Thermally Stabilized Fastener for Constant Clamping Force
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing fastener systems fail to maintain constant clamping forces across temperature changes due to mismatched thermal expansion coefficients between materials, leading to loosening or over-tightening, which causes fatigue and equipment failure in industrial and aerospace applications.
Innovation Solution
The development of thermally stabilized fasteners using tailored thermal expansion coefficient materials that contract when heated and expand when cooled, allowing for the creation of metallic fasteners that compensate for the natural expansion and contraction of other materials, thereby maintaining constant mechanical load across temperature variations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional fastener materials are used, then the fastener system is simple and easy to manufacture, but the clamping force varies with temperature changes causing loosening or over-tightening
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs composite material structures in the fastener system, combining materials with different thermal expansion coefficients to create a fastener that compensates for thermal effects. The composite structure allows the fastener to maintain stable clamping force across temperature variations by integrating materials that expand and contract in complementary ways, resolving the contradiction between reliability and complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention directly applies thermal expansion principles by selecting materials with specific coefficients of thermal expansion that counterbalance each other. The fastener system incorporates materials whose expansion/contraction characteristics are engineered to offset temperature-induced dimensional changes, thereby maintaining constant clamping force without requiring complex active control mechanisms.
2Reliability
If materials with mismatched thermal expansion coefficients are used, then the fastener system is easy to manufacture, but fatigue and equipment failure occur due to loosening or over-tightening
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the critical parameter of thermal expansion coefficient by selecting and combining materials with specific, carefully matched coefficients. This parameter optimization ensures that the fastener system experiences minimal net dimensional change with temperature, preventing fatigue and failure while maintaining manufacturing feasibility through the use of conventional materials and processes.
3Manufacturing precision
If standard fastener materials are used, then the manufacturing process is simple, but the fastener cannot maintain constant mechanical load across temperature variations
Solution Approach 1:
The invention applies local quality by creating zones within the fastener system with different material properties. Specific portions of the fastener or associated components use materials with tailored thermal expansion characteristics, allowing precise control over the overall thermal response. This localized material differentiation enables manufacturing precision in maintaining clamping force while avoiding the need to complicate the entire fastener structure.
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
This solution effectively stabilizes fastener systems by ensuring constant clamping forces despite temperature changes, reducing maintenance costs, improving reliability, and enhancing safety and performance in various industrial and aerospace applications.
Implementation Method 1
tailored thermal expansion coefficient materials that contract when heated and expand when cooled
Implementation Method 2
compensate for the natural expansion and contraction of other materials
Data Source
AI summary
A thermally stabilized fastener system and method is disclosed. The disclosed system/method integrates a fastener (FAS) incorporating a faster retention head (FRH), fastener retention body (FRB), and fastener retention tip (FRT) to couple a mechanical member stack (MMS) in a thermally stabilized fashion using a fastener retention receiver (FRR). The MMS includes a temperature compensating member (TCM), a first retention member (FRM), and an optional second retention member (SRM). The TCM is constructed using a tailored thermal expansion coefficient (TTC) that permits the TCM to compensate for the thermal expansion characteristics of the FAS, FRM, and SRM such that the force applied by the FRH and FRR portions of the FAS to the MMS is tailored to a specific temperature force profile (TFP) over changes in MMS/FAS temperature. The TCM may be selected with a TTC to achieve a uniform TFP over changes in MMS/FAS temperature.