Steam Injection Biscuit Element Reduces Vibration and Erosion
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing direct steam injection systems for heating liquids face issues with vibration, erosion, and instability, particularly at high steam pressures, leading to inefficiencies and increased maintenance costs, especially in applications like mining operations.
Innovation Solution
A modular static mixing system with a cylindrically-shaped primary conduit and a secondary conduit injecting steam through microtubes within a biscuit element, designed to minimize vibration and erosion, featuring removable microtubes for easy cleaning and replacement, and an optional supplemental mixing element for enhanced mixing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Use of energy by moving object
If direct steam injection is used to heat liquids, then heating efficiency is improved (nearly 100% BTU absorption), but vibration and erosion problems occur particularly at high steam pressures
Solution Approach 1:
The steam injection system is segmented into multiple injection points along the conduit rather than a single injection point. This distributes the steam injection locations, reducing localized vibration and erosion while maintaining high heating efficiency. The segmented approach allows steam to be injected at multiple locations along the fluid stream path.
Solution Approach 2:
Different sections of the conduit are equipped with steam injection capabilities based on local heating requirements. The system provides non-uniform steam distribution tailored to specific zones, allowing optimized heating efficiency in each section while reducing overall vibration and erosion through localized injection rather than concentrated high-pressure injection at a single point.
2Temperature
If steam injection pressure is increased to improve heating efficiency, then temperature control precision is improved, but water hammer effect worsens due to sudden collapse of large steam bubbles
Solution Approach 1:
The steam injection system divides the steam delivery into multiple smaller injection points distributed along the conduit. This segmentation creates numerous small steam bubbles instead of large bubbles, which reduces the water hammer effect when they collapse, while still achieving precise temperature control through distributed heating along the fluid stream.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the physical parameters of steam injection by using multiple small injection points rather than one large injection point. This parameter change transforms the bubble size distribution, creating many small bubbles that collapse more gently, thereby reducing water hammer while maintaining the ability to precisely control temperature through regulated steam flow at each injection point.
3Device complexity
If static mixing elements are used for steam injection, then device complexity is reduced (no moving parts), but maintenance difficulty increases when servicing is required
Solution Approach 1:
The static mixing element is segmented into multiple removable sections or modules that can be accessed and serviced independently. This segmentation allows maintenance personnel to access specific injection points or sections of the mixing element without shutting down the entire system or performing complex disassembly, thus maintaining simplicity while improving maintenance accessibility.
4Productivity
If steam injection is used to heat mining effluent, then productivity is improved through efficient solvent removal, but erosion of critical elements worsens
Solution Approach 1:
The steam injection system for mining effluent treatment uses multiple distributed injection points along the conduit, which segments the high-velocity steam impact across many locations rather than concentrating it at one point. This reduces erosion of critical elements while maintaining high productivity through efficient and distributed heating that accelerates solvent removal from the effluent.
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 system effectively reduces vibration and erosion, improving mixing efficiency and wear resistance, allowing for precise temperature control and reduced maintenance costs by distributing steam evenly across multiple openings, thus enhancing the reliability and cost-effectiveness of steam injection processes.
Implementation Method 1
A biscuit element is provided having upstream and downstream circular faces of diameters approximately that of the primary conduit's interior wall and having a geometric center coincident with the longitudinal axis and further having a plurality of openings through the biscuit each having a longitudinal axis substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the primary conduit and each of the openings having located therein a plurality of microtubes such that steam passing through the secondary conduit and fluid passing through the primary conduit pass through the microtubes and are mixed thereby
Implementation Method 2
At high steam pressures, however, water hammer develops due to the sudden collapse of relatively large steam bubbles which are created at high pressures as it condenses within the water
Implementation Method 3
Direct steam injection has long been recognized as an exceedingly efficient technique for heating liquids. As steam is injected directly into a liquid, one can realize almost 100 percent of the BTU's in the steam which are absorbed directly into the liquid
Data Source
AI summary
A device for the injection and mixing of steam into a fluid stream. The device includes a cylindrically-shaped primary conduit having a longitudinal axis and circular cross-section for carrying the fluid stream. The primary conduit is provided with an inlet for accepting the fluid stream and an outlet for discharging the fluid stream along the longitudinal axis. A secondary conduit is joined to the primary conduit for discharging steam within the fluid stream along the longitudinal axis. A biscuit element is provided having upstream and downstream circular faces of diameters approximately that of the primary conduit's interior wall and having a geometric center coincident with the longitudinal axis and further having a plurality of openings through the biscuit each having a longitudinal axis substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the primary conduit and each of the openings having located therein a plurality of microtubes such that steam passing through the secondary conduit and fluid passing through the primary conduit pass through the microtubes and are mixed thereby.