Hot (or warm) mix asphalt plants capability of producing up to 100 percent rap (or ars) recycled asphalt mixes
OwnerJung Do Huhinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A hot mix asphalt (HMA) or warm mix asphalt (WMA) plant features material transfer by shear action of segmented screws and directional flights standing on an inner drum. Indirect convective material heating is initiated by a heating source located inside of the inner drum. Material mixing, heating, melting, and uniform coating, all take place as a single simultaneous process. As the result of processing, regular HMA (or WMA) or up to 100% RAP (or ARS) recycled HMA (or WMA) can be produced. Many heat sources, such as a conventional oil burner and the surface combustion burner, may also be utilized in the plant. The plant may be combined with paving units for an integrated, mobile paving system.
Claims19
An HMA producer comprising:
- a. an outer housing having a material inlet on a top of one side and a material exit at a bottom of a side opposite and having an outer drum length;
- b. an inner drum having cylindrical shape with a diameter and capable of rotation within the outer housing, an end of the inner drum proximate the side of the outer housing by the material exit having an opening and the inner drum having an inner drum length;
- c. the inner drum and the outer housing having space there between, said space from proximate the material inlet to proximate the material outlet defining a material transfer chamber;
- d. at least one idler structure about a circumference of the inner drum, the at least one idler structure supporting the inner drum and further comprising:
- i. an idler tire about a circumference of the inner drum and having a width less than the half length of the inner drum;
- ii. at least two trunnion rollers contacting the idler tire underneath the inner drum;
- iii. a thrust roller contacting the top of the idler tire;
- and
- iv. a thrust roller support structure holding the thrust roller in contact with the top of the idler tire to stay in position
- d. a pipe with a smaller diameter than the inner drum, coaxially extended oppositely from the cover of the inner drum end proximate the material inlet, connected further by a conical connector whose one end connected to the end rim of the inner drum proximate the material inlet and the other end connected to the pipe body;
- and
- e. at least one stationary heating unit located inside the inner drum;
- wherein materials enter into the chamber through the material inlet and move through the chamber toward the material exit and the stationary heating unit indirectly heats the material through the inner drum while the material traverses the chamber and the thrust roller arrests vertical moments of the inner drum caused by an accumulation of material in a lower portion of the material transfer chamber.
The HMA producer of claim 13, the at least one additional stationary heating unit being selected from a set of heating units consisting of:
- surface combustion burners, hot oil circulation pipes, and residual hot air exhausted from the surface combustion burner and the conventional oil burner.
An HMA producer comprising:
- a. an outer housing having a material inlet on a top of one side and a material exit at a bottom of a side opposite;
- b. the inner drum located within the outer housing and having a length, an end of the inner drum proximate the material exit having an inner drum opening into an inner drum chamber defined therein, a cylindrical air-channel being present within the inner drum chamber, being closed proximate the inner drum opening and having an opening opposite the inner drum opening;
- c. the inner drum and the outer housing having space therebetween, said space defining a material transfer chamber;
- d. a pipe with a smaller diameter than the inner drum, coaxial with the inner drum and connected thereto by a conical connector at an end of the inner drum proximate the material inlet;
- and
- e. at least one stationary heating unit located proximate the inner drum opening hot air from said heating unit traversing the total length of the inner drum within the inner drum chamber, then entering the air channel and traveling through a baffled passage inside of the air-channel before exiting the HMA producer;
- wherein materials enter into the material transfer chamber through the material inlet and move through the material transfer chamber toward the material exit and the stationary heating unit indirectly heats the material through the inner drum while the material traverses the material transfer chamber.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.