Burner Airflow Regulation via Mass Flow Feedback
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing combustion devices face inefficiencies due to fluctuations in air temperature and pressure, leading to incomplete combustion, and turbulence complicates fluid flow measurement, making precise air/fuel ratio regulation challenging.
Innovation Solution
A method involving a mass flow sensor in a side duct of a burner device, with actuators and a regulation system that adjusts airflow and fuel flow based on signals from the sensor, using filtering and proportional-integral-derivative regulation to stabilize airflow and compensate for turbulence and temperature changes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If air surplus is used to avoid incomplete combustion, then combustion safety is improved, but combustion efficiency deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a feedback control system using a mass flow sensor to continuously monitor actual airflow and a regulator to adjust the air actuator position. This closed-loop feedback enables precise maintenance of the target air/fuel ratio λ, allowing the system to achieve complete combustion (improving efficiency) while maintaining safety through accurate ratio control rather than relying on excessive air surplus.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts the air/fuel ratio parameter based on real-time measurements. By changing the air flow parameter to match the desired λ value rather than using a fixed air surplus, the system optimizes combustion efficiency while maintaining safety through precise parameter control.
2Adaptability or versatility
If mass flow sensor is placed in turbulent flow to measure throughput, then measurement coverage is improved, but measurement precision deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a turbulent flow model as an intermediary between the raw sensor signal and the final throughput calculation. The model accounts for turbulence effects and allows the system to compensate for signal noise, enabling accurate measurement even when the sensor is positioned in turbulent flow conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the interpretation parameter of the sensor signal by applying turbulence compensation algorithms. Instead of treating the noisy signal directly as throughput, the system transforms the signal interpretation using turbulence models, thereby recovering accurate throughput information from turbulent flow conditions.
3Reliability
If air pressure switches are used to monitor air pressure, then pressure monitoring capability is improved, but adaptability across operating range deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces discrete pressure switches with a continuous feedback system using a mass flow sensor and regulator. This continuous measurement and adjustment mechanism provides adaptability across the entire operating range, unlike the limited discrete pressure levels that can be monitored by multiple switches.
Solution Approach 2:
The system substitutes mechanical pressure switches with an electronic sensor-based feedback system. This replacement enables continuous rather than discrete monitoring and control, significantly improving adaptability across the operating range while maintaining reliable pressure monitoring capability.
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure deals with the regulation of fluid flows in the presence of turbulence. The teachings thereof may be embodied in regulating a fluid in a combustion device. For example, a method for regulating a burner device may include: requesting a flow of a fluid through a feed duct; assigning the requested flow to a setting of a first actuator; transmitting a first signal to set the first actuator; generating a mass flow signal representing an actual flow through the side duct; correlating the second signal to an actual value of the flow through the side duct; correlating the requested flow through the feed duct to a required flow through the side duct; generating a regulation signal with the regulator for the second actuator as a function of the actual value of the flow through the side duct and the requested value of the flow through the side duct; and transmitting the generated regulation signal to the second actuator.