Automatic sampling method and facility for heterogeneous materials
AssigneeInstitute of Nuclear Energy Research
InventorsMaw-Chwain Lee, Yu-Tang Yang, Fun-Yeuan Hwang, Yuen-Liang Chen
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Abstract
An automatic sampling method and facility are disclosed, by means of which multiple samples are obtained from a closed container filled with heterogeneous solid material. The sampling points are predetermined and well distributed on the container and the sampling position and depth in the container are selected by a special controller of the sampling system. The system can be operated at an open space for non-radioactive material. The obtained samples are collected and blended in a mixer for homogenization treatment to produce a final specimen for analytical measurement. The homogeneous specimen is well accepted for its representative character.
Claims10
A sampling assembly including a screw-drill machine for a container of heterogeneous solid material to be sampled, comprising:
- an abutment upon which a container of heterogeneous solid material to be sampled is adapted to be set,
- a supporter post on the abutment and including a fixation arm for locating the material container at a lower part of the post,
- a set of suspension arms including a rotary arm and a slide arm, the slide arm being vertically movable up and down along a guide device on an upper section of the post by a motor, the rotary arm being rotatable connected relative to and vertically movable with the slide arm,
- a Geneva indexer and a second motor for driving the Geneva indexer to intermittently horizontally rotate the rotary arm relative to the slide arm about a vertical axis,
- a screw-drill machine on the rotary arm, the screw-drill machine including a sampling tube and a screw that is adapted to be rotated in either one of a clockwise direction and a counterclockwise direction in the sampling tube, the screw-drill machine being longitudinally moved relative to the container by movement of the slide arm on the post by the first motor for sampling and discharging of material packed in the container, wherein rotation of the screw inside the sampling tube in one of a clockwise direction and a counterclockwise direction causes the material packed in the container to be one of drawn into and discharged from the sampling tube.
A sampling method for heterogeneous solid material from a container of heterogeneous solid material to be sampled, using a sampling assembly having a screw-drill machine, comprising the steps of:
- setting the container, loaded with heterogeneous solid material, on an abutment of a screw-drill sampling machine;
- replacing a container lid with a sampling lid;
- obtaining more than two samples of material from different points within the container by using the sampling assembly to take the samples into a screw-drill tube of the sampling assembly;
- transferring each sample of the more than two samples into one sample bottle from the screw-drill tube;
- and
- forming a homogenized sample for at least one of quality and quantity determination by mixing, blending, and homogenizing the more than two samples.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.