Honeycomb Flat Membrane Support Plate for Rigidity and Cost Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional flat membrane support plates are costly due to their thickness requirement for rigidity, prone to deformation and warping, leading to uneven water and air flushing, increased energy consumption, and membrane fouling due to non-uniform pressure differences.
Innovation Solution
A flat membrane support plate with a honeycomb structural portion and support portion, featuring through-holes and flow channels that reduce material usage, enhance rigidity, and facilitate smoother water outlet channels, while maintaining structural integrity and reducing transmembrane pressure differences.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If the support plate thickness is increased to meet rigidity requirements, then the supporting strength and rigidity are improved, but the material cost increases significantly (accounting for more than 70% of membrane element cost)
Solution Approach 1:
The support plate adopts a honeycomb porous structure with through-holes arranged in hexagonal patterns. This porous configuration provides structural support while significantly reducing material usage compared to solid plates. The honeycomb geometry maintains rigidity and strength requirements while lowering material costs, directly resolving the contradiction between supporting strength and material cost.
Solution Approach 2:
The support plate combines different material properties within a single component - the honeycomb structure integrates solid hexagonal cells with hollow through-holes. This composite configuration allows the plate to achieve both structural integrity and material efficiency, resolving the contradiction between strength requirements and cost reduction.
2Quantity of substance
If the support plate thickness is reduced to lower cost, then material cost decreases, but the rigidity becomes insufficient causing deformation and upwarp
Solution Approach 1:
The honeycomb porous structure provides high structural efficiency with minimal material. The through-holes arranged in hexagonal patterns create a lightweight yet rigid framework that maintains plate stability without requiring excessive thickness. This resolves the contradiction by achieving rigidity with reduced material quantity.
Solution Approach 2:
The support plate transitions from a two-dimensional flat structure to a three-dimensional honeycomb configuration with vertical through-holes. This dimensional transformation adds structural complexity that enhances rigidity without increasing material cost, as the third dimension provides additional support pathways.
3Device complexity
If conventional rectangular support plates use single-phase longitudinal guide grooves for water discharge, then the structure is simple, but water needs pumping and gravity differential pressure operation cannot be adopted, resulting in high energy consumption
Solution Approach 1:
The support plate divides the water discharge function into multiple segments - numerous through-holes distributed across the honeycomb structure serve as multiple discharge pathways. This segmentation allows water to exit through many small channels rather than requiring a single complex drainage system, enabling gravity-based flow while maintaining structural simplicity.
Solution Approach 2:
The honeycomb porous structure with its distributed through-holes creates a passive drainage system that utilizes gravity differential pressure. Water can flow through the porous structure without requiring active pumping, as the distributed holes provide multiple pathways for gravity-driven discharge, thereby reducing energy consumption while maintaining structural simplicity.
4Productivity
If suction drainage is adopted to improve water discharge, then water can be drained more effectively, but unequal water pressure differences cause non-uniform suction force leading to membrane fouling
Solution Approach 1:
The honeycomb porous structure with uniformly distributed through-holes creates uniform pressure distribution across the membrane surface. Water flows through the porous structure under gravity differential pressure, ensuring even suction force across all areas. This uniform flow pattern prevents localized pressure spikes that cause membrane fouling, while maintaining effective water discharge productivity.
Solution Approach 2:
The distributed honeycomb structure creates equipotential pressure distribution across the membrane surface. Multiple through-holes arranged in hexagonal patterns ensure that water pressure differences are equalized throughout the structure, resulting in uniform suction force. This equipotential configuration prevents non-uniform flow patterns that lead to membrane fouling, while maintaining efficient water discharge.
Data Source
AI summary
A flat membrane support plate includes a connection portion, a honeycomb structural portion and a support portion. The connection portion is configured to connect a diaphragm to the flat membrane support plate in a sealing manner, is arranged at a periphery of the flat membrane support plate, and is provided with at least one water outlet. The honeycomb structural portion is arranged on the flat membrane support plate in an area enclosed by the connection portion, is provided with a first flow channel for communicating with an interior of the entire honeycomb structural portion and communicating the honeycomb structural portion with the water outlet. The support portion is configured for reinforcing the honeycomb structural portion and is arranged between the honeycomb structural portion and the connection portion.


