Pulsating CO2 Snow Jet for Enhanced Cleaning Impulse
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current CO2 snow blasting methods lack the effectiveness in cleaning surfaces and are not economically optimized, as they rely on continuous operation which limits the cleaning power and efficiency.
Innovation Solution
The method involves pulsating the supply of liquid CO2 into an expansion channel, creating a pulsating CO2 snow jet by alternating between opening and closing the CO2 valve unit, and similarly pulsating the carrier gas supply to enhance the cleaning effect through controlled pulsing durations and frequencies.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If liquid CO2 is continuously supplied to the expansion channel, then a steady CO2 snow jet is produced, but the cleaning effect is limited and economic efficiency is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies periodic action by pulsating the supply of liquid CO2 to the expansion channel, creating alternating phases of CO2 snow generation and interruption. This periodic supply mode generates stronger acceleration impulses during each pulse while reducing overall CO2 consumption and improving economic efficiency compared to continuous operation.
2Reliability
If the CO2 valve unit is opened frequently to increase cleaning effect, then more CO2 is consumed, but economic efficiency deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The periodic pulsing of CO2 supply creates concentrated cleaning impulses that are more effective per unit of CO2 consumed. By interrupting the supply between pulses, the system avoids continuous CO2 consumption while maintaining strong cleaning effect during the pulse phases.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the temporal parameters of CO2 supply from continuous to pulsed mode, optimizing the balance between cleaning effect and CO2 consumption. The pulse duration and frequency are controlled to achieve maximum cleaning efficiency while minimizing substance loss.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2a~2d
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AI summary
The invention relates to a method for generating a CO2 snow jet (4), wherein liquid CO2 is supplied via an inlet opening (24) into an expansion channel (8), wherein the liquid CO2 is expanded in the expansion channel such that the liquid CO2 is at least partially converted into a CO2 gas/CO2 snow mixture (10), wherein the CO2 gas/CO2 snow mixture is discharged from an outlet opening (28) of the expansion channel, wherein, in order to generate a sheath jet (14) which surrounds the CO2 gas/CO2 snow mixture discharged from the outlet opening of the expansion channel in a circumferential direction and accelerates it in a jet direction (20), a carrier gas is supplied into a sheath jet nozzle (12) surrounding the expansion channel, preferably concentrically.wherein, to generate a pulsating CO2 snow jet, a CO2 valve unit (32) that selectively releases or blocks the supply of liquid CO2 to the expansion channel is periodically opened for a certain duration and closed for a certain duration, and wherein the opening duration and/or the closing duration are selected separately from one another and the opening duration and the closing duration are then used to control the CO2 valve unit. The invention further relates to a device (2) for carrying out the method.