METHOD AND DEVICE FOR COOLING A MIXTURE OF SUBSTANCES BY WAY OF SUBCOOLED WATER ICE

摘要

It is a conventional measure to use cooled unset concrete for the construction of large concrete bodies such as abutments, concrete dams, pylons and the like in order to prevent stresses and cracks in the concrete. Known cooling methods, such as cooling by adding flake ice or liquid nitrogen are hardly effective and may lead to local inhomogeneities caused by water voids. When the concrete is cooled by way of ice crystals or snow crystals, there is the danger of the individual snow crystals or ice crystals sticking together, thereby also leading to water voids. The inventive method is characterized by subcooling the ice crystals or snow crystals used to cool a mixture of substances after their production to a temperature of below minus 40 °C and to subject them to a separation method. The crystals so produced can be mixed especially well with the other additives to give a homogeneous compound. The inventive method and the inventive device are particularly useful for the production of concrete but can also be used in other domains, such as in the pharmaceutical industry or in food engineering.