ARRANGEMENT FOR GRANULATING EXTRUDED MATERIAL

Abstract

Disclosed is an arrangement for granulating polymer material, having a housing with a gas supply line, connected opposite the latter to the housing, having a rectangular cross-section, a granulating unit located at least partially in the housing and having a perforated plate of a feed or plasticising unit feeding into the housing, and a scraper which crushes or separates the material emerging through the recesses of the perforated plate, wherein in a plane running parallel to the plane of the perforated plate, the two lateral wall surfaces of the gas discharge line perpendicular to this plane include an angle α2 with one another, and the two lateral wall surfaces of the gas supply line perpendicular to this plane include an angle α1, wherein the two angles α1, α2 open towards the housing and wherein the angle α1 is greater than the angle α2.

Claims

1. Arrangement for granulating plasticised or at least partially softened or at least partially melted material, in particular polymer material, comprising a housing (1) with a gas supply line (2) having a rectangular cross-section and a gas supply line (3), connected opposite the latter to the housing (1), having a rectangular cross-section, a granulating unit located at least partially in the housing (1) and having a perforated plate (4) of a feed or plasticising unit (27), preferably an extruder (27), which feeds or opens into the housing (1), and a scraper (6) which crushes or separates the material emerging through the recesses (5) of the perforated plate (4), characterised in that, in a plane or sectional plane (E-E) extending parallel to the plane of the perforated plate (4) and/or the front wall (17) of the housing (1), the two lateral wall surfaces (7) of the gas discharge line (3), which are perpendicular to this plane, include an angle α2 with one another, and the two lateral wall surfaces (8) of the gas supply line (2), which are perpendicular to this plane, include an angle α1, wherein the two angles α1, α2 open towards the housing (1) and wherein the angle α1 is greater than the angle α2.

2. Arrangement according to claim 1, characterised in that in the sectional plane (E-E) or in the plane parallel to the plane of the perforated plate (4), the spacing of the side walls (9) of the housing (1), which are perpendicular to this plane, in their downstream end region, and the mutual spacing of the lateral wall surfaces (7) of the gas discharge line (3), which are adjacent thereto and are likewise perpendicular to this plane (E-E), has a value b of 10*d≥b≥4*d, preferably 8*d≥b≥5*d, wherein the value of d being calculated by determining the common surface centre of gravity (FS) for all the recesses (5) present in the perforated plate (4), determining for each recess (5) the spacing of the surface centre of gravity (S) of the respective recess (5) from the common surface centre of gravity (FS), arithmetically averaging the spacing values (A) determined for the recesses (5) present and fixing twice the value of the arithmetic mean as the value d.

3. Arrangement according to claim 1, characterised in that the value b corresponds to the greatest mutual spacing between the side walls (9) of the housing (1) at their downstream end region and the lateral wall surfaces (7) of the gas discharge line (3) at their upstream end region.

4. Arrangement according to claim 1, characterized in that the two side wall surfaces (10) of the gas discharge line (3), which are perpendicular to a plane perpendicular to the plane E-E or perpendicular to a plane perpendicular to the plane of the perforated plate (4), respectively, include an angle β2 with each other, and the side wall surfaces (11) of the gas supply line (2), which also extend perpendicular to a plane perpendicular to the plane E-E or perpendicular to a plane perpendicular to the perforated plate (4), respectively, include an angle β1 with one another, wherein the two angles β1, β2 open away from the housing (1) and wherein the angle β1 is greater than the angle β2.

5. Arrangement according to claim 1, characterized in that the central axis of the feed or plasticising unit (27), preferably of an extruder, and/or the common surface centre of gravity (FS) of all the recesses (5) present, respectively the centre line (12) of the perforated plate (4) running through the surface centre of gravity (FS) lies centrally with respect to the side walls (9) of the housing (1) and/or is located in a plane of symmetry of the gas supply line (2) and/or of the gas discharge line (3) and/or of the housing (1) which is perpendicular to the plane of the perforated plate (4) and contains the centre line (13) of the housing (1).

6. Arrangement according to claim 1, characterised in that the central axis of the feed or plasticising unit (27), preferably of the extruder, and/or the common surface centre of gravity (FS) of all the recesses (5) present, respectively the centre line (12) of the perforated plate (4) running through the latter is laterally offset with respect to a centre line (13) of the housing (1) and/or with respect to a plane of symmetry of the gas supply line (2) and/or of the gas discharge line (3) which is perpendicular to the plane of the perforated plate (4) and contains the centre line (13) and/or with respect to the centre between the side surfaces (9) of the housing (1), wherein the lateral offset is by a value c, with c≤2.5*d, in the region of the housing (1) in which the direction of rotation of the scraper (6) and the direction (14) of the gas flow are in the same direction.

7. Arrangement according to claim 1, characterised in that the central axis of the feed or plasticising unit (27), preferably of an extruder, and/or the common surface centre of gravity (FS) of all the recesses (5) present, respectively a centre line (12) of the perforated plate (4) running through the latter, is positioned opposite the point or cross-sectional area of the housing (1), at which—viewed in the direction of flow—the side walls (9) of the widening housing have assumed the mutual spacing b, is arranged upstream at a spacing a, wherein a≤1.1*d.

8. Arrangement according to claim 1, characterised in that in a transition region (15) from the housing (1) to the gas discharge line (3) the housing (1) and the gas discharge line (3) have the same rectangular cross-sectional area (16), wherein the length of the longer rectangular side has the value b.

9. Arrangement according to claim 1, characterised in that the cross-sectional area of the housing (1) in the transition region to the gas discharge line (3) is only 5 to 20%, preferably 10 to 15%, larger than the cross-sectional area of the gas discharge line (3) in its end region remote from the housing, and/or that the cross-sectional area of the housing (1) at the level of the perforated plate (4) is 25 to 35% larger than the cross-sectional area of the gas supply line (2) in its upstream end or its connection to the fan (30), and/or that the cross-sectional area of the housing (1) increases by 10 to 20% from the height of the perforated plate (4) to the transition region to the gas discharge line (3) to form a diffuser.

10. Arrangement according to claim 1, characterised in that in the plane (E-E) parallel to the perforated plate (4) the opposing side wall surfaces (9) of the housing (1) have, at least over a partial region of their longitudinal extent, a convexly curved, in particular continuous, course diverging from the gas supply line (2) towards the gas discharge line (3) as seen from the interior of the housing (1).

11. Arrangement according to claim 1, characterized in that the front wall (17) and the rear wall (18) of the housing (1) are aligned parallel to one another and/or parallel to the plane of the perforated plate (4).

12. Arrangement according to claim 1, characterised in that the scraper (6) has a drive shaft which runs in the housing (1) from the rear wall (18) of the housing (1) to the perforated plate (4) located in the region of the front wall (17) of the housing (1) and constituting the end region of the feed or plasticising unit (27).

13. Arrangement according to claim 1, characterised in that a transition part (20) is connected to the gas discharge line (3), wherein the former transitions the rectangular cross-section of the gas discharge line (3) into a cross-section with a round or curved circumference, wherein the transition part (20) has wall sections (21, 22) tapering downstream, which are connected, in particular inclined at the same angle α2 or the same angle β2 to the lateral wall surfaces (7) or side wall surfaces (10) of the gas discharge line (3) or extend these, in particular in the form of triangles.

14. Arrangement according to claim 1, characterized in that the apex (S) of the angles α1, α2 and/or β1, β2 lies on the centre line (13) or a longitudinal plane of symmetry through the gas supply line (2), the housing (1) and the gas discharge line (3).

15. Arrangement according to claim 1, characterized in that the angle α2 is 0.25 times to 0.75 times, preferably 0.4 times to 0.6 times, the angle α1.

16. Arrangement according to claim 1, characterized in that the angle α1 is <180° and preferably lies in the range from 15° to 110° and is in particular an acute angle of 20° to 60°, and/or that the angle α2 is <180° and is preferably an acute angle, preferably in the range from 3.0° to 82.5°, in particular from 6° to 36°.

17. Arrangement according to claim 1, characterized in that the angle β2 is 0.12 times to 0.45 times, preferably 0.2 times to 0.3 times, the angle β1.

18. Arrangement according to claim 1, characterized in that the angle β1 is <180° and is in particular an acute angle, preferably in the range from 18° to 80°, in particular from 20° to 50°, and/or that the angle β2 is <180° and is in particular an acute angle, preferably in the range from 8° to 40°, in particular from 4° to 15°.

19. Arrangement according to claim 1, characterized in that the gas supply line (2), the housing (1) and the gas discharge line (3) are arranged vertically one above the other.

20. Arrangement according to claim 1, characterized in that the centre line (12) of the perforated plate (4) and the central axis of the feed or plasticising unit (27) coincide.

Description

[0031] FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of the arrangement according to the invention, wherein the right-hand part of the figure shows the part of the arrangement connected to the feed or plasticising unit, preferably an extruder, on which the fan part of the arrangement according to the invention shown on the left is pivotably mounted.

[0032] FIG. 2 shows a sectional view E-E of the arrangement according to FIG. 3, wherein the direction of view is in the direction of the extruder connected to the arrangement.

[0033] FIG. 3 shows a section B-B according to FIG. 2.

[0034] FIGS. 4 and 5 show different embodiments concerning the position of the arrangement in relation to the extruder shaft r a perforated plate of the extruder, respectively.

[0035] FIGS. 6 and 7 show diagrams.

[0036] FIG. 8 shows a sketch for determining the value b.

[0037] The arrangement according to the invention is arranged downstream of or connected to any feed or plasticising unit 27, preferably an extruder, wherein the unit 27 is shown with its end region or end part only in FIG. 3. The end region, as shown in FIG. 1, is received by or connected to a box-shaped support part 23 of a housing 1 and is closed off with a perforated plate 4 for the material outlet, which opens into the housing 1. The conveying direction of the unit 27 is shown schematically with an arrow 19. Such a unit can also be formed by a pressure line conveying plasticised and/or molten material.

[0038] As FIG. 1 shows, between a gas supply line 2 and a gas discharge line 3 lies the housing 1, the front wall 17 and rear wall 18 of which run parallel to each other. The perforated plate 4 opens into the housing 1 and the drive shaft of a scraper 6 projects therein. The drive shaft of the scraper 6 is driven by a motor 28.

[0039] As shown in FIG. 1, a support part 24 is pivotably mounted on the support part 23 by means of a pivot bearing 25 which can be designed as desired, which in turn supports the motor 28 and the scraper 6 driven by the motor 28 via a drive shaft. The scraper 6 comes into contact with the perforated plate 4 when the support part 24 is swivelled onto the support part 23, in order to scrape off the material exiting through the perforated plate 4. In this way, granulate particles are formed in the housing 1 while simultaneously being transported away with a gas flow.

[0040] The pivot bearing 25 for the support parts 23, 24 is provided to allow easy maintenance work inside the housing 1 or to gain access to the scraper 6 and the perforated plate 4.

[0041] The support part 23 carries in its upper region a gas discharge line 3 in the form of a tapering tube or channel with four edges running in the direction of flow or a rectangular cross-sectional area, which is adjoined by a transition part 20 with wall sections 21, 22 ending in a rounded cross-section. The wall sections 21 and 22 each have the same inclination as the side wall surfaces 7 or 10 respectively of the gas discharge line 3.

[0042] When the support part 24 is swivelled in, the housing 1 located on the support part 24 comes to lie with its upper opening cross-section 29 below the cross-sectional area of the gas discharge line 3 adapted to this opening cross-section, so that gas can flow into the housing 1 from below by means of a fan 30 via a gas supply line 2 and can be conducted via the housing 1 into the gas discharge line 3, wherein the gas flows past the perforated plate 4 and the scraper 6. The perforated plate 4 opens tightly in front of or into an opening 31 in the front wall 17 of the housing 1. The perforated plate 4 can also project into the housing 1. In this way, the strands of material exiting the perforated plate 4 can be separated from the scraper 6 and carried along directly by the gas flow.

[0043] The gas supply line 2 leading to the housing 1 is connected to the fan 30. As can be seen from FIG. 2, the lateral wall surfaces 8 of the gas supply line 2, which run perpendicular to the plane of the perforated plate 4 or to a sectional plane E-E or to the front wall 17 and rear wall 18 of the housing 1, are inclined at an angle α1 to one another, wherein the apex S of this angle α1 lies on the centre line between these two wall surfaces 8 or on the centre line 13 of the housing 1 or on a longitudinal axis of symmetry of the housing 1. The apex S of the angle α1 can be at the level of the axis of the rotor of the fan 30.

[0044] The two wall surfaces 8 are adjoined by the side walls 9 of the housing 1, which diverge downstream and are slightly convexly curved when viewed from the inside, preferably at least over a partial region. In the downstream end region of the housing 1, the housing 1 has an extension or spacing b between the side walls 9. The gas discharge line 3 adjoins this end region of the housing 1, the lateral wall surfaces 7 of which include an angle α2 with each other, the apex of which lies downstream of the housing 1. It can be seen that the angle α1 is larger than the angle α2.

[0045] FIG. 3 shows that in the case of the gas supply line 2 adjoining the fan 30, the two side wall surfaces 11 perpendicular to a plane perpendicular to the sectional plane E-E or to the plane of the perforated plate 4 include an angle β1 which is greater than the angle β2 formed by the two side wall surfaces 10 of the gas discharge line 3, which are also perpendicular to this plane E-E. The apex of the angle β1 lies downstream of the gas discharge line 2, preferably in the housing 1. The apex of the angle β2 lies upstream of the gas discharge line 3, preferably upstream of the housing 1, in particular in the gas supply line 2 or upstream of the gas supply line 2.

[0046] In operation, the fan 30 is driven by the fan motor 28 and conveys a gas flow via the gas supply line 2 into the housing 1, which gas flow removes the granulate particles separated by the scraper 6 on the perforated plate 4 from the housing 1 and carries them along into the gas discharge line 3. These particles in the form of granulates, sausages or irregularly shaped bodies can be solidified with the help of the gas flow. This solidification can take place by a thermal influence, e.g. cooling or drying effect of the gas flow, or also by chemical reactions induced by the gas flow itself.

[0047] The angles α1, α2 and, in an advantageous embodiment, β1, β2 between the respective wall surfaces of the gas supply line 2 and the gas discharge line 3 are important for the safe, rapid and, if possible, collision- and deposit-free transport of the particles. The values b and d as well as the expansion or widening of the housing 1 from the perforated plate 4 downstream are also advantageous for deposit-free particle agglomeration.

[0048] The cross-section or the cross-sectional area of the housing 1 in its downstream end region shows a spacing b between the lateral wall surfaces 9 which is in relation to a value d characteristic of the perforated plate 4. This value d is determined by the position, shape and number of recesses 5, which determine the cross-section of the material to be granulated. Since the perforated plates 4 used in practice for different materials may have irregularly distributed and/or unequally sized and/or unequally shaped and/or have a different number of recesses 5, the value d is determined in the following way: The common surface centre of gravity FS for all existing recesses 5 is determined. Furthermore, the spacing A of the surface centre of gravity S of the respective recess 5 from the common surface centre of gravity FS is determined for each recess 5. The values for the spacing A determined for all recesses 5 present are arithmetically averaged. The double value of the arithmetic mean then corresponds to the value d. FIG. 8 explains this procedure for determining the value d in more detail. Four recesses 5 are arranged in a perforated plate 4, each at the corner points of an imaginary rectangle. Each of these recesses has its surface centre of gravity S as its centre, since the recesses are circular. The common surface centre of gravity of the four recesses 5 lies in the centre of these four recesses 5 and is designated FS. The spacing between this common surface centre of gravity FS and the individual recesses 5 is designated A. The spacing A is the same for each of the four recesses 5, so that the sum to be formed for the arithmetic mean is 4*A. After determining the arithmetic mean, which has the value A, the resulting value is therefore d=2*A. This type of determination can also be used without further ado for recesses 5 having an elliptical cross-section or for circular arrangements 5. In the case of irregularly shaped recesses 5 or recesses with different shapes, the surface centre of gravity S of each recess must be determined and the common surface centre of gravity FS can then be determined from the sum of the individual surface centres of gravity S.

[0049] FIGS. 4 and 5 show perforated plates 4 recesses 5 of which are arranged at the corners of a square, wherein a further recess 5 lies at the diagonal intersection of this square. The value d is thus the length of the diagonal of this square, at the corners of which the centres or surface centres of gravity of the circular recesses 5 are located. FIG. 8 below shows this arrangement of recesses 5 more clearly.

[0050] In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the axis of the end part of the feed or plasticising unit 27 or the extruder axis and the centre line 12 of the perforated plate 4, which passes through the common surface centre of gravity FS and is perpendicular to the plane of the perforated plate 4, intersect the centre line 13 of the housing 1, which runs in the longitudinal direction. For sticky materials, however, it may prove advantageous when an off-centre offset of the perforated plate 4 or its centre line 12 takes place relative or laterally to this centre line 13. Particularly in the case of highly sticky materials, there is a risk that separated particles will collide with each other or come into contact with the inner wall surface of the housing 1 and adhere to each other or build up on the housing 1 and obstruct the passage.

[0051] It has proved advantageous when—as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5—the centre line 12 of the perforated plate 4 or the axis of the feed or plasticising unit 27 or the surface centre of gravity FS of the perforated plate 4 is offset laterally by an amount c relative to the centre line 13 of the housing 1. This offset takes place horizontally or transversely to the direction of flow in a plane parallel to the perforated plate 4 and, if necessary, can also take place vertically or in or against the direction of flow.

[0052] The maximum lateral offset c depends on the value of d, wherein it has proven to be extremely favourable in practice when it is provided that c is ≤2.5*d. The value of c is selected depending on the material and particle size and is adjustable.

[0053] Upstream or vertically downstream, an offset by a value a≤2.2*d can take place. At most, this results in an offset vector that is inclined, e.g. at an angle γ to the longitudinal centre line 13, as can be seen in FIG. 5.

[0054] The lateral offset is advantageously in the direction in which the direction of rotation of the scraper 6 and the direction of flow of the gas flow through the housing 1 are in the same direction.

[0055] Preferably, the axis of the feed or plasticising unit 27 and the centre line 12 of the perforated plate 4 coincide. The common surface centre of gravity FS advantageously lies on this axis or centre line 12 of the perforated plate 4.

[0056] FIG. 6 shows paths of the granulate particles exiting through the perforated plate 4 and separated by the scraper 6 in the housing 1 and in the gas discharge line 3. It can be seen that the particles are either immediately conveyed downstream or, after a fairly short movement caused by the scraper, are carried along by the gas flow against the direction of flow of the gas flow. It can also be seen that most of the particle paths run unbroken, i.e. without collisions with the inner wall of the housing or the inner wall of the gas line. Particularly in the region immediately adjacent to the exit of the granulate particles on the perforated plate 4, and which is important for the drying of the particles, very few particle collisions can be detected. The individual separated granulate particles follow independent trajectories and collisions with other granulate particles are almost non-existent.

[0057] FIG. 7 shows a velocity profile over a longitudinal sectional area of the housing 1 and the gas discharge line 3 parallel to the perforated plate 4. It can be seen that the velocity profile of the particles increases abruptly from the outside to the inside, and that in particular in the central region of the gas flow there is a strikingly high flow velocity compared to the peripheral regions. This means, especially considering FIG. 6, that considerably fewer or no particles are transported in the peripheral regions, but only in the central region of the gas flow. Thus, wall collisions are largely avoided.