Radial sealing cap

A mounting tool for holding and mounting a radial sealing cap, wherein the radial sealing cap comprises:

• a first layer comprising a first material having a first Young's modulus, the first layer having a first side facing in a first direction and a second side facing in a second direction, wherein the first layer has a circular first rim defining a plane in which the first rim is embedded, and wherein the first layer has a slope relative to the plane at the first rim;
• and
• a second layer attached to the first side of the first layer, wherein the second layer comprises a second material having a second Young's modulus that is lower than the first Young's modulus, and wherein the second layer protrudes radially from the first layer at the first rim;
• wherein the mounting tool comprises:
• an outer part configured to position the sealing cap in a first position relative to the mounting tool;
• an intermediate part slidably supported within the outer part and configured to engage the second side of the sealing cap at an outer portion of the first layer of the sealing cap, thereby forming the first rim of the sealing cap;
• and
• an inner part slidably supported within the intermediate part and configured to engage the second side of the sealing cap at the center of a circle defined by the first rim of the sealing cap.

An assembly, comprising:

• (a) a mounting tool configured for holding and mounting a radial sealing cap, wherein the radial sealing cap comprises:
• (i) a first layer comprising a first material having a first Young's modulus, the first layer having a first side facing in a first direction and a second side facing in a second direction, wherein the first layer has a circular first rim defining a plane in which the first rim is embedded, and wherein the first layer has a slope relative to the plane at the first rim;
• and
• (ii) a second layer attached to the first side of the first layer, wherein the second layer comprises a second material having a second Young's modulus that is lower than the first Young's modulus, and wherein the second layer protrudes radially from the first layer at the first rim;
• wherein the mounting tool comprises:
• (iii) an outer part configured to position the radial sealing cap in a first position relative to the mounting tool;
• (iv) an intermediate part slidably supported within the outer part and configured to engage the second side of the sealing cap at an outer portion of the first layer of the sealing cap, thereby forming the first rim of the sealing cap;
• and
• (v) an inner part slidably supported within the intermediate part and configured to engage the second side of the sealing cap at the center of a circle defined by the first rim of the sealing cap;
• and
• (b) a hole-forming structure including an outer portion, an intermediate portion, and an inner portion that jointly define a through-hole, the outer portion being configured to cooperate with the outer part of the mounting tool so as to center the sealing cap on the through-hole, the intermediate portion being configured to cooperate with the intermediate part of the mounting tool so as to receive the radial sealing cap, and the inner portion being configured to cooperate with the inner part of the mounting tool so as to deform the first layer of the radial sealing cap within the through-hole.

A sealed structure, comprising:

• (a) a hole-forming structure defining a through-hole;
• and
• (b) at least one radial sealing cap, each of the at least one sealing caps comprising:
• (i) a first layer comprising a first material having a first Young's modulus, the first layer having a first side facing in a first direction and a second side facing in a second direction, wherein the first layer has a circular first rim defining a plane in which the first rim is embedded, and wherein the first layer has a slope relative to the plane at the first rim;
• and
• (ii) a second layer attached to the first side of the first layer, wherein the second layer comprises a second material having a second Young's modulus that is lower than the first Young's modulus, and wherein the second layer protrudes radially from the first layer at the first rim;
• wherein each of the at least one radial sealing caps is positioned and deformed within the through-hole, and wherein each of the at least one radial sealing caps is radially fixed to the hole-forming structure.

A method for mounting a radial sealing cap in a through-hole of a structure, wherein the method comprises:

• (a) providing at least one radial sealing cap comprising:
• a first layer comprising a first material having a first Young's modulus, the first layer having a first side facing in a first direction and a second side facing in a second direction, wherein the first layer has a circular first rim defining a plane in which the first rim is embedded, and wherein the first layer has a slope relative to the plane at the first rim;
• and
• a second layer attached to the first side of the first layer, wherein the second layer comprises a second material having a second Young's modulus that is lower than the first Young's modulus, and wherein the second layer protrudes radially from the first layer at the first rim;
• (b) positioning each of the at least one radial sealing caps in the through-hole;
• and
• (c) deforming the first layer of each of the at least one radial sealing caps so as to radially fix each of the at least one radial sealing caps to the structure.

A system for manufacturing a radial sealing cap from composite material comprising a first layer of a first material and a second layer of a second material attached to the first layer, wherein the first material has a first Young's modulus and the second material has a second Young's modulus that is lower than the first Young's modulus, wherein the system comprises:

• a die assembly, comprising a blanking die and a forming die;
• and
• a punch configured to cooperate with the die assembly in a single punching;
• wherein, when the composite material is positioned between the die assembly and the punch, with the second layer facing the die assembly, the punch is configured to cooperate with the blanking die so as to cut a blank from the composite material;
• wherein the die assembly is configured to position the blank at the forming die;
• and wherein the punch is configured to cooperate with the forming die so as to form the blank with a circular first rim defining a plane in which the first rim is embedded, whereby the first layer has a slope relative to the plane at the first rim.

A method for manufacturing a radial sealing cap from composite material comprising a first layer of a first material and a second layer of a second material attached to the first layer, wherein the first material has a first Young's modulus and the second material has a second Young's modulus that is lower than the first Young's modulus, the method comprising:

• providing a die assembly and a punch operable with the die assembly, the die assembly comprising a blanking die and a forming die, wherein the punch is configured to cooperate with the die assembly in a single punching and to cooperate with the blanking die so as to cut a blank from the composite material, wherein the die assembly is configured to position the blank at the forming die, wherein the punch is configured to cooperate with the forming die so as to form the blank with a circular first rim defining a plane in which the first rim is embedded and the first layer has a slope relative to the plane at the first rim;
• positioning the composite material between the die assembly and the punch with the second layer facing the die assembly;
• and
• operating the punch with the die assembly to form the blank.