Spiral Conduit Jacketed Vessel for Heat Transfer and Single-Pass Welding
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional half-pipe jacketed vessels have limitations in heat transfer surface area, pressure drop, and structural stability, with inefficient welding processes that increase manufacturing costs and risk of mechanical concerns during thermal cycling.
Innovation Solution
A jacketed vessel design featuring a conduit with a concave center portion and convex side portions, allowing for a larger heat transfer surface area and improved pressure drop characteristics, and a manufacturing method that reduces welding requirements through single-pass butt welds, enhancing structural integrity and cost-effectiveness.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Area of stationary object
If a conventional half-pipe jacket is used with spacing between adjacent passes, then welding clearance is provided for manufacturing, but the heat transfer surface area covered is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs curved, spiral-wound conduit sections that conform to the cylindrical vessel surface. The curved geometry allows adjacent passes to be positioned closer together while maintaining adequate welding clearance, thereby increasing the heat transfer surface area coverage without compromising manufacturability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from straight or simple curved conduit sections to a three-dimensional spiral configuration that wraps around the vessel. This dimensional change allows the conduit to cover more surface area in a compact arrangement, maximizing heat transfer area while maintaining feasible welding clearances through the spiral geometry.
2Strength
If multiple weld passes are performed on each side of the half-pipe, then weld joint strength is increased, but manufacturing cost and time increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the welding operation from a multi-pass process to a single-pass process by modifying the conduit geometry and positioning. The spiral-wound design with specific edge configurations allows a single weld pass to achieve adequate joint strength, eliminating the need for multiple passes and significantly reducing manufacturing cost and time.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the geometric parameters of the conduit, specifically the edge configuration and spacing between adjacent passes. These parameter changes enable a single weld pass to achieve the necessary joint strength that previously required multiple passes, thereby improving productivity without sacrificing weld joint strength.
3Strength
If significant welding is performed to attach the half-pipe to the vessel shell, then structural integrity is achieved, but mechanical concerns arise during thermal cycling
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses curved, spiral-wound conduit sections that naturally conform to the thermal expansion and contraction patterns of the cylindrical vessel. This curved geometry distributes thermal stresses more evenly along the weld joints, reducing the risk of cracking during thermal cycling while maintaining structural integrity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a more flexible, dynamic weld joint configuration through the spiral geometry. The curved, overlapping arrangement of conduit sections allows the joint to accommodate thermal movement and stress better than rigid, straight-welded connections, thereby improving reliability during thermal cycling.
4Reliability
If intensive welding processes are used to manufacture half-pipe jacketed vessels, then adequate attachment is achieved, but manufacturing cost increases by up to thirty percent
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the expensive multi-pass welding process and replaces it with a single-pass welding process enabled by the modified conduit geometry. This extraction of the intensive welding requirement reduces manufacturing cost by up to thirty percent while maintaining adequate attachment through the optimized single-pass weld design.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent adopts a design that prioritizes cost-effective manufacturing over maximum weld joint strength. The single-pass weld, while less intensive than multi-pass welding, provides adequate attachment for the application, accepting a trade-off in absolute strength for significant cost reduction in 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 design achieves improved heat transfer and pressure drop performance while reducing manufacturing costs and mechanical risks, with increased fatigue resistance and the ability for 100% radiography or ultrasonic inspections of welding joints.
Implementation Method 1
heating or cooling fluid may be circulated through the conduit so that the heating or cooling fluid contacts the exterior surface of the shell to cause heat transfer between the heating or cooling fluid and the walls of the vessel
Implementation Method 2
heating or cooling fluid may be circulated through the conduit
Data Source
AI summary
A jacketed vessel for temperature control of contents within the vessel is provided. The vessel has a shell and an external jacket through which heating or cooling fluid is circulated. The jacket is formed by a length of conduit arranged in a spiral orientation around the vessel shell. The conduit has a center portion having a concave inner surface and has opposing side portions having convex inner surfaces. Edge sections of each side portion are welded to the exterior surface of the shell to form the jacket. Edge sections of adjacent arcs of conduit may be simultaneously welded to the shell in a single weld pass. The shape of the conduit provides improved heat transfer and pressure drop characteristics, as well as improvements in the vessel manufacturing process.