Centrifugal Wheel Blade Segmentation for Wood Chip Conveying
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing wood chip conveyors face issues with energy inefficiency, material crushing, and increased air flow, leading to higher drive power requirements and wear due to friction and comminution of wood chips during transport.
Innovation Solution
A wood chip conveyor design featuring a centrifugal wheel with radially aligned blades between a wheel disk and an annular disk, a feed opening below the axis of rotation, and a tangentially oriented ejection opening, which reduces air entrainment, minimizes friction, and prevents crushing by optimizing the blade design and placement within the housing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If conventional conveying systems use large blades extending to the hub, then more wood chips can be conveyed, but air is carried along with the wood chips increasing drive power requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The blade is divided into two distinct parts: a root portion near the hub and a blade portion extending outward. The root portion has a smaller radial extension than the blade portion, creating a segmented structure that allows the inner hub area to be excluded from the conveying zone, thereby reducing air intake while maintaining chip conveying capacity through the outer blade portion.
Solution Approach 2:
Different portions of the blade have different functional characteristics. The root portion is designed with limited radial extension to minimize air intake in the hub area, while the blade portion extends further radially to maintain effective chip conveying. This local differentiation optimizes the balance between productivity and energy consumption.
2Ease of operation
If the feed opening is positioned at the same height as the drive shaft, then feeding is simplified, but crushing and jamming of wood chips occurs during feeding
Solution Approach 1:
The feed opening is positioned in a different vertical dimension relative to the drive shaft axis, specifically below the axis of rotation. This dimensional offset creates a favorable feeding geometry where chips enter the conveying system without intersecting the rotating blades at problematic angles, eliminating crushing and jamming while maintaining ease of operation.
3Productivity
If blades have large radial extension into the hub area, then conveying capacity increases, but friction against housing walls increases causing further fragmentation
Solution Approach 1:
The blade structure is segmented such that the root portion has limited radial extension that does not exceed the radial extension of the annular disk, while the blade portion extends further. This segmentation ensures that only the necessary outer portion of the blade contacts the housing wall during operation, minimizing friction-induced chip fragmentation while preserving conveying capacity through the extended blade portion.
4Device complexity
If the centrifugal wheel is designed with blades extending to the hub, then structural simplicity is achieved, but air intake and energy consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The centrifugal wheel blades are segmented into a root portion and a blade portion, where the root portion is sturdily connected to the hub with limited radial extension, and the blade portion extends outward for effective conveying. This segmentation maintains structural integrity while excluding the hub area from the conveying zone, thereby reducing air intake and energy loss without significantly increasing device complexity.
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
The design reduces energy consumption, minimizes material damage, and enhances operational efficiency by reducing air flow and friction, allowing for trouble-free operation with lower drive energy requirements and reduced wear.
Implementation Method 1
The material to be conveyed is accelerated by a rotating impeller/paddle wheel inside a cylindrical housing to such an extent that the desired throwing distance or conveying height of the bulk material is achieved
Data Source
Figure 1a~1b
Figure 2a~2b
Figure 3a~3c
AI summary
The present invention relates to a wood chip conveyor, particularly for wood chips. The wood chip conveyor has a centrifugal wheel with blades. The blades are arranged radially on the outside of the centrifugal wheel and do not extend to the shaft or hub of the centrifugal wheel. The wood chips are conveyed by the centrifugal wheel through an upwardly directed discharge opening. A characteristic feature is that the wood chips are fed through an opening in the side wall, with the feed point being directly above the rotating blades and away from the shaft of the centrifugal wheel. Due to suitable spacing, the wood chips are not further reduced in size by either the rotating blades or their mounting.