Self-Draining Tubular Support Beam for Food Processing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Food processing equipment with horizontal support beams is prone to contamination due to pooled water, which reduces load-carrying capability when angled to prevent water accumulation, necessitating additional vertical supports that complicate sanitation and increase costs.
Innovation Solution
A tubular support beam with a self-draining surface design, featuring channels and weld joints that form angled surfaces greater than 90 degrees, allowing for efficient water drainage while maintaining load-carrying capacity, thereby reducing the need for additional vertical supports.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If standard tubular support beams are rotated at an angle to shed water, then water drainage is improved, but load-carrying capability is greatly reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The support beam is segmented into multiple channels (first channel, second channel, etc.) with individual angled surfaces. Each channel independently drains water while the collective structure maintains load-carrying capability through distributed geometry rather than requiring overall beam rotation
Solution Approach 2:
The angled surface geometry is applied locally to the top walls of individual channels rather than to the entire beam structure. This allows water shedding at the local channel level while the overall beam maintains its optimal load-carrying orientation
2Strength
If additional vertical support beams are added to compensate for reduced load-carrying capability, then load support is maintained, but equipment complexity and sanitation difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The support beam is divided into multiple channels (first channel, second channel, etc.) that can be welded together to form a composite structure. This segmentation allows each channel to be optimized for drainage while the assembled structure achieves the required load-carrying capability, reducing the need for additional vertical supports
3Strength
If additional vertical support beams are added to maintain load capacity, then structural support is adequate, but sanitation and cleaning become more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The drainage function is extracted from the overall beam orientation requirement and embedded into the local channel geometry. This allows the beam structure to maintain simple, easy-to-sanitize forms while the extracted drainage channels provide water shedding capability without requiring complex additional supports
Data Source
AI summary
A tubular support beam having a self-draining surface, comprising a first channel having a first channel side wall and a first channel bottom wall, wherein the first channel side wall forms a substantially 90° interior angle with the first channel bottom wall and a second channel having a second channel side wall and a second channel bottom wall, wherein the second channel side wall forms a substantially 90° interior angle with the second channel bottom wall. Either the first channel and/or the second channel having an angled or convex top wall, wherein the first channel and the second channel are joined to provide a self-draining surface for the tubular support beam. The self-draining tubular support beam may be implemented into hygienically designed food processing equipment to eliminate undesirable horizontal surfaces.