Material flow amplifier

US10458446B1 · kind B1 · utility

Assignee

• Vortex Pipe Systems LLC · US

Inventors

• Paul Wayne Schmidt · Lennestadt, DE
• Avijit Ghosh · Austin, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Jun 18, 2019
• Grant date: Oct 29, 2019
• Expiry date: Jun 18, 2039

Classification

• Technology area (CPC F): Mechanical Engineering; Lighting; Heating
• CPC primary: F17D1/20
• WIPO field: Mechanical elements
• WIPO sector: Mechanical engineering

Abstract

Material flow amplifiers as disclosed herein overcome drawbacks associated with known adverse flow conditions (e.g., surface erosion and head losses) that arise from flow of certain types of materials (e.g., fluids, slurries, particulates, flowable aggregate, and the like) through a material flow conduit. Such material flow amplifiers provide for flow of flowable material within a flow passage of a material flow conduit (e.g., a portion of a pipeline, tubing or the like) to have a cyclonic flow (i.e., vortex or swirling) profile. Advantageously, the cyclonic flow profile centralizes flow toward the central portion of the flow passage, thereby reducing magnitude of laminar flow. Such cyclonic flow profile provides a variety of other advantages as compared to a parabolic flow profile (e.g., increased flow rate, reduce inner pipeline wear, more uniform inner pipe wear, reduction in energy consumption, reduced or eliminated slugging and the like).