Project number
18012
Organization
Honeywell Aerospace
Academic year
2018-2019
The sponsor’s sealing criteria are based on experience domain and rule of thumb, rather than being quantifiable criteria supported by testing. Previous capstone projects designed and built a pressure test rig along with multiple sets of flanges. A flange pair from a previous project has been resurfaced to get the surface roughness down to 30 root mean square, which is similar to the sponsor’s specifications. A new flange pair
was designed and created with a few modifications to reduce leakage. The bolt holes were moved closer to the hub to reduce the moment arm, and stronger hardware was used to withstand higher torque values. Finite element analysis was performed on the flange and bolts to understand the structural integrity of the material and ensure there was no plastic deformation on the flanges. A leakage collection and measuring apparatus was designed and built to capture and quantify any leakage from the bolted joint interface. Testing from previous years showed heavy leakage from the bolted joint interface and through the bolt holes. The new capture device fully encloses the bolted joint interface and directs any leaking water to graduated cylinders for measurement. Multiple rounds of testing were conducted with a constant pressure, varying bolt torque values, and leakage was measured multiple times at steady state conditions.
was designed and created with a few modifications to reduce leakage. The bolt holes were moved closer to the hub to reduce the moment arm, and stronger hardware was used to withstand higher torque values. Finite element analysis was performed on the flange and bolts to understand the structural integrity of the material and ensure there was no plastic deformation on the flanges. A leakage collection and measuring apparatus was designed and built to capture and quantify any leakage from the bolted joint interface. Testing from previous years showed heavy leakage from the bolted joint interface and through the bolt holes. The new capture device fully encloses the bolted joint interface and directs any leaking water to graduated cylinders for measurement. Multiple rounds of testing were conducted with a constant pressure, varying bolt torque values, and leakage was measured multiple times at steady state conditions.