JPH0130558B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an apparatus for use during an aeration process. More specifically, the present invention relates to a device for preventing swirling in aerated materials.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In the biological purification of wastewater containing organic solids, deposits are formed within which very hard and anaerobic zones occur. This leads to the formation of foul odors and deposits. Dissolved oxygen is required to prevent the formation of these odors and to biologically destroy organic matter in the water. Moreover, some amount of dissolved oxygen is required to support various aqueous microorganisms. It is also necessary to increase the dissolved oxygen content of other materials such as sludge.

Aeration equipment increases the dissolved oxygen content of the material being treated,
It is thereby used to refine it. One type of aerator is a propeller-type suction aerator. These devices use an electric motor-driven rotating propeller placed below the surface of the material being processed. The propeller draws outside air from the inlet through the communication tube and expels it into the material.

As is likely to happen with subsurface propeller-type devices, vortices are created. In connection with aeration equipment, vortices are undesirable as they reduce the speed and efficiency of the operation. To overcome this problem, vortex shields have been developed for aeration. These shields prevent the formation of vortices adjacent to the propeller in the material in which the propeller is being driven. In prior art implementations of vortex shields, the shield is rigidly fixed to the aerator such that it is partially above the aeration propeller when the aerator is in operation. These shields are either flat or curved around the aerator axis.

These previously known devices have a number of drawbacks, all of which are alleviated and eliminated by the present invention. A rigidly fixed vortex shield traps substances suspended in the water. Because these shields are placed below the surface of the water, it is difficult, if not impossible, to determine problems with the shields. These shields also cannot eliminate all the vortices that are created. Often, vortices form in non-vertical directions and escape the vortex shield. Also, when the vortex escapes the shield, it sometimes vibrates and tears the shield. The movable vortex shield disclosed below solves these problems.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is directed to a movable vortex shield that contacts and removes vortices created by an aeration system. The shield floats above the surface of the material to be aerated and is connected to a support structure by a flexible elongate member that connects the shield to a defined area of the aerated material above the aerator propeller. The object is to float over a wide range of areas. In this way, the shield plate follows the vortex until it intercepts the vortex and annihilates it.

For example, propeller aerators start from 1/2 horsepower.
Can be in the magnitude range of 100 horsepower. As the size of the aerator increases, the dimensions of its support system increase as well. The present invention preferably uses conventional shield supports and aerator supports, so the type of shield support depends on the aerator dimensions. The type of support system also depends on the type and dimensions of the container for the material to be aerated (e.g., basin, oxidation basin,
or tank). In a preferred embodiment, the support system for the vortex shield plate consists of a slightly modified form of the basic aerator support system. For smaller aerators, additional support members may be used to center the vortex shield above the aerator's propeller. For larger applications, the vortex shield mounting members can be mounted directly to the aerator's vertical and/or horizontal supports without modification.

The movability of the shield eliminates all vortices, not just those that form directly above the aerator propeller. Because the shield floats above the aerated material surface, it does not trap suspended material and cause it to accumulate near the aerator propeller. Nor is there any problem hidden from observation. Finally, because the shield is bendably attached to the framework, no vortices can vibrate the shield and tear it from the tether. Also, any vibrations will not have any adverse effect on the performance of the aerator since the shield plate is not coupled to the aerator.

Various advantages and features of novelty which characterize the invention are further pointed out in the claims. However, for a better understanding of the invention and its advantages, reference should be made to the accompanying drawings and description that illustrate and describe embodiments of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Referring in detail to the drawings, in which like numerals indicate like elements, FIG. 1 shows an apparatus according to the invention. A propeller-type aspirator aerator 10 is attached to a support system 12.
Aerator 10 is attached to outer housing 16. Motor 14 is drivingly coupled to a tube 18 extending through the interior of housing 16 and from its lower end. When motor 14 rotates tube 18, propeller 20
drives the liquid around it, thereby drawing air down the tube 18 and into the liquid. Aerator 10, depicted in FIG. 1, is a relatively small aerator, e.g. 2 to 7 1/2
It is a horsepower aerator.

The support system 12 is a floating type system, with a pair of floats 22 floating above the liquid being aerated. Float 22 functions as a vertical support, ie, provides support in a vertical direction above the liquid surface. A pair of horizontal support rods 24 are connected to the float 22 by mounting rods 26 supported in rod receivers 28 on the top surface of the float 22. Support bar 24 extends horizontally between floats 22 and serves as a first horizontal support that positions aerator 10 at a desired horizontal position (preferably centrally) between floats 22 . Another pair of support rods 26 extend perpendicularly from rod 24;
It functions as a second horizontal support that positions the vortex shield plate 30 at a desired horizontal position above the propeller 20. The vortex shield 30 should be of lightweight construction so that it floats above the overlying aerated material. Low density polypropylene is recommended. The vortex shield plate 30 is flexibly attached to the support 26 by four flexible attachment members 32, such as chains, attached at both ends to the shield plate and to the support bar 26. It is being Support rod 2
6 places the center of the vortex shield plate 30 above the propeller of the aerator 10.

The vortex shield 30 prevents the formation of vortices in the material being aerated adjacent to the propeller 20. As the shielding plate 30 floats above the surface of the aerated material, it is attracted to the forming vortex. This is because the vortices pull the shielding plate 30 towards itself along with other materials in the vicinity. When the shield plate 30 comes into contact with the vortex, the shield plate dissipates the vortex. Since the shielding plate 30 is not rigidly attached to the aerator, it freely follows the vortex. Rather, the shield plate is flexibly attached to the support system 12 by a flexible attachment member of sufficient length to cover an area large enough to shield any vortices generated by the propeller. It is designed so that it can float. When in contact with the vortex, the shielding plate 30 does not vibrate and/or damage the aerator 10 because it is not rigidly fixed to the aerator 10.

The remaining figures depict vortex shields used with different types of support systems and/or different sizes of aerators. Common elements of the support system and the aerator are fixed with the same numbers, and the vortex shields are identified with the same numbers and subscripts.

2 and 4 show a medium sized aerator, for example 10 to 30 horsepower, supported on a floating support system 12. FIGS. As shown in FIG. 4, three floats 22 are used. For the installation of the aerator relative to the support system 12, the vortex shield plate 30
Support rod 26 that positions A above the propeller 20
It is not necessary to use a second horizontal support. The shielding plate 30 is supported by flexible mounting members 32, two of which are attached to one of the horizontal support bars 24, and two of which are attached to a float consisting of a vertical support for the support system 12. 22 and is secured directly to one of the mounting rod receivers 28 on top of the mounting rod 22.
The function and features of the vortex shield plate 30A remain the same.

3 and 5 depict a large size, eg 40 to 100 horsepower, aerator 10 supported on a floating support system 12. In this embodiment,
The vertical support consists of floats to accommodate large aerators. As seen in FIG. 5, five floats are used to support the large size aerator 10. In this embodiment, all of the flexible mounting members 32 supporting the vortex shield plate 30B are connected directly to mounting rod receptacles 28 on the float 22.

FIG. 6 depicts a medium sized aerator 10 supported on a wall mount support system 40 rather than a floating system.
In this configuration, the vertical support consists of a vertically extending frame 42 attached to the wall 44 of the aeration tank. The horizontal supports include a pair of horizontally oriented support bars 46 (one of which is shown in FIG. 6) that are oriented parallel to, rather than perpendicular to, the axis of the aerator 10. Both the vortex shielding plate 30C and the aerator 10 are supported by a support rod 46.

FIG. 7 shows the small size aerator 10 supported on a wall mount 50. FIG. Vortex shield plate 30D is attached by flexible mounting members 32 to a pair of horizontal support bars 52 extending from its vertical walls. The horizontal support rod 52 is the aerator 1
It is separated from the wall mount 50 that supports 0.

While many features and advantages of the invention have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of its structure and function, novel features thereof are pointed out in the accompanying drawings. However, this disclosure is only an illustrative illustration and is particularly relevant to the shape, size and arrangement of parts to the extent that the principles of the invention are to be followed by the broad general meaning of the terms set forth in the claims. Various changes may be made in the details.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Figures 1 to 3 show various dimensions of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a simplified view of the vortex shield and aerator of FIG. 2, and FIG.
FIG. 6 is a side view of the wall-mounted vortex shield and aerator; FIG. 7 is a wall-mounted vortex shield and aerator; FIG. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of another embodiment of.

Claims (1)

Claims: 1. A movable vortex shielding device for use in a propeller-type suction aerator to prevent the formation of vortices near an aeration propeller in the material in which the propeller is being driven, comprising: a support; system; a floating shield floating on the surface of the aerated material; this floating shield is pulled towards the vortex by the rotational movement of the vortex itself, thereby eliminating all vortices created by the aeration propeller. attaching the floating shield to the support system so that the floating shield can float freely above the aeration propeller in a predetermined area over the material to contact and extinguish it; A movable vortex shielding device comprising: at least one flexible elongate member; 2. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said support system comprises at least one vertical support and at least one first horizontal support attached to said vertical support. 3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein said support further comprises at least one second horizontal support attached to said first horizontal support and extending laterally therefrom. . 4. The device of claim 2, wherein said flexible elongated member is deflectably attached to said first horizontal support. 5. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein said flexible elongate member is flexibly mounted to said vertical support. 6. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein said flexible elongated member is bendably mounted to said second horizontal support. 7. at least one flexible elongated member comprising a plurality of flexible elongated members, at least one of which is flexibly attached to said first horizontal support; and at least one of them is flexibly attached to said vertical support.
Equipment described in Section. 8. said support system is a floating system, said vertical support comprising at least two mutually spaced floats, and said first horizontal support extending between said floats at least 8. The device of claim 7, comprising one support bar. 9. said at least one flexible elongated member comprises a plurality of flexible elongated members;
4. A mobile vortex shield device as claimed in claim 3, all of which are flexibly attached to said second horizontal support. 10 said support system is a floating system, said vertical support comprising at least two mutually spaced floats, and said first horizontal support supporting an aerator between said floats; at least one support bar extending between said flows, said second horizontal support extending laterally from said first support bar within said aerator support area; 10. The device of claim 9, comprising a rod. 11. Claim 2, wherein said at least one flexible elongated member comprises a plurality of elongated members, all of which are flexibly attached to said vertical support. A movable vortex shielding device as described in Section. 12. said support is a floating system, said vertical support comprising at least two mutually spaced floats, and said first horizontal support extending between said floats; 11. The device of claim 10, comprising one support bar. 13. said support system is a wall-mounted system, said vertical supports include walls thereof, and said horizontal supports extend from said walls to support both an aerator and said shield plate; 11. The device of claim 10, comprising one support bar. 14. said support system is a wall mount system, said vertical support includes a wall thereof, said horizontal support extends from said wall and includes at least one first support rod for supporting the aerator; 3. The apparatus of claim 2, including at least one other support rod extending from the wall for supporting the shielding plate. 15. A mobile vortex shielding device according to claim 1, wherein said flexible elongated member comprises a chain or a connecting hook.