Titanium Bellows Accumulator Assembly for Dissimilar-Metal Welding
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional bellows accumulators fail to achieve a favorable ratio between structural weight and strength, particularly in aerospace applications where low weight and high pressure resistance are required, due to limitations in material pairings and welding processes.
Innovation Solution
The bellows accumulator uses titanium housing parts and a securing device with interconnected components, where one component is titanium and the other is stainless steel, welded using explosive cladding or electron beam welding, allowing for a strong and lightweight design with a stainless steel bellows.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Weight of moving object
If titanium housing parts are used to reduce weight, then weight decreases and strength-to-weight ratio improves, but welding compatibility with stainless steel bellows deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The securing device is divided into two separate components: a titanium component that welds to the titanium housing, and a stainless steel component that welds to the stainless steel bellows. This segmentation allows each component to be made from materials optimized for its specific welding requirement, resolving the incompatibility between titanium housing and stainless steel bellows welding.
Solution Approach 2:
The securing device acts as an intermediary element between the titanium housing and stainless steel bellows. By introducing this intermediate component with dual-material construction, the patent enables connection between two materials (titanium and stainless steel) that cannot be directly welded, thus facilitating the assembly while maintaining the weight advantages of titanium housing.
2Strength
If stainless steel bellows are used for high dynamic strength, then strength increases, but weight increases compared to titanium
Solution Approach 1:
Different parts of the accumulator are made from different materials based on their specific functional requirements. The housing is made from lightweight titanium where weight is critical, while the bellows are made from high-strength stainless steel where dynamic strength is critical. The securing device uses a dual-material construction to bridge these requirements. This local optimization allows each component to have the material properties best suited for its function.
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 configuration enables secure welding joints and a favorable weight-to-strength ratio, ensuring safe operating behavior and high dynamic strength, while avoiding the limitations of titanium-steel material pairings.
Implementation Method 1
the one component consisting of titanium and the other component made of stainless steel are firmly connected with each other by cladding, preferably explosive cladding
Implementation Method 2
welded using explosive cladding or electron beam welding
Data Source
AI summary
A bellows accumulator, consisting of at least two housing parts (4, 6) which form an accumulator housing (2), and having a separating bellows (20), which is movably arranged in the accumulator housing (2) and separates two media spaces (8, 22) from each other and is at least on its one free end fixed to a securing device (24) in the accumulator housing (2), wherein said securing device (24) is welded to the adjacently arranged housing parts (4, 6), is characterized in that the adjacently arranged housing parts (4, 6) comprise at least in part titanium materials, in that the securing device (24) consists of at least two interconnected components (26, 30), at least one (26) of which comprises at least in part titanium materials and is welded to the adjacently arranged housing parts (4, 6), and in that the respective other component (30), consisting of a different metal material, is used for securing the separating bellows (20) to the securing device (24).