Rotary Collar Heat Exchanger for Friction Stir Weld Cooling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Self-reacting friction stir welding processes face challenges in dissipating excess heat effectively, particularly in applications like aerospace, due to the absence of a heat-dissipating anvil, leading to potential overheating and defects at the weld site.
Innovation Solution
A heat exchanger is integrated with the self-reacting friction stir welding apparatus, featuring a collar secured to the root shoulder, a rotary union, and a manifold, which facilitates the transfer of heat through conduction and fluid flow to manage heat dissipation efficiently.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If self-reacting friction stir welding is used to eliminate the anvil, then device complexity is reduced and ease of operation is improved, but heat dissipation capability deteriorates leading to overheating at the weld site
Solution Approach 1:
A collar is introduced as an intermediary component between the root shoulder and the workpiece. This collar serves as a heat transfer mediator, conducting heat away from the weld site through its thermal conductivity while maintaining the self-reacting welding process without requiring a large anvil structure
Solution Approach 2:
The heat dissipation function is extracted from the traditional large anvil structure and concentrated into a smaller collar component. This extraction allows the system to achieve effective heat management without the complexity and size requirements of conventional anvil-based systems
2Temperature
If coolant flow is used to dissipate heat, then temperature control is improved, but ease of operation deteriorates due to application constraints
Solution Approach 1:
The collar provides passive heat dissipation through its inherent thermal conductivity and geometric design. The collar's structure itself serves the heat dissipation function without requiring external coolant systems, making the process self-sufficient and applicable in environments where coolant flow is not feasible
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 heat exchanger effectively dissipates heat from the weld site, maintaining temperature within safe limits and preventing defects, while allowing uninterrupted operation of the welding process.
Implementation Method 1
The collar is made of a thermally conductive material and comprises a collar flow inlet, a collar flow outlet, and an internal conduit fluidically coupling the collar flow inlet and the collar flow outlet
Implementation Method 2
The heat exchanger includes a collar configured to be secured to and co-rotatable with a root shoulder of the self-reacting friction stir welding apparatus. The collar is made of a thermally conductive material and comprises a collar flow inlet, a collar flow outlet, and an internal conduit fluidically coupling the collar flow inlet and the collar flow outlet
Data Source
AI summary
A heat exchanger for a self-reacting friction stir welding apparatus includes a collar. The collar includes a collar flow inlet, a collar flow outlet, and an internal conduit fluidically coupling the collar flow inlet and the collar flow outlet. The heat exchanger also includes a rotary union having a first rotary-union flow outlet fluidically coupled with the collar flow inlet, a first rotary-union flow inlet fluidically coupled with the collar flow outlet, a second rotary-union flow inlet, and a second rotary-union flow outlet. The rotary union is co-rotatable with the collar. The heat exchanger further includes a manifold that has a first manifold flow outlet fluidically coupled with the second rotary-union flow inlet and a first manifold flow inlet fluidically coupled with the second rotary-union flow outlet. The rotary union is rotatable relative to the manifold.