Single-Bolt Band Clamp With Gasketed Rib For Pipe Joints
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing pipe clamps in lap joint configurations face challenges in providing sufficient stiffness and sealing resistance to bending moments, particularly due to differences in pipe diameters and single-bolt designs that apply clamping pressure primarily through a gasket, leading to potential misalignment and gas-tightness issues.
Innovation Solution
A band clamp design featuring a radially protruding rib with lateral sections that extend axially and are angled inward, allowing for increased stiffness and resistance to bending moments by distributing clamping force across the pipe ends, and incorporating a gasket for sealing, with a tightening mechanism that brings the band ends together to secure the pipes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If a single-bolt band clamp design is used to connect pipe ends in a lap joint configuration, then the device complexity is reduced and ease of operation is improved, but the stiffness and resistance to bending moments deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The band clamp is segmented into multiple functional zones: a first clamping zone with a first gasket for sealing, a second clamping zone with a second gasket for additional sealing, and a central reinforcement rib. This segmentation allows the single-bolt design to achieve both simplicity and sufficient stiffness by distributing clamping forces across multiple contact points rather than relying on a single clamping location.
2Ease of manufacture
If clamping pressure is applied primarily through a gasket at a single axial location, then the ease of manufacture is improved, but the sealing resistance to bending moments deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The clamp design transitions from single-point clamping to distributed clamping by adding axial dimensionality. The first and second gaskets are positioned at different axial locations on the pipe ends, creating a multi-dimensional sealing approach. This distributes the sealing function along the axial dimension, maintaining manufacturing simplicity while significantly improving resistance to bending moments and gas-tightness.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the pipe ends have different outer diameter and inner diameter dimensions to accommodate manufacturing tolerances, then the adaptability is improved, but the alignment stability deteriorates due to loose interconnection
Solution Approach 1:
The clamp applies different clamping characteristics to different regions of the pipe ends. The first gasket contacts the outer surface of the first pipe end while the second gasket contacts the inner surface of the second pipe end. This localized quality differentiation allows the clamp to accommodate diameter variations and manufacturing tolerances while maintaining stable alignment through distributed contact points that compensate for dimensional variations.
Data Source
AI summary
A band clamp that connects overlapping pipe ends includes a band, a tightening mechanism, and a gasket. The band has a radially protruding rib, a first lateral section that extends from a side of the rib, and a second lateral section that extends from another side of the rib. The tightening mechanism connects to the band and is operable to tighten the band, and the gasket is received in the rib. In one example, an axial width of the lateral sections are within a range relative to an axial width of the rib, and in another example, the lateral sections are angled inwardly with relative to an axis of the band.