Injection Capable Blasting Equipment

Abstract

Blasting apparatus are disclosed relating to abrasive blasting that include a blasting pot and a blast pot discharge assembly connected to the blasting pot below the blasting pot. The blast pot discharge assembly may contain an elbow section and an eccentric reducer section and may also have an injector in the elbow section that injects liquid into the elbow section toward the eccentric reducer section.

Description

Blasting equipment described herein may be used in sand blasting and a variety of other abrasive blasting applications.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a blasting pot lower assembly.

FIG. 2 shows another configuration of a blasting pot lower assembly.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Example 1

Referring to FIG. 1 of the Drawings, a Blasting pot system 40 may contain a Blasting pot vessel 60 (Not Shown), and a Blasting pot lower assembly 100. The Blasting pot lower assembly 100 may include a Blast pot discharge assembly 110 and an Injection system 200. Blast pot discharge assembly 110 may include Pot flange 113, Elbow section 120, Pot eccentric reducer section 123 and Reducing section exit 125. Injection system 200 may comprise Elbow weld attachment 203, Injector 210, Injector opening 213, Check valve 230, Ball valve 233, Water supply 240 and Water pump 243 (not shown).

Blasting pot vessel 60 may be situated on top of and bolted to Pot flange 113. Elbow section 120 may form a 90° turn such that material enters Elbow section 120 descending vertically and exits Elbow section 120 moving horizontally. Pot eccentric reducer section 123 may reduce the internal diameter of Blast pot discharge assembly 110 such that the internal diameter of Blast pot discharge assembly 110 at Reducing section exit 125 is at most one half of the internal diameter of Pot flange 113.

Elbow weld attachment 203 may be welded to Elbow section 120 with Injector 210 fixed to the interior of Elbow weld attachment 203 such that Injector opening 213 is oriented downward and away from Elbow weld attachment 203. Elbow weld attachment 203 and Injector 210 may be oriented horizontally. Injector opening 213 may further be cut at a 45° angle with the opening in Injector opening 213 being downward and away from the connection between Blasting pot vessel 60 and Pot flange 113. Water supplied from Water pump 243 may flow successively through Water supply 240, Ball valve 233, and Check valve 230 on its way to Injector 210 where it is released under pressure in the direction of Reducing section exit 125. That release of water may have multiple beneficial impacts including washing Blast pot discharge assembly 110, aiding the flow of material through Blast pot discharge assembly 110 and either unplugging Blast pot discharge assembly 110 or maintaining Blast pot discharge assembly 110 in a free flowing state. The orientation of Injector opening 213 makes Injector opening 213 less likely to plug when Injector opening 213 is not in use.

Injector 210 may be constructed from a 5-inch-long pipe with a 45° Mitre cut at the injection end of the pipe. Elbow weld attachment 203 may be constructed from a 6 inch by three-quarter inch pipe. Check valve 230 may be a three-quarter inch check valve and Ball valve 233 may be a three-quarter inch ball valve. Pot eccentric reducer section 123 may be a six inch by two-inch eccentric reducer. Pot flange 113 may be a 6-inch standard raised face weld neck flange. Elbow section 120 may be a 6 inch standard 90-degree short radius elbow having standard wall dimensions. Pot flange 113 may be welded to Elbow section 120 and Pot flange 113 may be bolted to Blasting pot vessel 60.

Pot eccentric reducer section 123 may have an internal diameter ratio represented by the eccentric reducer section inlet inner diameter divided by the reducing section exit inner diameter. The eccentric reducer internal diameter ratio may, for example, be 3.0 with certain examples falling between 1.2 and 10.0 and a significant number of those examples falling between 2.1 and 6.5. The injector internal diameter may, for example, be less than 0.80 of the reducing section exit inner diameter. The injector internal diameter may, for example, be less than 0.50 of the reducing section exit inner diameter. The injector internal diameter may, for example, be less than 0.30 of the eccentric reducer section inlet inner diameter. The injector internal diameter may, for example, be less than 0.15 of the eccentric reducer section inlet inner diameter.

Pot eccentric reducer section 123 may be a non-symmetrical section. In particular, Pot eccentric reducer section 123 may be configured such that it does not retain any liquids in Blast pot discharge assembly 110 when Blast pot discharge assembly 110 is configured in the orientation depicted in FIG. 1 and not connected to any additional piping. Non-symmetrical as used in the context of the eccentric reducer section refers to symmetry about a single axis and does not refer to symmetry about a plane. Stated differently, the reduction of diameter in Pot eccentric reducer section 123 may come entirely from the upper portion of Pot eccentric reducer section 123 such that the upper portion of Pot eccentric reducer section 123 curves downward and the lower inner surface of Pot eccentric reducer section 123 forms roughly a straight line from Elbow section 120 to Reducing section exit 125.

Example 2

Referring to FIG. 2 of the Drawings, a Blasting pot system 40 may contain a Blasting pot vessel 60 (Not Shown), and a Blasting pot lower assembly 100. The Blasting pot lower assembly 100 may include a Blast pot discharge assembly 110 and an Injection system 200. Blast pot discharge assembly 110 may include Pot flange 113, Elbow section 120, Pot elbow reducing section 123 and Elbow exit 125. Injection system 200 may comprise Elbow weld attachment 203, Injector 210, Injector opening 213, Check valve 230, Ball valve 233, Water supply 240, Water pump 243 (not shown), Water supply tee 310, Intermediate water supply line 313, Water supply three way valve 320, Water fill line 325, Air and injection supply tee 330, Injection supply line 333 and Air supply line 335.

In addition to having features described in Example 1 above, the Blasting pot system 40 may contain the additional features described in the present example. Blasting pot system 40 may include a water supply system that supplies water from the Water supply 240 through Water supply three way valve 320 to either Water supply tee 310 by way of Intermediate water supply line 313 or to Water fill line 325. Water fill line 325 may be directly connected to Blasting pot vessel 60 and may be used to directly fill Blasting pot vessel 60. Also, Air and injection supply tee 330 may be the point at which air and additives are injected by way of Air supply line 335 and Injection supply line 333 respectively. Air supply line 335 may be configured with a compressor, fittings, valves, pressure regulators and other equipment as may be needed to control the supply of air to Air supply line 335. Similarly, Injection supply line 333 may be configured with a tank, pump, fittings, valves, regulators and other equipment as may be needed to control the supply of additives to Injection supply line 333.

Injector 210 may horizontally align with Reducing section exit 125. Further, Injector 210 may be positioned in the lower half of Elbow section 120 as measured at the point where Elbow section 120 meets Pot eccentric reducer section 123. Reducing section exit 125 may be horizontally separated by greater than a full outer pipe diameter of Elbow section 120 as measured at the uppermost part of Elbow section 120 from the inlet of Blast pot discharge assembly 110.

Further Examples

During the operation of Blasting pot system 40 the Injector 210 and associated equipment may be configured to inject bleach, soap, microbes or other additives. Such additives may enhance the effect of blasting with the Blasting pot system 40. Once a deadman or blasting handle is engaged for the operation of the Blasting pot system 40 any injection material supplied through Injector opening 213 would be engaged such that the additive flows into Blast pot discharge assembly 110 and is incorporated into the blasting material delivered through Reducing section exit 125 to the blasting hose.

The shape and orientation of Injector 210 allows the product to be smoothly incorporated into the blasting media descending from Blasting pot vessel 60. Further, the use of Injection system 200 allows for rapid initiation of the blasting due to the ability of Injector 210 to help with the movement of the blast media. Injector 210 may further significantly reduce downtime associated with clogging of blasting media in various locations in the Blasting pot lower assembly 100 due to the ability of fluids flowing from Injector 210 to agitate the contents of Blasting pot lower assembly 100. Injector 210 may further act as a cleanout port for maintenance and cleaning of Blasting pot system 40 either during operation of Blasting pot system 40 or after blasting is complete.

The availability of water at Injector 210 throughout the operation of Blasting pot system 40 allows for either the dry filling of Blasting pot vessel 60 in advance of any water addition or allows for the direct addition of dry blasting media to Blasting pot vessel 60 after water is added to the bottom of Blasting pot lower assembly 100. Because Water fill line 325 and Elbow weld attachment 203 are piped to and directly connected to Blasting pot vessel 60 and Blast pot discharge assembly 110 respectively, there is significantly decreased opportunity for spilling of blasting media during preparation for blasting and during after blasting cleanup. Further, Injector 210 may either eliminate or greatly reduce the need for cleaning of Blasting pot system 40 after the completion of blasting and may more particularly eliminate the need to open the hand-hole washout port (not shown) of Blasting pot vessel 60. The tip of Injector opening 213 may be located outside of the space immediately below the internal area of the Blast pot discharge assembly 110 at the uppermost point of Blast pot discharge assembly 110.

In certain embodiments when blasting media plugs some or all of the flow path of Blast pot discharge assembly 110 air may be supplied from Air supply line 335 and forced through Injector opening 213 to break free the blasting media that is blocking the path.

The blasting apparatus described herein may, for example, comprise a blasting pot; a blast pot discharge assembly situated below the blasting pot and connected to the blasting pot such that the blast pot discharge assembly contains an elbow section and a pot eccentric reducer section, and an injector situated at least partially within the elbow section such that the injector is arranged and configured to inject a liquid into the elbow section, the pot eccentric reducer section has a reducing section exit having a reducing section exit inner diameter, wherein the pot eccentric reducer section is non-symmetrical, the injector is positioned and oriented to align with the reducing section exit, the injector has a nozzle tip and the nozzle tip is at least one reducing section exit inner diameter away from the reducing section exit and the nozzle tip is located below a midpoint of an eccentric reducer section inlet of the pot eccentric reducer section. In a related example, the injector may be configured to deliver fluid from an additive tank. In a related example, an eccentric reducer section inlet inner diameter of the pot eccentric reducer section may be between 1.2 and 10.0 times the reducing section exit inner diameter. In a related example, an injector internal diameter of the injector may be less than 0.80 of the reducing section exit inner diameter. In a related example, an injector internal diameter of the injector may be less than 0.30 of an eccentric reducer section inlet inner diameter of the pot eccentric reducer section. In a related example, an elbow section inlet flow direction may be perpendicular to an injector flow direction. In a further related example, an injector flow direction may align with a center of the reducing section exit.

The blasting apparatus described herein may, for example, comprise a blasting pot; a blast pot discharge assembly situated below the blasting pot and connected to the blasting pot such that the blast pot discharge assembly includes an elbow section and a pot eccentric reducer section; and an injector situated at least partially within the elbow section, such that the injector is arranged and configured to inject a liquid into the elbow section; the injector is configured to deliver fluid from an additive tank; the pot eccentric reducer section has a reducing section exit; the pot eccentric reducer section is non-symmetrical; an entrance internal diameter of the blast pot discharge assembly is at least twice an exit internal diameter of the reducing section exit; and the injector is positioned and oriented to align with the reducing section exit. In a related example, the blast pot discharge assembly may also include a raised face weld neck flange.

The above-described embodiments have a number of independently useful individual features that have particular utility when used in combination with one another including combinations of features from embodiments described separately. There are, of course, other alternate embodiments which are obvious from the foregoing descriptions, which are intended to be included within the scope of the present application.

Claims

1. A blasting apparatus comprising:

a. a blasting pot;

b. a blast pot discharge assembly situated below the blasting pot and connected to the blasting pot, wherein the blast pot discharge assembly comprises: i. an elbow section and ii. a pot eccentric reducer section; and

c. an injector situated at least partially within the elbow section,

d. wherein the injector is arranged and configured to inject a liquid into the elbow section;

e. wherein the pot eccentric reducer section has a reducing section exit having a reducing section exit inner diameter;

f. wherein the pot eccentric reducer section is non-symmetrical;

g. wherein the injector is positioned and oriented to align with the reducing section exit;

h. wherein the injector has a nozzle tip and the nozzle tip is at least one reducing section exit inner diameter away from the reducing section exit;

i. wherein the nozzle tip is located below a midpoint of an eccentric reducer section inlet of the pot eccentric reducer section.

2. The blasting apparatus of claim 1 wherein the injector is configured to deliver fluid from an additive tank.

3. The blasting apparatus of claim 1 wherein an eccentric reducer section inlet inner diameter of the pot eccentric reducer section is between 1.2 and 10.0 times the reducing section exit inner diameter.

4. The blasting apparatus of claim 1 wherein an injector internal diameter of the injector is less than 0.80 of the reducing section exit inner diameter.

5. The blasting apparatus of claim 1 wherein an injector internal diameter of the injector is less than 0.30 of an eccentric reducer section inlet inner diameter of the pot eccentric reducer section.

6. The blasting apparatus of claim 1 wherein an elbow section inlet flow direction is perpendicular to an injector flow direction.

7. The blasting apparatus of claim 1 wherein an injector flow direction aligns with a center of the reducing section exit.

8. A blasting apparatus comprising:

a. a blasting pot;

b. a blast pot discharge assembly situated below the blasting pot and connected to the blasting pot, wherein the blast pot discharge assembly comprises: i. an elbow section and ii. a pot eccentric reducer section; and

c. an injector situated at least partially within the elbow section,

d. wherein the injector is arranged and configured to inject a liquid into the elbow section;

e. wherein the injector is configured to deliver fluid from an additive tank;

f. wherein the pot eccentric reducer section has a reducing section exit;

g. wherein the pot eccentric reducer section is non-symmetrical;

h. wherein an entrance internal diameter of the blast pot discharge assembly is at least twice an exit internal diameter of the reducing section exit; and

i. wherein the injector is positioned and oriented to align with the reducing section exit.

9. The blasting apparatus of claim 1 wherein the blast pot discharge assembly further comprises a raised face weld neck flange.