LIQUID BLASTING SYSTEM

Abstract: A liquid blasting system for blasting an area, surface, structure, part, item, or member with liquid or with liquid and abrasives, or with a liquid-abrasive mixture. The system has a housing (20) through which are disposed a plurality of inlets or nozzles (24 or 26). Liquid, e.g., water, under pressure is transmitted through the inlets or nozzles (24) to the blasting zone. Abrasives, e.g., sand, may be injected with the liquid or separate abrasive injection inlets or nozzles (26) may be employed in connections with the liquid inlets or nozzles (24). The inlet or nozzle housing (20) can communicate with a collection housing (30) for receiving blasted material, liquid, and abrasives. The collection housing (30) can have ports (36) therein through which these liquids and materials can exit. The ports (36) can be suitable for connecting thereto suction means for sucking materials and liquid from the blasting zone of nozzle housing (20), to and through the collection housing (30), and thence out of the collection housing (30).

Description: This invention relates to a liquid blasting system. Prior art liquid blasting systems are utilized for the cleaning of parts and materials in a variety of industries and enterprises. Such systems employ liquids under pressures ranging from 34.5 to 3447 bar (500 to 50 000 p.s.i.) and liquid velocities from 244 to 381 m/s (800 to 1250 feet per second). A typical prior art system is a single-operator high pressure gun as disclosed in U.S. Patent 3,799,440. Various problems are associated with the structure and use of such guns. Many guns are heavy and cumbersome. During operation a reaction force of as much as 22.7 kg (40 pounds) must be dealt with by the operator. This can be very tiring. Often, as described in U.S. Patent 3,802,628 a plurality of individually controlled high pressure blast guns will be connected to the same power source. Each gun requires its own operator. Problems associated with such a multiple gun hook-up to a single power source are similar to the problems encountered with the use of single guns. The NLB Spin Jet is a liquid blasting system which employs four liquid nozzles with a housing or body. The nozzle or nozzles are located under the housing where they are connected to a rotating member. There is no vacuum on any part of the device to remove fluid or abrasives. The NLB Corp. expansion joint cleaning system uses another NLB Corp. "Expansion Joint Cleaner" which is similar to the NLB Spin Jet. The NLB apparatuses cannot adequately deal with abrasives. The present invention seeks to provide embodiments of a liquid blasting system which has a high production rate, which requires only one operator, which uses abrasives more efficiently, which is of simple construction and easy to repair, and which eliminates health and environmental problems related to known prior art systems. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention there is provided a liquid blasting system for blasting liquid or a liquid-abrasive mixture onto an area to be blasted, the system comprising housing means, liquid inlet means and collection means the liquid inlet means including a plurality of liquid inlets disposed on and through the housing means and communicating with the housing means' interior for receiving liquid under pressure and transmitting it to the area to be blasted, collection means communicating with the housing means for receiving liquid and blasted material from a blasting zone in use associated with the housing means, the collection means having connection means connected thereto for attaching suction means for sucking the liquid and blasted material from the blasting zone into the collection means, and thence out of the collection means. In an embodiment, a liquid blasting system has a housing with multiple inlets for receiving liquid, e.g., water, under high pressure and multiple inlets for receiving abrasives, e.g., sand; or multiple inlets for receiving a liquid/abrasive mixture under high pressure. The liquid and abrasives can be injected through nozzles disposed in and through the housing. The housing is a shell with the inlets arranged in it so that a liquid or liquid/abrasive mixture is impinged at high pressure onto a blasting zone of the surface or article over which the housing is positioned for cleaning or blasting the surface or article. A vacuum/suction apparatus is provided for removing liquid, abrasives, or blasting particles from within the blasting zone. A circuitous path is provided for the vacuumed particles for efficient collection of the particles. The housing can be mobile for movement on ground, highway, or flat surfaces, having appropriate wheels or tires connected to it so that a single operator can move it easily. In embodiments, the power source for a liquid blast system can be located externally to or remotely to the system; e.g., a powered vehicle can provide the necessary power. An embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:- Fig. 1 shows a perspective view, partially cut away, of a housing and inlets of the system of an embodiment; Fig. 2 shows a frontal view of parts of a liquid blast system of an embodiment; Fig. 3 shows a top view of the system of Fig. 2; Fig. 4 shows a side view of the system of Fig. 2 with a water injection hose; and, Fig. 5 shows a partial cross-sectional view of the system of Fig. 4. As illustrated in Fig. 1, a housing 20 is formed as an elongated generally U-shaped member with an opening 22 at the bottom. The opening 22 is positioned over the surface or area to be blasted: the blasting zone. A plurality of water inlets 24 (twelve in Fig. 2) are disposed along the top 22a of housing 22. The inlets 24 communicate with the interior of the housing 20 and transmit water under high pressure (up to 3447 bar (50,000 p.s.i.)) onto the part, surface or area to be blasted. A plurality of sand inlets 26 (twelve on Fig. 2) are disposed on the lateral portion 22b of the housing 20. Rather than having sand injected through the inlets 26, a mixture of water and sand can be injected through the inlets 24. Although inlets 24 and 26 can be disposed at any desired angle with respect to the housing 22, it is a preferred feature that the inlets 24 and 26 are arranged substantially at right angles to one another (90°) with inlets 24 directed at the blasting zone. Connected to the housing 20 is an involute catcher assembly 30 for receiving and removing water, sand and blasted material from the housing 20. Such materials and fluids are sucked from within the housing 20, through an opening 32 into the catcher 30. The fluid and material follows a circuitous path through a channel 34 (which is part circular in cross-section) formed within the catcher 30 and thence to an exit port 36 at the end of the catcher 30. A vacuum hose (not shown in Fig. 1) is connected to the exit port 36 for creating the vacuum within the catcher 30. Although only one exit port 36 is shown in Fig. 1, two such ports are preferred as shown in Fig. 2. Another embodiment of the invention is illustrated in Figs. 2 to 5. The blast device 40 has a handling frame 41 which partially encompasses the device. A collection shroud 42 extends for almost the entire length of the device 40. A water inlet apparatus 43 (including water inlet pipes 44 and a plurality of water inlet manifolds 45) is mounted to the top of the shroud 42 for receiving high pressure water from a high pressure water source. The high pressure water is communicated from the water inlet manifolds 45 to nozzle mounts 46 with hoses 47 (one shown in Fig. 4). A hose such as hose 47 extends from each manifold hose outlet 48 to each nozzle mount 46. It is to be understood that this embodiment is not limited to the use of 12 water nozzles as suggested in Figs. 2 and 3, but the embodiment does illustrate the use of a plurality of nozzles. Each of the ends of the shroud 42 are closed off with a cover 50 and a gasket 51. Abrasives, liquid and blasted material are sucked up from within the shroud 42 by a vacuum supplied through suction ports 52 located at the ends of the shroud 42. The output of ports 52 can be conveyed to a tank adjacent to the device 40 or a tank or reservoir remotely located from the device 40 by the use of suitable transmission hoses (not shown). A plurality of sand injection nozzles 53 (only one of which is shown in Figs. 4 and 5) are disposed in and through the back side of a blast shroud 57. The arrangement is such that one sand injection nozzle is disposed to inject sand near the output end of each of a plurality of water injection nozzles 54 (one shown in Fig. 5). The water nozzle 54 is connected to a coupling 55 which is itself connected to a pipe 56 which extends through and is sealingly disposed in the blast shroud 57. The hose 47 is connected to a filter 58 (a five micron filter has been used) which is connected to a nipple 59. In turn, nipple 59 is connected to a bushing 60 which itself is connected to a quick disconnect assembly 61. The quick disconnect assembly can be quickly disconnected from the pipe 56 to which it is connected during operation. As shown in Fig. 5, the collection shroud 42 is spiral-shaped (when viewed in section) and communicates with the blast shroud 57. By this arrangement, blasted material can be sucked up from the area beneath the nozzles 54 and 53 into the collection shroud 42 from which, via suction vacuum action, they are expelled along with water and sand. An inside protective liner 62 is provided within the collection shroud 42 and a similar liner 63 is provided within the blast shroud 57. The liners (which are replaceable) can be made of material which can withstand the high pressures and abrasives within the shrouds such as stainless steel or aluminium of sufficient thickness. The nozzles 54 are so disposed in the shroud 57 that the entire area to be blasted under the shroud is subjected to blast from at least one nozzle. The water nozzle 54 as shown has a 25° fan. The angle of 25° is intended to be a preferred fan range rather than a limiting fan range. The embodiment of the system depicted in Figs. 2 to 5 is designed to operate at pressures up to 800 bar and clean a path 1.2 metres wide, either vertically or horizontally depending on whether the system is moved across a floor or held upright and moved along a wall. The system can also be used for degreasing by injecting a surfactant or soap into the blast water. A shroud seal 64 is connected to the leading edge of the shroud 42 to prevent the flow of materials beyond the edge exteriorly of the shroud. For the purpose of blasting rusted steel structures to a Sa 2 1/2 finish and to realize a blasting production rate of 250 square metres per hour using single wet sand blast control guns such as the Weatherford M-20 Control Gun, hitherto required fourteen operators, each with his own individual gun. After the blasting operation was completed, a vacuum hose was used to clean up abrasives, rust, blasting material, etc. Employing a mobile device described in the embodiments herein (which utilizes twelve sand injection inlets and twelve water inlets) achieved a production rate of 250 square metres per hour using one operator with the water pressure in each instance for the individual guns being 483 bar (7000 p.s.i.); and for guns on a multiple system also at 483 bar (7000 p.s.i.). It is seen, therefore, that the present invention is well-suited to carry out the ends and attain the advantages set forth herein.

Claims: A liquid blasting system or blasting liquid or a liquid-abrasive mixture onto an area to be blasted, the system comprising housing means (20), liquid inlet means (24) and collection means (30) the liquid inlet means (24) including a plurality of liquid inlets (24) disposed on and through the housing means (20) and communicating with the housing means' interior for receiving liquid under pressure and transmitting it to the area to be blasted, collection means (30) communicating with the housing means (20) for receiving liquid and blasted material from a blasting zone in use associated with the housing means (20), the collection means (30) having connection means (36) connected thereto for attaching suction means for sucking the liquid and blasted material from the blasting zone into the collection means (30), and thence out of the collection means (30). 2. A system as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the liquid inlets (24) are disposed in the top (22a) of the housing means (20). 3. A system as claimed in either Claim 1 or Claim 2, wherein the liquid inlets (24) are suitable for receiving a mixture of liquid and abrasive particles. 4. A system as claimed in either Claim 1 or Claim 2, further comprising a plurality of abrasive injection inlets (26) disposed on the housing (20) for injecting abrasives into the liquid flowing from the liquid inlets (24). 5. A system as claimed in Claim 4, wherein the abrasive injection inlets (26) are disposed on the side (22b) of the housing means (20) below the liquid inlet means (24). 6. A system as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 5, wherein the collection means (30) includes circuitous path means (34) through which the liquid and blasted material must flow before exiting the collection means (30).

Inventors: WOODWARD, MICHAEL JOHN
Applicants: WEATHERFORD U.S. INC.
Application year: 1987
Main classification: B24C1
IPC codes: B24C3