Patent Application
20180231314
The embodiments disclosed herein relate to the field of melt furnaces, and more particularly burners for melt furnaces.
A melt furnace for melting scrap metal includes a burner opening in a side wall of the furnace. Furnace melt towers may not melt the scrap as designed and required due to excessive wear of the burner opening, which is also referred to as a burner block. Replacement or patching of the burner block while the furnace wall is hot is not possible. Therefore, there exists a need for a way to reline the burner block to a like-new condition with the inner wall being hot. Additionally, a need exists to restore the burner block quickly, in as few as five minutes. Further, there is a need for a way to maintain a burner block in a new condition with limited wear that can be cleaned without excessive force.
The features and advantages described in the specification are not all inclusive and, in particular, many additional features and advantages will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art in view of the drawings, specification, and claims. Moreover, it should be noted that the language used in the specification has been principally selected for readability and instructional purposes, and may not have been selected to delineate or circumscribe the inventive subject matter.
According to one aspect, a furnace melt tower includes a burner block having an inner wall defining a burner port for receiving a burner nozzle, and a burner tube insert received within the burner port between the inner wall and the burner nozzle.
According to another aspect, a burner tube insert for use with a port in a burner block of a furnace melt tower includes a cylindrical body having a first end and a second end and a flange extending radially outward from the first end of the burner tube insert, the flange having a first surface and a second surface.
According to yet another aspect, a burner assembly for a furnace includes a burner block having an inner wall defining a burner port, a burner nozzle disposed within the burner port, and a burner tube insert received within the burner port between the inner wall and the burner nozzle.
The figures depict various embodiments for purposes of illustration only. One skilled in the art will readily recognize from the following discussion that alternative embodiments of the structures and methods illustrated herein may be employed without departing from the principles of the embodiments described herein.
The inner walls of the burner port 112 in the burner block 110 may become damaged under the heating and cooling conditions associated with operation of the burner 104. Further, the inner walls of the burner port 112 may become encrusted with burnt fuel residue, and scraps, which may impact the performance of the burners 104 by limiting air flow or closing the burner port 112 if residue is allowed to build up over time. In the embodiment described herein, the residue may consist of byproducts of combustion of natural gas, which is the fuel used by the burners 104, as well as impurities that may be introduced into the burner block 110. The difficulty with residue is that it cannot be removed when the furnace melt tower 100 is in use, or for a significant amount of time after use until the burner block 110 cools down from operating temperatures of the furnace melt tower 100. Further, in a cooled state, the residue buildup often requires a jackhammer or hammer and chisel to remove, which may damage the inner walls of the burner block 110.
The burner tube insert 200 may be constructed from mild steel or stainless steel to help maintain a proper shape under extreme heat conditions. In the embodiment described herein, the set point operating temperature of the furnace melt tower 100 is 1250° F., and the furnace melt tower 100 typically operates in the range between 1200-1300° F. Maintaining a clean and properly shaped burner wall helps with air flow that is crucial to generating a flame having a desired shape.
Reference in the specification to “one embodiment” or to “an embodiment” means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiments is included in at least one embodiment. The appearances of the phrase “in one embodiment” or “an embodiment” in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment.
In addition, the language used in the specification has been principally selected for readability and instructional purposes, and may not have been selected to delineate or circumscribe the inventive subject matter. Accordingly, the disclosure of the embodiments is intended to be illustrative, but not limiting, of the scope of the embodiments, which is set forth in the claims.
While particular embodiments and applications have been illustrated and described herein, it is to be understood that the embodiments are not limited to the precise construction and components disclosed herein and that various modifications, changes, and variations may be made in the arrangement, operation, and details of the methods and apparatuses of the embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the embodiments as defined in the appended claims.
