Divided Jacket Steam Sterilizer for Temperature Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current steam sterilizer designs face challenges in maintaining optimal temperature and pressure profiles within the sterilization chamber due to the undivided jacket, leading to inefficient steam preheating, excessive heat transfer, and temperature non-homogeneities, which complicates the regulation of sterilization processes.
Innovation Solution
A divided jacket arrangement for the steam sterilizer, comprising a separate heating part and a filling part, allows independent control of pressure and temperature conditions in each part, optimizing steam supply and sterilization chamber conditions by managing steam pressure and humidity levels.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If steam is supplied into the jacket of the sterilization chamber for preheating, then the temperature development and fluctuation in the chamber is improved, but excessive heat transfer occurs introducing a disturbance variable into the regulation process
Solution Approach 1:
The jacket is divided into a first jacket portion and a second jacket portion, allowing independent pressure control of steam supply to each section. This segmentation enables precise control of heat transfer rates to different parts of the sterilization chamber, preventing excessive heat transfer while maintaining desired temperature profiles.
Solution Approach 2:
Different pressure conditions are applied to different portions of the jacket through independent steam supply control. The first and second jacket portions can have different steam pressures, allowing localized optimization of heat transfer characteristics to match the specific thermal requirements of different chamber regions.
2Stability of the object's composition
If the jacket temperature is increased to improve temperature distribution, then temperature homogeneity in the chamber is improved, but temperature non-homogeneities and temperature rise during steam supply occur due to quick gas compression
Solution Approach 1:
The jacket is divided into multiple portions with independent steam supply control, allowing gradual and controlled heating of different chamber regions. This prevents sudden temperature rises from quick gas compression by enabling staged steam introduction into the chamber.
Solution Approach 2:
The jacket portions are preheated through controlled steam supply before full chamber pressurization. This preliminary heating action prepares the chamber for steam filling, reducing thermal shocks and temperature non-homogeneities that would occur during rapid steam introduction.
3Productivity
If the steam filling rate is increased to reduce the time interval for temperature equilibrium, then productivity is improved, but temperature non-homogeneities and regulation complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The jacket is divided into portions that can be filled with steam at different rates and pressures. This allows coordinated filling strategy where different portions are pressurized at optimized rates, achieving overall faster sterilization cycles while maintaining temperature uniformity through balanced heat distribution.
Solution Approach 2:
The steam supply system dynamically adjusts pressure and flow rates to different jacket portions based on real-time temperature feedback. This dynamic control enables accelerated filling rates while actively compensating for temperature non-homogeneities, maintaining regulation precision throughout the sterilization process.
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 precise control of temperature and pressure within the sterilization chamber, improving the sterilization process by reducing excessive humidity, optimizing temperature profiles, and allowing the use of lower-quality steam, thus enhancing the overall efficiency and quality of the sterilization cycle.
Implementation Method 1
steam flows through a steam filling valve (6) into a sterilization chamber (3)... steam is first supplied into a jacket of the sterilization chamber (3), which is thereby pre-heated
Implementation Method 2
When steam flows through the jacket, a large part of excess humidity is removed from it
Implementation Method 3
Temperature non-homogeneities and temperature rise at the phase when steam is supplied into the sterilization chamber are mainly caused—according to the laws of thermodynamics—by quick gas compression occurring in the sterilization chamber
Data Source
AI summary
A jacket of a steam sterilizer embedding a sterilization chamber (3) consisting of two separated and independent each other parts of which a heating part (1) of the jacket embeds the sterilization chamber (3) while a filling part (2) of the jacket is advantageously arranged in the bottom part of the sterilization chamber (3), said parts form the integral unit. Both the outlet of a first steam filling valve (4) and the inlet of a first pressure sensor (5) enter the heating part (1), and both the outlet of a steam filling valve (6) and the inlet of a second pressure sensor (7) and the inlet of a third steam filling valve (8) enter the sterilizing chamber (3) into which both the outlet of the third steam filling valve (8) and the inlet of a third pressure sensor (9) enter, enter the area of the filling part (2).