RU2561816C1 - Expansion joint - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: engines and pumps.

SUBSTANCE: in the suggested expansion joint containing main bellows, branch with welded bushing, unloading element, centring supports, spherical hinges, stock, according to the invention the main bellows are located at the right angle to each other; they are connected with each other and with the unloading element using tee; at that at input of the horizontal main bellows the branch with bushing is installed, containing one centring support with spherical hinge, and unloading element is provided with the second centring support with the spherical hinge in the branch bushing.

EFFECT: invention compensates angular and linear movements of flanges of the fuel tank and rocket engine, increases operation reliability of the unloading element and spherical hinges.

8 cl, 10 dwg

Description

The invention relates to rocket science and can be used to connect the flanges of the input lines of liquid rocket engines (LRE) with the flanges of pipelines or tanks of carrier rockets (LV).

Known pipeline compensator for linear displacements (US Patent from July 16, 1970 - an analogue of Swiss patent No. 528698 of July 14, 71), in the description of which a pipeline is installed at the inlet to a superheater. It consists of pipelines, bellows and a middle pipe, one of the pipelines has supports to which the beam is attached. The beam is connected by one link to another pipe, and the other link to the intermediate pipe. The mechanism of the pipe compensator in the pipe connection allows you to evenly load both bellows when moving one of the pipelines.

A disadvantage of the known pipeline compensator is the ability to rotate the rocker joints in only one plane, as well as the presence of two rockers in the flow of the working medium, which clutters the path of the intermediate pipe and creates increased resistance to flow.

Known articulated bellows compensator (German Patent No. 1218821 from 01/08/59). The bellows expansion pipe contains four bellows, connected in series through pipes. The pipeline is connected to the piping system via two flanges. The flanges are connected to each other through an intermediate third flange by means of rods, which at the joints with the first two flanges have ball bearings.

A pipeline of this design allows you to compensate for the axial, angular and transverse movements of the branches of the power plant circuits.

The description shows two designs of a flexible pipeline with three bellows, which compensate for linear displacements that occur in the piping system due to lateral parallel displacement of the ends.

The design has the best reliability, because in it, the bellows work only on bending.

The well-known articulated bellows compensator eliminates the disadvantages of the previous analogue, providing compensation for almost all possible movements of the connected pipe flanges.

In addition, the rods in this bellows expansion joint are removed from the flow of the working medium and have ball bearings at the points of connection with the pipe flanges, which creates favorable conditions for the flow.

However, this bellows compensator contains a large number of bellows discharge devices, which complicates and aggravates its design. In addition, in the well-known technical solution, the angular bellows are initially in tension, which reduces their reliability during operation of the product.

Known is a pressure-relieved hinge for pipeline systems (US Patent No. 3,198,558 of April 29, 63), in which the compensator connects the right-angled pipelines and consists of a housing connected by a universal joint, metal bellows and lids with a nozzle.

The compensator has a redundant sealing device consisting of two flanges, between which a sealing gasket is installed. The gasket position is set using screws. The gasket simultaneously acts as a vibration damper. The use of bellows with equal effective diameters and forming an unloading chamber allows unloading pipelines from unbalanced forces. The unloading element includes an endless cable.

In this analog device, the body and incoming parts are made of thick-walled and made by casting, as a result of which the structure is massive in general, which is a big limitation for installing the compensator on carrier rockets and LRE.

Known reinforced flexible bellows assembly (US Patent No. 2,707,117 of 03/03/48) of high pressure and a pipeline comprising the specified site or several such sites. The expansion joint design consists of a bellows hermetically connected to the flanges. The flanges are pivotally connected by rods, the length of which is regulated by a nut with bilateral left and right threads. The rods are attached to the support rings of the compensator with bolts.

The bellows is reinforced with reinforced rings. Between the rings there is a gap within which compensation is made for angular, linear and transverse movements. The ends of the rings have a slight taper. The holes in the middle of the ring are conical in shape, which allows the rods to swing inside the holes within its taper.

Known bellows assembly has a large number of corrugations in the bellows, which requires the use of massive high-strength reinforced rings and external springs, which leads to an increase in the mass of the structure.

In addition, this device does not allow compensation for deviations in right-angled pipe flanges, and the use of two or more bellows assemblies requires a significant spatial gap for its placement.

Known self-balancing compensator for linear and angular displacements (copyright certificate No. 72.100, IPC F16L from 09.10.1972, Russia, prototype).

The compensator includes a main bellows 1 (Fig. 1), a pipe 2 with a welded sleeve 3, an unloading element 4, centering bearings 5, a spherical hinge 6. The counterparts of the hinge 6 are connected to the power ring 7 of the main bellows 1 and to the rod 8 of the unloading element.

A distinctive feature of this compensator is the use of a centering support, which stabilizes the operation of the main bellows.

The disadvantages of the bellows expansion joint prototype are:

- the presence of one spherical hinge, as well as two centering bearings that fix the rod in the axial direction and do not allow it to change its angular location, which limits the compensating capabilities of the device, and also does not eliminate the completely bending moment between the joints of the bellows compensator from the action of the forces of the structures connected to it ;

- the absence of a second trunk bellows located at right angles to the first does not provide its coordinates (overall dimensions) in a mutually perpendicular direction;

- the unloading element, including the bellows, the compensator on the periphery do not have a protective guide casing, which reduces the reliability of their work when exposed to pressure of the working environment;

- the main bellows of the compensator does not contain devices (couplers, flanges) that allow it to be fixed from tension-compression, which worsens the conditions for installing the compensator between the rigidly installed flanges of the connected structures;

- the absence in the bellows compensator of a device that provides filtering of the working medium flowing through it does not ensure the purity of the latter;

- the joints of the bellows expansion joint with cutting for welding does not allow to dismantle it from the product after installation;

- the presence of an unregulated spherical joint.

It is not possible to carry out the installation of two such hinges at the ends of the rod without adjustable spherical supports or devices that compensate for the deviation of their relative position.

The objectives of the proposed technical solution are to expand the capabilities of the bellows compensator to compensate for angular and linear movements of the flanges of the tank of the fuel component of the carrier rocket and liquid rocket engine, to improve the conditions for mounting the engine in the product, to increase the reliability of the unloading element, and to ensure the cleanliness of the fuel component flowing through bellows compensator, in ensuring its mounting on the engine in a finishing and flight design, in increasing the reliability of the spherical Sgiach hinges.

The tasks are achieved by the fact that in the proposed bellows expansion joint containing main bellows, a nozzle with a welded sleeve, an unloading element, centering bearings, spherical joints, a rod, according to the invention, the main bellows are located at right angles to each other, connected to each other and to the unloading element at using a tee, while at the entrance to the horizontal main bellows a pipe is installed with a sleeve containing one centering support with a spherical hinge, and an unloading electric the element is equipped with a second centering support with a spherical hinge in the sleeve of the pipe; the vertical main bellows is made mounting, i.e. with cap flanges and adjustable couplers fixed along the length with nuts and locknuts; the bellows, the movable and fixed rings of the bellows are placed in a protective guide cylindrical casing; the horizontal main bellows is equipped with cap flanges with adjustable technological couplers installed between them, dismantled after the engine is installed in the product, and a hemispherical filter is installed at the inlet to the pipe, fixed with a sleeve and welding; the output flange is made with the possibility of detachable, and then one-piece connection with the engine; spherical bearings are made of two parts, one of which is drawn to the spherical hinge by a threaded sleeve, radial grooves are made in the ends of the spherical hinges, in which cotter pins are inserted into the stem holes.

The essence of the invention is illustrated by drawings.

In FIG. 1 shows a bellows expansion prototype, where:

1 - trunk bellows;

2 - pipe;

3 - sleeve;

4 - unloading element;

5 - centering bearings;

6 - spherical hinge;

7 - power ring;

8 - stock.

In FIG. 2 shows the main view of a liquid propellant rocket engine, at the inlet of the oxidizer into which a siphon compensator is installed, where

9 - liquid rocket engine (LRE);

A - remote element with units of the input “O” line;

In FIG. 3 shows the main entrance "O" LRE, where:

10 - bellows compensator;

11 - start valve "O";

12 - booster turbopump oxidizer assembly (BTNAO);

12a - turbopump unit (TNA).

In FIG. 4 shows the proposed bellows expansion joint, where:

13 - horizontal trunk bellows;

14 - vertical trunk bellows;

15 - pipe;

16 - sleeve;

17 - unloading element;

18, 19 - centering bearings;

20, 21 - spherical joints;

22 - stock;

22a - drainage holes;

23 - tee;

24 - cap flanges;

25 - adjustable couplers;

26 - nut;

27 - a lock-nut;

28 - bellows discharge element;

29, 30 - movable rings;

31 - a motionless ring;

31a is a protective guide cylindrical casing;

32 - cap flanges of the horizontal trunk bellows;

33 - adjustable technological couplers;

34 - self-aligning flange;

35 - hemispherical filter;

36 - sleeve;

37 - flange at the outlet of the bellows compensator;

38 - threaded connection;

39 - cotter pin;

40, 41 - spherical parts of the supports;

42 - threaded sleeve;

43, 44 - the ends of the spherical joints;

45, 46 - radial grooves;

47, 48 - hole stem.

42 - threaded sleeve;

43, 44 - the ends of the spherical joints;

45, 46 - radial grooves;

47, 48 - hole stem.

In FIG. 5 shows the connection of the bellows expansion joint with the tank flange of the product, where:

49 - self-aligning flange;

49a - flange of the product unit;

50 - hairpin;

51 - washer;

52 - a nut;

53 - flat metal gasket.

In FIG. 6 shows the remote element of the fixing point of the hemispherical filter at the outlet of the bellows compensator, where:

54 - sleeve;

- сварной шов.

- weld.

In FIG. 7 shows the design of the docking flange of the bellows expansion joint at its output, where:

55 - cutting for welding;

56 - persistent end face;

57 - shoulder under the flange.

In FIG. 8 shows a detachable connection of a bellows compensator with a start valve “O”, where:

58, 59 - cap flanges;

60 - steel copper-plated sealing ring;

61 - a hairpin;

62 - washer;

63 - nut.

In FIG. 9 shows a welded joint of a bellows compensator with a start valve “O” for a space-flight engine (LCI).

In FIG. 10 shows an extension element with an enlarged view of the spherical hinge of FIG. 4, as well as its mating parts.

The bellows compensator 10 (Fig. 3) is installed between the liquid rocket engine 9 (Fig. 2) and the tank flange of the product 49a (Fig. 5) and contains a horizontal main bellows 13, a vertical main bellows 14, a pipe 15 with a welded sleeve 16, a discharge element 17, centering bearings 18, 19, spherical joints 20, 21, rod 22.

Trunk bellows 13 and 14 are located at right angles to each other, connected to each other and the unloading element 17 using a tee 23 (Fig. 4).

The maximum possible number of degrees of freedom of movement of the connecting flange of the pipe 15 at the entrance to the bellows expansion joint relative to the flange 37 at its output is 6 (six).

At the entrance to the horizontal main bellows 13, a pipe 15 is installed with a sleeve 16 containing a centering support 18 with a spherical hinge 20.

The unloading element 17 is provided with a second centering support 19 with a spherical hinge 21.

Spherical hinges 20, 21 are interconnected by means of a rod 22.

The vertical main bellows 14 (Fig. 4) is made with union flanges 24 connected by adjustable couplers 25, the length of which and the X coordinate is carried out by tightening or unscrewing the nuts 26 and fixed by installing locknuts 27.

The bellows of the discharge element 28, the movable rings 29, 30 and the stationary ring 31 of the discharge element 17 are placed in a protective guide cylindrical casing 31a.

The horizontal main bellows 13 is provided with union flanges 32 with adjustable technological ties 33 installed between them.

The bellows expansion joint is designed for the following operating conditions:

- the maximum working pressure in the highway, taking into account water hammer is 16 kg / cm ² ;

- the temperature of the transported oxygen is in the range from 90 K to 325 K;

- the maximum compensation of linear movements between the product tank flange and the engine start valve “O” along the X axis should be at least 4 mm;

- compensation of mounting inaccuracies between the engine and the product along the X axis - not more than 7.5 mm, along the Y axis - not more than 3.5 mm.

In the manufacture of the pipe 15, the tee 23, the protective casing 31a used sheet material with a thickness of 2 mm from steel 12X18H10T.

Technological ties 33 are necessary for transporting the bellows expansion joint 10, as well as for setting its Y coordinate and, if necessary, adjusting during installation in the product. After mounting the bellows compensator between the liquid propellant rocket engine 9 and the tank flange of product 49a, process ties 33 and union flanges 32 are removed from the product.

The horizontal and vertical trunk bellows 13, 14, as well as the bellows 28 of the unloading element 17 are multi-layer corrugated shells of revolution, consisting of four layers 0.3 mm thick each, made of steel 12X18H10T.

At the entrance to the pipe 15, a self-aligning flange 34 is mounted, with which (Fig. 5) a bellows compensator 10 is connected to the tank flange of the product 49a through a flat metal gasket 53.

.At the exit of the vertical trunk bellows 14 (Fig. 6) a hemispherical filter 35 is mounted, fixed with a sleeve 36 and a weld

.

At the outlet of the bellows expansion joint, the flange 37 (Fig. 7) is structurally made with the possibility of detachable (Fig. 8), and then one-piece (Fig. 9) connection with the start valve "O" 11 (Fig. 3). For a detachable connection used on a bench-mounted engine, a collar is made under a flange 37 for a flange 37, and for an integral welded connection used for a delivery version (LCI), welding 55 and an end face 56 are made.

A detachable connection of the bellows compensator with the start valve “O” (Fig. 8) was carried out using compression coupling flanges 58, 59, fasteners 61, 62, 63 with the installation of a steel copper-plated o-ring 60 in the space of the type of “lock”. Such a connection is applied on the performance engine for the CTI (control and technical testing) at the stand.

произведено без стального омедненного уплотнительного кольца 60. Данное соединение применено на двигателе исполнения для ЛКИ (летно-космические испытания).One-piece connection of the bellows compensator with the start valve “O” (Fig. 9) using a weld

made without steel copper-plated o-ring 60. This connection is used on the performance engine for LCI (space flight tests).

The spherical hinges 20, 21 are connected to the stem 22 by threaded connections 38 and secured by means of cotter pins 39 (Fig. 4, remote element D, Fig. 10). The supports for the spherical joints 20, 21 are made of two spherical parts 40 and 41, one of which (key 40) is pressed against the spherical joint by a threaded sleeve 42.

At the ends of the spherical hinges 43 and 44, radial grooves 45 and 46 are made, respectively, in which cotter pins 39 are inserted, which enter the holes 47, 48 of the rod 22.

The bellows compensator 10 operates as follows.

On the assembled bellows expansion joint (Fig. 4), its coordinates are set: using adjustable screeds 25 by compressing or stretching the vertical main bellows 14, the X coordinate is maintained with a given tolerance, and by compressing or stretching the horizontal main bellows 13, the Y coordinate according to the assembly drawing is provided.

The assembled bellows compensator 10 is installed on the liquid propellant rocket engine 9 (Fig. 2) in the input line "O" (Fig. 3) and fixed to the start valve "O" 11.

On the engine of the KTI design, fastening is carried out according to FIG. 8, and on the performance engine LCI - according to FIG. 9. The entrance to the pipe 15 is installed and checked in a slipway (not shown). If necessary, additional adjustments are made to the X and Y coordinates, but already in the engine with the coordinates of the input “O” into the engine with an accuracy of ± 0.5 mm.

After mounting on the product or stand according to FIG. 5 before the fire test, dismantling the DSE pos. 32, 33 and filling with oxygen the inlet line “O” to the membrane of the start valve “O” without overpressure. On the product, the tank "O" is pressurized with helium with an overpressure of ~ 3-4 kg / cm ² and, after opening the membrane of the start-up valve "O", at the start of the engine, oxygen through the bellows compensator 10 enters the engine. The low temperature of oxygen is ~ 94 K, the changing volume of oxygen in the tank due to the expenditure of this component, the influence of overload and other factors cause displacements of the flange 49a, as well as the DSE attached to it. 49 and 15 along the axis of the product, while the output from the bellows compensator is almost motionless mounted on the engine.

The result is a bending of the horizontal trunk bellows 13 and a change in the angular location of the rod 22 due to the rotation of the spherical joints 20, 21 fixed at its ends in the spherical parts 40 41 of the centering supports 18, 19. The rod 22 connecting the pipe 15 with the unloading element 17 provides integrity trunk bellows and the entire bellows expansion joint from crushing by the internal pressure of the fuel component.

Due to the bending of the horizontal trunk bellows 13, the load from the liquid rocket engine 9 is practically not transferred to the tank flange of the product 49a and the destruction of the engine and product elements does not occur. This is facilitated by the tensile-compression deformation of the bellows 28 of the unloading element 17 that occurs during the operation of the bellows compensator.

In addition to the main purpose of the bellows compensator to compensate for the relative positions of the flange of the product tank 49a and the liquid propellant rocket engine 9, it is entrusted with the function of filtering the flowing oxygen from pollution by particles of metal chips and other litter, which, when caught in the gaps between the rotating parts (auger, impeller) of the BTNAO and the turbopump unit, may cause mashing, heating of the metal and fire. The hemispherical filter 35 passes particles with a diameter of not more than 0.2 mm and thereby avoids the specified emergency.

The heating of oxygen in the cavity "P" between the sleeve 42 and the spherical hinge 20 from friction with the spherical parts of the supports 40, 41 or under the influence of the environment is prevented by the entry of cold oxygen into it through the drain holes 22a in the spherical hinge 20.

The main positive effects of the proposed bellows expansion joint are as follows:

- improving the reliability of the devices connecting the oxidizer tank of the product with a liquid rocket engine by compensating for the angular and linear movements of the flanges of the product tank and LRE, as well as eliminating the transmission of bending moment from the LRE to the product tank;

- providing coordinates at the input "O" into the engine with high accuracy and improving the installation conditions of the rocket engine in the product without additional adjustments;

- improving the reliability of the unloading element by placing the bellows and its components in a protective guide casing;

- filtering the fuel component with a high degree of purification from contaminant particles;

- improving the reliability of the spherical joints and centering bearings by performing interacting with them spherical bearings of two parts and pressing one of them with a threaded sleeve, while compensating for technological deviations in the manufacture of parts;

- the exception of turning the spherical hinges from the rod by installing cotter pins in their radial slots, made at the ends of the hinges and holes at the ends of the rod.

The bellows compensator allowed, despite the offset of the O input in the newly developed engine from the product axis, to unify the tank bottom of the rocket being upgraded with the tank flange along its axis.

Claims (8)

1. A bellows compensator containing trunk bellows, a nozzle with a welded sleeve, an unloading element, centering bearings, spherical joints, a rod, characterized in that the main bellows in it are located at right angles to each other, connected to each other and the unloading element using a tee at the same time, at the entrance to the horizontal main bellows a pipe is installed with a sleeve containing one centering support with a spherical hinge, and the unloading element is equipped with a second centering support with a spherical skim hinge connected by a rod with a spherical ball joint in the sleeve pipe. 2. The bellows compensator according to claim 1, characterized in that the vertical main bellows in it is made with union flanges and adjustable couplers, the length of which is carried out by tightening or unscrewing the nuts and fixed by installing locknuts. 3. The bellows compensator according to claim 1, characterized in that the bellows, movable rings and the stationary ring of the bellows discharge element are placed in a protective guide cylindrical casing. 4. The bellows compensator according to claim 1, characterized in that the horizontal main bellows in it is equipped with union flanges with adjustable technological ties installed between them, dismantled after the engine is installed in the product, and a self-aligning flange is installed at the inlet to the pipe. 5. The bellows compensator according to claim 1, characterized in that a hemispherical filter mounted by a sleeve and welding is installed in it at the outlet of the vertical main bellows. 6. The bellows compensator according to claim 1, characterized in that the output flange in it is configured to be detachable and then permanently connected to the engine start valve “O”. 7. The bellows compensator according to claim 1, characterized in that the spherical joints in it are connected to the stem by means of a threaded connection and secured by means of cotter pins, and the spherical bearings are made of two parts, one of which is pressed against the spherical joint by a threaded sleeve. 8. The bellows compensator according to claim 7, characterized in that at the ends of the spherical joints there are made radial grooves in which cotter pins are inserted that enter the stem holes.

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