Apparatus and method for blocking flame and spreading heated gas from a broiler flue
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Solution Overview
Problem
Cooking equipment catalysts face shortened lifespan due to flame impingement and uneven heating, leading to erosion and degraded performance from high cooking rates and inadequate cleaning.
Innovation Solution
A system comprising a riser with a catalyst support and baffles shaped like inverted troughs to block flames and spread heated gases uniformly across the catalyst, preventing direct flame contact and ensuring even heat distribution.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If baffles are placed close together to block flames, then flame blocking effectiveness is improved, but pressure drop increases
Solution Approach 1:
The baffles are designed with non-uniform spacing and varying geometries along the flow path. The spacing between baffles changes to provide tighter spacing where flame blocking is most critical while maintaining larger gaps in regions where pressure drop concerns dominate, creating locally optimized flame blocking effectiveness throughout the catalyst support structure
Solution Approach 2:
The baffle configuration allows for adjustable spacing and positioning that can be optimized based on operating conditions. The system can adapt the baffle arrangement to balance flame blocking requirements against pressure drop constraints by modifying the effective gap sizes between baffles under different cooking rates and flame conditions
2Productivity
If cooking rate is increased to improve productivity, then output is improved, but catalyst life is shortened due to flame impingement and uneven heating
Solution Approach 1:
The baffles are positioned upstream of the catalyst to preemptively block flames and redirect heated gases before they reach the catalyst surface. This preliminary intervention prevents flame impingement and establishes more uniform heating patterns on the catalyst, protecting it from thermal degradation even at high cooking rates
Solution Approach 2:
The baffles act as an intermediary element between the flame source and the catalyst. They intercept and redirect the heated gases and flames, transforming the direct impingement scenario into a more distributed heating pattern that protects the catalyst while still allowing thermal energy to reach it for effective operation
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution extends catalyst life and performance by preventing direct flame contact and ensuring uniform heat distribution, reducing overheating and maintaining catalyst efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
The baffles have the shape of inverted troughs for substantially blocking flames emitted from the broiler flue
Implementation Method 2
spreading heated gases exhausted from the flue for more uniform distribution of the heated gases across a bottom surface of the catalyst
Implementation Method 3
precious metals (catalytic metals that oxidize grease and other particulate matter)
Data Source
AI summary
Apparatus for substantially blocking flames and spreading heated gases emitted from a broiler flue. The apparatus includes a riser placed above the broiler flue for defining a pathway along which heated gases are exhausted from the flue, a catalyst support on the riser for supporting a catalyst in the pathway for flow of heated gases through the catalyst from a bottom surface of the catalyst to a top surface of the catalyst, and a plurality of baffles in the riser extending across the pathway below the catalyst support. The baffles have the shape of inverted troughs.