Self-Cleaning Hydrocarbon Conduits Using Thermal Contortion
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Gas turbine engine conduits carrying hydrocarbon fluids experience coke deposition at elevated temperatures, leading to fluid flow restrictions and potential blockages, which are difficult and costly to maintain, especially in components like oil tubes within engine frames.
Innovation Solution
The use of hydrocarbon fluid conduits made from shape memory alloys or bimetallic materials with protrusions and recesses that contort during thermal cycling, breaking up coke deposits and allowing natural fluid flow to remove them, thereby achieving a self-cleaning effect.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional conduits are used to carry hydrocarbon fluids at elevated temperatures, then fluid flow is maintained, but coke deposits accumulate on interior surfaces causing flow restrictions and blockages
Solution Approach 1:
The conduit is designed with dynamic characteristics through bimetallic construction, allowing it to naturally flex and contort in response to thermal cycling. This dynamic behavior enables the conduit to mechanically disrupt coke deposits on its interior surface, preventing accumulation and maintaining reliable fluid flow without external intervention.
Solution Approach 2:
The bimetallic conduit utilizes differential thermal expansion between two metals with different coefficients of thermal expansion. As temperature varies during operation, the conduit expands and contracts at different rates, creating flexing motions that actively clean the interior surface by disrupting coke deposits, thus preventing flow restrictions.
2Productivity
If maintenance is performed to remove coke deposits from conduits, then flow restrictions are relieved, but maintenance costs and downtime increase
Solution Approach 1:
The conduit performs self-cleaning through its inherent dynamic flexing behavior caused by thermal expansion differences. The conduit automatically disrupts and removes coke deposits from its interior surface during normal thermal cycling, eliminating the need for external maintenance interventions and associated downtime while maintaining full fluid flow capacity.
3Ease of manufacture
If conduit material is made more resistant to coke deposition, then cleaning frequency is reduced, but material cost and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The conduit employs a bimetallic composite construction, combining two different metals with distinct properties. One metal provides structural integrity while the other contributes to thermal response characteristics. This composite structure enables thermal-induced flexing that prevents coke adhesion, achieving anti-fouling performance without requiring expensive specialized materials.
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 self-cleaning conduits effectively prevent coke buildup, reducing maintenance costs and ensuring continuous fluid flow by utilizing thermal expansion to disrupt and remove coke deposits within the conduits.
Implementation Method 1
a first metal and a second metal, the second metal having a coefficient of thermal expansion different from the first metal
Implementation Method 2
allowing natural fluid flow to remove them
Data Source
AI summary
A self-cleaning conduit for a hydrocarbon fluid. The conduit includes a tube having an interior surface defining a flow passage for the hydrocarbon fluid. The tube is formed of (i) a shape memory alloy or (ii) a first metal and a second metal having a coefficient of thermal expansion different from the first metal. At least one of a plurality of recesses and a plurality of protrusions are formed on the interior surface of the tube within the flow passage. The tube is characterized by a conduit contortion factor (CCF) from two tenths degrees Fahrenheit (0.2° F.) to fourteen degrees Fahrenheit (14° F.), and the conduit contortion factor (CCF) is one of an elastic conduit contortion factor (CCFE) and thermal expansion conduit contortion factor (CCFTE).