Patent Grant
8197251
The present invention provides improved gas burners with optimal combustion in the limited space of modern heat exchangers. More specifically, the invention relates to premix gas burners comprising a further active burner surface at the end cap of the burner.
Modern heat exchangers are evolving in design and becoming more compact. Since the available space in the combustion chamber of modern heat exchangers is limited, improved gas burners providing optimal burning surfaces are needed.
Conventional burners do not allow for an optimal combustion in modern heat exchangers because the available space in the heat exchanger is not used optimally by the produced flames. This is inherent to the active burner surface of the gas burner, which is not adapted to the design of the heat exchanger.
The atmospheric burner described in EP 0594262 has a wall of gauze arranged around the gas/air mixing chamber. However, in order to stabilize the flame, a guiding wall is mounted at a very short distance (1 mm) from the gauze. The burner here, for example, has a cupola burner design, comprising a gas/air mixing chamber arranged above a circular or straight row of fuel injection nozzles, bounded on one side by a continuous guiding wall element and on the other side by a wall of heat-resistant gauze.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,474,443 describes a radiant burner for boilers. The burner has a hemispherical shape with a curved burner surface of wire cloth and a gas distributor of perforated sheet metal arranged under the burner surface. The dimensions of such a burner however are delimited by the radius of the hemisphere. Modern heat exchangers however require more flexibility in dimensions, so that the available space in the combustion chamber is used optimally by the produced flames.
Another type of burner is described in WO 04/092647 by applicant. Said burner comprises a burner membrane that flows uninterruptedly over from the base section through a transition section into a closing section. Certain shapes of burners are difficult to produce uninterruptedly, especially when made of stainless steel plates or sheet metal.
It would be desirable to have a burner which avoids the aforementioned disadvantages.
It is a general object of the invention to provide a gas burner that makes optimal use of the space available in a heat exchanger.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a gas burner with an optimal combustion.
It is still a further object of the invention to provide a gas burner that makes more effective use of material.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide a gas burner with an improved effect on noise.
Another object of the invention is to provide a burner that is more compact and at the same time has a higher performance than a conventional gas burner.
It is also an object of the invention to provide a gas burner with an improved flame distribution.
The present invention provides a gas burner, preferably a premix burner, comprising a support having a central gas inlet port for supply of gas into a gas supply chamber. The gas supply chamber is enclosed by a first burner membrane at its side and an end cap opposite to said gas inlet port. The end cap is connected to the top of the first burner membrane through a connection region or seam. The burner membrane is connected at the bottom to the support through its base section. The end cap is formed by a second burner membrane. The exterior surface of the first and second burner membrane is a perforated heat-resistant sheet metal plate.
The terms “end cap” and “second burner membrane” or “second burner surface” are to be understood, in the light of this invention, as having the same meaning, in the sense that the end cap is an active end cap, also forming a burner membrane, e.g. with slots and/or holes for combustion to take place.
The major advantage of the gas burner of the present invention is the more effective use of material since the burner has an enlarged surface area. By using the end cap as an active burner surface, more power can be generated for the same volume of the burner or using the invention in the reverse way, the same amount of power can be generated for a smaller volume of the burner, making gas burners more compact and yet providing optimal combustion. As such, they guarantee optimal combustion in the limited available space of modern heat exchangers by making optimal use of the space available in a heat exchanger.
Moreover, the gas burner of the present invention provides a gas flow in the gas supply chamber which is more uniform and has an improved flame distribution. The gas can flow freely through the gas burner from the gas inlet side further axially through the burner. Gasflow is not hindered at the end of the burner. Since the end cap performs an active burner role in the gas burner of the present invention, problems with fixation zones, e.g. welding zones, (e.g. cracks caused by temperature difference) between the first burner membrane and end cap are reduced considerably. Thus, problems with conventional gas burners having an impermeable end cap are solved as an immediate consequence thereof: there is no pressure build-up at the end cap, no noise effects or damage generated thereby, no flaring of flames, no overheating of the end cap, no cracks due to thermal expansion difference between burner side and end, and better gasflow and thus reduction of NOx and CO emission. This provides a more stable burner.
As the first burner membrane and the second burner membrane are two pieces, a different material can be used for both pieces. Said material can be adapted for example to a different heat-resistance.
In a further aspect, a gas burner is provided, wherein said first burner membrane and/or said end cap comprises a perforated heat-resistant sheet metal plate, preferably stainless steel, more preferably FeCralloy®, NiCralloy® or Aluchrome®.
In a first preferred embodiment the end cap is connected to the first burner membrane at the topside of the gas supply chamber through welding, for example spot, TIG or laser welding. In another preferred embodiment, the end cap is connected to the first burner membrane through folding. Preferably, there is no or limited overlap of material between the first burner membrane and the end cap.
In another aspect, the invention provides a gas burner wherein the first burner membrane and the end cap are connected seamlessly or quasi uninterruptedly, hereby avoiding as much as possible any hindering fixation points or sharp edges between the two surfaces. This improves a homogeneous gas flow.
In an alternative embodiment the engagement of the borders of the topside of the first burner membrane and the end cap are not fully closed. The connection region or seam comprises holes or non-attached zones, whereas the end cap is fixed firmly to the top of the burner. This provides an even more improved homogeneous flame distribution.
The invention further relates to a gas burner, wherein said first and second burner membranes can have many different shapes.
An aspect of the present invention provides a gas burner wherein the end cap is flat. In an alternative embodiment the end cap is convex, meaning that the curvature of the end cap surface extends outwards of the burner. The end cap can also be concave or a combination of convex and concave waves.
In an alternative embodiment, the end cap has the shape of a cone, a prism, a pyramid, a sphere or any other shape derived there from, for example a cone with a flattened top.
In a specific design of heat exchanger it may be advantageous to provide the end of the burner in a more complex geometric body, such as for example a tubular shaped burner with a cone shaped end cap.
In a preferred embodiment, the first burner membrane of the gas burner of the present invention has the shape of a cylinder, a cone, a prism, a pyramid, a sphere or any other shape derived there from, such as, for example, a cylinder with rounded edges.
In a specific embodiment the first burner membrane has a rounded edge at the side opposite to the gas inlet side, as to provide an opening wherein the end cap fits. The rounding of the edge provides a fluency in gas flow and prevents fixations in sharp edges. This also facilitates the design and manufacture of the end cap, which can be completely flat in a specific embodiment. An example of a cylindrical burner having said rounded edge and a flat end cap fitted into the opening formed by this edge is shown in the Figures.
In an alternative embodiment the end cap has rounded edges providing an opening wherein the side of the first burner membrane fits quasi seamlessly.
Preferably, the base section of the first burner membrane has the shape of a circle, an ellipse or oval, a square, a rectangle, a diamant, a triangle, a pentagon, a hexagon or any other shape derived there from, such as for example a hexagon with rounded corners.
In a preferred embodiment the invention provides a gas burner wherein the first burner membrane is cylindrical or tubular, and the end cap burner surface is convex or flat and parallel to the plane of the base section.
In a further aspect the invention provides a gas burner comprising a pressure divider or gas distributor to allow an optimal gas distribution to the burner membrane. Besides perforations on the side, perforations can also be present at the end cap of said inner structure in order to allow gas to flow to the end cap of the burner membrane. Preferably the inner structure is made in one piece, but for reasons of constructional difficulty e.g., the pressure divider can be produced of two separate pieces.
The shape and size (dimensions) of the gas burner of the present invention can easily be adapted to the dimensions of the combustion chamber of modern heat exchangers. The side of the burner and the end cap can each be designed for optimal space use and flame production, hereby having each an own shape and material used.
The person skilled in the art will understand that a large range of dimensions, both in shape, diameter and height of the gas burner may be obtained by the gas burner of the present invention, as well as a large number of combinations of material to be used for the side and the end cap burner membrane.
By way of example some embodiments of the invention are described by the accompanying figures and drawings.
a and 2b show a cross-section of a cylindrical burner with an active end cap.
a and 3b show a cross-section of a exemplary cylindrical burner comprising two, preferably stainless steel, structures: a perforated inner tube (pressure divider) and a perforated outer tube (burner surface).
a shows a long and slim tubular burner membrane in perforated stainless steel, fitted over a perforated stainless steel innertube.
a shows a cylindrical burner according to the invention comprising a gas supply chamber 102 connected at the bottom to a support 104. The support 104 has a central gas inlet port for supply of gas into the gas supply chamber 102. The gas supply chamber 102 is enclosed by a first burner membrane 106 at its side and a second burner membrane 108 opposite to the gas inlet port. The second burner membrane 108 is connected to the top of the burner membrane 106. The burner membrane 106, is connected at the bottom to the support 104. The arrows represent the flames being produced in a direction substantially perpendicular to the burner surface, hereby providing a radial gasflow at the first burner membrane 106, and an axial gasflow at the second burner membrane 108.
b shows a similar cylindrical burner as the burner of
c shows an alternative conical shaped burner according to the invention, comprising a first burner membrane 106 connected at its base section 110 to a support 104. The support 104 has a central gas inlet port for supply of gas into the gas supply chamber 102. The second burner membrane 108 is parallel to the plane of the base section 110. The arrows represent the flames being produced in a direction substantially perpendicular to the burner surface, hereby providing a radial gasflow at the first burner membrane 106, and an axial gasflow at the second burner membrane 108.
a and 2b show a cross-section of a cylindrical burner with active end cap 208 connected quasi seamlessly to the first burner membrane 206 at the side of the gas supply chamber 202. A perforated innertube 205 may optionally be provided in the gas supply chamber 202. In
a shows a cross-section of a cylindrical burner comprising two, preferably stainless steel, structures: a perforated inner tube (pressure divider) and a perforated outer tube (burner surface). At the center of the support a gas inlet can be fitted to let gas into the gas supply chamber within the inner tube. The side opposite of the gas inlet side shows a perforated end cap, in the inner and the outer tube. As can be seen on the outer tube, the end cap and the first burner membrane are two parts connected to each other through a seam. The edges of the side of the outer membrane are rounded towards the end cap and provide an opening for the flat end cap to fit in.
The applications of the burners according to the invention are very diverse in nature, such as for example residential and industrial premix burners, residential water heaters, industrial boilers and water heaters, infrared radiators for industrial operations and in the food industry.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 07150052 | Dec 2007 | EP | regional |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/EP2008/067558 | 12/15/2008 | WO | 00 | 6/9/2010 |
| Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| WO2009/077505 | 6/25/2009 | WO | A |
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5474443 | Viessmann et al. | Dec 1995 | A |
| 5931660 | Amrhein et al. | Aug 1999 | A |
| 6162049 | Pellizzari et al. | Dec 2000 | A |
| 20040121274 | Boyes | Jun 2004 | A1 |
| Number | Date | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 2158977 | Mar 1994 | CN |
| 2420524 | Feb 2001 | CN |
| 195 21 811 | Jan 1996 | DE |
| 295 20 309 | Jun 1996 | DE |
| 0 594 262 | Apr 1994 | EP |
| 0 795 721 | Sep 1997 | EP |
| WO 2004092647 | Oct 2004 | WO |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20100273120 A1 | Oct 2010 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61043624 | Apr 2008 | US |
