Centrifugal Separator and Sweeper Header for Low-Turbulence Cleaning
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional cooling tower systems face inefficiencies due to turbulence introduced by eductors and centrifugal separators, leading to increased operational costs and power requirements for particulate removal.
Innovation Solution
The use of sweeper headers with drilled holes for gentle water flow and centrifugal separators with air bleeds and curved velocity plates reduces turbulence, allowing for effective particulate removal with lower system pressure and energy consumption.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If eductors are used to sweep particulate matter across the basin floor, then cleaning effectiveness is improved, but system pressure requirements and power consumption increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes eductors from the system entirely and replaces them with a sweeper header that distributes water flow directly through multiple holes along the basin floor. This extraction of the problematic eductor component eliminates the need for high system pressure while maintaining cleaning effectiveness through direct water application.
Solution Approach 2:
The water flow is segmented into multiple streams through the hole pattern in the sweeper header, with holes spaced at specific intervals (e.g., 6-18 inches center-to-center). This segmentation allows water to be applied at multiple locations simultaneously, improving cleaning coverage without requiring high pressure from a single source.
2Reliability
If conventional vortex-based centrifugal separators are used to separate particulate from fluid, then separation function is achieved, but turbulence is introduced that decreases cleaning effectiveness and increases power requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the vortex-inducing spin plate from the centrifugal separator, eliminating the source of turbulence. The separator relies on centrifugal force from the pump's rotation alone to achieve particle separation, without the additional vibratory action caused by the spin plate.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of using a spin plate to reverse axial flow direction, the patent inverts the approach by allowing the pump's rotational centrifugal force to naturally separate particles while using a simple screen at the outlet to capture separated solids, eliminating the need for flow reversal mechanisms that create turbulence.
3Duration of action of stationary object
If air accumulates in the dead zone above the centrifugal separator inlet, then separator operation continues, but turbulence increases due to air entrapment
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses an air bleed screen with multiple small holes in the dead zone above the separator inlet. This porous structure allows trapped air to escape continuously while preventing liquid and particulate matter from passing through, eliminating turbulence caused by air accumulation without compromising separation function.
4Productivity
If sweeper headers with high pressure water flow are used, then particulate matter is effectively moved, but system pressure requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The water flow is divided into multiple streams through the hole pattern in the sweeper header, distributing the total flow across many locations. This allows effective particulate movement at each location with low individual hole flow rates, maintaining productivity while reducing system pressure requirements to 2.5-4.0 psig.
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 approach significantly reduces energy consumption while maintaining cleaning effectiveness, achieving proper sweeping and separation with reduced fluid turbulence.
Implementation Method 1
Conventional centrifugal separators (such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,335,313, incorporated herein by reference) utilize centrifugal force and gravity to achieve varying degrees of separation of particulate from particulate/fluid mixtures.
Implementation Method 2
Some conventional separators employ a vortex system where the particulate/fluid mixture is introduced into a cylindrical chamber at a tangential angle generating centrifugal action in the mixture.
Implementation Method 3
The separated particulates generally settle to the bottom of the centrifugal separator in a sediment chamber from which they are periodically removed.
Data Source
AI summary
A sweeper assembly can include a plurality of holes drilled in one or more sweeper headers that can be angled downwards towards the basin floor to produce a gentle flow of fluid to keep particulate matter rolling along the basin floor. A centrifugal separator can include a curved velocity plate for smoothly directing flow from an inlet pipe to an inner wall of the separator and creating a downward vortex of particulate-laden fluid within the centrifugal separator. The centrifugal separator can include one or more reversal mechanisms for transferring particulate matter to a collection chamber and reversing the direction of particle-free fluid, which may upwardly exit through a discharge pipe. The centrifugal separator can include a bleed valve in the discharge pipe for automatically bleeding accumulated air in the “dead zone” between the inlet pipe and the top of the centrifugal separator.