Laser-Cut Flow Conditioner Tabs for Swirl Removal
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing flow conditioning devices are cumbersome, expensive, and inefficient in creating uniformly mixed, swirl-free, symmetric, and reproducible velocity profiles in conduits, especially in larger sizes, leading to inaccuracies in flow meters and excessive wear on pumps due to upstream flow distortions and stratification.
Innovation Solution
A flow conditioner comprising a plate with laser-cut tabs that diverge downstream, eliminating the need for welding and allowing for easier fabrication and installation, which creates vortices to mix and destratify media, reducing pressure drop and improving flow meter accuracy while protecting pumps from cavitation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional flow conditioning devices with tabs are used, then flow profile conditioning is achieved, but the device becomes heavy, expensive to ship, and difficult to install in larger sizes
Solution Approach 1:
The flow conditioner is divided into multiple individual tabs that are separately formed and then assembled together using a friction-fit mechanism. This segmentation allows each tab to be lightweight and easy to manufacture, while the collective assembly provides the necessary flow conditioning function. The tabs are inserted into a support structure without requiring welding or complex fastening, significantly reducing overall device weight and assembly complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The tabs are designed as thin, flexible elements that can be formed from sheet material and bent into their final positions. These thin-film-like structures provide effective flow conditioning while minimizing material usage and weight. The flexibility of the tabs allows for easy installation and adjustment without requiring heavy fastening mechanisms.
2Reliability
If traditional flow conditioning devices are used, then flow conditioning is achieved, but shipping and installation costs increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the flow conditioner into individual tabs that can be manufactured separately and assembled friction-fit, the device becomes easier to manufacture and ship. The modular tabs can be packaged compactly and assembled on-site without requiring specialized welding equipment or heavy lifting, directly reducing shipping and installation costs.
Solution Approach 2:
The friction-fit assembly mechanism allows the tabs to self-assemble into the support structure without requiring external fastening operations. The tabs rely on their own geometry and the support structure's features to secure themselves, eliminating the need for welding, bolting, or other complex installation procedures, thereby reducing installation costs and complexity.
3Measurement precision
If flow conditioning devices are used to create symmetric velocity profiles, then flow meter accuracy improves, but pressure drop increases
Solution Approach 1:
The tabs are strategically positioned and oriented to create localized flow disturbances only where necessary to correct specific flow profile distortions. Rather than using a dense array of tabs throughout the entire conditioner, the invention places tabs in specific locations and orientations that target the most critical flow distortion areas, achieving flow meter accuracy improvement with minimal overall pressure drop.
Solution Approach 2:
The flow conditioner uses a limited number of tabs with specific geometries rather than a comprehensive dense array. This partial action approach focuses the conditioning effect on the most critical flow distortion regions, achieving sufficient flow profile symmetrization for accurate flow metering while minimizing the total flow resistance and pressure drop across the device.
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 solution provides improved flow meter accuracy, extended equipment lifespan, and reduced shipping and installation costs by creating optimal velocity profiles with minimal pressure drop, making it more efficient and cost-effective than prior art devices.
Implementation Method 1
This device requires a distance of several pipe diameters (typically about six diameters) to properly condition the media flowing within a conduit after passing a plane of flow disturbance 15
Implementation Method 2
Flow conditioning, such as may be accomplished by tube bundles or perforated plates, among others, is known within the prior art to remove swirl and create symmetric and reproducible velocity profiles
Data Source
AI summary
A flow mixer and conditioner for use within a conduit conditions flowing media within the conduit to provide a swirl-free, symmetric, and reproducible velocity profile regardless of upstream flow distortions, disturbances, or anomalies. Tabs are cut from a single plate and bent or affixed to provide mixing and conditioning of the flowing media. Single tabs or tab pairs emanating from common vertices can be formed so that they diverge in, or against, the direction of flowing media. The flow conditioner requires as little as three pipe diameters downstream and upstream to mix and condition the flow stream allowing close placement to elbows, valves, tees, and other disturbances typically seen in industrial plants.