Expandable Nozzle Boot for Concrete Truck Self-Cleaning
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Concrete nozzles in ready-mix trucks often become clogged with concrete, leading to inefficiencies in dispensing water and chemical admixtures due to the design's limitations, where both loading and discharging occur through the same opening, causing the nozzle to become filled and unusable, requiring time-consuming cleaning or mechanical removal.
Innovation Solution
A nozzle assembly with an expandable and collapsible nozzle boot that surrounds the nozzle shaft, allowing fluid pressure to expand and break away adhered concrete, ensuring effective shedding of concrete from the nozzle surfaces, thus maintaining functionality.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a fixed nozzle is used for dispensing water and chemical admixtures into the mixer drum, then the nozzle structure is simple and easy to manufacture, but the nozzle becomes clogged with adhered concrete requiring time-consuming cleaning
Solution Approach 1:
The nozzle boot is designed as an expandable and collapsible flexible membrane structure that can dynamically change its volume and shape. During dispensing operation, the boot expands to its normal dispensing configuration. When concrete adheres to the boot, fluid pressure causes the boot to expand further, which cracks and removes the adhered concrete, thereby maintaining dispensing efficiency without requiring manual cleaning
Solution Approach 2:
The nozzle boot changes its physical state by expanding and collapsing in response to fluid pressure. This parameter change allows the boot to transition between a normal dispensing state and a self-cleaning expanded state, resolving the contradiction between structural simplicity and operational efficiency
2Ease of operation
If the nozzle is positioned at the drum opening for easy access, then loading and discharging is facilitated, but concrete adheres to the nozzle causing it to become filled and unusable
Solution Approach 1:
The flexible membrane boot dynamically responds to the operational environment by expanding when concrete adheres to it. This dynamic behavior maintains nozzle functionality despite the challenging position at the drum opening, allowing the nozzle to self-clean and remain reliable while facilitating easy loading and discharging operations
3Reliability
If manual cleaning of the nozzle is performed to remove adhered concrete, then the nozzle functionality is restored, but significant time is lost and maintenance complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The nozzle boot performs self-service by automatically removing adhered concrete through expansion driven by fluid pressure. This self-cleaning mechanism restores nozzle functionality without requiring manual intervention, thereby eliminating cleaning time and reducing maintenance complexity while maintaining reliable operation
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 nozzle assembly effectively prevents concrete buildup, ensuring continuous and efficient dispensing of fluids into the mixer drum by using fluid pressure to crack and remove adhered concrete, reducing maintenance needs and ensuring consistent operation.
Implementation Method 1
allowing fluid pressure to expand and break away adhered concrete
Implementation Method 2
expand and break away adhered concrete
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2A~2B
Figure 3
AI summary
A nozzle, including a support member and a nozzle boot surrounding at least a portion of the support member, the nozzle boot having a nozzle boot inlet and a nozzle boot outlet spaced from the nozzle boot inlet and a volume between the nozzle boot inlet and the nozzle boot outlet, the nozzle boot being expandable upon the introduction of fluid into the volume, and collapsible upon withdrawal of fluid from the volume. Also disclosed is a method of removing unwanted concrete from a surface by creating tensile stress to concrete adhered to that surface by causing the surface to expand, and a system for injecting fluid (s) into a rotating drum.