Shielding-Stud Attenuator Assembly for Leak-Resistant High Pressure Sealing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional high-pressure fluid system attenuators face issues with stress raisers leading to cracks and fatigue, complex assembly processes, and inadequate safety against leaks, which can be hazardous.
Innovation Solution
The shielding-stud attenuator design features a cylindrical shielding stud with wedge surfaces and seal heads, a tension ring, and threaded plug to provide a secure and efficient sealing mechanism, minimizing stress concentrations and facilitating assembly while ensuring a safe, leak-proof operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If fasteners are extended into the wall of the attenuator body beyond the end of the pressure chamber, then the seal head can be threadedly fastened to the pressure chamber, but stress raisers are created within the attenuator walls causing cracks and fatigue problems
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the fasteners from the pressure chamber wall entirely and places them in a separate sealing chamber. This extraction eliminates the stress raisers that would otherwise be created in the pressure chamber wall, while still allowing the seal head to be securely fastened through the sealing chamber.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent divides the attenuator body into distinct functional zones: a pressure chamber for containing high-pressure fluid and a separate sealing chamber for fastener installation. This segmentation allows the fasteners to be positioned away from the high-stress pressure chamber wall while still achieving the sealing function.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If a non-loaded, bulky, secondary containment shell is used, then safety protection is provided should a rupture occur, but device complexity and size increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent incorporates a stress relief chamber positioned between the pressure chamber and the outer shell. This chamber acts as a cushioning zone that can absorb and contain the effects of a pressure rupture before it reaches the external environment, providing safety without requiring a bulky secondary containment shell.
3Reliability
If the assembly process requires strict tension requirements for studs, then proper sealing is achieved, but the process becomes very time consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The patent designs the sealing chamber and fastener arrangement so that the sealing action is self-regulating. The seal head is biased against the sealing surface by the pressure differential and the fastener geometry itself, eliminating the need for precise tension control during assembly. The system self-adjusts to achieve proper sealing.
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 effectively reduces stress concentrations, simplifies assembly, and provides a safe, leak-resistant high-pressure attenuator that prevents hazardous leaks, enhancing operational safety and efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
The jackbolts, threaded through the tensioner, push against a lateral face of the seal head forcing an engaging face of the seal head into engagement with a wedge surface surrounding the opening to the pressure chamber, thereby sealing the opening to the pressure chamber.
Data Source
AI summary
An attenuator for high pressure fluid systems includes a shielding stud including first and second ends and a cylindrical space extending therebetween. The attenuator comprises a cylindrical, attenuator body disposed within the cylindrical space and defining a pressure chamber therein. First and second seal heads are positioned within first and second ends of said shielding stud and coupled to the attenuator body using a tensioner assembly and a plug threadingly coupled to first and second inner threaded surfaces of the shielding stud in first and second ends thereof.