Apparatus for controlling the concentration and stability of an emulsion
AssigneeNational Steel Corporation
InventorWalter A. Wilson
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A method of and system for controlling the oil concentration in and the stability of an oil-in-water emulsion used as a coolant-lubricant in a metalworking operation in which a portion of the emulsion is circulated through a sensor to monitor its density and to generate a signal relating the density to the oil concentration. The signal is employed to control addition of oil to the emulsion to thereby control the concentration within close limits. Sensing means also monitors the stability of the circulated emulsion, and emulsifier is added, as required, either to the oil to be added or directly to the emulsion to thereby control both the oil concentration in and the stability of the emulsion.
Claims13
A lubricating system for supplying an oil-in-water emulsion lubricant to a metalworking operation comprising,
- a reservoir for containing a supply of emulsion,
- means for supplying fresh water to the reservoir,
- oil delivery means for supplying oil to the reservoir,
- means for mixing oil and water supplied to the reservoir to provide a uniform oil-in-water emulsion,
- means for supplying emulsion from the reservoir to a metalworking operation and for returning used emulsion from the metalworking operation to the reservoir, and
- emulsion stability control means for controlling the stability of the emulsion in the system, the stability control means including, in combination,
- a liquid density measuring cell operable to continuously measure the density of liquid therein and to generate an electric signal which is a function of the measured density,
- circulating means including conduit means connecting the density measuring cell in the lubrication system for circulating a portion of the emulsion through the density measuring cell,
- control means connected to said circulating means and operable to periodically interrupt the circulation of emulsion through the density measuring cell while maintaining emulsion in the density measuring cell for a predetermined time sufficient to permit partial separation of the oil and water phases of the retained emulsion, the control means further including calculator means connected with and operable to compare the signals from the density measuring cell at the beginning and end of the predetermined time to determine the stability of the emulsion, and
- means responsive to the calculator means for dispensing an emulsifying agent for addition to the emulsion to maintain the desired stability.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.