Hydraulic Recirculation for Shear-Thinning Fluid Homogenization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing mixing systems for shear-thinning fluids, such as milk-of-lime, are often over-dimensioned to handle high start-up torque requirements, leading to costly and time-consuming modifications to existing tanks, and inefficient energy use due to continuous agitation.
Innovation Solution
A method for homogenizing shear-thinning fluids in a cylindrical tank by pumping the fluid via return piping out of the tank and via injection piping back into the tank, using a central nozzle to create an upward jet and off-centered nozzles to create a swirl movement, thereby achieving efficient mixing and homogenization without significant modifications to the tank.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional stirrers with impellers and motors are used to homogenize shear-thinning fluids, then mixing effectiveness is improved, but device complexity and cost increase due to over-dimensioning for high start-up torque requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the traditional mechanical stirrer system (impeller, shaft, motor, gearbox) with a hydraulic recirculation system consisting of a pump, piping, and nozzles. This substitution eliminates the need for high-torque mechanical components while achieving effective mixing through fluid dynamics, directly resolving the contradiction between mixing effectiveness and device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention extracts the essential mixing function from the complex mechanical stirrer system and implements it through a simplified recirculation system. By taking out the unnecessary mechanical components (motor, gearbox, impeller) and retaining only the essential fluid circulation and injection elements, the system achieves mixing effectiveness with reduced complexity.
2Reliability
If continuous agitation is used to maintain fluid homogeneity, then mixing effectiveness is improved, but energy consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements periodic recirculation instead of continuous agitation. The system can operate by circulating fluid at intervals, allowing the fluid to remain homogenized between cycles due to the persistent circulation effect, thereby significantly reducing energy consumption while maintaining mixing effectiveness.
Solution Approach 2:
The recirculation system creates continuous fluid motion through the pump and nozzle injection, which maintains homogeneity more efficiently than traditional stirrers. The continuous flow pattern ensures that particles remain suspended and distributed uniformly without requiring high-energy mechanical agitation.
3Adaptability or versatility
If existing tanks are converted to handle shear-thinning fluids with traditional mixing systems, then mixing capability is improved, but manufacturing cost and time increase due to significant tank modifications
Solution Approach 1:
The recirculation system with pump and nozzle assembly is designed as a universal solution that can be adapted to existing tanks without significant modifications. The system uses standard piping connections and can be installed in various tank configurations, providing mixing capability while minimizing manufacturing costs and installation time.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the approach from modifying the tank structure to modifying the fluid handling parameters through recirculation. By altering the flow path and injection characteristics rather than the tank itself, the system achieves adaptability while avoiding costly manufacturing modifications.
4Reliability
If high viscosity shear-thinning fluids are agitated, then mixing effectiveness is improved, but start-up torque requirements increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the high-torque mechanical stirrer with a hydraulic recirculation system where a pump moves the fluid through piping and injects it via nozzles. This substitution avoids the need to directly overcome high viscous resistance with mechanical torque, as the pump can handle the viscosity through hydraulic pressure rather than mechanical force.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention uses hydraulic principles to move and mix the high viscosity fluid. The pump generates hydraulic pressure to circulate the fluid, and the nozzles create high-velocity jets that induce mixing through fluid dynamics rather than mechanical agitation, thereby avoiding high start-up torque requirements.
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 method provides effective mixing and homogenization of shear-thinning fluids, reducing energy consumption by allowing intermittent agitation and minimizing the need for tank modifications, thus offering a cost-effective solution for existing tank conversions.
Implementation Method 1
pumping said fluid via a return piping out of said tank and via an injection piping back into said tank
Implementation Method 2
producing an upwardly directed jet of said fluid in said tank by means of one central nozzle provided on said injection piping
Implementation Method 3
creating a swirl movement of said fluid in a bottom portion of the tank by means of at least two off-centered nozzles provided on said injection piping
Implementation Method 4
shear-thinning fluids, including dispersions of solid particles in liquids sometimes referred to as slurries
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention is related to an installation and to a method for recirculating and mixing a fluid which is preferably a shear-thinning fluid. The installation comprises a tank, a pump, a piping assembly connected to the pump and comprising an injection piping for injecting said fluid into the tank and a return piping coupled to the injection piping for pumping the said fluid from the tank to the injection piping, wherein the piping assembly and the tank form a flow recirculation path in which fluid is homogenized by recirculation of the fluid upon action of the said pump, the injection piping being designed such as to reinject the fluid in at least two peripheral bottom locations with an horizontal and/or inclined orientation such as to create a swirl movement in the tank and to reinject simultaneously said fluid upwardly through a central location in a zone comprised between the central axis of the tank and the half radius of the tank such as to create a jet of fluid having a main vertical component.