Serial Piston Pump Heat Exchanger for Flow Metering Precision
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Solution Overview
Problem
Prior pump units experience temperature variations that cause volumetric changes in the fluid flow, leading to disturbances and making it difficult to achieve a precisely metered flow due to the complex and unpredictable temperature relaxation processes.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating a heat exchanger in the flow path between the primary and secondary piston pumps to eliminate temperature variations by bringing the fluid to a predefined temperature, ensuring a stable and continuous flow by controlling the temperature relaxation process.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a serial pump unit is used to achieve high pressure and precise flow metering, then the pumping performance is improved, but temperature variations cause volumetric changes that disturb the flow and reduce precision
Solution Approach 1:
A heat exchanger is introduced as an intermediary component between the primary and secondary piston pumps. This heat exchanger acts as a thermal mediator that actively cools or heats the fluid to compensate for temperature variations, thereby stabilizing the fluid volume and flow metering precision without interfering with the pumping function.
2Productivity
If the fluid flow rate is increased to improve productivity, then the output is improved, but the temperature relaxation process becomes more complex and unpredictable
Solution Approach 1:
A temperature sensor continuously monitors the fluid temperature in real-time, and this temperature information is fed back to a control unit. The control unit processes the temperature signal and adjusts the heat exchanger operation accordingly, creating a closed-loop feedback system that simplifies temperature control even at high flow rates.
Solution Approach 2:
The passive thermal relaxation process is replaced by an active thermal control system using a heat exchanger. This substitution transforms the unpredictable natural cooling/heating process into a controllable and predictable temperature regulation process, allowing precise temperature management at any flow rate.
3Stability of the object's composition
If a heat exchanger is added to stabilize temperature, then the flow stability is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The heat exchanger is designed to serve multiple functions: it stabilizes fluid temperature, prevents condensation, and works with the existing serial pump configuration. The control unit integrates with the pump's existing control architecture, allowing the added components to perform multiple roles and justify the increased system complexity through enhanced functionality.
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 heat exchanger stabilizes the fluid flow by eliminating temperature-induced volumetric changes, providing a precisely metered output and preventing mixing of fluids at different temperatures, thus enhancing the precision and stability of the pump unit's operation.
Implementation Method 1
The flow path comprises a heat exchanger, wherein fluid supplied by the primary piston pump passes through the heat exchanger before being supplied to the secondary piston pump, the heat exchanger being adapted for reducing a temperature difference between the fluid's temperature and the secondary piston pump's temperature
Data Source
AI summary
A pump unit comprises a primary piston pump, a secondary piston pump, and a flow path adapted for fluidically connecting in series the primary piston pump and the secondary piston pump. The pump unit's duty cycle comprises a delivery-and-fill phase, in which the primary piston pump supplies a flow of liquid to the secondary piston pump, and during the delivery-and-fill phase, the flow of liquid supplied by the primary piston pump is partly used for filling up the secondary piston pump and partly used for maintaining another flow of liquid dispensed across the secondary piston pump. The flow path comprises a heat exchanger, wherein liquid supplied by the primary piston pump passes through the heat exchanger before being supplied to the secondary piston pump. The heat exchanger is adapted for reducing a temperature difference between a temperature of liquid supplied to heat exchanger and a temperature of the secondary piston pump, in that the heat exchanger is kept at a temperature of the secondary piston pump, so that after having passed the heat exchanger, liquid supplied to the secondary piston pump has substantially the same temperature as the secondary piston pump itself.