ELASTIC DOUBLE-SUPPORT VARIABLE-DIAMETER MANDREL FOR BENDING OF AIRCRAFT ENGINE-SPECIFIC METAL CONDUIT

Abstract

An elastic double-support variable-diameter mandrel for bending of an aircraft engine-specific metal conduit includes a frame receiving pipe, an elastic outer frame and an inner hydraulic component. In the inner hydraulic component, an inner chamber of an elastic membrane is filled with a liquid, a tail end of the elastic membrane is provided with an opening, the opening communicates with a first end of a liquid delivery pipe through a pipe joint, and a second end of the liquid delivery pipe is connected to an external hydraulic system. The elastic outer frame is a flexible single unit composed of a tie rod and an elastic mesh structure. The tie rod includes an elastic traction segment, a straight segment and a pull ring. The elastic mesh structure includes wavy metal strip circumferences and anti-fatigue elastic connectors. The frame receiving pipe is sleeved outside the elastic outer frame/inner hydraulic component.

Claims

1. An elastic double-support variable-diameter mandrel for bending of an aircraft engine-specific metal conduit, comprising a frame receiving pipe, an elastic outer frame, and an inner hydraulic component, wherein the inner hydraulic component comprises a liquid delivery pipe, a pipe joint, and an elastic membrane; an inner chamber of the elastic membrane is filled with a liquid, a tail end of the elastic membrane is provided with an opening, the opening communicates with a first end of the liquid delivery pipe through the pipe joint, and a second end of the liquid delivery pipe is connected to an external hydraulic system; the liquid delivery pipe is configured to fill the inner chamber of the elastic membrane with the liquid; the elastic outer frame is a flexible single unit composed of a tie rod and an elastic mesh structure; the tie rod comprises an elastic traction segment, a straight segment and a pull ring, wherein the elastic traction segment, the straight segment and the pull ring are connected in sequence; the elastic mesh structure comprises a plurality of layers of wavy metal strip circumferences and a plurality of anti-fatigue elastic connectors, wherein the plurality of layers of wavy metal strip circumferences and the plurality of anti-fatigue elastic connectors are in a mesh connection; each wavy metal strip circumference of the plurality of layers of wavy metal strip circumferences is a wavy metal strip wound into a closed loop, the plurality of layers of wavy metal strip circumferences are sleeved outside the elastic membrane, and adjacent wavy metal strip circumferences are connected through the plurality of anti-fatigue elastic connectors; two ends of each of the plurality of anti-fatigue elastic connectors are respectively connected between wave crests of two adjacent wavy metal strip circumferences to form a mesh, wherein the mesh radially and elastically expands and contracts; the elastic traction segment of the tie rod has a plurality of stranded metal elastic tractive lines; a first end of each stranded metal elastic tractive line of plurality of stranded metal elastic tractive lines is fixedly connected to a wave crest of a wavy metal strip circumference at an edge of the elastic mesh structure, wherein the wave crest of the wavy metal strip circumference is away from the pipe joint; a second end of the each stranded metal elastic tractive line is connected to a first end of the straight segment, and a second end of the straight segment is fixedly connected to the pull ring; and the frame receiving pipe is sleeved outside the elastic outer frame or the inner hydraulic component.

2. The elastic double-support variable-diameter mandrel according to claim 1, wherein when the elastic mesh structure is in an expanded state, the frame receiving pipe is only sleeved outside the straight segment; and when the elastic mesh structure is in a contracted state, the frame receiving pipe is only sleeved outside the elastic membrane to limit the elastic membrane.

3. The elastic double-support variable-diameter mandrel according to claim 1, wherein the elastic traction segment, the plurality of wavy metal strip circumferences and the plurality of anti-fatigue elastic connectors have a metal strip structure, and the straight segment and the pull ring have a metal wire structure.

4. The elastic double-support variable-diameter mandrel according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of anti-fatigue elastic connectors have an S-shaped bent metal strip structure.

5. The elastic double-support variable-diameter mandrel according to claim 1, wherein the elastic membrane is fixedly connected to an inner wall of the elastic mesh structure, and elastically expands and contracts along with the elastic mesh structure.

6. The elastic double-support variable-diameter mandrel according to claim 1, wherein an outer diameter of the frame receiving pipe is smaller than an inner diameter of a pipe blank to be bent; and before use, the frame receiving pipe carries the elastic outer frame and is inserted into the pipe blank for the aircraft engine-specific metal conduit.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0027] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating the overall structure of the elastic double-support variable-diameter mandrel of the present disclosure.

[0028] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating the structure of the elastic outer frame according to the present disclosure.

[0029] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of the elastic outer frame in a contracted and received state according to the present disclosure.

[0030] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating a relationship between the mandrel and a pipe blank when the elastic outer frame is not expanded according to the present disclosure.

[0031] FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B show the shape changes of the elastic outer frame in pipe blanks with different diameters when the mandrel of the present disclosure is in use.

[0032] FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of the wavy metal strip circumference used for the elastic outer frame according to the present disclosure.

[0033] In the FIGURES: 1: frame receiving pipe; 2: elastic outer frame; 3: inner hydraulic component; 4: liquid delivery pipe; 5: pipe joint; 6: elastic membrane; 7: wavy metal strip circumference; 8: anti-fatigue elastic connector; 9: elastic traction segment; 10: straight segment; 11: pull ring; 12: tie rod; 13: elastic mesh structure; and 14: pipe blank.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

[0034] The present disclosure will be explained in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0035] As shown in FIG. 1 to FIG. 3, a specific implementation includes a frame receiving pipe 1, an elastic outer frame 2, and an inner hydraulic component 3; the inner hydraulic component 3 includes a liquid delivery pipe 4, a pipe joint 5, and an elastic membrane 6; an inner chamber of the elastic membrane 6 is filled with a liquid; a tail end of the elastic membrane 6 is provided with an opening, the opening communicates with one end of the liquid delivery pipe 4 through the pipe joint 5, one end of the elastic membrane 6 away from the pipe joint 5 is closed, and the other end of the liquid delivery pipe 4 is connected to an external hydraulic system; and the liquid delivery pipe 4 is configured to fill the inner chamber of the elastic membrane 6 with a liquid.

[0036] The elastic outer frame 2 is a flexible single unit mainly composed of a tie rod 12 and an elastic mesh structure 13. The tie rod 12 includes an elastic traction segment 9, a straight segment 10 and a pull ring 11 that are connected in sequence. The elastic mesh structure 13 is mainly composed of a plurality of layers of wavy metal strip circumferences 7 and a plurality of anti-fatigue elastic connectors 8 that are in mesh connection. Each wavy metal strip circumference 7 is a wavy metal strip wound into a closed loop, a plurality of wavy metal strip circumferences 7 are sleeved outside the elastic membrane 6, and adjacent wavy metal strip circumferences 7 are connected through a plurality of anti-fatigue elastic connectors 8. Two ends of the anti-fatigue elastic connector 8 are respectively connected between wave crests of two adjacent wavy metal strip circumferences 7 to form a mesh that can radially and elastically expand and contract. That is, in two adjacent wavy metal strip circumferences 7, a wave crest faces a wave crest and a wave trough faces a wave trough, such that waves are staggered; and an anti-fatigue elastic connector 8 is welded between opposite wave crests of two adjacent wavy metal strip circumferences. The elastic membrane 6 is fixedly connected to an inner wall of the elastic mesh structure 13 and can elastically expand and contract along with the elastic mesh structure 13. Preferably, the two may be bonded together using an adhesive, such that the elastic membrane 8 can expand or contract radially along with the elastic outer frame 2. When the inner chamber of the elastic membrane 6 is filled with a liquid, the sealing performance is prominent, such that a stable hydraulic support can be provided for an inner wall of a pipe blank to be bent.

[0037] The elastic traction segment 9 of the tie rod 12 has a plurality of stranded metal elastic tractive lines; one end of each stranded metal elastic tractive line is fixedly connected to a wave crest of a wavy metal strip circumference 7 at an edge of the elastic mesh structure 13 that is away from the pipe joint 5, the other end of each stranded metal elastic tractive line is connected to one end of the straight segment 10, and the other end of the straight segment 10 is fixedly connected to the pull ring 11; the pull ring 11 is provided to connect a traction driver at the other end when a metal conduit is bent; and the frame receiving pipe 1 is sleeved outside the elastic outer frame 2/inner hydraulic component 3.

[0038] In a specific implementation, the straight segment 10 and the pull ring 11 have a metal wire structure, the wavy metal strip circumferences 7, the elastic traction segment 9 and the anti-fatigue elastic connectors 8 have a metal strip structure, and the anti-fatigue elastic connectors 8 have an S-shaped bent metal strip structure.

[0039] As shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, when the elastic mesh structure 13 is in an expanded state, the frame receiving pipe 1 is only sleeved outside the straight segment 10.

[0040] As shown in FIG. 4, when the elastic mesh structure 13 is in a contracted state, the frame receiving pipe 1 is only sleeved outside the elastic membrane 6 to limit the elastic membrane 6.

[0041] A preferred manufacturing solution of this structure is as follows: A metal sheet made of a suitable material is cut into wavy strips, a wavy metal strip of a suitable length is taken and wound into a circle, and a resulting product is subjected to welding at a connection and then to heat treatment for giving radial elasticity and shaping. Given that a connector for the wavy metal strip circumferences 7 needs to undergo an axial tension when the frame is received or bulges out, and may undergo a tension or a pressure in a tangential direction (approximately axial) of a bending curve because it is not sure whether the connector is at an inner bending side or an outer bending side during bending, an anti-fatigue metal sheet is cut into zigzag connectors and then the connectors are subjected to heat treatment. When wavy metal strip circumferences are arranged in each layer, wave crests and wave troughs are staggered, and the anti-fatigue elastic connector 8 is welded between adjacent wave crests to make a plurality of layers of wavy metal strip circumferences form an integrated elastic mesh. The tie rod 12 has an elastic traction segment 9, a straight segment 10 and a pull ring 11. The pull ring 11 is formed by bending one end of the straight segment 10, and the other end of the straight segment 10 is fixedly connected to a center of the elastic traction segment 9 preferably by welding. The elastic traction segment 9 is divided into a plurality of strands, and each strand is welded to a wave crest of the wavy metal strip circumference at the outermost edge of the elastic mesh structure 13. There are also other manufacturing solutions for the elastic outer frame 2. For example, a sheet can be directly cut into a mesh and then welded into a circle, or other suitable non-metallic materials can be used.

[0042] Before the mandrel of the present disclosure is in use, the mandrel as a whole is generally in a received state shown in FIG. 3, in which case, the contracted elastic outer frame 2 and the elastic membrane 6 of the inner hydraulic component 3 are received in the frame receiving pipe 1.

[0043] As shown in FIG. 4, when the mandrel of the present disclosure is in use, from an end where the tie rod 12 is located, the frame receiving pipe 1 is inserted into a pipe blank to be bent and roughly placed at a bending segment during processing. A diameter of the liquid delivery pipe 4 is much smaller than that of the pipe blank and can extend out from an inside of the pipe blank. The tie rod 12 is fixed and the frame receiving pipe 1 is gently pulled toward an end where the pull ring 11 is located, or the frame receiving pipe 1 is fixed and the tie rod 12 is gently pushed toward an end where the liquid delivery pipe 4 is located, such that the contracted elastic mesh structure 13 naturally bulges out to make the wavy metal strip circumference 7 closely adhered to an inner wall of the pipe blank and still shows a radial expansion trend, which causes the inner wall of the bending segment of the pipe blank to receive a first layer of supporting pressure.

[0044] During bulging, the elastic mesh structure 13 expands radially to adhere to the inner wall of the pipe blank, and after adhering to the inner wall, the elastic mesh structure stops expanding due to a force balance caused by a counterforce of the pipe wall. This elastic feature makes the present disclosure suitable for the bending of pipe blanks with different diameters. When a radial dimension of the elastic mesh structure 13 increases, an axial dimension will decrease due to the linkage of the elastic mesh structure, and vice versa. The radial expansion of the elastic outer frame 2 will drive the elastic membrane 6 adhered to the inner wall to expand together, and a volume of the inner chamber of the elastic membrane will increase. The external hydraulic system connected to the liquid delivery pipe 4 can replenish the liquid in the inner chamber of the elastic membrane to make the elastic membrane 6 adhered to a pipe wall and have a radial expansion trend, and then a pressure in the inner chamber of the elastic membrane is maintained through a component in the external hydraulic system. The liquid pressure in the inner chamber of the elastic membrane can provide a second layer of supporting pressure for the inner wall of the bending segment of the pipe blank, and the approximate surface support fully guarantees the supporting effect of the mandrel. In a preferred solution, a pressure gauge can be provided between the liquid delivery pipe 4 and the pipe joint 5 to accurately control a supporting pressure of the mandrel to a bend according to actual processing parameters.

[0045] As shown in FIG. 3, FIG. 4, and FIGS. 5A and 5B, when the mandrel of present disclosure is in use, the mandrel as a whole will change from the received state shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 to the ejected state shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B.

[0046] After the use is completed, the pressure in the inner chamber of the elastic membrane is released first, and the liquid in the inner chamber can flow out through the liquid delivery pipe 4. The frame receiving pipe 1 is fixed and the tie rod 12 is pulled toward the end where the pull ring 11 is located, such that the elastic traction segment 9 of the tie rod 12 is first constrained by an edge of the frame receiving pipe 1 to contract toward the inside of the pipe, and then drives wavy metal strip circumferences 7 on the elastic mesh structure 13 that are welded to the tie rod to contract radially, and then the frame is received in the frame receiving pipe 1. The tension is transmitted to the next layer of circumferences through the anti-fatigue elastic connectors 8. Under the combined action of the tension and the edge constraint of the frame receiving pipe 1, the elastic outer frame 2 will be received in the frame receiving pipe 1, and the mandrel changes from the state shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B to the state shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4. Finally, the frame receiving pipe 1 is taken out from a bend.

[0047] When the mandrel of the present disclosure is in use, a radial dimension of the wavy metal strip circumference 7 changes, an anti-fatigue elastic connector 8 at an outer bending side during bending is stretched, and an anti-fatigue elastic connector 8 at an inner bending side during bending is compressed. During a process of pulling the tie rod 12 to make the entire elastic outer frame 2 received in the frame receiving pipe 1, deformations of members such as the wavy metal strip circumference 7, the anti-fatigue elastic connector 8, and the elastic traction segment 9 are all elastic deformations.

[0048] FIG. 5A shows the state of the elastic outer frame 2 in a pipe blank 14 with a large diameter to be bent, and FIG. 5B shows the state of the elastic outer frame 2 in a pipe blank 14 with a small diameter to be bent. Compared with FIG. 5B, in FIG. 5A, the elastic mesh structure 13 of the elastic outer frame 2 is sparser and has a smaller axial dimension.