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US 5,522,553 AGranted
Method and apparatus for producing liquid suspensions of finely divided matter
AssigneeKady International
InventorsMark L. LeClair, John A. Higgins
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AssigneeKady International
InventorsMark L. LeClair, John A. Higgins
Estimating the term…
A device for producing suspensions of finely divided matter includes a dispersion mill of the type with a slotted rotor and stator. The stator has chamfers on the leading edges to permit fluid flow from the rotor into the stator which is longer in duration, of greater volume, and along a path resulting in an impact angle of 90 degrees. The impact angle generates stagnation forces of a magnitude that results in cavitation when the fluid accelerates away from the impact zone. Subsequent discharges of fluid from rotor to stator slot creates increased ambient pressure around the vapor cavity accelerating cavity collapse and generating high pressures through accelerated collapse and through reentrant jet effects. Shock waves are transmitted locally which disintegrate particulates such as cells.
In a dispersion mill having an annular rotor with a first series of slots extending therethrough and an annular stator with a second series of slots extending therethrough, each of said second series of slots defined by a first slot wall and a second slot wall forming leading and trailing edges, respectively, of each of said slots on an inner circumferential surface of said stator, relative to the direction of rotation of said rotor, said first series of slots and said second series of slots intermittently aligning to discharge fluid from said rotor into said stator, the improvement comprising:
A method for producing liquid suspensions of finely divided matter using a dispersion mill having an annular rotor adapted to generate a plurality of propelled streams of liquid which are discharged from said rotor into an annular stator having a series of slots extending from an inner circumferential surface of said stator to an outer circumferential surface of said stator, each slot of said series of slots having a leading wall, which terminates in a chamfered edge with a chamfer face extending from said inner circumferential surface of said stator to said leading wall, and a trailing wall, which terminates in a trailing edge proximate to said inner circumferential surface of said stator, said method comprising the steps of discharging at least one of said propelled streams of liquid into a corresponding one of said stator slots along a pathway substantially parallel to said chamfer face of said corresponding one of said stator slots, whereby said at least one of said propelled streams of liquid forms at least one substantially unimpeded stream of liquid entering said corresponding one of said stator slots, and impacting said at least one unimpeded stream of liquid against said trailing wall of said corresponding one of said stator slots, whereby said at least one unimpeded stream of liquid initially contacts said stator at said trailing wall of said corresponding one of said stator slots, said impacting step being capable of inducing cavitation collapse when said rotor is rotated at a speed sufficient to induce cavitation.
A dispersion mill, comprising:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.