The present invention relates generally but not exclusively to sorting particles in a fluid stream.
Understanding that drawings depict only certain preferred embodiments of the invention and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope, the preferred embodiments will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail through the use of the accompanying drawings in which:
In the following description, numerous specific details are provided for a thorough understanding of specific preferred embodiments. However, those skilled in the art will recognize that embodiments can be practiced without one or more of the specific details, or with other methods, components, materials, etc. In some cases, well-known structures, materials, or operations are not shown or described in detail in order to avoid obscuring aspects of the preferred embodiments. Furthermore, the described features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in a variety of alternative embodiments.
Disclosed are embodiments of apparatus and methods for separating particles in a fluid stream by size. In one embodiment, as a fluid jet is turned or redirected—i.e., aerodynamically vectored—particles present in the jet flow experience a resultant force based largely upon their size and due to the counteracting effects of pressure and drag on the particles inertial tendencies. Larger particles will tend to remain on straighter paths and, thus, can be segregated from smaller particles that tend to more closely follow the vectored jet flow. In such embodiments, a wide range of particle sizes may be separated with a single device (i.e., single stage) and a small pressure drop. This separation may occur without contact between the particles and surfaces of the separation device. Aerodynamic vectoring may also allow for collectors of sorted particles to be designed to collect many different particle sizes across the continuum of sizes present in the sample. The particle sorting methods and devices described herein may be utilized at a wide range of scales and may be used in conjunction with liquids as well as gases.
In an illustrative method, a first fluid stream or jet is provided having particles disposed therein. A port is provided for the first fluid stream. A second fluid stream is also provided, along with a port for the second fluid stream adjacent to the first fluid stream port. A low pressure region is created adjacent to the first fluid stream so as to redirect the first fluid stream towards the low pressure region. A third fluid stream may also be provided, along with a port for the third fluid stream. The third fluid stream port may be positioned adjacent to the second fluid stream port such that the second fluid stream port is positioned in between the first and third fluid stream ports. In a preferred implementation, the second fluid stream is a suction stream and the third fluid stream is a blowing stream.
In an illustrative apparatus, a housing is provided defining a channel for a fluid stream containing particles. A suction channel is provided, which terminates at a suction port. The suction port is positioned adjacent to the fluid stream. A blowing channel terminating at a blowing port is also provided. The blowing port is positioned adjacent to the suction port such that the suction port is positioned in between the fluid stream and the blowing port. The blowing port and the suction port are configured to create a low pressure region and thereby redirect the first fluid stream towards the low pressure region.
An illustrative embodiment of an apparatus for particle sorting via aerodynamic jet vectoring is depicted in
A low-pressure region 50, indicated generally by the dashed circle in
As illustrated in the embodiment of
In the embodiment shown in
As described above, it is thought that aerodynamic vectoring occurs due to a low-pressure region formed along the upper surface of the flow channel near the exit of the jet. The vertical pressure gradient field, ∂P/∂y, for a typical vectored flow is shown in
When the jet flow contains particulate, each particle in the flow will experience several forces, including aerodynamic forces (i.e., pressure P), added mass M, drag D, and buoyancy B. The effect of each of these forces is accounted for in the following particle equation of motion:
The particle in this equation is of radius a and mass mp, is located at Y(t), and moves with velocity V(t). The term on the left-hand side of the first equation present above is the particle inertia, which is balanced by the four forces on the right. In this two-dimensional flow, i=1, 2 . . . refers to the streamwise x and cross-stream y directions, respectively. The fluid is of kinematic viscosity v and dynamic viscosity μ. The mass of the fluid displaced by the particle is mF. The fluid velocity field u must be known to solve for the particle path.
As those having ordinary skill in the art will appreciate, larger particles experience larger pressure, drag, and buoyancy forces, while heavier particles have more inertia. By turning or redirecting the fluid flow, the relative magnitudes of these forces will differ for varying particle parameters, such as mass, density and/or volume/diameter. Since the balance of these forces determines the final trajectory of the particle, turning the flow leads to a physical separation of particles of different sizes. Particles of a desired size can then be collected downstream in one or more particle collectors or other collection areas/structures. It should be understood that the term “size”, as used herein, may refer to a single parameter, or a combination of parameters that affect the trajectory of a particle within a fluid stream, such as mass, density, or volume/diameter.
A wide variety of blowing and suction combinations may be used in accordance with the principles of the invention to produce various alternative configurations. As previously mentioned, a wide variety of fluids, whether liquids or gases, may also be used. The equation of motion identified above may be solved to predict the trajectory of a particle of any size and/or density. It should be understood, however, that the drag term may require modification under certain situations (e.g., when the particle is small compared to the mean free path of the fluid).
To illustrate,
As shown in
One particular embodiment of an aerodynamic vectoring particle sorter 100 is shown in
A vent, such as vent 107, may be provided to prevent the jet flow from attaching to the lower wall of the device. Multiple output ports/bins at different locations may also be used to collect particles of various sizes. Although three collection ports are shown in
In some embodiments, the blowing and suction flow rates may be the same or similar. In such embodiments, it may be convenient to provide a single high-pressure blower to supply both flows, as also demonstrated by
Although any apparatus available to one of skill in the art may be used, in one embodiment, a variable-speed ring compressor is provided as the “blower” to supply the suction/blowing force. Systems may also be designed to correlate the suction and blowing flow rates such that they are maintained at a particular percentage of the jet flow rate. This allows a user to easily vary the jet flow rate while maintaining the percentage of suction and blowing constant relative to the jet flow rate. Moreover, it should be apparent that embodiments of the invention provide for a highly scalable and inherently flexible system in many other regards, due in part to the number of adjustable inputs, including jet flow rate, jet vector angle, collector design, etc.
Through experimentation, it has been found that the vectoring angle increases linearly with the suction flow rate divided by the jet flow rate, independent of the jet velocity. Additionally, the vector angle can be held constant as the jet flow rate increases by also increasing the suction and blowing flow rate.
In the embodiments presented and discussed thus far, the exit of the blowing slot is parallel to the primary jet. However, other embodiments of the invention are contemplated in which this is not the case. It has been found that this orientation may limit the vector angle, since the jet flow is pushed downward to some extent by the blowing flow. This is evident in the pressure gradient field shown in
Since a larger vector angle results in a wider range of sorting capability, the actuator may be modified with an angled blowing slot, as shown in
Embodiments disclosed herein may be useful in a variety of fields, such as powder material processes, sample concentration, cell sorting, air quality monitoring, automotive exhaust distribution measurements, and blood cell sorting, for example. A number of optional features may also be added to improve the accuracy or other characteristics of the invention, such as surrounding the aerosol to be sorted with a “jacket” of clean air. This may result in a stream of particles that originate from a more narrow region. As another option, systems may be designed such that the jet width H (see
Particle sorter 300 may be used to statically vary the blowing angle in between sorting sessions. Alternatively, particle sorter 300 may be rotated in the presence of a fluid stream 320 to redirect the fluid stream 320 around a larger angle than would otherwise be possible. It is thought that it may be possible to redirect the fluid stream 320 around 180 degrees, as shown in
Still another embodiment is shown in
Another embodiment is shown in
In one example of a method according to the general principles of the invention, a device having the general characteristics of the embodiment of
Two separate tests were run. In the first test, solid glass spheres of varying diameters, each having a density of about 2.5 g/cc, were introduced into a primary jet having a velocity of about 8.5 m/s. The velocity of the primary jet was calculated by measuring the velocity at the exit of the jet at many locations adjacent to the primary jet port using particle image velocimetry and then averaging the various velocity figures. A suction flow was generated through a suction port adjacent to the primary jet port. The mass flow rate of the suction flow was about 0.009712 kg/s. The mass flow rate of the primary flow was about three times that of the suction flow. The mean particle diameters for particles collected at each of a plurality of angles along a collection arc were then calculated. The results of these calculations are reflected in the open circles on the graph of
The sorting shown in
In the second test, hollow glass spheres of varying diameters, each having a density of about 0.6 g/cc, were introduced into a primary jet having a velocity of about 16.8 m/s. The velocity of the primary jet was calculated by measuring the velocity at the exit of the jet at many locations adjacent to the primary jet port using particle image velocimetry and then averaging the various velocity figures. A suction flow was generated through a suction port adjacent to the primary jet port. The mass flow rate of the suction flow was about 0.00168 kg/s. Again, the mass flow rate of the primary flow was about three times that of the suction flow. The mean particle diameters for particles collected at each of a plurality of angles along a collection arc were then calculated. The results of these calculations are reflected in the solid squares on the graph of
Each of the channels described herein are examples means for directing a fluid stream. Each of the port configurations described herein, which operate to create a low pressure region, are examples of means for redirecting a fluid stream to separate particles in the fluid stream by size. Each of the collection port configurations described herein are examples of means for sorting particles in the fluid stream by size.
The above description fully discloses the invention including preferred embodiments thereof. Without further elaboration, it is believed that one skilled in the art can use the preceding description to utilize the invention to its fullest extent. Therefore the examples and embodiments disclosed herein are to be construed as merely illustrative and not a limitation of the scope of the present invention in any way.
It will be obvious to those having skill in the art that many changes may be made to the details of the above-described embodiments without departing from the underlying principles of the invention. The scope of the present invention should, therefore, be determined only by the following claims.
This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/756,213, filed May 31, 2007 which is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 11/385,406, filed Mar. 21, 2006, and titled “Particle Sorting by Fluidic Vectoring,” both of which are incorporated herein by reference.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20090223874 A1 | Sep 2009 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 11756213 | May 2007 | US |
Child | 12434829 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 11385406 | Mar 2006 | US |
Child | 11756213 | US |