Connection Socket With Thermal Locking Rings for High-Temperature Sealing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional press connections in piping systems face issues such as material flow restriction, erosion, reduced flow rates, and failure at high temperatures due to the need for inward distortion, which limits material choices and increases the risk of leaks.
Innovation Solution
A connection socket design featuring a metal alloy socket cup with a primary elastomeric seal, spacer rings, and locking rings with a higher coefficient of thermal expansion, including a secondary metal seal with a melting temperature above the primary seal's service temperature, to enhance sealing and grip at high temperatures.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Force
If inward distortion is applied to achieve press connection, then resistance to slippage is improved, but material flow restriction and erosion increase
Solution Approach 1:
The connection socket is divided into multiple functional components: a socket cup for receiving the tube, locking rings with biting features for mechanical engagement, sealing portions with seals for fluid tightness, and grippers for additional mechanical advantage. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function without requiring excessive distortion of the entire assembly, thereby reducing material flow restriction while maintaining slip resistance.
Solution Approach 2:
The locking rings are positioned at specific locations within the socket cup where they can engage the tube with biting features to provide localized mechanical advantage and resistance to slippage. The sealing portions are positioned at specific locations to provide sealing without requiring distortion of the entire socket, thereby maintaining smooth material flow through the connection while providing adequate grip.
2Force
If inward distortion is applied to achieve press connection, then resistance to slippage is improved, but material ductility requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The connection assembly is segmented into the socket cup, locking rings, sealing portions, and grippers as separate components. This allows the socket cup to be made from materials with lower ductility requirements since it does not need to undergo extensive distortion, while the locking rings and grippers provide the necessary mechanical advantage through their design features rather than material deformation.
Solution Approach 2:
The traditional press connection mechanism that relies on mechanical distortion of the socket is replaced with a system using locking rings with biting features and grippers that provide mechanical advantage through geometric design rather than material deformation. This substitution allows for broader material selection including materials with lower ductility.
3Ease of manufacture
If traditional press connections are used, then assembly is simple, but leak protection at high temperatures deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The sealing portions with seals are pre-positioned within the socket cup before the final assembly. The locking rings with biting features are also pre-configured to engage with the tube. This preliminary arrangement ensures that when assembly occurs, the sealing components are already in position to prevent leaks, and the locking features are ready to secure the connection, maintaining assembly simplicity while ensuring high-temperature leak protection.
Solution Approach 2:
The connection assembly uses composite construction combining the socket cup material with sealing materials in the sealing portions and locking ring materials with biting features. This composite approach allows each material to be optimized for its specific function: the socket cup for structural integrity, the sealing materials for leak prevention at high temperatures, and the locking rings for mechanical engagement, thereby maintaining assembly simplicity while achieving reliable high-temperature performance.
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 provides improved resistance to slippage, reduced material flow restrictions, and enhanced leak protection at high temperatures, ensuring a secure and reliable connection while allowing for the use of a wider range of materials.
Implementation Method 1
each of the one or more locking rings comprises a metal alloy having a coefficient of thermal expansion greater than a coefficient of thermal expansion of the metal alloy composition of the socket cup
Implementation Method 2
A secondary seal is positioned within the sealing portion. The secondary seal includes a metal composition, wherein the secondary seal has a melting temperature at or above the service temperature of the primary seal
Data Source
AI summary
A connection socket for a tubular connection includes a socket cup having a metal alloy composition and a sealing portion. A primary seal is positioned within the sealing portion. The primary seal includes an elastomeric material having a service temperature. One or more spacer rings are positioned within the sealing portion. A secondary seal is positioned within the sealing portion. The secondary seal includes a metal composition, wherein the secondary seal has a melting temperature at or above the service temperature of the primary seal. One or more locking rings are positioned within the sealing portion, wherein each of the one or more locking rings comprises a biting feature defined along an internal circumference of the locking ring.