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WO2018076062A1 - Perfectionnements apportés à des agitateurs - Google Patents

Perfectionnements apportés à des agitateurs Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2018076062A1
WO2018076062A1 PCT/AU2017/051179 AU2017051179W WO2018076062A1 WO 2018076062 A1 WO2018076062 A1 WO 2018076062A1 AU 2017051179 W AU2017051179 W AU 2017051179W WO 2018076062 A1 WO2018076062 A1 WO 2018076062A1
Authority
WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
blade
disc
impeller
component
pocket
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Ceased
Application number
PCT/AU2017/051179
Other languages
English (en)
Inventor
Ben Nathan Gablonski
Tobin Giles Robinson
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Berg Engineering Pty Ltd
Original Assignee
Berg Engineering Pty Ltd
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Priority claimed from AU2016904349A external-priority patent/AU2016904349A0/en
Application filed by Berg Engineering Pty Ltd filed Critical Berg Engineering Pty Ltd
Publication of WO2018076062A1 publication Critical patent/WO2018076062A1/fr
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Ceased legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C22—METALLURGY; FERROUS OR NON-FERROUS ALLOYS; TREATMENT OF ALLOYS OR NON-FERROUS METALS
    • C22B—PRODUCTION AND REFINING OF METALS; PRETREATMENT OF RAW MATERIALS
    • C22B3/00—Extraction of metal compounds from ores or concentrates by wet processes
    • C22B3/02—Apparatus therefor
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B01—PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
    • B01F—MIXING, e.g. DISSOLVING, EMULSIFYING OR DISPERSING
    • B01F27/00—Mixers with rotary stirring devices in fixed receptacles; Kneaders
    • B01F27/05—Stirrers
    • B01F27/051—Stirrers characterised by their elements, materials or mechanical properties
    • B01F27/052—Stirrers with replaceable wearing elements; Wearing elements therefor
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B01—PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
    • B01F—MIXING, e.g. DISSOLVING, EMULSIFYING OR DISPERSING
    • B01F27/00—Mixers with rotary stirring devices in fixed receptacles; Kneaders
    • B01F27/05—Stirrers
    • B01F27/11—Stirrers characterised by the configuration of the stirrers
    • B01F27/111—Centrifugal stirrers, i.e. stirrers with radial outlets; Stirrers of the turbine type, e.g. with means to guide the flow
    • B01F27/1111—Centrifugal stirrers, i.e. stirrers with radial outlets; Stirrers of the turbine type, e.g. with means to guide the flow with a flat disc or with a disc-like element equipped with blades, e.g. Rushton turbine
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B01—PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
    • B01F—MIXING, e.g. DISSOLVING, EMULSIFYING OR DISPERSING
    • B01F27/00—Mixers with rotary stirring devices in fixed receptacles; Kneaders
    • B01F27/05—Stirrers
    • B01F27/11—Stirrers characterised by the configuration of the stirrers
    • B01F27/115—Stirrers characterised by the configuration of the stirrers comprising discs or disc-like elements essentially perpendicular to the stirrer shaft axis
    • B01F27/1152—Stirrers characterised by the configuration of the stirrers comprising discs or disc-like elements essentially perpendicular to the stirrer shaft axis with separate elements other than discs fixed on the discs, e.g. vanes fixed on the discs
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B01—PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
    • B01F—MIXING, e.g. DISSOLVING, EMULSIFYING OR DISPERSING
    • B01F27/00—Mixers with rotary stirring devices in fixed receptacles; Kneaders
    • B01F27/23—Mixers with rotary stirring devices in fixed receptacles; Kneaders characterised by the orientation or disposition of the rotor axis
    • B01F27/232—Mixers with rotary stirring devices in fixed receptacles; Kneaders characterised by the orientation or disposition of the rotor axis with two or more rotation axes
    • B01F27/2322—Mixers with rotary stirring devices in fixed receptacles; Kneaders characterised by the orientation or disposition of the rotor axis with two or more rotation axes with parallel axes
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B01—PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
    • B01F—MIXING, e.g. DISSOLVING, EMULSIFYING OR DISPERSING
    • B01F27/00—Mixers with rotary stirring devices in fixed receptacles; Kneaders
    • B01F27/80—Mixers with rotary stirring devices in fixed receptacles; Kneaders with stirrers rotating about a substantially vertical axis
    • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C22—METALLURGY; FERROUS OR NON-FERROUS ALLOYS; TREATMENT OF ALLOYS OR NON-FERROUS METALS
    • C22B—PRODUCTION AND REFINING OF METALS; PRETREATMENT OF RAW MATERIALS
    • C22B11/00—Obtaining noble metals
    • C22B11/04—Obtaining noble metals by wet processes
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
    • Y02P—CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES IN THE PRODUCTION OR PROCESSING OF GOODS
    • Y02P10/00—Technologies related to metal processing
    • Y02P10/20—Recycling

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to agitators.
  • agitators are used in the extraction of metals such as gold from ores.
  • the present invention will therefore be described mainly with reference to this application. However, it is to be clearly understood that this is merely for illustrative purposes, and actually the invention is by no means limited to agitators used in the extraction of gold (or indeed any particular metal or ore).
  • the present invention could therefore find use in a range of other applications as well, including applications where agitators are used but which are different or unrelated to the mineral processing type application referred to for illustrative purposes below.
  • the gold ore exists as a refractory ore such as (or including) pyrite and/or arsenopyrite.
  • Refractory ores including pyrite and arsenopyrite which are sulphide ores, trap/encapsulate extremely fine (often submicron sized) gold particles within them, and this prevents or reduces the effectiveness of cyanidation as a means for gold recovery directly from such ores.
  • These refractory ores must therefore generally be pre-treated, and the purpose of the pre-treatment is to enable adequate gold recovery to be achieved by subsequent cyanidation (i.e. the pre-treatment makes acceptable gold recovery from these ores by later cyanidation possible).
  • the pre-treatment typically involves a pressure oxidation (PO) process.
  • the pressure oxidation pre-treatment typically occurs in an autoclave, where high purity oxygen mixes with an aqueous slurry of the sulphide ore, at high pressure (HP) and elevated temperature.
  • HP high pressure
  • some autoclaves used in practice for the pre-treatment of gold-containing sulphide ores operate at temperatures around 190°C-230°C and pressures around 40 bar (roughly 40 atm).
  • the sulphides are oxidised by high-purity oxygen, and this breaks the sulphides down to a solution phase consisting of metal sulphate compounds and sulphuric acid.
  • the gold locked in the original sulphide material is typically completely liberated, allowing very high gold recovery to be achieved when the product is subsequently treated by cyanidation.
  • the autoclaves in which the above pressure oxidation processes take place are typically large pressure vessels.
  • many autoclaves used in practice for performing the above pre-treatment processing have a capacity of tens, or even hundreds, of cubic metres.
  • the basic processing circuit consists of a feed system to supply ground ore in a slurry to the autoclave.
  • the autoclave or each autoclave if there is more than one
  • the autoclave is divided into a series of compartments, typically by titanium walls which decrease in height towards the autoclave's discharge end.
  • an agitator or there may be multiple or a series of agitators in each compartment to mix, disburse oxygen and facilitate the oxidation reactions.
  • each agitator in the autoclave has (or it includes) an impeller 1.
  • Each impeller 1 is itself mounted on the rotating vertical (drive) shaft 2. Hence, each impeller 1 is driven (i.e. it is rotated) by the rotation of a vertical shaft 2.
  • FIG 1 shows each impeller 1 being mounted at the bottom of the respective vertical shafts 2, the impellers are not necessarily located at the bottom of the shafts. Further, it may be possible to have more than one impeller mounted on each shaft. For example, each shaft may have two impellers mounted to, with one impeller being vertically spaced from the other impeller.
  • the agitator impeller is mounted on, and it is driven/rotated by, a vertical shaft.
  • a central component or "disc” or some other component that performs a similar function, and any such component may hereinafter be considered to be encompassed by the terms “central component” and/or “disc”
  • this "disc” is mounted on the end of the vertical drive shaft, such that the disc therefore becomes oriented generally horizontally relative to the vertical shaft.
  • the individual blades that form the (normally vertically-oriented) blades of the impeller are attached on/near or relative to the circumferential outer/perimeter edge of the disc.
  • the present invention provides an impeller for (or of) an agitator or the like, the impeller including a central component which is operable to rotate when the impeller is in use (the central component may be operable for connection to or with a drive shaft or whatever other component drives the rotation of the impeller), and at least one blade which is initially formed separately from the central component but which is mounted to (normally an outer periphery of) the central component when the impeller is assembled, wherein each blade is mounted to the central component in such a way that, except for the blade itself, when the blade is mounted to the central component, other parts and components involved in mounting the blade to the central component do not create substantially any shaped features which give rise to voids or low-pressure regions in their wake when the impeller spins (the impeller typically spins in only one direction).
  • the central component may (and often will) comprise a substantially circular and generally flat disc.
  • Each blade may have a substantially planar shape with opposing faces on either side, and each blade may be operable to be mounted to the disc such that the plane of the blade is perpendicular to the plane of the disc, or otherwise (e.g. if the disc does not have a single, easily identifiable "plane") such that the plane of the blade is parallel to the disc's axis of rotation. In other embodiments, one or more or each of the blades may be mounted at any angle to the disc.
  • the face on one side of the blade may comprise a first face and the face on the opposing side of the blade may comprise a second face, and the blade may be able to be mounted to the disc such that the first face forms the blade's leading face (sometimes referred to as the high pressure face) when the impeller rotates and the second face forms the blade's trailing face (sometimes referred to as the low pressure face), or such that the second face forms the blade's leading face when the impeller rotates in the first face forms the blade's trailing face.
  • the design will be such that a blade which is initially mounted to the disc in one said orientation can be disconnected and (re-)mounted to the disc in the other said orientation.
  • Each blade may incorporate an at least generally elongate cutout.
  • the said cutout may open through one edge of the blade and the cutout may have opposing sides.
  • the blade may be mounted to the disc by sliding the blade onto the outer edge of the disc such that a portion of the disc becomes located in between the opposing sides of the cutout in the blade (or, in other words, such that one of the opposing sides of the cutout in the blade becomes positioned generally above or on the upper side of the disc, and the other of the opposing sides of the cutout in the blade becomes positioned generally below or on the underside of the disc).
  • the inner end of the cutout or opening may be spaced from an outer edge of the disc when the blade is mounted to the disc.
  • a radially oriented channel may be formed in one or both of an upper (top) and lower (underside) portion or surface of the disc, and when a blade is mounted to the disc at a said location, one of the opposing sides of the cutout in the blade may slide into the (or each) said channel in the disc.
  • a radially oriented channel may be formed in both an upper (top) and lower (underside) portion or surface of the disc, and when a blade is mounted to the disc at a said location, one of the opposing sides of the cutout in the blade may slide into the channel on the upper side of the disc and the other of the opposing sides of the cutout in the blade may slide into the channel on the lower side of the disc.
  • the radially oriented channels may be formed on one side of the disc only.
  • the impeller may further incorporate one or more components operable to be inserted into the pocket for the purpose of securing the blade to the disc.
  • the impeller may incorporate a wedge component and a lock component which are operable to be inserted into the pocket for the purpose of securing the blade to the disc.
  • the blade may first be slid onto the disc, the wedge component may then be inserted into the pocket and slid across within the pocket towards the blade, and the lock component may then be inserted into the pocket behind the wedge component, such that the wedge component secures the blade relative to the disc and the lock component secures the wedge component relative to the disc.
  • At least one of the opposing sides of the cutout in the blade may include a space or opening or recessed portion, and at least a portion of the wedge component may be shaped to engage with or (at least partially) insert into said space or opening or recessed portion to thereby secure the blade relative to the disc when the lock component is fully inserted into the pocket.
  • the lock component may have a threaded hole therein, and there may also be a threaded hole in the disc within the pocket beneath where the lock component becomes positioned.
  • a countersunk bolt may be screwed first into the lock component and then further down into the hole in the disc, such that the lock component becomes bolted firmly to the disc.
  • the lock component becomes more firmly secured to the disc, this may also cause the lock component to push or otherwise urge the wedge component laterally within the pocket toward the blade, thereby causing the wedge component to engage more firmly with the blade which may in turn help to secure the blade.
  • the blade When the blade is fully mounted to the disc, there will preferably be substantially no openings or spaces in between the wedge component, the lock component the countersunk bolt, the blade and the disc. Furthermore, when the blade is fully mounted to the disc, the upper surfaces of the wedge component, the lock component and the counter sunk bolt will preferably be substantially flush with an upper surface of the disc. [0023] When the blade is fully mounted to the disc, a small opening may remain in the blade, the said opening extending fully through the blade (i.e. through its full thickness) and the opening may be located radially outward of the perimeter of the disc.
  • the present invention provides an agitator incorporating an impeller as described above.
  • the present invention provides a central component of an impeller for an agitator or the like, wherein the central component has at least one location where an impeller blade can be mounted thereon, and at each location where a blade can mount to the central component, a radially oriented channel is formed in one or both of an upper (top) and lower (underside) portion or surface of the central component, the said channel(s) being such that a blade having an elongate cutout therein can be slid onto to the central component and one of the sides of the cutout in the blade slides into the (or each) said channel in the central component.
  • the present invention provides a blade as described herein. It will be appreciated that the blades may be sold as separate items to replace worn or damaged blades on the impeller.
  • the blade may have a substantially planar shape with opposing faces on either side, and an at least generally elongate cutout opening through one edge of the blade.
  • the inner end of the cutout may be spaced from an outer edge of the disc when the blade is mounted to the disc.
  • the blade may be formed by machining or by casting.
  • the term "cutout" is used to refer to the shape of the opening in the blade and it does not require that the opening be formed by cutting out or removing material from the blade.
  • the cutout may be formed, for example, by use of a casting mould having the shape of the cutout present therein.
  • Figure 1 Basic schematic illustration of a processing circuit, including the autoclave, used for pressure oxidation pre-treatment of refractory gold ores.
  • Figure 2 Photographic illustration of the destruction, through wear, of the blade component and also the disc of an agitator impeller - photo taken from behind (i.e. on the the rearward side of) the blade shown
  • FIG. 3 Photographic illustration of the destruction, through wear, of the blade component and also the disc of an agitator impeller (the same one as in Figure 3) - photo taken from in front (i.e. on the the forward-facing side) of the blade shown
  • Figure 4 Photographic illustration of the destruction, through wear, of the disc (or the central component that functions as the disc) of an agitator impeller - the (four) agitator blades are not pictured although the damaged regions where they would have been are plainly evident
  • Figure 5 Schematic illustration of the mechanism by which it is thought that potentially damaging voids or regions of low pressure may be formed near (or behind) certain parts or shaped features of an agitator impeller (or parts/components of the impeller)
  • Figure 6 Schematic views (top and underside perspective views) of an agitator impeller disc, in each case with blades attached to the disc, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention
  • Figure 7 Schematic view (top perspective view) of an agitator impeller disc, with blades attached to the disc, in accordance with a slight variant on the embodiment in Figure 6 - specifically a variant having eight blades rather than four - but the way in which the blades attach to the disc is the same
  • Figure 8 Close up view of the arrangement used for attaching (and clamping) each blade to the disc in the embodiments in Figure 6 and Figure 7
  • Figure 9 Close up view, simillar to Figure 8, but from behind the blade and showing an opening that may be present in the blade and the way this may allow angled discharge (or passage of fluid/slurry from in front of the blade and at an angle) into the region behind the blade
  • Figure 10 Wireframe outline of the shape of one of the blades in the embodiment in Figure 6 to Figure 9
  • Figure 1 1 Close up view of one of several such cutouts or indentations (one for each blade) formed in the undersaide of the disc, each of which is configured to assist with directing the flow of oxygen bubbles onto the leading face of the following impeller blade
  • Figure 12 Schematic (close-up and partially cross-sectional) view of another alternative mechanism (i.e. alternative to the embodiment in Figure 6 to Figure 8) for attaching a blade to the central "disc" component of an impeller-like agitator
  • Cavitation is the formation of vapor cavities in a liquid - i.e. small liquid free zones ("bubbles” or “voids") - that are the consequence of forces acting upon the liquid. It usually occurs when a liquid is subjected to rapid changes of pressure that cause the formation of cavities where the pressure is relatively low. When subjected to higher pressure, the voids implode and can generate an intense shock wave.
  • Cavitation is a significant cause of wear in some engineering contexts. Collapsing voids that implode near to a metal surface cause cyclic stress through repeated implosion. This results in surface fatigue of the metal causing a type of wear also called "cavitation". [A] common example of this kind of wear [is] to pump [and other] impellers...
  • cavitation pits increase the turbulence of the fluid flow and creates crevices that act as nucleation sites for additional cavitation bubbles.
  • the pits also increase the components' surface area and leave behind residual stresses. This makes the surface more prone to stress corrosion.
  • Another strategy that is sometimes employed to prevent or reduce cavitation, at least in other applications different to the autoclave pressure oxidation application presently discussed, is to reduce the temperature. This is because vapor pressure in fluids generally increases as temperature increases, and vice versa.
  • reducing temperature as a means for combatting cavitation also may not be possible in the autoclave pressure oxidation application discussed here because, for instance, it may often be that certain of the oxidation (or other chemical) reactions and processes involved may need to operate at or above certain temperatures, or within certain temperature ranges, or they may be temperature sensitive.
  • Figure 5 may be understood to be a cross- sectional view through some part (or a portion of one or more parts) of an impeller disc, e.g. like the disc 8 in Figure 3, or it could be a cross-sectional view through a part such as one of the attachment plates 9b in Figure 3, or it could even be a cross-sectional view through a combination of these parts such as one of the attachment plates 9b and the disc 8 to which it is joined, etc.
  • the grey shaded area in Figure 5 represents the material inside the part (i.e. inside the disc 8, or inside the attachment plate 9b, or inside whatever the depicted part happens to be).
  • FIG. 5 A portion of the outer surface of the said part (whatever it is) is represented in Figure 5 by a thin black line along the edge of the shaded grey region.
  • the curved/wavy lines in Figure 5 (indicated collectively as S) represent the flow of fluid/slurry over or past the outer surface of the depicted part of the agitator impeller within the autoclave.
  • the impeller part (or combination of parts) in Figure 5 has, as part of its overall shape, a raised or protruding portion R.
  • This raised portion R in Figure 5 could be, for example, the head of one of the bolts 9c in Figure 3, in which case the following non-raised or relatively lower or recessed portion L shown in Figure 5 would be the upper surface of the attachment plate 9b though which the bolt extends.
  • the raised portion R in Figure 5 could be a part (the edge) of one of the attachment plates 9b, and in that case the following non-raised or relatively lower or recessed portion L could be the upper surface of the disc 8 on which the attachment plate 9b sits.
  • Figure 5 could also be interpreted as representing a cross-sectional view through some other parts as well. Regardless, the reason it is significant to mention the relatively raised or protruding portion R (whatever it is) is because, if one continues to view Figure 5 using the impeller-fixed reference frame discussed above, then as the slurry flows over the raised portion R (and in particular as it flows over the rearward/downstream edge thereof Ro), the flow must bend or curve so as to move down or inward towards the part in order to then flow along the relatively lower or recessed surface of portion L that follows the raised portion R in the flow direction.
  • the curvature of the lines S in Figure 5 shows generally how the flow is caused/required to curve due to the shape of raised or protruding portion R.
  • Figure 5 may actually be viewed from different perspectives, or in different orientations.
  • Figure 5 can be interpreted as a schematic illustration that is "looking" horizontally into the cross-section of an impeller part, such that the black line represents a portion of the vertically upper surface of the said part, with the slurry S flowing over and along (i.e. above) the said vertically upper surface.
  • Figure 5 can also be interpreted as a schematic illustration that is "looking" vertically down into the cross-section of the impeller, such that the black line represents a horizontally outer or perimeter edge surface of the said impeller part, with the slurry S (located horizontally outward thereof) flowing along and around the outside thereof.
  • Figure 5 could actually also be interpreted as a cross section through impeller part(s) taken in some other plane or orientation.
  • the mechanism depicted in Figure 5 which can lead to the formation of voids or low-pressure regions (and hence potentially to cavitation) can operate in any orientation where a void or low-pressure region is formed on the downstream side of a raised or protruding part or feature. And as a result, it is not just on the vertically upper surface, or on the horizontally outer edge, etc, of the impeller where it is necessarily important to eliminate or reduce parts or shaped features that cause (when the impeller is spinning) a void or low pressure region to be formed behind or near the said part or feature.
  • each blade In order for the blades to operate and function - i.e. in order for them to mix/stir the slurry, disburse the introduced high- purity oxygen and facilitate or promote the oxidation reaction within the autoclave - the blades may or should have (and for the purposes of the present invention each blade is assumed to have) a generally planar configuration with one side/face of the blade pointing forward (the "leading" face) such that this face effectively "strikes” the slurry face-on as the impeller rotates within the autoclave (or in other words the angle of attack of this leading face of the blade is 90° or thereabouts), and each blade also has a rear face which is effectively parallel to the leading face but on the rear/back/downstream/trailing side of the blade.
  • FIG. 6 this Figure contains (on the left) a top perspective view and (on the right) an underside perspective view of an agitator impeller disc, in each case with blades attached to the disc, in accordance with one possible embodiment of the invention.
  • the agitator impeller in this particular embodiment has four blades attached to the central disc.
  • Figure 7 this Figure shows a slightly different embodiment in which the agitator impeller has eight blades. However, the different number of blades (and the consequent difference in the spacing between blades, etc) is the only real difference between the embodiment in Figure 6 and the embodiment in Figure 7.
  • the impeller includes a main central component 100, and just like in conventional agitator impellers used in the autoclave applications presently discussed, the main central component 100 in Figure 6 and Figure 7 takes the form of a round (circular) and substantially flat disc.
  • the disc 100 itself will typically be made from steel or other appropriate metal.
  • the disc may have a diameter ranging from as small as a few centimetres (say 10 or 20 cm) possibly up to a few meters.
  • the present invention may also find use in a range of other applications which are different or unrelated to the presently-discussed autoclave applications. And given that the invention may be used on impellers in a range of other applications, it follows that the size of the impellers may also vary (according to the requirements in the different applications). Thus, the invention is not necessarily limited to impellers of any particular size.
  • the central disc 100 has a large through-hole 102 in the centre as well as a number (in this case eight) of smaller "planet" through-holes 104 arranged at equally-spaced locations around the large central hole 102.
  • These holes 102 and 104 may exist (at least one of their functions may be) to help in facilitating attachment of the disc 100 to an associated drive shaft (not shown) or the like which in turn drives the rotation of the disc 100 (and therefore the rotation of the whole impeller generally).
  • each blade 200 is generally that of a planar, rectangular plate (albeit quite a thick plate made from steel or some other suitable metal).
  • Each blade 200 once it is installed/mounted on the disc 100, has a forward or "leading" face 202 and a rear/back face 204 (see Figure 6).
  • each blade 200 mounted to the disc will be oriented in a substantially vertical manner.
  • each blade is (at least approximately) symmetrical about a hypothetical horizontal centreline C (see Figure 7).
  • This (at least approximate) symmetry allows a given blade to be installed on the disc 100 "either way". In other words, each blade can be installed so that either one of its faces becomes the "leading" face 202, and naturally the opposing face then becomes the rear face 204.
  • the symmetry also means that it is possible for blades to be disconnected/detached from the disc 100, "flipped over" and then reinstalled, so that the face of the blade that was initially/previously the leading face 202 becomes the rear face 204, and vice versa. This will be discussed further below.
  • each of the blades 200 also has an elongate, overall basically U- shaped slot or cutout 300 formed therein (see Figure 7 and Figure 10).
  • the slot 300 actually extends into the blade from one of the blade's short side edges, and the overall slot 300 extends into the blade 200 for approximately half the width of the blade (with the width being the blade's longest dimension).
  • each blade 200 is mounted to the disc 100, basically, by sliding the blade 200 onto the disc 100 such that the disc 100 becomes received between the opposing sides of the slot 300 in the blade.
  • the slot 300 in each blade in this embodiment is not merely a simple, straight-sided U-shape. This can be better appreciated from Figure 10. As can be seen from Figure 10, on each blade 200, the distance between the opposing sides of the slot 300 is widest near the innermost end of the slot (i.e. near the inner end that forms the curved portion of the slot's overall general U-shape). However, in other portions of the slot, closer to the side edge of the blade that the slot 300 opens through, the opposing sides of the slot are generally closer together.
  • the respective opposing sides of the slot 300 are labelled 310 (this will be referred to as the first side) and 320 (this will be referred to as the second side). Note that neither side of the slot 300 is referred to as the upper or lower side. This is because, as mentioned above, the blade 200 can be installed on the disc 100 either way around, in which case either the first side 310 or the second side 320 can become the vertically upper side of the slot when the blade is installed, and the other the lower side, depending on which way around the blade is installed on the disc 100.
  • the guide channels just referred to which are formed in the upper and lower surfaces of the disc, effectively form intended or recessed channels in the respective upper and lower surfaces of the disc that extend into the disc from the disc's outer/perimeter side edge.
  • the width of the respective guide channels is the same as (or very slightly/minimally greater than) the thickness of the blade 200.
  • the depth of each channel, one on either side of the disc at each location where a blade mounts to the disc is somewhat greater than the vertical height of the respective posts 314, 316, 324, 326 on the blade 200.
  • the thickness of the disc 100 in between the opposing channels i.e. the thickness of the material of the disc in between each pair of opposing channels
  • the thickness of the disc 100 in between the opposing channels is the same as (or very slightly/minimally less than) the distance between posts 316 and 326, and between post 314 and 324, respectively, on the blade 200.
  • the inner posts 316 and 326 will also become received in and they too will slide along/within the channels in the disc.
  • the blade 200 will continue to slide inwards onto the disc 100 until the outermost posts 314 and 324 on the blade reach (and collide with) the innermost/terminal ends of the respective channels (i.e. these ends of channels prevent the blade 200 from sliding any further onto the disc 100).
  • each blade is "slid onto" the disc 100 initially.
  • the overall agitator impeller (of which the disc 100 and the various blades 200 all form part) is a fast-rotating device. Accordingly, a means is needed to prevent each blade from simply sliding (or being flung violently) back off the disc by centrifugal force as the disc 100 rotates. This will be discussed below.
  • each blade is secured on the disc (and hence prevented from sliding back off the disc, including when the disc is rotating)
  • this pocket actually connects with and forms a rectangular extension of the channel on the upper side of the disc, extending laterally to one side of the said channel.
  • the pocket is located some distance back in from the outer perimeter edge of the disc.
  • the rectangular pockets which form lateral extensions of each respective channel on the upper surface of the disc are not independently shown or labelled in the Figures, but their configuration and the purpose they serve will be readily understood from the Figures and the discussion below.
  • Each one of the abovementioned pockets is sized and shaped to receive two blade- securing components, namely a wedge component 410 and a lock component 420.
  • a wedge component 410 and a lock component 420 Numerous of these wedge components 410 and lock components 420 (one of each for securing each blade 200 to the disc 100) can be seen in Figure 6 and Figure 7; however the way in which these operate to secure a blade 200 to the disc 100 can be most easily appreciated from Figure 8.
  • the wedge component 410 is first inserted ("dropped") into the then upwardly-open pocket beside the blade in the upper surface of the disc.
  • the wedge component 410 can then be slid laterally within the pocket toward the blade 200, so that the wedge component 410 slides into the above- mentioned channel, and so that at least part of the wedge component 410 moves into the channel underneath the blade. More specifically, the wedge component 410 is sized and shaped such that, not only does it fit snugly between the side edges of the pocket, but also so that when it is then slid across within the pocket so that at least part of it moves into the channel underneath the blade, a portion of the wedge component 410 then inserts snugly (and is received within) the notch 312/322 that exists between the posts 314/324 and 316/326 on the blade.
  • the wedge component 410 inserts into the notch 312 that exists between the posts 314 and 316 on the first side 310 of the blade slot 300, or alternatively into the notch 322 that exists between the posts 324 and 326 on the second side 320 of the blade slot 300, depends on which way around the blade is installed on the disc (and hence whether it is the first side 310 or the second side 320 of the slot 300 that is positioned on the upper side of the disc 100). Regardless, it should be noted that the shape of the respective notches 312 and 322 (i.e. the width of these between their respective posts, and also their depth/height) is configured so as to snugly receive a portion of the wedge component 410.
  • these various parts and features are all shaped and sized such that the said portion of the wedge component 410 does not simply slide easily into the notch (whichever one it is) in the blade, but rather the said portion of the wedge component 410 must be forced into the said notch in the blade (once the blade has already been slid onto the disc).
  • the wedge component 410 may even be provided with one or more angled or sloping portions (not illustrated) the function of which may be to only allow the said portion of the wedge component 410 to insert into the notch in the blade if a sufficient force is applied to "wedge" it in there (hence the name of the wedge component 410).
  • the wedge component 410 is then inserted into the pocket and slid laterally in the pocket, at least so that the said portion of the wedge component 410 touches or comes into light/initial contact with the blade 200 (from above it will be understood that the portion of the wedge component 410 will initially come into contact with a portion of the notch (312 or 322) and/or with one or both of the posts (314/316/324/326).
  • the wedge component 410 When the wedge component 410 has been slid laterally within pocket to at least touch the blade like this, it (the wedge component 410) will then be located at least partly underneath the blade, and consequently it will have moved over laterally within the pocket far enough to leave room for the lock component 420 to then be inserted into the pocket as well, behind the wedge component 410.
  • the amount of room that remains within the pocket, after the wedge component 410 has been slid across into contact with the blade is only just enough to accommodate the lock component 420.
  • the lock component 420 when the lock component 420 is then inserted into the pocket behind the wedge component 410, it (the lock component 420) is snugly received therein, and together the wedge component 410 and the lock component 420 substantially fill the pocket leaving no gaps around the outside, etc.
  • the lock component 420 has a circular hole 422 formed therein.
  • the holes 422 in a number of the other visible lock components 420 can also be made out in other Figures.
  • This hole 422 in each lock component 420 is, in fact, threaded (or at least a portion of it is threaded), and the hole 422 is therefore designed to receive a counter sunk bolt (not shown).
  • the counter sunk bolt (not shown) can then be inserted and screwed into the hole 422.
  • the bolt will initially "screw down” into the lock component 420; however with further rotation the bolt will then also continue down and a portion of it will also screw into the threaded hole in the floor of the pocket.
  • the bolt effectively causes the lock component 420 to be screwed/bolted directly to the main body of the disc 100 itself.
  • the wedge component 410 also remains in contact with the enclosing solid wall of the pocket (which is formed in the upper surface of the disc). Consequently, the wedge component 410 is itself unable to move at all in a radially outward direction, meaning that the blade 200 is secured radially in place on the disc 100.
  • the blade is prevented from rattling around in its mounted location on the disc, partly because the width of the channels into which the blade 200 slides when it is initially slid onto the disc 100 are the same with (or only very slightly wider) than the width of the blade itself, but also because, if the blade is properly secured in place by the wedge component 410 and the lock component 420, the forcible engagement of the wedge component 410 with the blade also helps to hold the blade securely in place (and prevents it from rattling around, etc).
  • the pocket used in securing the blade at that location is formed in the upper surface of the disc on the forward side of the location where the blade will be mounted. This is important because when the impeller spins, the main force that is created on the blade (namely by the leading face of blade contacting and pushing through the slurry ahead of it) tends to push back on the blade, thereby attempting to twist the blade in a direction (or about an axis) as indicated by arrow T in Figure 7.
  • the effect of this is that the inner portion of the blade tends to move forward (or tries to move forward) slightly in the direction of disc rotation, which in turn tends to wedge the blade (and specifically the notch and/or the posts etc) more firmly against the wedge component 410.
  • the innermost portion of the blade slot 300 is the portion that forms the curved end of the slot's overall general U-shape. It was mentioned above that the distance between the opposing sides of the slot (310 and 320) is greatest in this innermost portion of the slot 300. In any case, the significance of this innermost portion of the blade slot 300 is that, even when the blade 200 is slid fully into place on the disc 100 (and even if the blade is secured in place in the manner described above) nevertheless the innermost portion of the blade slot 300 does not come into contact with the outer perimeter edge of the disc 100.
  • the innermost portion of the blade slot 300 creates an opening or hole in between the outermost perimeter edge of the disc 100 and the central body of the blade 200.
  • This hole is labelled with reference numeral 500 in a number of the Figures.
  • the function of the said hole 500 is that, when the agitator impeller is spinning and the blade 200 is consequently moving rapidly through the slurry, this hole 500 allows a small amount of the slurry immediately ahead of the advancing blade to flow through the said hole 500 and into the region immediately behind (i.e. in the wake of) the blade 200 as the blade passes.
  • the purpose of the hole 500 is to (it is hoped) reduce, at least somewhat, the magnitude of the pressure drop that is created by the rapid movement of the blade through the slurry, in the region immediately behind (i.e. in the wake of) the moving blade.
  • this may in turn help to prevent cavitation (or at least reduce the amount or severity of cavitation) in the region behind the blade, which is thought to be a major cause for the damage to the rear of the blade shown for example in Figure 2.
  • each blade and in particular the shape of the blade
  • each blade is (at least approximately) symmetrical about a hypothetical horizontal centreline C (see Figure 7).
  • This symmetry allows a given blade to be installed on the disc 100 "either way” (and the way in which a blade can be installed on the disc either way will now be more fully understood).
  • each blade can be installed so that either one of its faces becomes the "leading" face 202.
  • FIG 12 this figure illustrates an alternative mechanism (i.e. alternative to the embodiment in Figure 6 to Figure 8) for attaching a blade to the central "disc" of an impeller-like agitator.
  • FIG 12 only a single blade 2000 is shown, and only a small portion of the disc 1000 (to which the blade 2000 attaches) is shown.
  • the blade 2000 shown in Figure 12 differs somewhat in shape from the blade 200 in the previous embodiment above. For instance, whereas the blade 200 in the above embodiment had a generally rectangular shape overall, the blade 2000 in Figure 12 has had its inner corners "cut off” to form slightly inwardly tapering inner corners.
  • the slot in the blade 2000 i.e.
  • slots onto the disc 1000 also has a somewhat different configuration, and the innermost region of the slot in the blade 2000 does not leave any space or opening (i.e. nothing equivalent to form a hole like the hole 500 above) which would allow slurry to flow in between the blade and the disc when the impeller is spinning.
  • the slot in the blade 2000 (at least as it is shown in Figure 12) is also not symmetrical about the horizontal centreline of the blade, which means that in this particular embodiment (at least the way it is depicted in Figure 12) the blade cannot simply be detached, flipped and reinstalled the other way around.
  • blade slot in the embodiment in Figure 12 could be easily modified (compared with that shown in Figure 12), specifically to make the slot symmetrical about the blade's horizontal centreline, and this would in turn enable to blade to be "flipped" and used either ways.
  • the embodiment in Figure 12 uses only a single blade-securing component 4000 (this is instead of the two components, namely the wedging component 410 and lock component 420, used in the previous embodiment).
  • the single blade-securing component 4000 is a generally circular cylindrical component; however the upper face of the component 4000 is sloping/angled such that the component 4000 is thicker on one side and thinner on the other.
  • the blade-securing component 4000 is inserted into the circular pocket E in the upper face of the disc 1000, which is designed to receive it. And importantly, in order to allow the blade to be subsequently mounted on the disc, the blade-securing component 4000 should initially be oriented/rotated within the pocket E such that the thinner side of the component 4000 is located in the region where the pocket E cuts into the channel Y. Next, the blade is slid onto the disc in much the same way as in the previous embodiment.
  • the blade 2000 is first positioned adjacent the set of the blade-receiving channels (including channel Y), and the blade 2000 is then slid onto the disc 1000 in such a way that the opposing sides of the slot in the blade insert into the channels on either side of the disc.
  • the blade-securing component 4000 when the blade-securing component 4000 is oriented with its thinner side located in the region where the pocket E cuts into the channel Y, the blade-securing component 4000 does not impede (i.e. no part of it impedes) the blade 2000 from sliding onto the disc 1000.
  • the disc-securing component 4000 is rotated (this can be done by inserting a tool into the hole in the centre of the component and turning it) so that the thicker side of the component 4000 rotates into the region where the pocket E cuts into the channel Y. This in turn causes the thicker side of the blade-securing component to become physically wedged underneath the blade 2000, thereby securing the blade to the disc.

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  • Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
  • Chemical Kinetics & Catalysis (AREA)
  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Manufacturing & Machinery (AREA)
  • Materials Engineering (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Metallurgy (AREA)
  • Organic Chemistry (AREA)
  • Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
  • Environmental & Geological Engineering (AREA)
  • General Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
  • Geochemistry & Mineralogy (AREA)
  • Geology (AREA)
  • Structures Of Non-Positive Displacement Pumps (AREA)

Abstract

L'invention concerne également une turbine pour un agitateur ou similaire. La turbine a un composant central qui peut être actionné pour tourner lorsque la turbine est en cours d'utilisation, et au moins une pale qui est initialement formée séparément du composant central mais qui est montée sur le composant central lorsque la turbine est assemblée. Chaque pale est montée sur le composant central de telle sorte que à l'exception de la pale, d'autres parties et composants impliqués dans le montage de la pale sur le composant central ne créent sensiblement pas de caractéristiques formées qui donnent lieu à des vides ou à des régions à basse pression dans leur sillage lorsque la turbine tourne.
PCT/AU2017/051179 2016-10-26 2017-10-26 Perfectionnements apportés à des agitateurs Ceased WO2018076062A1 (fr)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
AU2016904349 2016-10-26
AU2016904349A AU2016904349A0 (en) 2016-10-26 Improvements to Agitators

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WO2018076062A1 true WO2018076062A1 (fr) 2018-05-03

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Cited By (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
CN109022765A (zh) * 2018-08-22 2018-12-18 贵州大学 一种搅拌浸出槽

Citations (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US5409313A (en) * 1993-01-12 1995-04-25 Funk; James E. Apparatus for high shear mixing of fine powders
US6368381B1 (en) * 1998-03-11 2002-04-09 Placer Dome Technical Services, Ltd. Autoclave using agitator and sparge tube to provide high oxygen transfer rate to metal-containing solutions
US20050170029A1 (en) * 2002-06-10 2005-08-04 Helmut Bacher Device for treating plastic material
CA2977705A1 (fr) * 2015-02-27 2016-09-01 Ekato Ruhr- Und Mischtechnik Gmbh Systeme d'organe d'agitation
US20160296897A1 (en) * 2015-04-13 2016-10-13 Pall Corporation Fluid impeller for bioprocessing

Patent Citations (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US5409313A (en) * 1993-01-12 1995-04-25 Funk; James E. Apparatus for high shear mixing of fine powders
US6368381B1 (en) * 1998-03-11 2002-04-09 Placer Dome Technical Services, Ltd. Autoclave using agitator and sparge tube to provide high oxygen transfer rate to metal-containing solutions
US20050170029A1 (en) * 2002-06-10 2005-08-04 Helmut Bacher Device for treating plastic material
CA2977705A1 (fr) * 2015-02-27 2016-09-01 Ekato Ruhr- Und Mischtechnik Gmbh Systeme d'organe d'agitation
US20160296897A1 (en) * 2015-04-13 2016-10-13 Pall Corporation Fluid impeller for bioprocessing

Cited By (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
CN109022765A (zh) * 2018-08-22 2018-12-18 贵州大学 一种搅拌浸出槽

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