Anisotropic Textile Sleeve for Lightweight Extendible Hoses
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional extendible fluid pipes with textile reinforcement suffer from excessive mass per unit length due to the stretching of knitted fabrics, which increases weight and bulk, making them cumbersome for storage and transport.
Innovation Solution
A sleeve with greater elongation capacity in one direction than the other, composed of extendible textile material with woven fabric design featuring aligning warp elements made of nylon, elastane, or Lycra, which allows for reversible elongation up to 50% of its initial length, while weft elements remain non-extendible, optimizing pipe extension and retraction.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Length of moving object
If a knitted fabric reinforcement is used in the pipe, then the pipe can extend and enlarge when water flows, but the mass per unit length increases due to fabric stretching
Solution Approach 1:
The invention uses a composite reinforcement structure combining a knitted fabric base layer with an overlying woven fabric layer. The knitted fabric provides extendibility while the woven fabric with non-extendible weft elements controls radial expansion and limits mass increase. This composite approach allows the pipe to extend longitudinally while maintaining controlled mass per unit length.
Solution Approach 2:
The reinforcement structure has different properties in different directions: the knitted fabric allows longitudinal extension while the woven fabric's non-extendible weft elements prevent excessive radial stretching. This anisotropic design provides different mechanical properties in different directions, allowing the pipe to extend when needed while controlling mass increase.
2Productivity
If the pipe is made longer to increase flow rate, then the flow capacity improves, but the weight and bulk increase making storage and transport difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The pipe is designed to be dynamically extendible rather than statically long. When water flows, the pipe extends and enlarges to provide sufficient length and high flow rate. When flow stops, the pipe retracts to a compact form. This dynamic behavior allows the pipe to achieve high productivity during use while maintaining low weight and compact storage form.
Solution Approach 2:
The pipe's physical parameters (length, diameter, volume) change based on operating conditions. Under water pressure, the pipe transitions from a retracted state with small dimensions to an extended state with larger dimensions, providing flow rate optimization without permanent weight increase.
3Length of moving object
If the textile reinforcement stretches across its diameter to allow pipe extension, then the pipe can elongate, but the mass per unit length becomes large
Solution Approach 1:
The woven fabric layer has different extendibility in different directions: the warp elements (longitudinal) are extendible while the weft elements (circumferential) are non-extendible. This allows the pipe to elongate longitudinally while preventing excessive radial stretching that would increase mass per unit length.
Solution Approach 2:
The combination of knitted fabric (extendible in both directions) with woven fabric (extendible only longitudinally) creates a composite structure that allows controlled elongation. The woven fabric's non-extendible weft elements limit radial expansion and control the mass per unit length during longitudinal extension.
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 reduces the mass per unit length of the pipe, enhancing its performance by allowing efficient elongation and retraction, thus improving transport and storage efficiency while maintaining high flow rates and resistance to wear.
Implementation Method 1
At least one of the warp elements is extendible. The at least one extendible warp element has an elongation capacity between 10% and 50% of its initial length and preferably between 25% and 50% of its initial length.
Data Source
AI summary
A sleeve for the construction of a hose pipe extends about a longitudinal axis. The sleeve has greater elongation capacities in one direction than in the other with respect to the longitudinal axis.