Injection Head Conduit with Tapered Flow Path and Stabilizer Fins
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current injection heads for jet grouting suffer from significant energy and pressure losses due to turbulent flows in the conduit leading to the nozzles, resulting in reduced efficiency and diameter of the consolidating column in soil consolidation.
Innovation Solution
The injection head features a conduit with a progressively decreasing section and stabilizing ridges or fins along its length, optimizing the flow to minimize turbulence and enhance the disintegration effect, allowing for a more efficient and powerful jet of consolidating mixture to be injected into the soil with reduced energy consumption.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of energy
If a cylindrical conduit with constant section is used to feed the cement mixture to the nozzles, then the structure is simple and easy to manufacture, but the flow is subject to sudden orthogonal deviation and large turbulences causing high loss of load and efficiency
Solution Approach 1:
The conduit is designed with a curved configuration instead of a straight cylindrical shape. The curve is optimized to progressively guide the cement mixture flow from the longitudinal axis toward the nozzles, avoiding sudden orthogonal deviations and reducing turbulence-induced energy losses while maintaining manufacturing feasibility
Solution Approach 2:
The conduit cross-sectional area is varied along its length rather than maintaining a constant section. This parameter change optimizes the flow velocity distribution and reduces turbulence by adapting the conduit geometry to the flow requirements at different positions, thereby minimizing loss of load
2Productivity
If the nozzles are oriented perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the monitor, then the injection pattern covers the soil effectively, but the cement mixture is subject to sudden orthogonal deviation causing large turbulences and reduced ejection efficiency
Solution Approach 1:
The curved conduit configuration progressively redirects the cement mixture flow toward the nozzles, allowing the nozzles to maintain their perpendicular orientation for effective soil coverage while the curved path minimizes sudden deviations and turbulence in the flow
Solution Approach 2:
The curved conduit performs preliminary flow conditioning before the cement mixture reaches the nozzles, gradually aligning the flow direction and reducing turbulence intensity in advance, so that the perpendicular nozzle orientation can be maintained without suffering from high energy losses
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 design significantly reduces energy and pressure losses, achieving a more effective soil disintegration and consolidation with a compact, cost-effective structure, capable of operating under various conditions with improved penetrating power and efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
the flow of cement mixture is usually subject to free irregular movements, in particular characterised by large turbulences, which in turn lead to a high loss of load and efficiency in the area of the nozzles
Implementation Method 2
injecting a consolidating mixture under pressure into the soil to be consolidated and treated
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2A~2C
Figure 3A~3C
AI summary
An injection unit (10) for injecting consolidating fluid mixtures under pressure into the soil (T), comprising: - an outer cylindrical body (11); - at least one outlet lateral nozzle (12) defining an injection hole (12a) substantially perpendicular to the axis of the central longitudinal outer cylindrical body (11) and - a conduit (13), for connecting the upper inlet (11a) to the outlet nozzle (12); wherein the conduit (13) has along its axial extent a section progressively decreasing from the upper entrance to the nozzle, so that the fluid mixture (M) which flows along the conduit (13) acquires a progressively increasing speed, and wherein the conduit (13) and the injection hole (12a) of the outlet lateral nozzle (12) have one or more stabiliser ridges or fins (14) which are formed and extend along their surface, from the area of the upper entrance to the outlet of the injection hole, and have the function of stabilising and making laminar the flow of the fluid mixture (M) to enable a high efficiency to the injection head (10) and a high power to the jet emitted by the outlet lateral nozzle (12).