Agitator Screw Conveyor Gas Loading Viscous Liquid
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing devices for charging highly viscous liquids with gas, such as silicone or polyurethane materials, are complex and inefficient, leading to long processing times and the formation of undissolved gas bubbles, which can affect the quality of foamed products.
Innovation Solution
A compact device with a pressure container and agitator that conveys the liquid above the liquid level, allowing it to flow onto a drainage surface where it is loaded with compressed gas, ensuring even distribution and rapid saturation without undissolved gas bubbles, using a single drive for both agitation and pumping.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If an external recirculation pump is used to draw and return viscous material in a closed loop, then gas loading can be achieved, but the device complexity increases and processing time becomes lengthy
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the agitation function and the pumping function into a single integrated system. The agitator's drive shaft is directly coupled to a conveying element (screw conveyor) that pumps the liquid through a conveying tube above the liquid level. This eliminates the need for a separate external recirculation pump, reducing device complexity while maintaining effective gas loading through the thin-film flow process
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a new spatial dimension by conveying the liquid above the liquid level in the pressure vessel. The conveying tube extends above the liquid surface, and the thin-film flow occurs in this elevated region where compressed gas can be effectively introduced. This dimensional change enables rapid gas saturation without requiring complex external recirculation systems
2Quantity of substance
If air is blown into the vessel from below through nozzles or rings, then gas can be dispersed in the liquid, but large gas bubbles form resulting in two-phase material
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the physical state and distribution parameters of the gas-liquid interaction. Instead of introducing gas at high pressure from below (which creates large bubbles), the system conveys the liquid as a thin film above the liquid level and introduces compressed gas in a controlled manner. This parameter change in the gas introduction method and location enables fine bubble formation and uniform distribution, preventing two-phase material while achieving the desired gas content for high-quality foam
3Productivity
If the liquid is conveyed through a conveying tube above the liquid level and flows onto a drainage surface, then rapid gas saturation is achieved, but the device requires a pressure vessel and complex arrangement
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple functions into the agitator assembly: agitation of the liquid, pumping of the liquid through the conveying tube, and conveyance of the thin film onto the drainage surface. This integration into a single agitator unit avoids the need for separate external pumps and complex piping arrangements, achieving rapid gas saturation without proportionally increasing device complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The drainage surface is designed with a specific structure that allows compressed gas to permeate through it while the liquid flows over it as a thin film. This porous or permeable structure enables efficient gas-liquid contact and rapid gas saturation of the conveyed liquid, achieving high productivity through enhanced mass transfer
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 solution enables rapid and reliable gas saturation of the liquid, ensuring excellent foam quality by dissolving gas quickly and uniformly, preventing large gas bubbles and improving processing efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
a screw conveyor, which conveys the liquid contained in the pressure vessel inside the vessel through a conveying pipe to a level above the liquid level
Implementation Method 2
the liquid then flows off in a thin layer and is thereby charged with the gas that is under pressure above the liquid level
Implementation Method 3
the container is designed as a pressure vessel (12) and that a drainage surface is provided below the outlet from the conveying pipe, arranged above the liquid level of a liquid reservoir in the pressure vessel
Implementation Method 4
an agitator with a drive shaft that at least partially penetrates the pressure vessel is arranged. This agitator continuously stirs the liquid in the vessel
Implementation Method 5
The liquid then flows obliquely downwards through these channels and returns to the cylindrical tank 1 near the container wall
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
AI summary
The invention relates to a device (10) for loading an in particular higher-viscosity liquid, such as a silicon resin, for example, with air or another gas. The device has a pressure vessel (12) receiving the liquid (11) and the gas, in which pressure vessel an agitator (15), having a drive shaft (16) set through the pressure vessel (12) at least in part, is arranged. In order to enable the particularly fast and homogeneous intermixing of the liquid (11) and gas, the drive shaft (16) is arranged in a conveying pipe (20) and drives a conveying organ, in particular a screw conveyor (19), which transports the liquid (11) through the conveying pipe (20) to at least one outlet (22), and there is an outlet surface (25) underneath the outlet from the conveying pipe (20) for the liquid (11) flowing out of the outlet. Upon actuation of the agitator (15), the liquid (11) is thus not only well intermixed together with the air already received therein, but at the same time conveyed through the conveying pipe (20) to the outlet surface (25), on which it can discharge in a thin layer and has a particularly large exchange area with the gas as a result.