Patent Application
20100266972
The present invention relates to burner surface plates and methods for production of these plates. More particularly, the invention is directed to burner surface plates formed from unsintered metal and ceramic fibers.
Perforated plates formed from ceramic fibers have been disclosed in numerous patents such as U.S. Pat. No. 3,954,387 to Cooper, U.S. Pat. No. 4,504,218 to Mihara et al and U.S. Pat. No. 4,673,349 to Abe et al.
A common use of perforated ceramic plates is as burner surfaces of gas burners. U.S. Pat. No. 5,595,816 of Carswell (the “'816 patent”), which is incorporated herein by reference, for example, discloses an all-ceramic perforated plate useful as a burner face. The plates of U.S. Pat. No. 5,595,816 are formed by pressurized filtration of a suspension of chopped ceramic fibers in an aqueous dispersion of colloidal alumina or colloidal silica through a mold having a perforated filter base and a pin support base having pins that extend through and beyond the perforations of the filter base. After formation, the perforated layer of chopped fibers is transferred to a dryer operating at a temperature not exceeding 650° F., for conversion into a strong perforated plate. As described by this patent an advantage of perforated ceramic plates for water heaters is maximized if they can function as flameless infrared burners emitting radiant energy directly to the bottoms of the upright water tanks.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,326,631 to Carswell (the “'631 patent”), which is incorporated herein by reference, describes a burner made with metal fibers, ceramic fibers and a binding agent. In this patent, metal and ceramic fibers are suspended in water containing both dissolved and suspended agents commonly used in the manufacture of porous ceramic fiber burners. These agents include a binding or cementing material such as a dispersion of colloidal alumina, and a pore-forming removable polymer such as fine particles of methyl methacrylate.
There is potential to improve on the characteristics of prior art burner surfaces in terms of the strength and durability characteristics, performance, BTU per hour per square foot firing rates, and manufacturing cost.
The present invention provides an improved burner surface made from an unsintered composite of metal and ceramic fibers. In one embodiment of the present invention, a burner surface plate is provided comprising a frame having a first surface and an unsintered composite layer of metal and ceramic fibers vacuum cast to the first surface of the frame and having a thickness of typically 0.1 to 0.2 inches and preferably not greater than 0.5 inches. The composite layer is vacuum cast to the frame preferably without using pore-forming polymers or polymeric binding agent. An inorganic binder may be part of the manufacturing process, which contributes to the strength of the final composite fiber structure. The frame and the composite layer include a plurality of aligned apertures that form holes through the burner surface plate.
In another embodiment, a method of forming a burner surface is provided. The method includes attaching a perforated screen to a fixture; removably inserting a plurality of pins through a plurality of apertures in the screen; introducing a suspension of fibers without substantial amounts of pore-forming polymers or polymeric binding agents into a space above the screen; vacuum casting the fibers onto the screen to form a layer of fibers; removing the plurality of pins from the apertures to form a corresponding plurality of apertures through the layer of fibers; and drying the layer of fibers to remove moisture. The fibers are preferably metal and ceramic fibers. Additionally, the method may include applying inorganic particulates to the burner surface such that the particulates attach to the fibers, thereby providing an additional strengthening agent. In one embodiment, inorganic particulates are added by applying colloidal silica to the layer of metal and ceramic fibers (e.g., by coating, soaking, infiltrating, immersing, or the like), and the layer is then dried at a sufficient temperature to break at least a portion of the hydroxyl bonds of the colloidal silica but without sintering the fibers to form an unsintered metal and ceramic fiber surface.
Embodiments of the invention may improve on prior burner surfaces in one or more of the following ways:
These and other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent by reference to the following specification and by reference to the following drawings.
It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above and illustrated herein, but encompasses any and all variations falling within the scope of the appended claims. For example, references to the present invention herein are not intended to limit the scope of any claim or claim term, but instead merely make reference to one or more features that may be covered by one or more of the claims. Materials, processes and numerical examples described above are exemplary only, and should not be deemed to limit the claims. Further, as is apparent from the claims and specification, not all method steps need be performed in the exact order illustrated or claimed, but rather in any order that allows the proper formation of a plate described herein. Lastly, single layers of material could be formed as multiple layers of such or similar materials, and vice versa.
Vacuum cast layer 2 is comprised of an unsintered composite of metal and ceramic fibers that have been vacuum cast from a state as suspended components in a solution. In one embodiment, the solution does not contain any (or any substantial amount of) polymeric pore-forming agents or polymeric binding and cementing agents commonly found in the manufacture of porous ceramic fiber burners. The mixture may include inorganic binding agents, such as an aluminum colloid binder. Substantially eliminating polymers in the solution reduces the overall production cost of the burner surface plates, and reduces porosity which may cause fragility in some burner surfaces. By perforating the burner surface rather than making the surface more uniformly porous, manufacturing costs can be reduced and durability improved.
The metal fibers selected are preferably resistant to the high temperature and oxidizing conditions to which the burner surface may be exposed when placed in service. The selected metal is also preferably resistant to progressive oxidation, which under certain conditions could lead to disintegration or pulverization of the fiber in vacuum cast layer 2.
In one embodiment, iron-based and/or nickel-based alloys are used as fibers in vacuum cast layer 2. For example, iron-aluminum alloys or nickel-chromium alloys can provide fibers with a desired resistance to high temperature and oxidation. Suitable iron-aluminum alloys may contain by weight 4% to 10% aluminum, 16% to 24% chromium, 0% to 26% nickel and often fractional percentages of yttrium and silica. Suitable nickel-chromium alloys may contain by weight 15% to 30% chromium, 0% to 5% aluminum, 0% to 8% iron and often fractional percentages of yttrium and silica. The preferred alloys typically contain chromium.
In one embodiment, the metal fiber diameter is less than about 50 microns and usually in the range of about 8 to 25 microns while the fiber length is in the range of about 0.1 to 3 millimeters. The metal fibers may be straight or curled.
In one embodiment, the ceramic fiber is formed of an amorphous alumina-silica material. For example, the ceramic fiber may be formed of chopped alumina-silica fibers where each fiber has a length less than about ½″.
The proportioning of ceramic fibers to metal in vacuum cast layer 2 may vary over a wide range from less than 0.2 to over 5, usually varied over the range of 0.2 to 2 weight parts of ceramic fiber per weight part of metal fiber. In one embodiment, the preferred weight ratio is between 0.25 and 1. In one alternate embodiment, the layer 2 is cast from 100% metal fiber. In other embodiments, a mass ratio of metal fibers to total fibers in the suspension is between 0.20 and 1. In one embodiment the vacuum cast layer 2 has a thickness in the range of 1/16″-¼″, and in one embodiment is preferably about ⅛″ thick. Relative to certain prior art burner surfaces, layer 2 can be significantly thinner because of the relatively high percentage of metal fiber and because it is significantly denser since it has no porosity created by polymer. This ability to cast the thinner pad is advantageous. For example, it allows the pad to flex more without cracking.
In one embodiment, the apertures 4 in layer 2 and screen 6 have a diameter that is less than or equal to about half of the thickness, for example, less than or equal to about 1/16″ for a layer having a thickness of about ⅛″. With thinner pads, holes that are approximately 0.035-0.050 inch diameter may be used. The diameter and length of the apertures are preferably designed to make the burner less likely to flash back. In one embodiment, the diameter of the apertures are selected to be as large as possible so that particles do not get stuck within and plug the holes, but not so large as to cause flashback.
Screen 6 of
Fasteners 16 may provide two functions. The first is to secure plate 11 to plate 12 to help hold pins 14 in place. The second function is to act as “standoffs” that screen 6 can rest on to provide some separation between screen 6 and plate 12. If casting is done with screen 6 on top of fasteners 16, then screen 6 can be held in place by gravity. In other orientations, fasteners 16 may also be used to fasten screen 6 to the rest of the fixture.
In one embodiment, pins 14 may be approximately 0.050-0.078 inches in diameter and the perforations of screen 6 may be about 0.065-0.90 inch. The holes in plate 12, the pin holder, are about 0.055-0.083. Plate 12 is about ¼ inch thick, so the tight hole tolerance and the thickness of the plate keep the pins aligned so that they line up with the 0.065-0.90 inch holes in screen 6. Pins 14 are held in place by metal plate 12, with the heads of the pins 14 pressed between plates 11 and 12 for additional support. In order to function as a flame arrester, the hole depth created by the screen 6 and vacuum cast layer 2 is preferably greater than or equal to about twice the diameter of the holes created by each pin at the thickness directly around that pin. In another potential embodiment, pins 14 may be of varying diameter and the spacing between the centers of individual pins may vary in the pattern of pins 14.
When the metal and ceramic fiber suspension is filtered through the system it leaves a compact pad or layer 2 of metal and ceramic fibers around pins 14. When layer 2 of metal and ceramic fibers reaches a desired thickness, the supply of the suspension to receptacle 23 is stopped and the vacuum is halted. Alternately, vacuum can be stopped to halt the flow of the suspension fluid and then the fixture can be removed from a pool or bath of the suspension fluid.
Screen 6 and the layer of metal and ceramic fibers 2 can be raised vertically out of the fixture until the pins 14 have been completely removed from contact with the metal and ceramic fiber layer 2 and screen 6. In embodiments, where fasteners 16 were used to attach the screen 6 to the fixture, they can be disconnected prior to removing screen 6 from the rest of the fixture. The perforated pad 2 of chopped metal and ceramic fibers and screen 6 can then be transferred to drying oven to convert the wet deformable fiber pad into a dry rigid perforated plate. The drying oven is at a temperature that dries the burner surface plate without sintering the metal and ceramic fibers to form an unsintered composite layer of metal and ceramic fibers 2 that is attached to screen 6.
To vacuum-form another metal ceramic fiber pad, another screen 6 is placed over pins 14 and attached to the fixture using fasteners 16. The apparatus is then ready and the suspension of metal and ceramic fibers can be reintroduced into tube 23 and vacuum-drawn thereof through mold 10.
Once the pin fixture 60 is inserted and the removable sidewall is attached, the vacuum assembly 50 is submerged into a container holding the slurry mixture. A vacuum source draws the slurry onto the top surface of the pin fixture which is holding the metal plate 6. The metal ceramic solids remain on the top of the metal plate 6, while the liquid passes through the fixture.
One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the casting fixture can have any desired shape or size. For example,
Following the removal of moisture in step 107, colloidal silica may be added to the burner surface by dipping, brushing or spraying the basic solution of colloidal silica to metal ceramic fiber plate 1 as shown in step 110. After the colloidal silica has dried, the plate is protected against damage from contact with water. In one embodiment, the burner surface receives a second application of colloidal silica to further protect the plate.
In step 111, a second drying operation is performed at around 600 to 650 degrees F. in order to break the hydroxyls contained in metal ceramic fiber plate 1 without sintering the metal and ceramic fibers. This functions as a hardening step to further improve the performance of the plate 1.
It should be noted that, as used herein, the terms “over” and “on” both inclusively include “directly on” (no intermediate materials, elements or space disposed between) and “indirectly on” (intermediate materials, elements or space disposed between). Likewise, the term “adjacent” includes “directly adjacent” (no intermediate materials, elements or space disposed between) and “indirectly adjacent” (intermediate materials, elements or space disposed between).
