Vacuum-Insulated Pipe Sealing With Axial Flange Compression
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional decompression heat-insulating pipe structures face issues with heat-insulating performance and assembly due to low radial dimensional accuracy of inner and outer tubes, leading to difficulties in sealing and maintaining the desired thermal insulation.
Innovation Solution
The proposed decompression heat-insulating pipe structure incorporates flanges and elastic seal members between the inner and outer tubes, allowing for axial compression of seal members to ensure high sealing properties, even with low radial dimensional accuracy, and includes bellows for accommodating thermal expansion, ensuring reliable heat-insulation performance and easy assembly.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If the radial dimension of the inner tube is smaller than the standard dimension, then the distance between the inner tube and the outer tube becomes large, but the space between the inner tube and the outer tube is difficult to be sealed with an elastic seal member
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the sealing direction from radial to axial by introducing flanges that extend in the axial direction. The elastic seal members are positioned between flanges and compressed axially rather than radially, utilizing the axial dimension where higher dimensional accuracy exists to achieve reliable sealing despite radial dimensional variations.
2Manufacturing precision
If the radial dimension of the inner tube is larger than the standard dimension, then the distance between the inner tube and the outer tube becomes narrow, but an elastic seal member is difficult to be disposed in the space between the inner tube and the outer tube
Solution Approach 1:
The patent resolves the assembly difficulty by transitioning the sealing mechanism to the axial dimension. Flanges extending axially create a sealing structure that accommodates radial dimensional variations, allowing elastic seal members to be easily positioned and compressed axially regardless of radial clearance variations.
3Reliability
If the space between the inner tube and the outer tube is decompressed, then heat-insulating performance is improved, but the elastic seal member must be compressed which may cause damage
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the compression direction from radial to axial, utilizing the axial dimension where higher dimensional accuracy and controlled clearance exist. This allows the elastic seal members to be compressed axially between flanges with controlled force, preventing excessive compression damage while achieving the necessary sealing for heat insulation.
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 achieves high heat-insulating performance and easy assembly by compressing seal members in the axial direction, maintaining a sealed state despite variations in tube dimensions due to thermal expansion, and prevents damage to seal members from excessive compression.
Implementation Method 1
the first elastic seal member is compressed between the first flange and the third flange, and the second elastic seal member is compressed between the second flange and the fourth flange
Implementation Method 2
at least one of the inner tube or the outer tube includes bellows, the bellows being configured to elongate or contract axially
Data Source
AI summary
A decompression heat-insulating pipe structure that can exhibit the desired heat-insulating performance and is easy to assemble. In the structure, a space between ends of inner and outer tubes is decompressed. The outer tube includes a first flange, which extends radially inward from an axially one end thereof, and a second flange, which extends radially outward from the axially other end thereof. The inner tube includes a third flange, which extends radially inward from an axially one end thereof and is opposed to the first flange at an axially inward position of the first flange, and a fourth flange, which extends radially outward from the axially other end thereof and being opposed to the second flange at an axially outward position of the second flange. First and second elastic seal members are disposed between the first and third flanges and between the second and fourth flanges, respectively.