Patent Application
20220042744
The present invention relates to air cannon for cleaning deposits in industrial furnaces, and more particularly to fan jet nozzles employed with such air cannon.
Fan jet nozzles have been the industry standard in cement applications for decades. As such, the majority of air cannons in the cement industry employ a fan jet nozzle. The cleaning blast delivered is wide from side to side and narrow from top to bottom. That nozzle is designed to clean a wide area at the cost of reduced penetration of buildup. The typical fan jet nozzle cleans between 1 and 1.5 meters into the application. That range is often insufficient and requires the employment of supplemental cleaning methods.
Air cannon manufactures have been slow to create a solution. Most nozzle innovations have only been successful at modifying the industry standard rather than reinventing it.
As can be seen, there is a need for improved systems, methods, and apparatus for air cannon cleaning in industrial furnaces.
In one aspect of the present invention, a fan jet nozzle for air cannon cleaning system of a kiln refractory is disclosed. The fan jet nozzle includes an inlet at a proximal end and an outlet at a distal end. Opposed top and bottom sidewalls converge inwardly along a longitudinal axis of the fan jet nozzle towards the outlet. An interior of the opposed top and bottom sidewalls have a convex curvature protruding towards an interior throat of the fan jet nozzle along the longitudinal axis. Opposed left and right lateral sidewalls converge towards the outlet, with an interior of the opposed left and right lateral sidewalls having a concave curvature protruding outwardly from the throat along a transverse axis of the fan jet nozzle.
In some embodiments, an arcuate indentation is defined in the opposed left and right lateral sidewalls. The arcuate indentation is disposed across the transverse axis of the fan jet nozzle. The arcuate indentation may be parabolic with an apex oriented towards the inlet.
In some embodiments, an outer surface of the opposed top and bottom sidewalls are substantially flat surfaces. The outer surface of the opposed top and bottom sidewalls may be parabolic, having an apex oriented towards the inlet.
In some embodiments, the inlet has a diameter of at least 4 inches. Preferably, the inlet has a diameter of at least 6 inches.
In some embodiments, an austenitic nickel-based alloy coating.
In other aspects of the invention, an air cannon system for cleaning deposits in a kiln refractory is disclosed. The system includes a reservoir to contain a volume of a pressurized fluid. A conduit interconnects the reservoir with an interior of the kiln refractory. A fan jet nozzle has an inlet at a proximal end and an outlet at a distal end. An interior of an opposed top and bottom sidewalls have a convex surface protruding towards an interior throat of the fan jet nozzle along a longitudinal axis thereof. Opposed left and right lateral sidewalls converge towards the outlet. The fan jet nozzle is oriented to direct the pressurized fluid at a deposit accumulation area within the refractory. A valve is operable to selectively discharge the pressurized fluid through the fan jet nozzle to release the deposits from the deposit accumulation area.
In some embodiments, an interior of the opposed left and right lateral sidewalls of the fan jet nozzle have a concave profile protruding outwardly along the transverse axis of the fan jet nozzle.
In some embodiments, an inner surface of the outlet flares radially outwardly around a periphery of the outlet.
In some embodiments, a distally protruding curvature is defined across the opposed top and the bottom sidewalls.
In other aspects of the invention a fan jet nozzle is disclosed. The fan jet nozzle includes an inlet at a proximal end and an outlet at a distal end. An interior sidewall of an opposed top and bottom sidewalls having a convex curvature protruding towards an interior throat of the fan jet nozzle along a longitudinal axis thereof. An interior sidewall of an opposed left and right lateral sidewalls have a concave curvature protruding outwardly from the throat along a transverse axis of the fan jet nozzle.
In some embodiments, an arcuate indentation is defined about the outlet proximal to a transverse centerline of the opposed left and right lateral sidewalls.
In some embodiments, the outlet also includes an inner surface that flares radially outwardly around a periphery of the outlet.
In yet other embodiments, the outlet includes a distally protruding curvature across the opposed top and the bottom sidewalls.
These and other features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following drawings, description and claims.
The following detailed description is of the best currently contemplated modes of carrying out exemplary embodiments of the invention. The description is not to be taken in a limiting sense but is made merely for the purpose of illustrating the general principles of the invention, since the scope of the invention is best defined by the appended claims.
Broadly, embodiments of the present invention provide a system, method, and apparatus for cleaning deposits in industrial furnaces. An improved fan jet nozzle according to aspects of the invention improves the efficiency of air cannons employed in industrial kiln furnaces used in the production of cement.
Conventional fan jet nozzles, such as shown in reference to
A round fan jet nozzle, such as shown in reference to
A conventional high velocity nozzle is shown in reference to
The improved nozzle of present invention, shown in reference to
Unlike previous nozzles, the improved fan jet nozzle 10 of the present invention, shown in is not a modification. It is an entirely new nozzle. The new nozzle addresses the problems of limited cleaning range in air cannon cleaning systems. A system employing the improved fan jet nozzle 10 reduces the number of air cannons 30 employed and lead to huge savings for cement producers. The improved fan jet nozzle 10 is configured to deliver an enhanced mass flow rate to dislodge deposits.
The improved fan jet nozzle 10 may be made with a conventional 4″ inner diameter inlet 12. More preferably, the improved fan jet nozzle 10 is employed with a 6″ inner diameter inlet 12 at a proximal end. The inlet 12 is adapted to be coupled with an air distribution pipe 32 of an air cannon system 30. The fan jet nozzle 10 includes a parabolic shaped flattening 14 from inboard of the inlet 12 on opposed top and bottom side walls converging inwardly along a longitudinal axis L of the fan jet nozzle 10 towards an outlet 16 at a distal end of the fan jet nozzle 10. An interior surface of the opposed top and bottom side walls have a convex curvature 18 protruding towards the interior throat of the fan jet nozzle 10. The lateral sidewalls 20 converge towards the outlet 16 of the fan jet nozzle 10. The interior surface of the lateral sidewalls 22 may have a concave curvature extending outwardly from the interior of the fan jet nozzle 10 along a transverse axis T of the fan jet nozzle 10.
The outlet 16 has an arcuate indentation 24 proximal to a transverse centerline T of the lateral sidewalls 20. The arcuate indentation 24 may also be parabolic with an apex oriented towards the proximal end of the fan jet nozzle 10. An inner surface of the outlet 16 flares outwardly around a periphery of the outlet. The outlet 16 has a distally protruding curvature across the top and the bottom opposed sidewalls. A top and a bottom surface of the outlet 16 may be flattened relative to the opposed top and bottom sidewalls.
The conventional fan jet nozzle utilized in industrial kiln air cannons produce, on average, a mass flow rate of 9.8 lbm/s. The improved 6″ ID fan jet nozzle 10 of the present invention more than quadruples the conventional mass flow output and produces a mass flow rate of 37.9 lbm/s. By substantially improving the mass flow rate, the improved fan jet nozzle 10 produces a cleaning blast with more weight behind it. That enables the cleaning blast to push through buildup and extend farther into the application.
In conventional fan jet nozzles penetration depth comes at the cost of the width of the cleaning pattern. However, with the added mass flow of the fan jet nozzle 10 driving deeper penetration, pattern width could also be improved. To expand the pattern width, the improved fan jet nozzle 10 is designed to expand the blast laterally upon exiting the fan jet nozzle 10. The result is superior lateral cleaning with an improved penetration depth.
As seen in the velocity profile comparisons of
The improved fan jet nozzle 10, can for example, reduce the total number of required nozzles by at least 50%. Instead of cleaning a cement tower 60 with 8 air cannons, the improved fan jet nozzle 10 enables the same level of cleaning with only four air cannons.
As previously discussed, the weakness of the conventional fan jet nozzles is the depth of cleaning. These conventional nozzles only clean s between 1 and 1.5 meters into the application. The improved fan jet nozzle discharges with greater velocity and cleans a minimum of 3 meters into the application, as shown in
As seen in reference to
The cleaning profiles of conventional fan jet nozzles against the improved fan jet nozzle 10 is shown in reference to
The traditional fan jet nozzle is very expensive to install. Scaffolding and refractory work are often required, resulting in the average cost of about $2,000 per nozzle. The improved fan jet nozzle 10 eliminates those concerns and can replace the modified fan jet nozzle easily.
The improved fan jet nozzle 10 may be treated with an austenitic nickel-based alloy containing 47.5% Nickel, 22% Chromium and 18.5% Iron, with small amounts of Cobalt, Molybdenum and Tungsten, such as Hastelloy®, available from Alloys International Inc. Ronkonkoma, N.Y., for resistance to oxidation at elevated temperatures, to protect mission-critical equipment from corrosive processes. When the same coating is applied to the improved fan jet nozzle 10, it doubles the life expectancy of the nozzle.
Since conventional fan jet nozzles do not produce enough cleaning energy, cement producers must supplement with manual rod cleaning, high-pressure water washing, or cardox cleaning. The improved fan jet nozzle 10 eliminates or substantially diminishes the need for supplemental cleaning methods. That generates significant maintenance savings and reduces the likelihood of a workplace accident.
The improved fan jet nozzle 10 generates the biggest savings to equipment costs. By doubling the side-to-side cleaning, it reduces the number of required air cannons by 50%. These savings can increase exponentially when combined with a multi-port air cannon manifold.
As seen in reference to
The improved performance of the fan jet nozzle 10 of the present invention permits replacement of eight (8) 150 L air cannons equipped with conventional fan jet nozzles with only 1 300 L multiplier with 4 improved fan jet nozzle 10 discharge points. This air cannon system will cost less, clean more effectively, and eliminate workplace safety hazards.
Industry trends demand a more efficient air cannon for two reasons. First, cement producers are steadily increasing their supplemental fuel ratio. Pet-coke produces buildup that is notoriously difficult to clean. Second, the economic environment has put a strain on capital projects. “It's something of a perfect storm. Producers are being asked to clean more buildup with less money”. The improved fan jet nozzle 10 provides a low-cost technology that eliminates buildup.
It should be understood, of course, that the foregoing relates to exemplary embodiments of the invention and that modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the following claims.
This application claims the benefit of priority of U.S. provisional application No. 62/706,192 filed Aug. 4, 2020, the contents of which are herein incorporated by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62706192 | Aug 2020 | US |
