Method and apparatus for mixing high molecular weight materials with liquids

A mixer, for mixing a drag-reducing material with a liquid, said mixer comprising:

• a mixing chamber positioned in a flow path of said liquid;
• a rotatable member positioned upstream in said flow path from the mixing chamber;
• transfer means for conveying a drag-reducing material from a drag-reducing material source toward said mixing chamber, said transfer means delivering the drag-reducing material at a rate that is dependent on the liquid speed in the flow path, for liquid speeds above a given threshold, so that the drag-reducing material concentration after mixing with said liquid is substantially independent of the liquid speed in the flow path, wherein the shape of the mixing chamber is a volute similar to that of a conical sea-shell, and the larger end of the volute has an aperture for receiving liquid flowing in the flow path as well as receiving at least a portion of the drag-reducing material transferred by the transfer means.

A mixer, for mixing a drag-reducing material with a liquid, said mixer comprising:

• a mixing chamber positioned in a flow path of said liquid;
• a rotatable member positioned upstream in said flow path from the mixing chamber;
• transfer means for conveying a drag-reducing material from a drag-reducing material source toward said mixing chamber, said transfer means delivering the drag-reducing material at a rate that is dependent on the liquid speed in the flow path, for liquid speeds above a given threshold, so that the drag-reducing material concentration after mixing with said liquid is substantially independent of the liquid speed in the flow path, the rotatable member being a propeller that is movable axially, said propeller including a gasket, the propeller and gasket being biased by a spring member so as to press the gasket against a fixed surface of the transfer means and thereby prevent rotation of said propeller and escape of the drag-reducing material into the flow path until a predetermined threshold speed of liquid in said flow path is reached.

A mixer for mixing a drag-reducing material into a flowing liquid so as to produce a substantially constant concentration of drag-reducing material in said flowing liquid for flow speeds above a given threshold, said mixer comprising:

• a mixing chamber;
• transfer means for transferring the drag-reducing material from a drag-reducing material source toward said mixing chamber at a rate, for flow speeds above the given threshold, substantially proportional to the speed of said liquid in the flow path, and further comprising:
• turbolator means, located downstream from the mixing chamber in the flow path, for creating a substantially uniform, isotropic turbulence across the entire cross section of fluid from the mixing chamber.

A mixer for mixing a drag-reducing material into a flowing liquid so as to produce a substantially constant concentration of drag-reducing material in said flowing liquid for flow speeds above a given threshold, said mixer comprising:

• a mixing chamber;
• transfer means for transferring the drag-reducing material from a drag-reducing material source toward said mixing chamber at a rate, for flow speeds above the given threshold, substantially proportional to the speed of said liquid in the flow path, and further comprising said mixing chamber being a volute having a spiral-shaped outer wall, a portion of which contains perforations.

A mixer for mixing a drag-reducing material into a flowing liquid so as to produce a substantially constant concentration of drag-reducing material in said flowing liquid for flow speeds above a given threshold, said mixer comprising:

• a mixing chamber;
• transfer means for transferring the drag-reducing material from a drag-reducing material source toward said mixing chamber at a rate, for flow speeds above the given threshold, substantially proportional to the speed of said liquid in the flow path;
• and further comprising a rotating propeller hub that includes a Coanda surface that creates spiral vortex patterns of the drag-reducing material particles as the mixture/solution flows along this surface as the propeller rotates.

A turbolator for creating a substantially isotropic turbulence in a fluid flow, said turbolator comprising:

• a series of toroids arranged along a common axis, said toroids being of different diameter.

A mixer, for mixing a drag-reducing material with a liquid, said mixer comprising:

• a mixing chamber positioned in a flow path of said liquid;
• a rotatable member positioned upstream in said flow path from the mixing chamber;
• transfer means for conveying a drag-reducing material from a drag-reducing material source toward said mixing chamber, said transfer means starting aid stopping the flow of drag reducing material such that, for liquid speeds in the flow path that are less than a given threshold, the drag-reducing flow rate is substantially zero, and for liquid speeds in the flow path that are greater than a given threshold, the drag-reducing flow rate is such that the drag-reducing material concentration after mixing with said liquid is substantially independent of the liquid speed in said flow path.

A mixer for mixing a drag-reducing material into a flowing liquid so as to produce a substantially constant concentration of drag-reducing material in said flowing liquid for flow speeds above a given threshold, said mixer comprising:

• a volute-shaped mixing chamber;
• transfer means for transferring the drag-reducing material from a drag-reducing material source toward said mixing chamber at a rate, for flow speeds above the given threshold, substantially proportional to the speed of said liquid in the flow path and, for flow speeds below a given threshold, for transferring no drag-reducing material into the mixing chamber.

A method of mixing a drag-reducing material with a liquid, said method comprising:

• forming a flow path of said liquid;
• imparting angular velocity to said drag-reducing material and ejecting it into the flow of the liquid at a rate that is substantially proportional to the flow rate of the liquid, for flow rates above a given threshold;
• employing a volute-shaped mixing chamber downstream from the location that the drag-reducing material is ejected into the liquid, said mixing chamber including a wall portion that induces vortices in the flow, said wall portion including perforations therein which elongate the drag-reducing material molecules as they are ejected from the mixing chamber into the flow path.