GB2085321A

GB2085321A - The propulsion of fluent material

Info

Publication number: GB2085321A
Application number: GB8030984A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1980-09-25
Filing date: 1980-09-25
Publication date: 1982-04-28

Abstract

Fluent material is introduced into the smaller end of a narrow, outwardly tapering passage 66 of annular cross- section, the walls of which are rotating relatively to each other. The material is propelled along the passage and allowed to escape at the larger end, in a fan-shaped spray. The components of twin-component settable material are fed separately to the passage through ducts and 30,31 and are mixed either immediately before or after entering the passage. Means 52,60 is provided for proportioning the components of the mixture, and means may be provided for traversing apparatus through a pipe to project the spray of material on to the inner wall of the pipe to form a lining. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION The propulsion of fluent material The invention is concerned with the propulsion of fluent material, which may be either liquid or bodies of particulate material the internal friction of which is low enough for them to behave like a liquid. The term "propulsion" is used generically to cover numerous purposes for which the invention may be used and is intended to cater for movement imposed on the fluent body by pressure upon it, or by subjecting it to negative pressure, to drive or draw it along a prescribed path.

The primary object of the invention is to provide a method of propelling the material, and means to make use of the method, which are effective in operation and inexpensive to carry out and to make.

A subsidiary object is to provide an efficient means to project an annular spray of the fluent material, and, as a special case, to mix multi-component settable compounds and to project the mixture on to a receiving surface such as the inner surface of a pipe, as an alternative to the conventional methods of lining pipes.

According to the invention, a method of propelling the fluent material consists of introducing it into the smaller end of a narrow, tapering passage of annular cross-section, the walls of which are rotating relativelyto each other, and allowing the material to escape at the larger end of the passage.

Further according to the invention, the material consists of the components of a twin-component settable material, each of the components being introduced separately into a mixing chamber and thence into the passage.

Apparatus to carry out the larger method of the invention consists of a body having a conical or conoidal cavity in it, a complemental body located in the cavity, means to hold the two bodies co-axial and with their juxtaposed surfaces spaced apart to provided a narrow, tapering, annular passage; means to rotate the bodies relatively to each other, and means to introduce fluent material into the smaller end of the passage.

Further according to the invention, the inner body has at least one duct extending to the base of the cavity, and means to introduce fluent material into the or each duct. If the components of a twincomponent settable material are to be propelled, there are two ducts and means to introduce one component into one of the ducts and the other into the second duct.

Also according to the invention, the inner body is held apartfrom the base of the cavity to form a chamber open to the annular passage. The chamber may accommodate means to mix material entering it, and also means to vary the input to the passage of either or both of the twin components to vary the ratio of one to the other in the mixture.

Two embodiments of apparatus in accordance with the invention are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure lisa side view partly in section of the first embodiment, the apparatus being symmetrical about the centre line C - C.

Figure 2 is a similar view, but wholly in section, of the second embodiment, Figure 3 is a perspective view of a proportioning plate, Figure 4 is a front view of a face plate associated with the proportioning plate, and Figure 5 is a schematic view of the apparatus of Figure 3 in use to line a pipe.

In Figure 1 of the drawing, the machine is shown as having an outer, cylindrical body having an axial bore within which is mounted in bearings 12 a shaft 14. The shaft is driven by any suitable means, which is not illustrated. The rear, or right-hand end, of the body has a head 16 axial with it and screwed on to it, so that it can be demounted. The head has a flared cavity 18 in which is located a roughly complementally flared hub 20 which is mounted on the shaft 14.

The head and the hub define between them a flared passage 22 that is wide enough at its smaller end to constitute a mixing chamber 24 and which narrows to form a tapered passage 26 the mouth of which is open between the front end of the head and the adjacent part of the hub, and is directed outwardly in the direction of the arrow 28, in other words with a predominantly lateral direction component.

A duct 30 extends longitudinally in the thickness of the body 10. At its forward, or left-hand end, it is adapted to receive a coupler 32 of some sort that connects it to a pipe that conveys fluent material into the duct. The rear end of the duct communicates with the mixing chamber 24.

There is, or may be, a second duct in the body, also communicating with the mixing chamber and which is also adapted to receive fluent material and convey it to the chamber.

The purpose of the particular embodiment illustrated is to convey two components which are to be mixed in the chamber 24, and to propel the mixture radially outwards on to a cylindrical surface. In order to promote intimate mixing, for instance of epoxy resin-hardener lining material for a pipe, the mixing chamber has vanes 34 extending into the chamber.

The vanes may be shaped as guide vanes to accelerate the material in its travel through the chamber.

In use, the material is pumped into the or each duct 30. The shaft is rotated for the inner wsll of the flare passage 26to spin while the outer wall remains stationary. If the fluent material consists of two components that are to be mixed, they enter the mixing chamber, and the vanes 36 act on them to produce an intimate mixture, which passes into the passage, in which the mixture is whirled around and is propelled out of the passage by on to a circumferential wall. This may be the inside of a pipe which is to be lined with the settable material. The narrowing of the passage constitutes a venturi which causes the material to be pressurised to leave the passage in a concentrated fan-like spray.

In order to use the machine to form a continuous lining along the length of the pipe, the machine is fitted with wheels 36 mounted on pivoted arms 38.

The radial projection of the arms is adjustable by means of sector plates 40 having an arc of holes 42 into any of which a pin 44 on the arm can be fixed.

Only two of the wheels need be so fixed: the other arm may be mechanically coupled with them. The arms are projected for the wheels to run on the inside of the pipe and so ensure that, when the machine is drawn along the length of the pipe, as it can be by any means such as a cable on a windlass, it remains co-axial with the pipe.

The adjustability of the arms enables the machine to be used in pipes of different sizes. It is propelled at a predetermined speed such that the lining material flung out of the passage 26 forms a layer of uniform thickness and of the desired thickness on the wall.

The machine is moving always in advance of the lining material, so that it does not disturb the lining as it is formed.

if the material to be propelled needs no mixing, the chamber becomes merely a antechamber to the passage 26; but even in this case, it is desirable to include the vanes.

In the embodiment illustrated in Figures 2, 3 and 4, the body 10 has a co-axial tapered bore 46 that accommodates a complemental frusto-conical body 48. The cone 48 is axially bored to receive a bush 50, and, inside the bush, journalled in bearings 12 (of which only one is shown), is the shaft 14. Ducts 30 and 31 are provided in cone, parallel with its axis diametrically opposed but at different radial distances. To the blunt nose of the cone 48 is fixed a proportioning plate 52 (Figure 3) with two pairs of holes 54, 56. The pair 54 is at the same radial distance as the duct 30 and the other pair 56 at the same radial distance as the duct 31.

This arrangement permits the plate to be adjusted angularly to vary the area of the mouths of the ducts 30,31 left uncovered by the plate and thus to proportion the amounts of material flowing from the two ducts through the holes 54 and 56. As will be seen in Figure 3, the pair 54 is spaced apart more closely than is the pair 56, so that any desired proportion can be achieved. The plates are clamped in adjusted position. This is done by the use of screws passed through arcuate slots 58 in the plate.

A face plate 60 is secured to the base of the bore in the body 10. This plate has two holes 62, 64, one or both of which may be slotted, one at the radial distance of the holes 54 and the duct 30, and the other at the radial distance of the holes 56 and the duct 31.

In an alternative construction, the holes 62, 64 are round and a screw 65, with a locknut, is provided in respect of one or each hole. By screwing the screw into the hole to a greater or lesser extent, the effective volume of the pocket, provided in the thickness of the plate by the hole, is varied to vary the proportions of the components.

The assembly is held together by a nut 65 on the end of the reduced end of the shaft 14, with the opposed surfaces of the bore in the body 10 and the cone 48 spaced apart to leave an annular tapering passage 66.

In use, the cone 48 is stationary and the body 10 spins around it when the shaft is rotated.

One of the components of the mixture is introduced into the duct 30 and the other into the duct 31, by means of pipes communicating with the upstream ends of the ducts and into which the components are pumped. From the ducts, the components pass through the holes 54, 56 in the proportioning plate 52. As the face plate 60 rotates, its holes 62, 64 come into communication with the holes 54 and 56 and pick up from them quanta of material that lodge in the pockets 68 defined by the holes in the plate. Each quantum is carried round until its pocket comes into communication with a recess 70 or 72 in the proportioning plate 52, when it is flung from the pocket into the recess and thence, since the recesses are in communication with the annular passage 66, into the passage.

Within the passage, the rotation of the body 10 around the cone 48 propels the components, which have entered the passage separately, along towards the mouth of the passage. During their transit through the passage they are intimately mixed together by the wiping action of the rotating wall of the passage against the stationary wall, and they leave the passage well mixed and are flung outwardly by centrifugal force on to whatever surface is to receive them, in the particular case under consideration, the inside of a pipe.

In Figure 5, the spraying head, be it that of Figure 1 or of Figure 2, is shown as located at the end of a boom 74 that projects from a wheeled carriage 76 on rails 78. The carriage has mounted on it the equipment necessary to rotate the shaft 14, and containers 80 to supply the material to be fed to the head. The boom is located within the cavity of the pipe 82 to be lined, which is mounted on trestles 84.

The boom is used to house pipes carrying not only the components of the mix, but also ancillary pipes for instance hot water or steam pipes to heat the spray head and maintain it at optimum temperature.

While, in the illustrated machines, it is contemplated that the material to be propelled is pumped into the duct, and propelled as a fan-like spray, which, alternatively to the pipe lining operation, could be an irrigation or insecticide spray, the machine is susceptible of use as a pump, because, if the duct 32 is put into communication with a source of fluent material, the acceleration imposed on the material by the whirling passage will draw material from the source into the machine, since the material constitutes a plug that excludes the entry of air into the outer end of the passage. The machines illustrated have the virtue of easy cleaning and maintenance. Especially when the material being propelled is settable, it is essential that the chamber 24, the vanes 3 and the passage 18,26,66 be cleaned out when the operation has ended. To this end, a solvent or scouring substance may be passed through the machine. In the machine of Figure 1, the machine may be disassembled for cleaning by demounting the head 16. To enable this to be done, the vanes 34 are discontinuous circumferentially, and are staggered so that the vanes on the head pass through gaps in the vanes on the body.

In the embodiment of Figure 2, no mixing of components takes place until they have entered the annular passage 66. When the supply of components to the machine is halted, the contents of the passage are expelled centrifugally, and, since they act as a plug, material in the ducts 30,31, is drawn into and along the passage and flung from it.

Effectively, therefore, there is no need to scour the machine after use, but it can be dismantled by unscrewing the nut 65 and withdrawing the cone from the body.

Claims

1. A method of propelling a fluent material which consists in introducing it into the smaller end of a narrow, tapering passage of annular cross-section, the walls of which are rotating relatively to each other, and allowing the material to escape from the larger end of the passage.

2. The method of Claim 1 in which the material consists of the components of a twin-component settable material, each of the components being introduced separately into a mixing chamber and thence into the passage.

3. The method of Claim 1 in which the material consists of the components of a twin-component settable material each of the components being introduced separately into the smaller end of the passage and being mixed in their transit through the passage.

4. A method of lining the inner surface of a pipe which consists in propelling fluent material, as claimed in any of the above claims, within the inside of the pipe to be lined, while causing the pipe and the body providing the passage to move relatively to each other for the body to traverse the length of the pipe.

5. Apparatus to carry out the method of any of Claims 1 or 2, comprising an outer body having a tapered cavity in it, a conical body located in the cavity, means to hold the two bodies coaxial and with their surfaces spaced apart to provide a tapering annular passage between them, means to rotate the bodies relatively to each other about a common axis, and means to introduce fluent material into the narrow end of the tapered passage.

6. Apparatus as claimed in Claim 5 in which the passage narrows towards the larger end.

7. Apparatus as claimed in either of Claims 4 or 5, in which the bodies are held spaced apart axially to provide a chamber between them communicating with the smaller end of the passage.

8. Apparatus as claimed in Claim 7 in which vanes are provided within the chamber.

9. Apparatus as claimed in Claim 8 in which the vanes are shaped to propel material in the chamber into the passage.

10. Apparatus as claimed in any of Claims 5 to 9 including at least one duct in one or other of the bodies communicating with the passage or the chamber, and including means to introduce material into the duct or ducts.

11. Apparatus as claimed in any of claims 5 - 10 in which the conical body is mounted for rotation within the outer body and the duct or ducts are provided in the outer body.

12. Apparatus as claimed in Claim 10 in which the outer body is mounted for rotation around the conical body and the duct or ducts is or are provided in the conical body.

13. Apparatus as claimed in Claim 12, with two ducts, means to feed the component of a twin component material into the ducts, one into each, and means to adjust the proportions of the components passing through the ducts.

14. Apparatus as claimed in Claim 13 in which the adjusting means consists of two juxtaposed plates, one fast with the outer body and the other with the conical body, the plates having apertures that register intermittently during relative rotation of the bodies, to pass components through one plate into the other and thence to the passage.

15. Apparatus as claimed in Claim 14 having means to vary the degree of registration of the apertures.

16. Apparatus as claimed in Claim 14 in which the holes in the plate fast with the outer body form pockets to receive quota of components and means is provided to vary the effective volume of at least one of the pockets.

17. Pipe-lining equipment consisting of means to mount the pipe, and means to cause apparatus as claimed in any of the Claims 5 to 16to traverse the cavity of the pipe.

18. The equipment of Claim 17 in which the outer body of the apparatus is provided with wheels adapted to run on the inner surface of the pipe, and means to adjust the radial projection of the wheels.

19. The equipment of Claim 17 including a wheeled carriage, rails on which it runs, means to drive it along the rails, a boom projecting from the carriage and on which the apparatus is mounted, and means to propel fluent material along pipes to the apparatus.

20. The equipment of Claim 19 in which the pipes conveying the material are housed within the boom.

21. The equipment of Claim 19 or 20 in which the boom houses pipes conveying heating fluid to the apparatus.

22. Methods of propelling fluent material, substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

23. Apparatus for propelling fluent material, illustrated as herein described with reference to Figure 1 of the drawings.

24. Apparatus for propelling fluent material, illustrated as herein described with reference to Figure 2 of the drawings.

25. Pipe-lining equipment substantially as herein described with reference to Figure 5 of the accompanying drawings.