Urea Grease Noise Reduction via Impingement Mixing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current grease manufacturing technologies lack efficient and effective methods for producing greases with low noise characteristics, particularly for deep groove ball bearings, due to the absence of standardized testing protocols and the presence of contaminants, which affects bearing vibration and life.
Innovation Solution
A method involving high pressure and high flow rate impingement for mixing and reacting an amine/lubricating base oil mixture with an isocyanate/lubricating base oil mixture in a reaction injection molding device, resulting in a urea-based thickener dispersion throughout the grease, reducing noise properties.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If traditional batch processing methods are used for grease manufacturing, then the process is simple and easy to operate, but the grease contains contaminants and has poor noise characteristics
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces traditional mechanical batch mixing processes with a chemical reaction injection molding system that uses controlled chemical reactions to form thickeners in situ, eliminating the need for complex mechanical mixing equipment and reducing contamination while improving noise characteristics
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the manufacturing parameters by controlling temperature, pressure, and reaction conditions in the injection molding process to achieve uniform thickener formation and eliminate contaminants, thereby improving grease noise characteristics without requiring complex post-processing equipment
2Productivity
If traditional batch processing methods are used for grease manufacturing, then the equipment is simple, but the manufacturing efficiency is low
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements continuous injection molding processing where grease components are continuously injected, reacted, and formed into final products, eliminating the batch-to-batch interruptions of traditional methods and significantly improving manufacturing efficiency while maintaining operational simplicity
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges multiple manufacturing steps (mixing, thickening agent formation, and grease production) into a single integrated injection molding process, improving efficiency by eliminating intermediate steps while keeping the overall system simple and easy to manufacture
3Manufacturing precision
If high pressure and high flow rate impingement is used for mixing and reacting, then the mixing efficiency and dispersion are improved, but the equipment complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses periodic high-pressure injection cycles that create controlled impingement flows, achieving uniform thickener dispersion through repeated pressure pulses rather than continuous complex mixing, thereby maintaining equipment simplicity while improving manufacturing precision
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 process achieves a low noise grease with excellent dispersion of the urea thickener, reducing noise characteristics and improving mechanical stability, as evidenced by anderonmeter values and microscope images, while being more efficient than traditional batch methods.
Implementation Method 1
mixing and reacting an amine/lubricating base oil mixture with an isocyanate/lubricating base oil mixture... to form the urea based thickener
Implementation Method 2
high pressure and high flow rate impingement for effecting the mixing... forcing streams of reagents toward one another at high flow rates
Data Source
AI summary
Provided is a method for preparing a grease composition, which comprises mixing an amine in a lubricating bas oil and an isocyanate in a lubricating base oil under high pressure and high flow rate impingement. In one embodiment, the mixing and reaction occurs in a reaction injection molding device. The resulting grease composition is an extremely low noise grease, being virtually clear of any urea thickener particles.