Heavy-Duty Wing Nut Structure for Fracture-Resistant Hammer Unions
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Solution Overview
Problem
Hammer unions in the energy industry are prone to fractures due to cyclic bending loads and improper connections, leading to potential failures and uncontrolled fluid releases, posing safety and environmental risks.
Innovation Solution
A heavy-duty wing nut design featuring a body with internal threaded sections, stress relief areas, and radial lugs for enhanced torque application, which couples male and female subs in a hammer union to ensure secure sealing and reduce stress concentrations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a conventional threaded nut is used in hammer unions, then the connection can be made and broken quickly, but stress concentrations lead to fractures and connection failure
Solution Approach 1:
The wing nut is divided into multiple segments or lobes that can be independently manipulated. This segmentation allows for distributed stress application during tightening and loosening operations, preventing stress concentration at single points and reducing the likelihood of fracture propagation
Solution Approach 2:
The wing nut incorporates localized features such as rounded corners, filleted edges, and varied wall thicknesses in specific areas to redistribute stress concentrations. These local modifications ensure that high-stress regions are relieved without compromising the overall structural integrity or connection reliability
2Ease of operation
If the wing nut structure is simplified for ease of operation, then quick make-up and break-out is achieved, but stress relief and fracture prevention are compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The wing nut integrates multiple functions into a single component: the ergonomic wing shape for manual operation, the threaded interior for secure fastening, and built-in stress relief features for fracture prevention. This merging eliminates the need for separate tools or additional structural elements, maintaining ease of operation while ensuring reliability
Solution Approach 2:
The design converts potentially harmful stress concentrations into beneficial stress distribution patterns through strategic placement of ribs, fillets, and varied wall thicknesses. These features transform points of potential failure into zones of stress relief, allowing the simplified wing structure to maintain both operational ease and fracture resistance
Data Source
AI summary
A wing nut may include a body having a first part extending from a first end surface to a parting line and a second part extending from the parting line to a second end surface. A passage may axially extend through the body, the passage defining an interior surface of the body. An internal threaded section may be formed on an interior surface of the first part. An internal shoulder may be formed on the interior surface of the second part. A stress relief may be formed on the interior surface of the second part between the internal shoulder and the parting line. A rib may extend inward from the interior surface of the second part, the rib being intermediate the stress relief and the internal threaded section. At least one lug may extend radially from the exterior surface of the body.