Horizontal to Vertical Hinged Hot Isostatic Press

[asalisbury]

I am working on a feasibility study for a high pressure horizontally oriented HIP (hot isostatic press) and need some help with the thought experiment and general design. This machine will need to have the following characteristics - Pressure: 15,000psi | Temp: 800°C | Length: 84in. | Diameter: 32in.

I have contacted a few vendors and it seems as though horizontal orientation of HIPs makes cooling the gas and electrical feedthroughs near impossible without significant investments into research and development. The new idea is to design a hinge on the base of the HIP so it can be loaded horizontally and then rotated to a vertical position for the pressing operation. Are there existing designs that use a similar method for horizontal loading? Can you think of a better way to load it horizontally and then move it into a vertical orientation? Any help is much appreciated!

Thanks,


asalisbury
EIT Mechanical
Aerospace Composites

 

[EdStainless]

In general people stay away from such a design because it requires much more extensive fixturing of the components.
Load and run should be in the same orientation so that before closing you can visually confirm that everything is in place correctly.
Your method would save on overhead space, though for deep HIP units they are usually sunk into the ground a few stories so that the overhead requirements are less.
I have seen some large horizontal units and they take a lot of floor space.
One was not a HIP but a vacuum furnace with a 48' long hot zone.
You add in the heads, door, and loading stage and you have about 130' of overall length.

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P.E. Metallurgy, consulting work welcomed

 

[asalisbury]

@EdStainless

The facility where we are installing the new HIP is very limited on overhead space, the study I am performing is to find a solution that does not require raising the roof or digging into the floor. The answer to this problem could very well be that you can't hinge the HIP or have one that is 100% horizontal.

Would you be open to corresponding with me directly on this?



asalisbury
EIT Mechanical
Aerospace Composites