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Re: an interesting mechanical engineering problem



Original poster: Jim Lux <jimlux@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>

At 05:56 PM 1/9/2007, you wrote:
Original poster: Russell L Thornton <Russell.L.Thornton@xxxxxxxx>


Dr. Resonance,
May I suggest a solution from my radar industry. I would use waveguide material. It can be bent in the radii you need and every joint could be a choke connector. The choke ends are surfaced for perfect fit, electrically and for holding pressure. Mechanically strong, and made to be disassembled and reassembled. C-band has an inside dimension of 1.872 x 0.872 inches and is typically made from brass. There are all kinds of flex and angle sections available, too for end connections and such. I mostly deal with the C-band and think it would handle your power as the CW rating is 1.4 to 2.0 Mwatts. I have a table for other sizes if you think you would need larger size. Let me know.
Russell, at the Cape

Russell makes an interesting suggestion, and triggered some thoughts.

You can use copper tubing as the conductor, and get Round flanges. They don't have to be microwave waveguide flanges. The key thing is that after brazing the flanges on the end of the tubing, you have them surfaced so they are flat. Then, you just need some rapid way of clamping them that is moderately HV compatible. Regular flanges would have 4 or 8 bolts around them, and, with 12 joints, that's 50-100 bolts to tighten (you'd tap one side).


However, given the low frequencies, maybe just a "lap joint" with bar stock and a lever clamp would be sufficent. Mechanically, it would be like the latch on a tool box. It goes "over center" and applies the clamping force.