Cherie B Jones

US Patent:

54051762, Apr 11, 1995

Filed:

Feb 15, 1994

Appl. No.:

8/196665

Inventors:

Henry W. Babel - Huntington Beach CA
Phillip L. Fuson - Huntington Beach CA
Colin D. Chickles - Huntington Beach CA
Cherie A. Jones - Westminster CA
Raymond H. Anderson - Santa Ana CA

Assignee:

McDonnell Douglas Corporation - St. Louis MO

International Classification:

B21D 3904
F16L 3500

US Classification:

285382

Abstract:

A relatively impervious mechanical seal is formed between the outer surface of a tube and the inside surface of a mechanical fitting of a high pressure fluid or hydraulic system by applying a very thin soft metal layer onto the outer surface of the hard metal tube and/or inner surface of the hard metal fitting, prior to swaging the fitting onto the tube. The thickness of such thin metal layer is independent of the size of the tube and/or fittings. Many metals and alloys of those metals exhibit the requisite softness, including silver, gold, nickel, tin, platinum, indium, rhodium and cadmium. Suitably, the coating is about 0. 0025 millimeters (0. 10 mils) in thickness. After swaging, the tube and fitting combination exhibits very low leak rates on the order or 10. sup. -8 cubic centimeters per second or less as meaured using the Helium leak test.