Titanium Bellows Accumulator Structure for Dissimilar-Metal Welding
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional bellows accumulators fail to achieve a favorable weight-to-strength ratio and dynamic strength, particularly in aerospace applications where weight reduction is critical while maintaining high pressure stability, due to limitations in welding titanium with other metallic materials.
Innovation Solution
The bellows accumulator design employs titanium housing parts with a fixing device composed of interconnected titanium and stainless steel components, using explosive plating or electron beam welding to create strong, lightweight connections, allowing the use of chromium-nickel-molybdenum stainless steel for the bellows and stainless steel for the fixing device, ensuring safe and effective operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Weight of moving object
If titanium materials are used for housing parts to reduce weight, then weight is reduced, but welding compatibility with other metallic materials deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The fixing device is divided into two separate components: a first component made of titanium material that is welded to the titanium housing parts, and a second component made of steel material that is welded to the bellows. This segmentation allows each component to be made from materials optimized for its specific function and welding requirements, resolving the welding compatibility issue while maintaining weight reduction benefits.
Solution Approach 2:
The first component made of titanium material acts as an intermediary between the titanium housing parts and the steel second component. It enables the connection between incompatible materials (titanium and steel) by providing a titanium-to-titanium weld on one side and facilitating the connection to the steel component on the other side, thus solving the welding compatibility problem.
2Ease of manufacture
If steel material is used for fixing device to ensure weldability, then welding compatibility is improved, but overall weight increases
Solution Approach 1:
Different parts of the fixing device have different material qualities: the first component is made of titanium to match the housing parts and reduce weight, while the second component is made of steel to ensure weldability with the bellows. This local differentiation of material properties allows each region to have the optimal material for its specific requirements.
3Strength
If chromium-nickel-molybdenum stainless steel is used for bellows to ensure dynamic strength, then dynamic strength is improved, but weight increases
Solution Approach 1:
The bellows are separated from the fixing device into distinct components with different materials. The bellows themselves are made of chromium-nickel-molybdenum stainless steel to provide the required dynamic strength, while the fixing device uses a combination of titanium and steel to minimize weight. This segmentation allows independent optimization of each component's material properties.
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 design achieves a lightweight bellows accumulator with high structural strength and favorable operating behavior, enabling efficient pressure regulation without the limitations of conventional welding between titanium and steel materials.
Implementation Method 1
the titanium component and the other component of stainless steel by plating, preferably explosive plating, are firmly connected to each other
Implementation Method 2
The welding connection between the two adjacent housing parts forming a lower and an upper shell of the storage housing may be advantageously obtained together with the titanium component of the fixing device by means of an electron beam welding process
Data Source
Figure 1
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Figure 7~8
AI summary
A bellows accumulator, consisting of at least two housing parts (4, 6), which form an accumulator housing (2), and comprising a separation bellows (20) which: is movably disposed in the accumulator housing (2); separates two media chambers (8, 22) from each other; and is secured at least at its one free end to a securing device (24) in the accumulator housing (2), said securing device being welded to the adjacent housing parts (4, 6), is characterised in that: the adjacent housing parts (4, 6) contain, at least in part, titanium materials; the securing device (24) consists of at least two interconnected components (26, 30), of which at least one component (26) contains, at least in part, titanium materials and is welded to the adjacent housing parts (4, 6); and the other component (30), consisting of another metal material, is used to secure the separation bellows (20) to the securing device (24).