Cellular Wheel Sluice Pressure Equalization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional cellular wheel sluices experience gas flow issues between the insertion and ejection openings due to pressure differences, leading to potential contamination and clogging, especially when transporting combustible materials like wood pellets, as gases can flow from the furnace into the storage facility, posing safety risks.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating first and second pressure equalization openings that subject individual cells to ambient pressure, preventing gas flow between the insertion and ejection openings by ensuring that at least one cell in each housing area is pressure-relieved, thus maintaining operational reliability and preventing gas leakage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If pressure equalization openings are added to prevent gas flow between insertion and ejection openings, then gas flow prevention is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The housing is segmented into a first housing area and a second housing area by the cellular wheel, with each area equipped with its own pressure equalization opening. This segmentation allows independent pressure control in each housing area, preventing gas flow between insertion and ejection openings while maintaining a relatively simple overall structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The pressure equalization openings act as intermediary elements that introduce ambient pressure into the housing areas, mediating between the different gas pressures at the insertion and ejection openings. This prevents direct gas flow between these openings by providing an intermediate pressure zone.
2Ease of operation
If clearance between cellular wheel and housing is maintained for rotation, then rotational movement is enabled, but sealing effect deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The sealing effect is enhanced locally at the interface between the cellular wheel and housing by providing pressure equalization openings in each housing area. This local quality improvement ensures that even with the necessary clearance for rotation, gas flow is prevented at critical locations where pressure differences would otherwise cause leakage.
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~4
Figure 5~6
AI summary
In a rotary valve for conveying or metering free-flowing material, wherein the rotary valve has a housing (4) in which a rotary valve (3), with a definable number of webs (5), is rotatably mounted about a rotational axis (30), wherein the housing (4) has an inlet opening (1) and an outlet opening (2), it is proposed, in order to prevent a first gas pressure at the inlet opening and a second gas pressure at the outlet opening, which differs from the first gas pressure, from influencing each other, that a first pressure equalization opening (7) is arranged on a first housing area (41) between the inlet opening (1) and the outlet opening (2), that a second pressure equalization opening (8) is arranged on a second housing area (42) between the inlet opening (1) and the outlet opening (2), and that the first pressure equalization opening (7) is arranged opposite the second pressure equalization opening (8).