with a modular design and adhesive connections, providing improved sealing and strength without the need for multiple plastic jackets.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If multiple plastic jackets are arranged one on top of the other to create a multi-part container body, then pressure resistance and structural integrity are improved, but manufacturing complexity and cost increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The container body is divided into two main segments: a central tubular section and two end sections. Each segment can be manufactured separately using optimized processes (extrusion for the central section, injection molding for end sections) and then assembled through adhesive bonding. This segmentation allows each part to be manufactured with the most suitable process for its specific functional requirements, reducing overall manufacturing complexity while maintaining pressure resistance.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs composite material structures, particularly in the end sections where a housing made of thermoplastic material is combined with a foam core material. This composite construction provides both structural integrity and pressure resistance with reduced weight and simplified manufacturing compared to multiple plastic jackets. The foam core provides insulation and structural support, while the thermoplastic housing provides the pressure-containing function.
2Strength
If fiber reinforcement is applied from the outside as a second plastic shell, then structural strength and pressure resistance are enhanced, but manufacturing effort and process complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
Fiber reinforcement is incorporated into the mold during the injection molding process of the end sections, rather than being applied as a separate post-processing step. The fiber-reinforced material is prepared in advance as a preform or mat that is placed in the mold cavity before injection, allowing the reinforcement to be integrated into the housing structure in one manufacturing operation. This eliminates the need for separate fiber winding or application steps, reducing manufacturing effort while maintaining structural strength.
3Adaptability or versatility
If a multi-part vessel body is constructed with separate components, then adaptability for different applications and ease of repair are improved, but connection reliability and sealing performance may deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
An adhesive bonding agent serves as an intermediary substance between the central tubular section and the end sections, creating a reliable mechanical and chemical bond. The adhesive is specifically selected to bond thermoplastic materials, and the bonding process includes surface preparation steps (such as abrasion or plasma treatment) to ensure optimal adhesion. This intermediary bonding mechanism ensures connection reliability while allowing the vessel to be disassembled and reconfigured for different applications, and enables repair by replacing individual components.
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 design simplifies manufacturing while maintaining pressure resistance values, achieving secure connections, safe operating behavior, and adaptability for various applications, including those with aggressive media, with enhanced compressive strength and chemical protection.
Implementation Method 1
The caps are bonded to the corresponding pipe ends
Implementation Method 2
the tubular central section, as well as the respective cap, be made of a fiber-reinforced composite material and/or a fiber laminate, preferably of a glass fiber reinforced plastic (GFRP)
Data Source
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AI summary
A pressure vessel which is provided preferably for use in bladder accumulators (27), having a multi-part vessel body (1) composed of a tubular central part (3) which, at at least one of its two ends, has a termination region (5, 7), is characterized in that a cover part (9) which at least partially forms the respective termination region (5, 7) engages at the edge over the central part (3), at least in the region of the respectively assignable end (13, 15) thereof, so as to form a fixed connection.