Skirted Sealing Gasket for Pipe-to-Wall Leak Resistance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing solutions for sealing a pipe passing through a wall in aircraft installations are cumbersome and require complex crimping processes, necessitating a simpler and more efficient sealing method.
Innovation Solution
A seal assembly featuring a flexible skirt that contacts the wall around the pipe orifice, comprising a barrel with a cylindrical recess and a skirt extending beyond the base, which tightens to ensure a secure seal by applying tension to the skirt edges against the wall, combined with a method involving installation, protection, driving-in, withdrawal, and tightening steps.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional sealing solutions are used, then sealing around the pipe orifice is achieved, but the assembly process becomes cumbersome and complex
Solution Approach 1:
The sealing system is divided into distinct functional components: a sealing element with a skirt portion that contacts the wall, a pipe portion, and a fastening mechanism. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently and assembled in a straightforward sequence, reducing overall assembly complexity while maintaining sealing effectiveness.
Solution Approach 2:
The sealing element is pre-formed with an integrated skirt that extends beyond the base, eliminating the need for post-assembly crimping or secondary sealing operations. The preliminary configuration of the skirt ensures immediate wall contact upon installation, simplifying the assembly process while guaranteeing reliable sealing.
2Reliability
If conventional sealing solutions are used, then sealing around the pipe orifice is achieved, but the assembly process requires crimping operations
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of deforming the sealing element through crimping to achieve wall contact, the invention inverts the approach by extending the skirt outward to actively contact the wall. This inversion eliminates complex crimping operations while ensuring reliable sealing through the naturally positioned skirt edges.
Solution Approach 2:
The sealing element is designed as a simple, disposable component that achieves its sealing function through basic geometric features (the extended skirt) rather than complex, expensive crimping tooling. This approach prioritizes ease of manufacture and assembly over reusable, complex fastening mechanisms.
3Reliability
If a skirt is added to contact the wall, then sealing effectiveness is improved, but the manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The skirt is integrated directly into the sealing element as a single molded or formed piece, combining the sealing function and the wall-contact function into one component. This merging eliminates the need for separate skew or attachment parts, maintaining manufacturing simplicity while achieving improved sealing effectiveness.
Solution Approach 2:
The sealing element's geometry is modified by extending the skirt beyond the base diameter, creating a simple dimensional parameter change rather than a complex structural addition. This parameter modification (increased radial extent) achieves wall contact and improved sealing without significantly complicating the manufacturing process.
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 provides a simple, effective, and leak-resistant seal around the pipe orifice, diverting fluid flows and maintaining the space under the skirt sealed, while being easy to implement and produce.
Implementation Method 1
a seal (150) made of a flexible material such as silicone for example. The seal 150 comprises a barrel 152 which extends between a base 153 and a top 155... a skirt 154 secured to the barrel 152 and extending around said barrel 152... the tightening is continued until the base 153 of the barrel 152 comes into contact against the wall 102
Data Source
Figure 1~2
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AI summary
The invention relates to a sealing gasket (150) comprising a barrel (152) extending between a base (153) and a top (155), where the barrel (152) is traversed by a cylindrical recess between its base (153) and its top (155), and a skirt (154) integral with the barrel (152) and extending around said barrel (152), where the skirt (154) takes the form of a dome whose outer edges (157) extend beyond the base (153) from the top (155). The sealing gasket (150) diverts the fluid and maintains the space under the skirt (154) watertight.