Multi-Stage Stirring Dispersion Device for Fiber Materials
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
In dry-type sheet manufacturing apparatuses, lumps of defibrated material can lead to inefficient dispersion and clogging, resulting in decreased processing efficiency and apparatus failures.
Innovation Solution
A dispersion device with a supply pipe, first and second stirring sections, and a coupling section that communicates between them, designed to effectively loosen and disperse the defibrated material by using multiple stages of stirring and airflow to prevent clogging.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If a single stirring section is used to disperse defibrated material, then the device complexity is reduced, but the dispersion efficiency decreases and clogging occurs due to insufficient loosening of lumps
Solution Approach 1:
The dispersion device is divided into multiple stirring sections (first stirring section, second stirring section, third stirring section) that sequentially process the defibrated material. Each section performs a specific stirring function with different blade configurations, allowing progressive loosening of lumps and efficient dispersion without requiring excessive complexity in a single section.
2Loss of time
If high-speed stirring is applied to loosen large lumps quickly, then processing time is reduced, but the material becomes unevenly dispersed and clogging increases
Solution Approach 1:
The first stirring section performs preliminary loosening of large lumps using wide-spaced blades before the material enters subsequent stirring sections. This preliminary action breaks down major aggregates without causing excessive speed that would lead to uneven dispersion, allowing later sections to refine the dispersion uniformly.
Solution Approach 2:
Different stirring sections operate with different blade configurations and spacing adapted to the material state at each stage. The first section uses wider spacing for initial loosening, while subsequent sections use progressively different configurations for refined dispersion, dynamically matching the processing needs at each stage.
3Productivity
If multiple stirring sections are added to improve dispersion, then dispersion efficiency increases, but the device complexity and manufacturing cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple stirring sections are merged into a single integrated device with a common housing and sequential processing path. The first, second, and third stirring sections are arranged in series within one device, sharing structural components and processing the material in a unified flow, which achieves high dispersion efficiency while controlling overall device complexity.
4Reliability
If intensive stirring is applied to prevent clogging, then reliability improves, but energy consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The clogging prevention function is segmented across multiple stirring sections rather than concentrated in one high-energy section. Each section contributes to loosening and dispersing at different stages, distributing the energy requirement across several lower-power units while maintaining effective clogging prevention through cumulative action.
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 ensures efficient dispersion and accumulation of the material, preventing clogging and enhancing processing efficiency by achieving uniform and homogeneous material distribution.
Implementation Method 1
a supply pipe for supplying a material containing fibers together with air
Implementation Method 2
a first stirring section having a first chamber for stirring the material supplied from the supply pipe
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
There is provided a dispersion device including: a supply pipe for supplying a material containing fibers together with air; a first stirring section having a first chamber for stirring the material supplied from the supply pipe; a second stirring section that has a second chamber formed with a discharge port for discharging the material, stirs the material in the second chamber, and discharges the material from the discharge port; and a coupling section having a communication port through which the first chamber communicates with the second chamber.