Split-Lap Mixer Bowl Cooling Jacket for Weld Stress Relief
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing cooling jackets for industrial mixers experience high failure rates due to stress concentrations at welded joints, leading to inconsistent quality and reduced durability, especially under the cyclical forces encountered during large-scale dough mixing.
Innovation Solution
A vertical split lap cooling jacket design with staggered vertical and horizontal rails, enclosed coolant channels, and optimized channel covers to reduce stress on weld joints and enhance heat transfer, featuring fillet welds and a divided coolant channel configuration for improved durability and efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If heavily reinforced bowl cooling jackets are used to overcome bowl sheet deflection, then the structural strength is improved, but the stress concentrations at welded points increase leading to fatigue and failure
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling jacket is divided into multiple modular sections (front section, rear section, side sections) that can be independently manufactured and assembled. This segmentation reduces the overall size of each welded joint, lowering stress concentrations while maintaining structural integrity through the modular assembly of multiple sections
Solution Approach 2:
Different sections of the cooling jacket are designed with locally optimized geometries and thicknesses based on their specific functional requirements and stress conditions. This allows for reduced material in non-critical areas while maintaining strength where needed, reducing overall stress without compromising durability
2Manufacturing precision
If rigid attachment of cooling jacket to bowl sheet is used to provide sealed channels, then the sealing quality is improved, but the stress concentrations at welded points increase causing fatigue failure
Solution Approach 1:
The design incorporates stress-relief features and flexible mounting arrangements that anticipate and cushion against the cyclical stresses of mixing operations. This prevents stress concentrations from building up to failure levels while maintaining the required sealing quality through pre-engineered stress distribution
Solution Approach 2:
The cooling jacket incorporates flexible sealing elements and thin-film sealing mechanisms that can accommodate bowl sheet deflection and movement without compromising the seal. This flexibility reduces stress on welded joints while maintaining sealing integrity through adaptive sealing surfaces
3Temperature
If traditional cooling jacket design is used, then the heat transfer function is provided, but the coolant pressure drop is high reducing efficiency
Solution Approach 1:
The coolant channels are designed with three-dimensional routing that optimizes flow paths through the bowl wall thickness. This dimensional optimization allows for shorter, more direct coolant paths that reduce pressure drop while maintaining effective heat transfer surface area through strategic channel placement in multiple dimensions
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 solution achieves a 75% reduction in stress on channel materials and a 63% reduction in stress at weld joints, along with a 46% reduction in coolant pressure drop, while maintaining or improving heat transfer rates and ensuring consistent, quality welded joints.
Implementation Method 1
Heat generated during the mixing process is transferred from the dough, through the material of the mixing bowl, and then into the cooling fluid
Implementation Method 2
A direct expansion refrigeration system introduces refrigerant directly into the refrigeration jacket of a mixer to remove excess heat from the dough being mixed
Data Source
AI summary
A cooling jacket for use with an industrial mixer that includes a bowl sheet, including a first horizontal rail mounted lengthwise across the top portion of the rear section of the bowl sheet; a second horizontal rail mounted lengthwise across the top portion of the front section of the bowl sheet; a plurality of vertical rails mounted on the rear section of the bowl sheet in a staggered pattern; a plurality of vertical rails mounted on the front section of the bowl sheet in a staggered pattern; a plurality of horizontal rails mounted across the bottom edge of the bowl sheet, wherein each rail is mounted between and perpendicular to certain of the vertical rails on the rear and front sections of the bowl sheet; wherein the first and second horizontal rails, vertical rails, and horizontal rails define a first coolant channel on the rear section of the bowl sheet and a second coolant channel of the front surface of the bowl sheet; and a plurality of channel covers mounted to the various vertical rails for enclosing the coolant channels.