Patent Application
20150072294
The present disclosure relates to gaseous fuel-oxygen burners.
A gas burner can produce (e.g., generate) a flame using a gaseous fuel, such as hydrogen, propane, or natural gas. For example, a gaseous fuel-oxygen burner may produce a flame by mixing a gaseous fuel with oxygen. Gaseous fuel-oxygen burners may be used to produce flames in a number of industrial applications.
Previous gaseous fuel-oxygen burners may include a single (e.g., one) coaxial jet. Gaseous fuel may flow through the center of the single jet, and oxygen may be supplied (e.g., fed) into the outer portion of the single jet around the gaseous fuel, to produce the flame.
Such single coaxial jets may be simple to design and manufacture. However, such single coaxial jets may produce a flame that is too voluminous (e.g., too long) for the intended industrial application(s) of the burner.
A gaseous fuel-oxygen burner is described herein. For example, one or more embodiments include a flame zone in which combustion of gaseous fuel and oxygen occurs to form a flame, a coaxial gaseous fuel jet configured to provide the flame zone with gaseous fuel, and a coaxial oxygen jet configured to provide the flame zone with oxygen, wherein the coaxial gaseous fuel jet and the coaxial oxygen jet are separate such that the gaseous fuel from the coaxial gaseous fuel jet and the oxygen from the coaxial oxygen jet do not mix before entering the flame zone. Gaseous fuel-oxygen burners in accordance with the present disclosure may be able to produce less voluminous (e.g., shorter) flames than previous gaseous fuel-oxygen burners (e.g., gaseous fuel-oxygen burners having only a single coaxial jet). Accordingly, gaseous fuel-oxygen burners in accordance with the present disclosure may be suitable for more applications (e.g., more industrial applications) than previous gaseous fuel-oxygen burners.
Additionally, gaseous fuel-oxygen burners in accordance with the present disclosure may have a non-liquid cooling design (e.g., the fuel jet of the burner can be cooled without using water or other liquids). In many applications (e.g., industrial applications), liquids may not be used to cool the burner (e.g., the fuel jet of the burner) due to, for example, the danger of a leak at the high operating temperatures of the burner causing a rapid expansion of vapor that can endanger personnel and/or damage equipment. Accordingly, the non-liquid cooling design of the present disclosure may further expand the number of applications for which gaseous fuel-oxygen burners in accordance with the present disclosure are suitable.
In the following detailed description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings that form a part hereof. The drawings show by way of illustration how one or more embodiments of the disclosure may be practiced.
These embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those of ordinary skill in the art to practice one or more embodiments of this disclosure. It is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and that process, electrical, and/or structural changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.
The figures herein follow a numbering convention in which the first digit or digits correspond to the drawing figure number and the remaining digits identify an element or component in the drawing. Similar elements or components between different figures may be identified by the use of similar digits. For example, 114 may reference element “14” in
As will be appreciated, elements shown in the various embodiments herein can be added, exchanged, combined, and/or eliminated so as to provide a number of additional embodiments of the present disclosure. The proportion and the relative scale of the elements provided in the figures are intended to illustrate the embodiments of the present disclosure, and should not be taken in a limiting sense.
As used herein, “a” or “a number of” something can refer to one or more such things. For example, “a number of openings” can refer to one or more openings. Additionally, the designators “N”, “M”, “L”, and “K” as used herein, particularly with respect to reference numerals in the drawings, indicates that a number of the particular feature so designated can be included with embodiments of the present disclosure.
As shown in
Coaxial gaseous fuel jets 114-1, 114-2, . . . , 114-N can provide (e.g., supply) flame zone 105 with gaseous fuel (e.g., a gaseous fuel stream), and coaxial oxygen jets 104-1, 104-2, . . . , 104-K can provide (e.g., supply) flame zone 105 with oxygen (e.g., an oxygen stream). For example, the fuel jets can inject and/or eject gaseous fuel into flame zone 105, and the oxygen jets can inject and/or eject oxygen into flame zone 105. The gaseous fuel and the oxygen can combust in flame zone 105 to form a flame.
The gaseous fuel provided by coaxial gaseous fuel jets 114-1, 114-2, . . . , 114-N can be, for example, hydrogen, propane, or natural gas. The oxygen provided coaxial oxygen jets 104-1, 104-2, . . . , 104-K can be, for example, 80% pure oxygen. However, embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to a particular type of gaseous fuel or a particular oxygen purity.
In some embodiments, the gaseous fuel from coaxial gaseous fuel jets 114-1, 114-2, . . . , 114-N and the oxygen from oxygen jets 104-1, 104-2, . . . , 104-K may not mix (e.g., may be kept completely separate) before entering flame zone 105, which can reduce the volume of (e.g., shorten) the flame formed in flame zone 105. Such embodiments will be further described herein (e.g., in connection with
In some embodiments, a portion (e.g., fraction) of the oxygen from coaxial oxygen jets 104-1, 104-2, . . . , 104-K may mix with the gaseous fuel from coaxial gaseous fuel jets 114-1, 114-2, . . . , 114-N before entering flame zone 105, which can reduce the volume of the flame formed in flame zone 105. For example, the fuel jets can receive the portion of the oxygen from the oxygen jets before the oxygen from the oxygen jets enters flame zone 105, and the fuel jets can then provide flame zone 105 with the gaseous fuel mixed with the portion of the oxygen received from the oxygen jets. The portion of the oxygen from the oxygen jets can be, for example, less than the amount of oxygen needed to combust the gaseous fuel, such that the portion of the oxygen and the gaseous fuel do not combust in the fuel jets. This pre-mixing of the gaseous fuel with the portion of the oxygen can promote rapid ignition and combustion in flame zone 105, which can reduce the volume of the flame formed in flame zone 105. Such embodiments will be further described herein (e.g., in connection with
Each coaxial gaseous fuel jet 114-1, 114-2, . . . , 114-N can include an opening (e.g., nozzle) adjacent flame zone 105 to provide flame zone 105 with the gaseous fuel (e.g., the gaseous fuel mixed with the portion of oxygen). For example, fuel jet 114-1 can include opening 106-1, fuel jet 114-2 can include opening 106-2, etc. adjacent flame zone 105 to provide flame zone 105 with the gaseous fuel, as shown in
Each coaxial oxygen jet 104-1, 104-2, . . . , 104-K can include an opening (e.g., hole or slot) adjacent flame zone 105 to provide flame zone 105 with the oxygen. The openings can be smaller (e.g., have a smaller diameter) than openings 106-1, 106-2, . . . , 106-N of fuel jets 114-1, 114-2, . . . , 114-N), and can be radial openings (e.g., positioned radially around openings 106-1, 106-2, . . . , 106-N). Although the embodiment illustrated in
Further, mixing plate 118 can include a plurality of radial openings 108-1, 108-2, . . . , 108-M (e.g., a plurality of openings positioned radially around mixing plate 118) adjacent flame zone 105 to provide flame zone 105 with oxygen, as shown in
The openings of coaxial oxygen jets 104-1, 104-2, . . . , 104-K, and/or radial openings 108-1, 108-2, . . . , 108-M, can provide oxygen into flame zone 105 in a uniform annular distribution about radial openings 106-1, 106-2, . . . , 106-N of coaxial gaseous fuel jets 114-1, 114-2, . . . , 114-N. Providing oxygen into flame zone 105 in such a manner can cool fuel jets 114-1, 114-2, . . . , 114-N, and/or prevent a flame formed in flame zone 105 from attaching to fuel jets 114-1, 114-2, . . . , 114-N.
As shown in
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In the embodiment illustrated in
In some embodiments, coaxial gaseous fuel jets 114-1, 114-2, . . . , 114-N may not include a counter bore port that increases the diameter of the fuel jets. Such embodiments will be further described herein (e.g., in connection with
As shown in
As shown in
Openings 220-1, 220-2, . . . , 220-L can be adjacent (e.g., penetrate into) coaxial oxygen jets 204-1, 204-2, . . . , 204-K and receive the portion of oxygen from the coaxial oxygen jets before the oxygen enters the flame zone. The portion of the oxygen received from the oxygen jets can be, for example, less than the amount of oxygen needed to combust the gaseous fuel from coaxial gaseous fuel jet 214, such that the portion of the oxygen and the gaseous fuel do not combust in fuel jet 214, as previously described herein (e.g., in connection with
Coaxial gaseous fuel jet 214 can carry the gaseous fuel before the gaseous fuel is mixed with the portion of the oxygen received from coaxial oxygen jets 204-1, 204-2, . . . , 204-K via openings 220-1, 220-2, . . . , 220-L, counter bore port 216 can carry the gaseous fuel mixed with the portion of the oxygen received from the oxygen jets, and the gaseous fuel mixed with the portion of the oxygen received from the oxygen jets can enter the flame zone via opening 206. The diameters of coaxial gaseous fuel jet 214 and counter bore port 216 can be sized such that the velocity of the gaseous fuel carried through fuel jet 214 is equal to the velocity of the gaseous fuel mixed with the portion of the oxygen carried through counter bore port 216.
As shown in
Further, coaxial gaseous fuel jet 314 may not include a counter bore port. For example, fuel jet 314 may not include a counter bore port that increases the diameter of fuel jet 314. Rather, the diameter of fuel jet 314 may remain constant until reaching opening 306, as illustrated in
Although specific embodiments have been illustrated and described herein, those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that any arrangement calculated to achieve the same techniques can be substituted for the specific embodiments shown. This disclosure is intended to cover any and all adaptations or variations of various embodiments of the disclosure.
It is to be understood that the above description has been made in an illustrative fashion, and not a restrictive one. Combination of the above embodiments, and other embodiments not specifically described herein will be apparent to those of skill in the art upon reviewing the above description.
The scope of the various embodiments of the disclosure includes any other applications in which the above structures and methods are used. Therefore, the scope of various embodiments of the disclosure should be determined with reference to the appended claims, along with the full range of equivalents to which such claims are entitled.
In the foregoing Detailed Description, various features are grouped together in example embodiments illustrated in the figures for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure. This method of disclosure is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intention that the embodiments of the disclosure require more features than are expressly recited in each claim.
Rather, as the following claims reflect, inventive subject matter lies in less than all features of a single disclosed embodiment. Thus, the following claims are hereby incorporated into the Detailed Description, with each claim standing on its own as a separate embodiment.
