F.O.G. Sampling Port With Sloping Floor And Removable Insert
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing F.O.G. sampling systems are inefficient and unreliable, leading to challenges in accurately assessing the quality of effluent in compliance with regulatory requirements, as they often result in clogged sewer systems and inadequate grease removal.
Innovation Solution
A sampling apparatus with a housing and inserts that allow for easy installation and removal of sampling jars, utilizing a sloping floor and friction fit connections to facilitate the collection of F.O.G. samples without disrupting normal effluent flow, ensuring effective turbulence and efficient sampling without significant elevation changes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a sampling port is installed to enable F.O.G. sampling, then the ability to assess effluent quality is improved, but the complexity of the device increases
Solution Approach 1:
The sampling port is divided into a housing and a removable insert. The insert can be easily removed and replaced with a sampling jar, simplifying the sampling process while maintaining the ability to assess effluent quality accurately.
Solution Approach 2:
The housing is designed to accommodate multiple functions: it can hold a sampling jar for F.O.G. sampling, serve as a flow straightener, and maintain proper effluent flow. The universal design reduces overall system complexity while achieving multiple objectives.
2Ease of operation
If a sampling jar is placed in the housing to collect effluent samples, then sampling capability is improved, but the risk of clogging and interference with normal effluent flow increases
Solution Approach 1:
The insert is designed to be removable and replaceable. During normal operation, the insert acts as a flow straightener. During sampling, it is replaced with a sampling jar. This dynamic configuration allows the system to switch between sampling and normal flow modes, ensuring reliability while enabling easy operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The sampling function is extracted as a separate, removable component (the insert). This allows the sampling jar to be easily installed and removed without disrupting the main effluent flow path, maintaining system reliability while improving ease of operation.
3Productivity
If the housing floor slopes downward from inlet to outlet, then effluent flow and sampling efficiency are improved, but the difficulty of installation and alignment increases
Solution Approach 1:
The sloping floor design creates a gravitational flow path that naturally directs effluent from the inlet to the outlet and into the sampling jar. This equipotential design uses gravity to drive the flow, improving sampling efficiency without requiring additional energy input or complex alignment mechanisms during installation.
4Ease of operation
If friction fit connections are used for the inserts, then the ease of installation and removal is improved, but the manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The friction fit design changes the connection parameter from rigid mechanical fastening to a friction-based connection. This allows for easier installation and removal of inserts while the manufacturing precision is managed through controlled tolerance ranges in the friction fit dimensions, balancing ease of operation with manufacturability.
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
Enables accurate and efficient sampling of F.O.G. levels, ensuring compliance with regulatory standards by allowing for reliable assessment of effluent quality without causing disruptions or clogging, and maintaining a dry environment during sampling.
Implementation Method 1
The sloping floor of the housing has an upper end at an inlet end of the housing and the upper end of the floor is spaced below the bottom of the inlet so that effluent entering the housing through the inlet can fall as a waterfall to a sample jar placed in the second insert during F.O.G. sampling
Implementation Method 2
A first insert for placement in the housing for normal operation, includes a pipe having flanges at each end, the pipe and flanges having a length to make a friction fit within the housing
Data Source
AI summary
A F.O.G. water sampling apparatus includes a housing having an inlet, an outlet, a floor that slopes downward from the inlet to the outlet and an open top. A first insert placed in the housing for normal operation includes a pipe having end flanges making a friction fit within the housing and connecting the inlet and outlet and spanning above the housing floor. A second, substitute insert to receive a F.O.G. sampling jar has a floor that slopes downward from the inlet to the outlet and at the floor of the housing.