Top-Repairable Pulsation Dampener for Faster Bladder Replacement
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current gas-charged pulsation dampeners require frequent maintenance, particularly bladder replacement, which involves removing and reorienting the unit, increasing repair time and costs due to their weight and complex disassembly process.
Innovation Solution
A top repairable gas-charged pulsation dampener design with a threaded cover and standardized bladder, featuring a double convex anti-extrusion bladder button, allows for faster and simpler bladder replacement without disconnection from piping, reducing the need for multiple technicians and minimizing downtime.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of repair
If conventional gas-charged dampeners are designed with bottom repair access, then bladder replacement is possible, but the unit must be removed and reoriented increasing repair time and costs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent inverts the conventional bottom-repair design by providing access to the bladder through the top of the dampener. The top cover is made removable to allow direct insertion and removal of the bladder from the top, eliminating the need to remove and reorient the entire unit as required by bottom-repair designs.
Solution Approach 2:
The dampener is segmented into modular components: a removable top cover, a replaceable bladder, and a fixed body. This segmentation allows the bladder to be independently accessed and replaced through the top cover without affecting other components, enabling quick maintenance while the unit remains installed.
2Ease of repair
If the dampener unit is heavy and requires removal for repair, then complete bladder access is achieved, but production downtime increases
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of requiring complete removal and reorientation of the heavy dampener unit from the bottom, the patent provides bladder access through the top while the unit remains installed and oriented in place, maintaining production continuity.
Solution Approach 2:
The bladder is extracted as a separate, independently replaceable component that can be removed through the top cover without extracting or moving the entire dampener unit from its installed position in the piping system.
3Ease of repair
If a threaded cover design is used for top repair, then bladder replacement is simplified, but torsion on the bladder neck must be minimized
Solution Approach 1:
The top cover assembly is segmented into a cover portion and a pusher plate portion that can be separately removed. This allows the bladder to be accessed without applying torsional stress to the bladder neck during the replacement process.
Solution Approach 2:
The threaded cover design incorporates asymmetric features including a pusher plate that contacts the bladder at a specific point rather than distributing force around the circumference, preventing torsion on the bladder neck while enabling easy removal.
4Adaptability or versatility
If bladder design is standardized for both top and bottom repairable systems, then interchangeability is achieved, but specific design optimizations for each type may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The bladder is designed with universal features including a standardized neck configuration and button geometry that allow it to be installed in both top-repairable and bottom-repairable dampener designs, achieving multi-functionality and interchangeability across different dampener types.
Solution Approach 2:
While maintaining overall standardization, the bladder incorporates local quality variations such as a double-convex button shape with specific curvature radii that optimize performance for anti-extrusion functionality regardless of whether the dampener is top or bottom repairable.
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 design reduces repair time and costs by enabling bladder interchangeability between top and bottom repairable systems, allowing for quicker maintenance with reduced gas volume requirements, thus minimizing production halts and operational expenses.
Implementation Method 1
a bladder (or, equivalently for purposes of this disclosure, 'diaphragm' or 'bellows') that contains a nitrogen gas pre-charge
Implementation Method 2
Pulsation control in fluid transfer systems is in constant need of improvement
Data Source
AI summary
Top repairable gas-charged pulsation dampener designs include one or both of a threaded cover for bladder replacement and a standardized bladder with a double convex, anti-extrusion bladder button. The threaded cover, which speeds up bladder replacement over bolt-on covers, preferably has a two-piece construction to reduce torsion on the bladder neck. The bladder design, which includes a double convex, anti-extrusion bladder button, facilitates use of the same bladder design in both top repairable and bottom repairable gas-charged pulsation dampeners.