Rippled Spring Liner Hose Clamp Thermal Compensation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Hose clamps face challenges in maintaining clamping force due to thermal expansion and changes in hose material elasticity, leading to potential fluid or gas leakage, as existing spring liners fail to effectively compensate for these changes.
Innovation Solution
An annular spring liner with a central, rippled contact portion and circumferential shoulders is used, which reduces the contact surface area and increases unit loading, providing a thermal-compensating feature by acting as a spring, thus maintaining a consistent sealing force despite changes in hose material properties.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stress or pressure
If a traditional spring liner with multiple ridges is used, then compression zones are created in the hose, but the contact surface area is large which reduces unit loading and sealing effectiveness
Solution Approach 1:
The spring liner features a rippled contact portion with a narrower width than the full width of the liner, creating a localized zone of concentrated compression. This rippled portion has a width of approximately 40-75% of the liner's total width, focusing the sealing force on a specific contact area while the broader shoulders provide structural support and distribute loads.
2Stress or pressure
If hose clamp tension is increased to compensate for thermal expansion and material deterioration, then sealing force is improved initially, but the hose and fittings experience additional stress and the clamp may become too loose over time
Solution Approach 1:
The spring liner is designed with inherent elasticity to dynamically respond to changing conditions. As the hose expands thermally or the hose material deteriorates, the spring liner compresses further, automatically increasing the sealing force. This dynamic compensation maintains consistent sealing performance without requiring additional clamp tension, preventing both initial leakage and long-term force degradation.
Solution Approach 2:
The spring liner utilizes changes in its elastic properties and compression state to adapt to varying operating conditions. The liner's spring constant and compression distance are designed to provide optimal sealing force across a range of temperatures and hose conditions, allowing the system to self-adjust rather than requiring fixed high-tension settings that cause excessive stress.
3Reliability
If the spring liner compression is increased to maintain sealing force, then leakage is reduced, but the hose material may deteriorate faster due to excessive compression
Solution Approach 1:
The compression is localized to the rippled contact portion which has a narrower width, concentrating the sealing force where it is most needed while the broader shoulders distribute the overall load. This creates a moderate compression zone that provides effective sealing without subjecting the entire hose cross-section to excessive compressive stress that would accelerate material deterioration.
4Stress or pressure
If a narrow contact portion is used to increase unit loading, then sealing effectiveness is improved, but the structural stability of the liner may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The spring liner is segmented into distinct functional zones: the rippled contact portion for concentrated sealing force and the broader shoulders for structural support and load distribution. This segmentation allows the narrow rippled section to provide high unit loading for effective sealing while the wider shoulder sections maintain the overall structural integrity and stability of the liner under operational loads.
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 solution enhances the sealing performance by increasing the radial pressure on the hose, reducing leakage, and maintaining a high sealing force over time, even as hose materials degrade, through a more uniform and moderate compression zone.
Implementation Method 1
spring liner that is associated with a hose clamp assembly... allows a hose clamp to self-compensate for changes in elastic properties
Implementation Method 2
Hose clamps, hose and fittings respond to changes in ambient temperature and system temperatures based on the thermal properties of the aforementioned components
Implementation Method 3
The ridges create two zones of very high compression in the hose, while the central ridge area creates a zone of lesser compression
Data Source
AI summary
An improved hose clamp having an annular band having an inner face, tensioning means, and an annular spring liner; the spring liner having a circumferential shoulder near an edge of the liner; and a central, cylindrical, rippled, contact portion of smaller circumference than the shoulder, and of smaller width than the inner face of the band. The shoulder is adapted to abut the inner face and the contact portion is adapted to contact a hose or other article to be clamped. The ripples may be symmetric, for example, sinusoidal, or asymmetric, such as saw-tooth shaped.