Titanium Scrap Container Vacuum Safety
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current containers for storing and transporting titanium scrap lack prevention and protection against fire or explosion risks due to the high reactivity of titanium with air, and there are no effective methods to extinguish titanium scrap fires.
Innovation Solution
A container with a hermetically closable external body forming a vacuum chamber, equipped with a vacuum pump to minimize air contact, a perforated internal body for filtering and separating cooling liquid, and a hopper-like bottom for easy discharge, ensuring safety and maneuverability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If titanium scrap is stored and transported in conventional open containers, then the container structure is simple and easy to operate, but the risk of fire or explosion increases due to high reactivity of titanium with air
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the inert atmosphere principle by creating a vacuum environment inside the container to remove oxygen and other reactive gases. The vacuum pump system evacuates air from the container, replacing it with a low-pressure environment that prevents titanium combustion. This resolves the contradiction by providing fire safety through atmospheric modification rather than complex active protection systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the harmful element (air/oxygen) from the container environment using a vacuum pump. By removing the reactive atmosphere that causes titanium combustion, the system achieves fire safety without requiring complex fire suppression mechanisms. The extraction of air creates a safe storage environment while maintaining relatively simple container structure.
2Reliability
If titanium scrap is stored in contact with air, then the container operation is simple, but the reactivity of titanium with oxygen, nitrogen, hydrogen increases causing combustion risk
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by creating the vacuum environment before loading titanium scrap into the container. The vacuum pump is activated to evacuate air from the container, and only after the protective atmosphere is established is the titanium introduced. This prevents combustion risk while maintaining operational simplicity by following a standardized loading procedure.
Solution Approach 2:
The inert atmosphere principle is applied by establishing a vacuum environment that eliminates oxygen and reactive gases before titanium scrap is introduced. This preliminary creation of a safe atmosphere prevents combustion during loading and storage operations, resolving the contradiction between safety and operational simplicity.
3Reliability
If titanium scrap is stored in conventional containers, then the container design is simple, but there is no protection against the high reactivity of titanium with air gases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses the inert atmosphere principle by creating a vacuum environment that removes reactive gases from the container. The sealing mechanisms and vacuum pump work together to maintain this protective atmosphere, providing reliability against titanium reactivity while keeping the overall system relatively simple compared to active fire suppression systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The vacuum pump and sealing mechanisms act as intermediaries between the titanium scrap and the external air environment. These components mediate the interaction by maintaining a vacuum barrier that prevents direct contact between titanium and reactive gases, providing protection without requiring complex active intervention systems.
4Reliability
If titanium scrap is stored in vacuum environment, then combustion risk is minimized, but energy consumption increases due to vacuum pump operation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the reactive atmosphere from the container using the vacuum pump, creating a fire-safe environment. The energy consumption is minimized by only operating the vacuum pump during loading and maintenance periods, rather than continuously. This resolves the contradiction by providing fire safety through periodic atmospheric extraction rather than continuous energy-intensive active protection.
Solution Approach 2:
The vacuum environment provides self-service fire protection by passively preventing combustion through the absence of oxygen. Once the vacuum is established, no additional energy is required to maintain fire safety, as the inert atmosphere itself serves as the protective mechanism rather than requiring active fire suppression systems.
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 container effectively prevents combustion and explosion risks, minimizes air exposure, facilitates storage and loading operations, and ensures the integrity of the container during transport, while being cost-effective and reliable.
Implementation Method 1
said external container body can be closed hermetically by means of said lid, defining and delimiting a vacuum chamber, and in that it comprises a vacuum pump, which is adapted to create vacuum in said vacuum chamber
Implementation Method 2
a perforated internal container body, which comprises a plurality of holes, and is adapted to filter said scrap and to separate a cooling liquid
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
A container (10) for metallic scrap, particularly for safely storing and transporting scrap of titanium and alloys thereof, comprising an external container body (12) and a lid (32); the external container body (12) can be closed hermetically by means of said lid (32), defining and delimiting a vacuum chamber; the container (10) comprises a vacuum pump (17), which is adapted to create vacuum in the vacuum chamber.