U.S. patent application number 12/830600 was filed with the patent office on 2011-01-06 for dry blending aid.
Invention is credited to Lloyd Byron Spangle.
Application Number | 20110004966 12/830600 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 42358715 |
Filed Date | 2011-01-06 |
United States Patent
Application |
20110004966 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Spangle; Lloyd Byron |
January 6, 2011 |
DRY BLENDING AID
Abstract
A method of monitoring and evaluating the dry-blending of
powders and granular materials via the use of non-dissolvable
particulate matter such as mustard seed as a blending aid. The
mustard seed is blended into the total batch of dry blend materials
and the mustard send can subsequently be extracted by a process of
sieving from a known volume of sample taken of the mixture since
the mustard seed is larger than the other particles that are being
blended. The weight and or sight count of the extracted mustard
seed present in the sample is determined and compared with the
amount of seed that should be present in a perfect blend to
determine if the dry blend materials are thoroughly mixed.
Inventors: |
Spangle; Lloyd Byron;
(Claremore, OK) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Novak Druce + Quigg LLP
1000 Louisiana Street, Fifty-Third Floor
Houston
TX
77002
US
|
Family ID: |
42358715 |
Appl. No.: |
12/830600 |
Filed: |
July 6, 2010 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
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12106545 |
Apr 21, 2008 |
7765883 |
|
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12830600 |
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60916648 |
May 8, 2007 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
800/306 ;
252/408.1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G01N 5/04 20130101; B01F
3/18 20130101; B28C 7/02 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
800/306 ;
252/408.1 |
International
Class: |
A01H 5/10 20060101
A01H005/10; G01N 33/00 20060101 G01N033/00 |
Claims
1. A dry blending aid for monitoring and evaluating the blending of
materials comprising: a known amount of non-dissolvable particulate
matter for addition to a known amount of material to be mixed, and
said particulate matter is not affected when exposed to
moisture.
2. A dry blending aid for monitoring and evaluating the blending of
materials according to claim 1 wherein the particulate matter are
of a uniform size of between 1.5 and 2.0 mm.
3. A dry blending aid for monitoring and evaluating the blending of
materials according to claim 1 wherein the particulate matter is
mustard seed.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application
Ser. No. 12/106,545, filed Apr. 21, 2009, which claims the benefit
of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/916,648, filed May 8,
2007, both of which are specifically incorporated by reference in
their entirety herein without disclaimer.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The present invention is a method that uses a dry blending
aid in the form of mustard seeds to monitor and evaluate the
dry-blending of powders and granular materials. A known proportion
of mustard seed to dry blending materials is added to a mixer and
mixed together. Samples are taken, the mustard seeds sieved out of
the other materials and measured. The proportion of mustard seeds
in the sample are then compared with the expected proportion in the
total mixture to determine if the dry blending materials are
thoroughly mixed.
[0004] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0005] Currently there is no quick and easy way of directly
determining whether dry blending mixtures such as cement are
thoroughly blended. Thus the operator must make a determination
based on past experience and based on lab results from similar
mixtures that were previously mixed.
[0006] For example, a sample of dry blended cement mixture is taken
from the mixture after a given time interval and taken to the
laboratory where it is mixed with water and allowed to harden. The
time required for the mixture to harden is an indirect indication
of whether the dry blended cement was adequately mixed.
[0007] Obviously because of the length of time required to do this
type of laboratory work on a sample, in commercial cement mixing
operation the mixture upon which the sample was taken will have
already been removed from the mixer and new batches will have been
mixed. For this reason, this type of testing procedure is not
adequate when a new custom blend is being made. In those
situations, the blend time needed to thoroughly mix the components
might be more or less than the time required for previously tested
mixtures having different components.
[0008] The present invention addresses this problem by providing a
fast and easy way of obtaining a direct measure of the degree of
mixing that has occurred in a dry blending mixture. This invention
is based on the principal that if one component in the mixture is
thoroughly mixed, then all components in the mixture should also be
thoroughly mixed. The present invention adds mustard seed as a
blending aide in the mixture to be blended. The mustard seed is
added at a known concentration to the dry blending mixture and then
the mixture is mixed. A sample of the mixture is then obtained and
the mustard seeds separated from the other dry mixture components.
The mustard seeds are then weighed or counted and the concentration
of mustard seeds in the sample is obtained and compared with the
theoretical or expected concentration that should be present in the
mixture if the mixture is thoroughly mixed. If the concentration of
mustard seed in the sample matches the expected concentration, then
the mixture is thoroughly mixed. Mustard seeds are inert and
non-hazardous and do not affect the properties of the finished
mixture. They are therefore a good choice as an indicator of
whether the components of the mixture have been adequately
mixed.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0009] The present invention relates to a method of monitoring and
evaluating the dry-blending of powders and granular materials via
the use of non-dissolvable particulate matter, such as mustard
seed, as blending aid. The mustard seed has a unique and uniform
size of between 1.5 to 2.0 mm which is larger than the other
particles that are being blended, has uniform density, and is inert
in that it is not viable seed that will sprout when exposed to
moisture. Also, mustard seed is not reactive or hazardous. The
mustard seed is blended into the total batch of dry-blend materials
and the mustard seed is subsequently extracted from a known sample
volume of the mixture by a process of sieving. The weight and or
sight count of the extracted mustard seed present in the sample is
determined and compared with the amount of seed that should be
present in the sample in a perfect blend to determine if the dry
blend materials are thoroughly mixed.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0010] The present invention relates to a method of monitoring and
evaluating the dry-blending of powders and granular materials via
the use of non-dissolvable particulate matter, such as mustard
seed, as blending aid. The preferred material is mustard seed that
has uniform size and is not viable seed. The mustard seed that is
used is this method has been processed as would be the case for
food grade mustard seed. The seed has a limited variation in size
of 1.5 to 2.0 mm. Also, the food grade mustard seeds are not viable
and therefore do no sprout when exposed to moisture. Mustard seed
is used because it has a unique size and density in an inert
structure. This material is blended into the total batch of
dry-blend and removed by a process of sieving. Then by weight and
or sight count the unique material is extracted and calculated as
to amount present verses amount that should be present in a perfect
blend.
[0011] The amount of blending aid to be added should be 1 to 2
pounds of mustard seed per 1000 pounds of total dry blend. The
materials to be blended and the mustard seed blending aid should be
added to blender in a manner that is safest for personnel and is
recommended by the blender manufacturer. A small amount of the
mustard seed blending aid is added directly to the dry-blend
materials. It is inert and density compatible with the materials.
The blending-aid should be added last after all other materials
have been added. There are no known hazards associated with the
blending-aid.
[0012] At any time during the blending a sample of the dry-blend is
extracted (usually about one pound). This can be done at
approximately 5 minutes or whatever time is deemed appropriate. An
initial sample of the blend should be taken to evaluate the
blending and the sample should be obtained by using a dipper that
can extract an exact volume from the mixer. The dipper should then
be tapped repeatedly to settle contents. Sufficient excess of the
blend should then be added to the dipper to overfill the dipper and
then a straight edge can be used to level off the sample at the top
of the dipper to obtain an exact and repeatable volume.
[0013] The content of the dipper is then used as the sample. The
entire sample is dumped into a 20 mesh (0.85 mm to 0.5 mm) screen
sieve and sieved through a screen. Although a 20 mesh screen sieve
is specified, a 30 mesh screen sieve might also be used, depending
on the particle size of the other material in the sample. The
retained particles left on the sieve will be the mustard seed
blending aid. These particles are easily separated and identified
by this technique. The mustard seed particles can then be weighted
and also counted if desired. Of course the material to be
dry-blended should be finer than the blending-aid so that they are
not retained on the 20 mesh screen or the 30 mesh screen if that
screen size is used, with the mustard seed blending aid.
[0014] At intervals of 5 minutes or whatever time intervals are
deemed appropriate, additional samples can be taken as described
for the initial sampling and then those samples can be sieved and
the retained particles weighed and also counted if desired.
[0015] The results are evaluated and when the amount of measured
dry-blending aid found in the sample is consistent with the
calculated amount expected for a fully mixed sample of the sample's
volume, the blend should be considered homogeneously blended.
Blending can be continued further to check for optimum blending
time.
[0016] An example of the process of the invention would be to add 1
pound of the blending-aid to 1000 pounds of dry material to be
blended. This would result in 0.1 gram of blending-aid particles in
each 100 grams of blend when a homogeneous blend has been
accomplished. If in addition to the evaluation of small admixture
blending into a large blend, the determination of the bulk density
of the final blend is important, then the use of a ladle or sample
dipper of known volume can be used to determine the bulk density of
the final product. This is important if the blend mixture includes
light weight, density reducing materials such as pozzolans, glass
bubbles, or other such materials commonly used in cement mixtures.
Bulk density is the weight/volume relationship of a dry material,
and is a convenient way to verify accuracy of the blending of large
amounts of varying density materials. A verified laboratory small
blend is used as the standard to compare field blending samples. A
dipper of 1 pint size could be used to extract some material from
the blender and the dipper tapped until the volume of the material
in the dipper stabilizes. Then excess material added to the dipper
to overfill it and then the excess removed with a straight edge to
get and exact and repeatable sample size.
[0017] The sample should first be weighed and then sieved through a
20 or 30 mesh screen. A large 12 inch sieve that fits the top of a
5 gallon bucket is convenient for this procedure. The retained
blending-aid particles left on the screen are then weighed and
counted if desired. This will give the weight volume (bulk density)
of the entire sample and the weight and count of the blending-aid
particles. Since the exact amount of mustard seen blending aid
added to the dry-blend is known, the perfect blend amount of
mustard seen blending aid is expected to be taken from the
extracted sample of dry-blend when blending is complete. If the
particles of the same that are retained on the screen are at the
calculated concentration for the blend of the blending aid in the
batch of materials being blended, then blending is good.
[0018] A chart can be created to make it easy for the technician to
quickly determine if the amount of mustard seed blending aid
contained in a sample falls within the expected range for a fully
blended mixture by this particle tracing for blend analysis method.
Once created, such a chart is used to verify blending of small
concentrations of additive. The particles used have been selected
based on their density and size in order to have a traceable
particle by simple sieve analysis and visual particle counting.
Adding 1 pound of particles to 1000 pounds of blend will result in
0.1 gram of particles in 100 grams of sample if correctly blended.
This is approximately 19 particles in a 100 gram sample. A weighed
sample of the blend with particles added can be sieved in a large
sized sieve of 20 to 30 mesh size. A 12 inch sieve that fits in the
top of a 5 gallon bucket is convenient. The particles are easily
seen and can be weighed or counted.
[0019] Once the mixture is considered to have been well blended,
the blend can then be used for the intended purpose since the
blending aid is inert and should not interfere with the
product.
[0020] Alternately, sampling can be continued as long as desired at
intervals deemed appropriate to further evaluate the blending
procedure. Since the blending-aid is non-reactive it can be added
routinely to allow blend checking as desired. The blending-aid of
the patent is primarily a dry material blending-aid, but it would
be feasible to use the blending-aid in a thick liquid or "slurry"
to evaluate mixture efficiency.
[0021] Also, it would be feasible to gain information using the
blending-aid material of the patent by extracting the blending-aid
material in an automated process.
[0022] This method was initially designed to enable operators of
dry-blending facilities to verify the accuracy of critical dry
blends of cement and additives which may be less than 0.1% of the
total blend. The method allows the user to evaluate the efficiency
of conventional dry-blending facilities when dry powders such as
Portland cement and add mixtures are to be blended together in
critical mixtures. Also, the method can be utilized for other
materials that are not easily evaluated when dry-blended
together.
[0023] Although the main purpose for this method is cement
dry-blending, it can be utilized in other dry-blending operations
since the mustard seeds are non-toxic and non-hazardous. Also, as a
residue, the mustard seeds are environmentally clean. The method
does not present any environmental problems due to toxicity or
waste control.
[0024] There are no highly technical requirements for the use of
the mustard seed blending aid, and the method does not require
investment in expensive and fragile monitoring and sensing devices.
The method does not require any sophisticated monitoring devices or
reactive tracer elements that might contaminate the blend. The
mustard seeds are relatively inert in the final mixed product.
[0025] While the invention has been described as employing mustard
seed, other natural or artificial seeds or grains of similar size
and density may optionally be employed instead of the mustard
seed.
[0026] While the invention has been described with a certain degree
of particularity, it is manifest that many changes may be made in
the details of construction and the arrangement of components
without departing from the spirit and scope of this disclosure. It
is understood that the invention is not limited to the embodiments
set forth herein for the purposes of exemplification, but is to be
limited only by the scope of the attached claim or claims,
including the full range of equivalency to which each element
thereof is entitled.
* * * * *