Integrated Soil Mixing Tool with Coupled Rotary Shaft and Tubular Element
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current soil treatment methods require separate steps for boring and mixing, involving additional time and complexity due to the need for distinct boring tools and mixer tools, and the removal of tubing after treatment, which reduces productivity.
Innovation Solution
A treatment device with a rotary shaft and a coupled outer tubular element that integrates boring and mixing functions, allowing for simultaneous boring and soil treatment with a deployable mixer tool and fluid injection, and a coupling system that enables joint rotation and translation, allowing the device to perform both operations in a single step.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If separate boring tools and mixer tools are used for soil treatment, then the boring and mixing functions can be performed by specialized equipment, but the treatment process requires multiple steps including boring, extracting tubing, and mixing, which reduces productivity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the boring tool and mixer tool into a single integrated device. The rotary shaft with mixing elements is integrated directly with the boring mechanism, allowing both functions to be performed by one piece of equipment rather than requiring separate boring and mixing operations with multiple tool changes and tubing extractions.
Solution Approach 2:
The device performs multiple functions simultaneously - it can bore into the ground, mix soil, and inject fluids all through a single unified system. The rotary shaft serves both as a structural support during boring and as a mixing element when rotated, eliminating the need for separate specialized tools for each operation.
2Reliability
If a distinct boring tool is used to form a tubular cavity before inserting the treatment device, then the borehole can be created, but additional time is occupied for boring that is not used for actual soil treatment
Solution Approach 1:
The boring operation and mixing operation are merged into a single continuous process. As the rotary shaft with mixing elements is advanced into the ground, it simultaneously bores the cavity and mixes the soil, eliminating the sequential time loss of boring first and then mixing afterward.
Solution Approach 2:
The mixing elements are pre-positioned on the rotary shaft before insertion, so that as soon as the device is advanced into the ground, the mixing action begins immediately without requiring a separate subsequent step. The structure is prepared in advance to perform both functions concurrently.
3Reliability
If tubing is introduced into the soil to define the tubular cavity, then the cavity structure is provided, but removing the tube constitutes an additional step that further reduces productivity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent eliminates the separate tubing component entirely by integrating the structural support function directly into the rotary shaft assembly. The mixing elements and shaft structure serve both as the boring tool and as the structural element that defines the treatment zone, removing the need to insert and subsequently extract separate tubing.
Solution Approach 2:
The rotary shaft serves multiple functions: it provides structural support during insertion, acts as the mixing element when rotated, and defines the treatment cavity - replacing the separate tubing that would otherwise be needed for structural support and cavity definition.
4Ease of operation
If the mixer tool is deployed after boring, then the soil can be mixed, but the device complexity increases with multiple components that need to be assembled and operated in sequence
Solution Approach 1:
The mixing components are merged with the boring shaft into a single integrated assembly. The mixing elements are fixed to the rotary shaft, eliminating the need for separate mixer tool deployment and reducing the number of discrete components that must be assembled and coordinated during operation.
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 integrated approach reduces the duration and complexity of soil treatment by eliminating the need for separate boring and mixing steps, enhancing productivity and allowing for direct modification of soil characteristics in situ, while protecting the surrounding soil from material escape.
Implementation Method 1
a coupling system between the rotary shaft and the tubular element, said coupling system being suitable in a first configuration for constraining the tubular element and the rotary shaft to move together in rotation about the main axis
Implementation Method 2
the mixer tool destructures the soil and then mixes it with a fluid in order to modify the characteristics of the treated portion of soil
Implementation Method 3
a longitudinal pipe for injecting a fluid in the proximity of the mixer tool
Data Source
AI summary
A device (10) for treating a portion of soil comprises a rotary shaft (20), at least one deployable mixer tool (40) secured to the rotary shaft (20), and a longitudinal pipe (22) for injecting a fluid in the proximity of the mixer tool (40). According to the invention, the treatment device (10) further includes a boring tool (24) situated at the bottom end of the shaft (20), an outer tubular element (30) extending parallel to the rotary shaft (20), the rotary shaft (20) being arranged inside said tubular element (30), and a coupling system (50) between the rotary shaft (20) and the tubular element (30). In a first configuration, the coupling system (50) is suitable for constraining the tubular element (30) and the rotary shaft (20) to move together in rotation about the main axis (X), in at least one direction of rotation, and for constraining the tubular element (30) and the rotary shaft (20) to move together in translation along the main axis (X), at least in the downstream direction. These movements in rotation and translation can be released in a second configuration of the coupling system (50).