Refrigerated Agitator Assembly Coolant Sealing and Flow
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing refrigerated agitator assemblies in dough mixers suffer from coolant leaks and inefficient internal flow characteristics, making it difficult to maintain the temperature of viscous substances during mixing, especially at high speeds.
Innovation Solution
The proposed refrigerated agitator assembly features a dual hub and bar system with fluid supply and return passages, including conduits and transfer ducts, which enhance coolant sealing and flow efficiency by reducing machining complexity and using turbulence-inducing baffles to improve convective cooling.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If a refrigerated agitator assembly is used to control temperature during mixing, then cooling capacity is improved, but coolant leaks occur due to sealing issues
Solution Approach 1:
The refrigerated agitator assembly is divided into multiple separable components including the agitator shaft, hubs, and bars with individual coolant passages. This segmentation allows for modular assembly and disassembly, facilitating proper sealing at each interface while maintaining overall cooling capacity throughout the agitator structure.
Solution Approach 2:
Sealing elements are introduced as intermediary components between the coolant passages in different agitator components. These seals act as mediators that prevent coolant leakage at the interfaces between hubs, bars, and shaft while allowing the coolant to flow continuously through the segmented structure.
2Temperature
If complex internal flow passages are used in the agitator, then cooling efficiency is improved, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The complex cooling system is segmented into multiple simpler components, each with its own coolant passages. Rather than machining a single complex passage through the entire agitator, the cooling channels are divided among separate hubs and bars, making each component easier to manufacture while collectively providing efficient cooling coverage.
Solution Approach 2:
Multiple simpler coolant passages in separate agitator components are merged into a unified cooling system when assembled. The individual passages in hubs, bars, and shaft combine to form a comprehensive cooling network that achieves high cooling efficiency equivalent to or better than a single complex passage, while significantly reducing manufacturing difficulty.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This design reduces the likelihood of coolant leaks, simplifies manufacturing, and enhances cooling efficiency, allowing for better temperature control and reduced stress on weld joints, thereby improving the durability and performance of the agitator assembly.
Implementation Method 1
Friction and viscous shear encountered during mixing typically causes a temperature rise in a substance being mixed... the performance, i.e., cooling capacity, of a refrigeration system used with a commercial scale mixer is the ability of the mixing bowl cooling jacket to remove heat from within the mixing bowl
Implementation Method 2
using turbulence-inducing baffles to improve convective cooling
Data Source
AI summary
An agitator assembly for use with mixers is provided. This agitator assembly includes an agitator shaft adapted to receive a flow of liquid coolant therethrough; a first hub assembly mounted on the agitator shaft; a second hub assembly mounted on the agitator shaft; at least one agitator bar connecting the first hub extension to the second hub extension, wherein the agitator bar further includes a conduit for delivering liquid coolant from the first hub extension to the second hub extension; and at least one agitator bar connecting the second hub extension to the first hub extension, wherein the agitator bar further includes a conduit for returning liquid coolant from the second hub extension to the first hub extension.