Clean-Meat Extruder Sealing Device for Consistent, Leak-Free Extrusion
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing extruders face challenges in producing consistent meat products, such as plant-based and cell-based meat, due to gaps between the barrel and piston, leading to inconsistent extrusions and contamination risks, which are exacerbated in low-gravity environments like lunar bases or space stations.
Innovation Solution
The use of a sealing device with a resilient protruding edge and sealing rings to close gaps in the barrel, ensuring a consistent extrusion process and preventing material leakage, along with a method to clean the barrel after use.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If conventional extruders are used without sealing devices, then the device complexity is low, but the manufacturing precision of extrusion consistency deteriorates due to gaps between barrel and piston allowing material leakage
Solution Approach 1:
A sealing device acts as an intermediary component between the piston and barrel wall. The sealing device includes a piston head with a sealing surface and a sealing ring that contacts the inner wall of the barrel, preventing direct contact between the extrudable material and the gap between piston and barrel, thus eliminating material leakage while maintaining extrusion consistency
Solution Approach 2:
The sealing device is divided into multiple functional segments: a piston head portion, a sealing ring portion, and a resilient protruding edge. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function - the piston head provides structural support, the sealing ring prevents leakage, and the resilient edge compensates for dimensional variations, collectively solving the extrusion consistency problem
2Reliability
If gaps between barrel and piston are present, then the ease of manufacture is high, but the reliability of the extrusion process deteriorates due to material leakage and contamination risks
Solution Approach 1:
The sealing device incorporates a resilient protruding edge made of elastic material that can flex and deform to maintain continuous contact with the barrel wall despite dimensional variations or wear. This flexibility ensures reliable sealing without requiring precision manufacturing, thus improving extrusion process stability while maintaining ease of manufacture
Solution Approach 2:
The resilient protruding edge of the sealing device provides beforehand cushioning by compensating for potential gaps or dimensional variations before material leakage can occur. The elastic material deforms to fill any voids, preventing material from entering the gap between piston and barrel, thus ensuring process reliability
3Manufacturing precision
If sealing devices are added to close gaps, then the manufacturing precision of extrusion consistency is improved, but the device complexity increases due to additional sealing components
Solution Approach 1:
The sealing device merges multiple functions into a single integrated component: the piston head provides structural support and force transmission, the sealing ring prevents material leakage, and the resilient protruding edge compensates for dimensional variations. This merging achieves consistent cross-section uniformity without requiring multiple separate sealing components, thus limiting the increase in device complexity
4Reliability
If conventional extrusion methods are used, then the productivity is maintained, but the purity of the extruded product deteriorates due to material contamination from leakage
Solution Approach 1:
The sealing device serves as an intermediary barrier between the extrudable material and the external environment. The sealing ring and resilient edge create a sealed chamber that prevents material from leaking into the gap between piston and barrel, thus preventing contamination and ensuring product purity while adding minimal complexity to the barrel sealing system
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
Achieves consistent extrusion of meat products with appetizing appearance and texture, reducing contamination risks, and enabling scalability for use in space environments.
Implementation Method 1
a sealing device and/or one or more sealing rings for use in closing gaps which typically exist in the barrel of an extrusion assembly
Implementation Method 2
sealing device with a resilient protruding edge and sealing rings to close gaps in the barrel
Data Source
AI summary
A barrel-shaped sealing device with a resilient protruding edge for producing extruded meat products is provided. Methods are also provided for producing extruded food products, including cell-based meat products, as are extruded food products resulting from such methods.