Novel automatic air volume adjusting valve

Abstract

The invention relates to the technical field of grate coolers, and discloses a novel automatic air volume adjusting valve which comprises a grate plate groove, two adjacent grate plate groove bottom openings are formed in the bottom of the grate plate groove, and a shell, a valve plate, a micromotor, a guide supporting wheel, an extension spring, a traction rope, a pulley and a pulley support are arranged at the bottom of the grate plate groove. The shell is composed of a U-shaped groove, a left side plate and a right side plate, and a framework of the electric air volume adjusting valve is formed. After the grate cooler is put into operation, when the grate cooler runs, an operator can conveniently adjust the opening degree of each electric air volume adjusting valve in good time according to the shooting condition of a camera above a grate bed, so that the air volume passing through the adjusting valve is adjusted, and the whole grate bed material is in the optimal uniform cooling state. Meanwhile, due to the acting force of the extension spring and the micromotor, the resistance of common dust mixed with oil dirt can be overcome, and the reliability is greatly enhanced.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of grate cooler technology, specifically a novel automatic airflow regulating valve. Background Technology

[0002] The grate cooler is a crucial piece of equipment in the clinker calcination system of a cement plant. Its main functions are to cool and transport cement clinker, and to provide hot air for the rotary kiln and precalciner, making it a key component for heat recovery in the calcination system. The grate cooler consists of a lower air chamber, a grate bed (composed of a certain number of grate plates), and an upper shell. Its working principle involves the lower air chamber initially distributing the cooling air blown by the cooling fan. Within the same lower air chamber, the grate plates further distribute the cooling air, ensuring sufficient heat exchange between the cooling air and the clinker located above the grate plates. This reduces the clinker temperature, maintains the stability of the cement clinker's chemical properties, and prevents reverse reactions. Simultaneously, it recovers the heat carried by the clinker, maximizing the utilization of waste heat and saving energy.

[0003] However, in actual production, the clinker falling onto the grate exhibits segregation due to the rotational motion of the rotary kiln. Coarse and fine materials are located on opposite sides of the grate, resulting in an uneven distribution of the material layer thickness. The thicker material layer and the finer material side have higher ventilation resistance, while the thinner material layer and the coarser material side have lower resistance. This uneven distribution of material layer resistance causes cooling air to preferentially pass through areas of lower resistance, leading to over-cooling of the clinker in those areas. Conversely, areas with higher resistance receive less cooling air, resulting in insufficient cooling. Consequently, uniform and sufficient cooling of the clinker above the grate cannot be achieved, and the heat recovery efficiency of the grate cooler cannot be improved.

[0004] To address this issue, industry technicians have developed various airflow regulating valves (both manual and automatic) to adjust the airflow through each grate, hoping to solve the uneven cooling air distribution caused by uneven material resistance on the grate. However, each of these valves has its own problems. First, while manual regulating valves have a wide adjustment range and strong adaptability, they require a large amount of work, have poor timeliness, and cannot respond promptly to changes in the material on the grate, resulting in low airflow distribution efficiency. Second, although automatic airflow regulating valves theoretically have good timeliness, their adjustment range is narrow. When changes in the material on the grate cause the cooling airflow to exceed the automatic airflow regulating valve's adjustment range, the automatic airflow regulation often has the opposite effect, resulting in insufficient cooling airflow and inadequate cooling of the clinker. Third, the air chamber of the grate cooler is not a clean environment due to issues such as material leakage from the grate. Dust mixed with oil and dirt adheres to the valve plates and openings of the automatic airflow regulating valves, affecting their operation and reducing their adjustment accuracy. Summary of the Invention

[0005] (a) Technical problems to be solved

[0006] To address the shortcomings of existing technologies, this invention provides a novel automatic airflow regulating valve. This valve primarily solves the problem of uneven material layer resistance causing cooling air to preferentially pass through areas of low resistance when passing through the clinker layer, resulting in over-cooling of the clinker in those areas. Conversely, areas with high material layer resistance receive less cooling air, leading to insufficient cooling of the clinker. This prevents uniform and sufficient cooling of the clinker above the grate, thus hindering the improvement of the heat recovery efficiency of the grate cooler.

[0007] (II) Technical Solution

[0008] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention provides the following technical solution:

[0009] A novel automatic airflow regulating valve includes a grate trough with two adjacent bottom openings at the bottom. The bottom of the grate trough is provided with a housing, a valve plate, a micro motor, a guide support wheel, a tension spring, a traction rope, a pulley, and a pulley bracket. The housing is composed of a U-shaped groove, a left side plate, and a right side plate, forming the skeleton of the electric airflow regulating valve. The bottom surface of the U-shaped groove has holes, and the right side plate and the left side plate are located at both ends of the U-shaped groove.

[0010] Furthermore, the right side plate and the left side plate are respectively provided with a door-shaped hole on the right side plate and a door-shaped hole on the left side plate. There are fixing ear rings on both sides of the U-shaped groove, and there are bolt holes on the fixing ear rings. The air valve is fixed to the bottom of the grate groove by fixing screws.

[0011] Based on the aforementioned scheme, the valve plate is a square plate, and each regulating valve has two valve plates, which correspond to the bottom openings of two adjacent grate slots. The valve plate is located above the guide support wheel inside the housing. There is a hanging point at the bottom of the valve plate near the side. The hanging points on both sides are used to fix the ends of the tension springs, and the hanging point in the middle is used to fix the traction rope.

[0012] As a further embodiment of the present invention, the traction rope moves the valve plate and causes the valve plate to open and close the opening at the bottom of the grate slot.

[0013] Furthermore, the micro motor is the driving element of the electric air valve, which tightens the traction rope.

[0014] Based on the aforementioned scheme, guide support wheels are respectively provided on the two sides of the U-shaped groove of the housing, and the guide support wheels are arranged at intervals to support the valve plate.

[0015] As a further embodiment of the present invention, the two ends of the tension spring are respectively hung on the same side of the two valve plates. When the micro motor rotates in the opposite direction and the traction rope is loosened, it pulls the valve plate to move towards the center of the regulating valve.

[0016] Furthermore, the pulley serves as a support and steering mechanism for the traction rope, reducing frictional resistance during the movement of the traction rope. The pulley is fixed to the bottom plate of the U-shaped groove of the housing via a pulley bracket.

[0017] (III) Beneficial Effects

[0018] Compared with the prior art, the present invention provides a novel automatic air volume regulating valve, which has the following beneficial effects:

[0019] 1. By using valve plates and tension springs to solve the problem of uneven cooling air distribution on the grate, the problem of manual and automatic air volume regulating valves mentioned above is also overcome, so that the clinker particles are fully cooled and the heat recovery efficiency of the grate cooler is further improved.

[0020] 2. An electric airflow regulating valve is installed below each of the two grates of the grate cooler. During operation, the operator can adjust the opening of each valve based on the camera footage above the grates, thereby regulating the airflow and ensuring optimal, uniform cooling of the material on the grate. Simultaneously, the force of the tension springs and micro-motor overcomes the resistance of typical dust and oil mixtures, significantly enhancing reliability. Attached Figure Description

[0021] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the grate groove structure of a novel automatic air volume regulating valve proposed in this invention.

[0022] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the upper structure of the housing of a novel automatic air volume regulating valve proposed in this invention;

[0023] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the bottom structure of the housing of a novel automatic air volume regulating valve proposed in this invention.

[0024] In the diagram: 1. Grate trough; 1-1. Bottom opening of the grate trough; 2a. Manual valve plate; 3a. Locking screw; 2. Housing; 3. Pulley; 4. Traction rope; 5. Tension spring; 6. Fixing screw; 7. Valve plate; 7-1. Hanging point; 2-1. Right side plate; 2-2. Door-shaped hole on the right side plate; 2-3. Left side plate; 2-4. Door-shaped hole on the left side plate; 2-5. U-shaped groove; 2-6. Fixing lug; 8. Guide support wheel; 9. Micro motor; 10. Pulley bracket. Detailed Implementation

[0025] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present invention, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0026] Reference Figures 1-3 A novel automatic air volume regulating valve includes a grate trough 1. The bottom of the grate trough 1 has two adjacent bottom openings 1-1. The bottom of the grate trough 1 is provided with a housing 2, a valve plate 7, a micro motor 9, a guide support wheel 8, a tension spring 5, a traction rope 4, a pulley 3, and a pulley bracket 10. The housing 2 is composed of a U-shaped groove 2-5, a left side plate 2-3, and a right side plate 2-1, forming the skeleton of the electric air volume regulating valve. The bottom surface of the U-shaped groove 2-5 has holes, and the right side plate 2-1 and the left side plate 2-3 are located at both ends of the U-shaped groove.

[0027] In particular, in this invention, the right side plate 2-1 and the left side plate 2-3 are respectively provided with a right side plate door-shaped hole 2-2 and a left side plate door-shaped hole 2-4. The U-shaped groove 2-5 has two fixing ear rings 2-6 on both sides. The fixing ear rings 2-6 have bolt holes. The air valve is fixed to the bottom of the grate groove 1 by fixing screws 6.

[0028] It should be noted that the valve plate 7 is a square plate, and each regulating valve has two valve plates 7, corresponding to two adjacent bottom openings 1-1 of the grate slot. The valve plate 7 is located above the guide support wheel 8 inside the housing 2. There are three hanging points 7-1 near the side of the bottom of the valve plate 7. The hanging points 7-1 on both sides are used to fix the end of the tension spring 5, and the hanging point 7-1 in the middle is used to fix the traction rope 4. The traction rope 4 moves the valve plate 7 and causes the valve plate 7 to open and close the bottom opening 1-1 of the grate slot. Under the pull of the traction rope 4, the valve plate 7 slides to both sides of the air valve, blocking the bottom opening 1-1 of the grate slot, reducing the ventilation area and reducing the air volume. After the traction rope 4 is released, under the action of the tension spring 5, the valve plate 7 slides towards the middle of the air valve, reducing the obstruction of the bottom opening 1-1 of the grate trough and increasing the airflow. The micro motor 9 is the driving element of the electric air valve, which tightens the traction rope 4. When the output shaft of the micro motor 9 rotates in the forward direction, it tightens the traction rope 4, dragging the valve plate 7 to overcome the tension of the tension spring 5 and slide towards both ends of the air valve, thereby blocking part of the area of ​​the bottom opening 1-1 of the grate trough and reducing the cooling airflow. Guide support wheels 8 are respectively provided on the two sides of the U-shaped groove 2-5 of the housing. The guide support wheels 8 are arranged at intervals and support the valve plate 7. The two ends of the tension spring 5 are respectively hung on the same side of the two valve plates 7. At point 7-1, when the micro motor 9 rotates in the reverse direction and the traction rope 4 is released, it pulls the valve plate 7 towards the center of the regulating valve, expanding the ventilation area of ​​the opening at the bottom of the grate trough. This increases the airflow. The pulley 3, which serves as the support and steering mechanism for the traction rope 4, reduces the frictional resistance during the movement of the traction rope 4. The pulley 3 is fixed to the bottom plate of the U-shaped groove 2-5 of the housing via the pulley bracket 10. Generally, an electric airflow regulating valve is installed below the two grates of the grate cooler. When the grate cooler is running, the operator can adjust the opening of each electric airflow regulating valve in a timely manner based on the image captured by the camera above the grate, thereby regulating the airflow through the regulating valve and ensuring that the material on the grate is in an optimal state of uniform cooling. Simultaneously, due to the force of the tension spring and the micro motor, it can overcome the resistance of general dust and oil mixtures, greatly enhancing reliability.

[0029] The working principle of this embodiment is as follows: During normal operation of the grate cooler, assume the pressure in the air chamber is Pair chamber, and the pressure above the material layer is 0. The cooling air blown into the air chamber by the cooling fan generates three different resistances as it passes through the electric airflow regulating valve, the grate, and the material layer, respectively: Pvalve, Pgrate, and Pmaterial layer. Therefore, Pair chamber = Pvalve + Pgrate + Pmaterial layer. That is, the air chamber pressure is the sum of the three resistances generated when the cooling air passes through the automatic airflow regulating valve, the grate, and the material layer. Of the above four parameters, Pair chamber and Pgrate can be assumed to be constant over a certain period. Therefore, Pvalve and Pmaterial layer should have completely opposite trends to ensure the balance and stability of the entire pressure system, thereby keeping the grate bed in a uniformly cooled state.

[0030] During normal operation of the grate cooler, the resistance of the material layer above the grate varies depending on the thickness and particle size of the material layer. The resistance is low on the coarse material side and in the thin material layer area, while it is high on the fine material side and in the thick material layer area. Cooling air easily passes through areas with low resistance, resulting in a large volume of cooling air flowing through them. Conversely, areas with high resistance already receive less cooling air; after other areas are breached, even less airflow is available. Without sufficient cooling airflow, the clinker carries heat out of the grate cooler, reducing its heat recovery efficiency.

[0031] Therefore, during the normal operation of the grate cooler, an initial opening degree is first set for each regulating valve based on experience, which is sufficient to meet the needs of most production conditions. When the operating conditions fluctuate drastically and the preset opening degree of the regulating valve cannot meet the requirements, the operator can remotely adjust the opening degree of each valve in the central control room based on the feedback from the camera above the grate. This reduces the air supply to the area where the material above the grate is excessively boiling and is obviously blown through, while increasing the air supply to the area where the material is relatively calm, so that the material above the grate is cooled evenly and fully.

[0032] All electrical components mentioned in this article are connected to an external main controller and 220V AC mains power, and the main controller can be a conventional known device such as a computer that can control it.

[0033] In the description herein, it should be noted that, unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, the terms "connected" and "linked" should be interpreted broadly. For example, they can refer to a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; they can refer to a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; they can refer to a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium. Those skilled in the art can understand the specific meaning of the above terms in this invention based on the specific circumstances.

[0034] In the description herein, it should be noted that relational terms such as "first" and "second" are used merely to distinguish one entity or operation from another, and do not necessarily require or imply any such actual relationship or order between these entities or operations. Furthermore, the terms "comprising," "including," or any other variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements includes not only those elements but also other elements not expressly listed, or elements inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus.

[0035] Although embodiments of the invention have been shown and described, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes, modifications, substitutions and alterations can be made to these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A novel automatic airflow regulating valve, comprising a grate trough (1), wherein the bottom of the grate trough (1) has two adjacent bottom openings, characterized in that, The bottom of the grate trough (1) is provided with a housing (2), a valve plate (7), a micro motor (9), a guide support wheel (8), a tension spring (5), a traction rope (4), a pulley (3), and a pulley bracket (10). The housing (2) is composed of a U-shaped groove (2-5), a left side plate (2-3), and a right side plate (2-1), forming the skeleton of the electric air volume regulating valve. The bottom surface of the U-shaped groove (2-5) has holes. The right side plate (2-1) and the left side plate (2-3) are located at both ends of the U-shaped groove.

2. The novel automatic air volume regulating valve according to claim 1, characterized in that, The right side plate (2-1) and the left side plate (2-3) are respectively provided with a right side plate door-shaped hole (2-2) and a left side plate door-shaped hole (2-4). The U-shaped groove (2-5) has two fixing ear rings (2-6) on both sides. The fixing ear rings (2-6) have bolt holes. The air valve is fixed below the grate groove (1) by fixing screws (6).

3. The novel automatic air volume regulating valve according to claim 1, characterized in that, The valve plate (7) is a square plate. Each regulating valve has two valve plates (7), which correspond to the bottom openings (1-1) of two adjacent grate slots. The valve plate (7) is located above the guide support wheel (8) inside the housing (2). There are three hanging points (7-1) at the bottom of the valve plate (7) near the side. The hanging points (7-1) on both sides are used to fix the end of the tension spring (5), and the hanging point (7-1) in the middle is used to fix the traction rope (4).

4. A novel automatic airflow regulating valve according to claim 3, characterized in that, The traction rope (4) moves the valve plate (7) and causes the valve plate (7) to open and close the opening (1-1) at the bottom of the grate groove.

5. A novel automatic airflow regulating valve according to claim 4, characterized in that, The micro motor (9) is the driving element of the electric air valve, which tightens the traction rope (4).

6. A novel automatic airflow regulating valve according to claim 5, characterized in that, The two sides of the U-shaped groove (2-5) of the housing are respectively provided with guide support wheels (8), and the guide support wheels (8) are arranged at intervals to support the valve plate (7).

7. A novel automatic air volume regulating valve according to claim 6, characterized in that, The two ends of the tension spring (5) are respectively hung on the hanging points (7-1) on the same side of the two valve plates (7). When the micro motor (9) rotates in the opposite direction and the traction rope (4) is relaxed, it pulls the valve plate (7) to move towards the center of the regulating valve.

8. A novel automatic air volume regulating valve according to claim 1, characterized in that, The pulley (3) is a support and steering mechanism for the traction rope (4), reducing the frictional resistance during the movement of the traction rope (4). The pulley (3) is fixed to the bottom plate of the U-shaped groove (2-5) of the housing through the pulley bracket (10).

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