DE102010004319B4 - Cavitation cleaning bath - Google Patents

Abstract

Device for cleaning materials, comprising - a housing (4) which can be hermetically sealed with a cover (9), - a shaking vessel (7) which is arranged on vibration damper feet (3) inside the housing (4) and which is filled with a liquid (10 ) can be filled and which surrounds the material (5) to be cleaned, and- two counter-rotating electric external vibrators (2) which interact with the shaking vessel (7) to generate a vertical oscillation of the shaking vessel (7) in such a way that in the liquid (10) or on the floor of the shaker (7) cavities arise.

Description

The present invention relates to a device for cleaning materials using the water hammer effect.

Conventional ultrasonic baths use ultrasonic waves to generate cavitation. With the help of cavitation nuclei, these waves create small bubbles in the water (or another liquid) which expand in the sound field and then rapidly implode. Examples of such ultrasonic baths are in WO 2003/051542 A1 , the DE 42 05 576 A1 , the DE 40 19 996 A1 and the US 2006/0102193 A1 disclosed.

Ultrasonic baths are comparatively small, so that ultrasonic baths cannot be used on an industrial scale. In addition, the cavitation bubbles generated with ultrasonic baths are small and accordingly low in energy, which limits the cleaning effect they generate.

In the article "Stable sonoluminescence within a water hammer tube" by Charkravarty A and others in the Phys Rev E Stat Nonlin Soft Matter Phys. from June 2004 it is shown that with the help of a vertical oscillation cavitation can be generated very efficiently. However, this article does not suggest a device that can be used efficiently on an industrial scale.

The object of the present invention is therefore to propose a device and a method which can be used efficiently on an industrial scale.

This object is achieved with the features specified in claims 1 and 4. Advantageous embodiments are the subject of the subclaims.

• Durch die beiden gegenläufigen Elektroaußenvibratoren 2 wird eine vertikale Schwingung erzeugt. Das Schüttelgefäß 7 wird dabei auf und ab beschleunigt. Das Schütteigefäß 7 befindet sich auf Schwingungsdämpferfüßen 3 und innerhalb eines luftdichten Gehäuses 4 mit Deckel 9 und Vakuumanschluss 8, der zu einer Vakuumpumpe 6 führt. Mit Hilfe der Vakuumpumpe 6 ist es möglich ein Vakuum im Gehäuse zu erzeugen. Die Reinigung des Materials 5 geschieht folgendermaßen: Das Material befindet in einem Korb 1, welcher am Deckel befestigt ist 9 und nicht mitschwingt. Durch das Auf- und Abbewegen des Gefäßes 7 entstehen innerhalb der Flüssigkeit 10 Hohlräume. Die Flüssigkeit wird buchstäblich entweder auseinander gerissen, oder aber es entsteht am Boden des Gefäßes ein Hohlraum. Diese Hohlräume werden wieder geschlossen. Dabei entsteht ein Knall - der so genannte Wasserhammer, welcher auch in Hydrauliksystemen auftritt. Durch diesen Wasserhammer entsteht innerhalb der Flüssigkeit eine Stoßwelle, die wiederum die Kavitation erzeugt. Dies nennt man den Wasserhammereffekt.

This invention is illustrated by the 1 explained in more detail. 1 shows the complete apparatus. It works like this:

• Thanks to the two counter-rotating electric external vibrators 2 a vertical oscillation is generated. The shaker 7th is accelerated up and down. The pouring vessel 7th is located on vibration damper feet 3 and inside an airtight enclosure 4th with lid 9 and vacuum connection 8th leading to a vacuum pump 6th leads. With the help of the vacuum pump 6th it is possible to create a vacuum in the housing. The purification of the material 5 happens as follows: The material is in a basket 1 , which is attached to the lid 9 and does not resonate. By moving the vessel up and down 7th arise within the liquid 10 Cavities. The liquid is literally either torn apart or a cavity is created in the bottom of the vessel. These cavities are closed again. This creates a bang - the so-called water hammer, which also occurs in hydraulic systems. This water hammer creates a shock wave within the liquid, which in turn creates cavitation. This is called the water hammer effect.

The material is cleaned by cavitation.

Ultrasonic baths are used in many areas. Its operating principle is based on the phenomenon of cavitation. These are small gas bubbles that generate strong shock waves when they implosion.

A pressure surge (also known as a water hammer) occurs in a pipeline carrying liquid when a fitting or valve is closed or opened too quickly. The kinetic energy of the liquid column moving in the pipeline causes a very rapid increase in pressure in front of the valve due to its low compression modulus. The same thing happens behind the fitting, only in this case a vapor bubble with low pressure is created while the column of liquid continues to move. At some point, due to the pressure gradient in the pipeline, the liquid column reverses its direction of movement and strikes back into the valve. The valve and the connecting pipes can be destroyed in this process. Similar conditions exist if the valve is opened too quickly.

List of reference symbols

1

basket

2

External electric vibrators

3

Vibration damper feet

4th

Housing (airtight)

5

Materials to be cleaned

6th

Vacuum pump

7th

Pouring vessel

8th

Vacuum connection

9

lid

10

Liquid (water)

Claims (6)

Apparatus for cleaning materials, comprising - a housing (4), which can be closed airtight with a cover (9), - a shaking vessel (7) which is arranged on vibration damper feet (3) and which can be filled with a liquid (10) and which contains the to be cleaned Surrounding material (5), and - two counter-rotating electric external vibrators (2) which interact with the shaking vessel (7) to generate a vertical oscillation of the shaking vessel in such a way that cavities are created in the liquid (10) or at the bottom of the shaking vessel (7). Device according to Claim 1 , characterized in that the device comprises a basket (1) which is attached to the lid (9) and does not oscillate, the material (5) to be cleaned being picked up by the basket (1). Device according to one of the Claims 1 or 2 , characterized in that the housing (4) has a vacuum connection (8) to which a vacuum pump (6) for generating a vacuum in the housing (4) can be connected. Method for cleaning materials with a device according to one of the preceding claims, comprising the following steps: - Bringing the material to be cleaned (5) into the shaking vessel (7), - Filling the shaking vessel (7) with a liquid (10) in such a way that the material (5) to be cleaned is surrounded by the liquid (10), - Airtight sealing of the housing (4) by means of the cover (9), and - Generating a vertical oscillation of the shaking vessel by means of the two counter-rotating electric external vibrators (2) in such a way that cavities are created in the liquid (10) or at the bottom of the shaking vessel (7). Procedure according to Claim 4 , comprising the following step: - arranging the material to be cleaned (5) in the basket (1), which does not resonate. Method according to one of the Claims 4 or 5 , comprising the following step: - connecting the vacuum pump (6) to the vacuum connection (8) of the housing (4), and - generating a vacuum in the housing (4) by means of the vacuum pump (6).

Images