Inline Liquid Culture Dilution With Pulsation-Damped Flow Mixing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing inline mixing technologies face inaccuracies due to pulsating flow rates from pumps, leading to errors in calculating the mixing ratio of liquid flows, especially in applications requiring precise quantitative mixing and dilution, such as continuous optical monitoring of liquid cultures.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a device with pulsation dampeners in each inlet flow channel to reduce periodic variability in liquid flow rates, combined with flow rate sensors and a controller for automatic selection of pulsation dampeners, ensures steady flow rates for accurate mixing and dilution, using a device with pulsation dampeners and flow rate sensors to stabilize the flow before mixing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If pumps are used to induce liquid flows in inline mixing, then continuous liquid flow is achieved, but pulsating flow rate causes inaccurate mixing ratio calculation
Solution Approach 1:
A flow splitter is introduced as an intermediary device between the pumps and the mixer. The flow splitter divides the pulsating flow from each pump into multiple sub-flows, which then recombine at the mixer inlet. This intermediary structure redistributes the flow in a way that cancels out the pulsations, providing a steady combined flow rate that enables accurate mixing ratio calculation while maintaining continuous flow.
2Measurement precision
If flow rate sensors are added to measure individual stream flow rates, then mixing ratio can be calculated, but the pulsating nature of pump discharge creates measurement errors
Solution Approach 1:
The flow splitter performs preliminary action by redistributing the pump discharge flows before they reach the measurement point. By splitting and recombining the flows upstream of the sensors, the pulsations are smoothed out before measurement occurs. This allows the flow rate sensors to accurately measure steady combined flow rates, eliminating measurement errors caused by pump pulsations.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple pumps are used for separate liquid flows, then quantitative mixing is enabled, but periodic flow rate variation introduces significant error
Solution Approach 1:
The flow splitter merges multiple individual flow streams from separate pumps into a single combined flow stream. By combining the flows through a splitting and recombining structure, the periodic variations from each pump are desynchronized and cancel each other out, resulting in a steady combined flow. This merging approach maintains the quantitative mixing capability of multiple pumps while eliminating the precision errors caused by their pulsating discharge.
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
This approach significantly reduces errors in calculating the mixing ratio, providing a more accurate and stable output, enhancing the precision of inline mixing and dilution processes, particularly in monitoring liquid cultures over time.
Implementation Method 1
Each inlet flow channel may be disposed with a pulsation dampener configured to effect the reduction in periodic variability in liquid flow rate
Data Source
AI summary
Method for monitoring a liquid culture, wherein the monitoring comprises inline dilution of a flow of the liquid culture, comprising: providing a device (100) for inline mixing of two or more liquid flows, wherein each liquid flow is induced by a separate pump (202, 204), the device (100) comprising a liquid culture inlet flow channel (112) for conducting the liquid culture flow from a separate pump (202); and a diluent inlet flow channel (114) for conducting a diluent flow from a separate pump (204); a mixer (120) into which liquid from the inlet flow channels (112, 114) enters and is mixed, wherein passage of liquid flow through each inlet flow channel (112, 114) effects a reduction in periodic variability in liquid flow rate, diluting the liquid culture flow with the diluent flow using the device (100), thereby obtaining an inline diluted liquid culture, monitoring, from the diluted liquid culture, the liquid culture.