Abatement Burner Nozzle Cleaning Outside the Flame Path
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing gas abatement burner nozzle cleaning systems face issues with deposit formation and cracking of cleaning members due to repeated heating and cooling cycles, leading to reduced efficiency and lifespan, and increased maintenance needs.
Innovation Solution
A cleaning system that coordinates the movement of a cleaning member to avoid the path of the flame during combustion, ensuring it is in a first position during harmful gas exposure and a second position when the flame is off, using a helical spring actuated by an external process, to prevent deposit build-up and damage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the cleaning member is moved into the path of the flame during combustion to clean deposits, then cleaning effectiveness is improved, but deposit formation and cracking on the cleaning member increase
Solution Approach 1:
The cleaning member is positioned in advance to be outside the flame path during combustion phases where deposit formation is most severe. The system proactively prevents deposit formation on the cleaning member by coordinating its position with the combustion cycle, rather than attempting to clean deposits after they form.
Solution Approach 2:
The cleaning member's position is dynamically adjusted based on the combustion phase. It moves outside the flame path during combustion to avoid deposit formation, and moves inside the flame path during non-combustion phases to perform cleaning when conditions are favorable.
2Ease of operation
If the cleaning member is repeatedly inserted and retracted from the flame during cleaning, then cleaning action is performed, but heating and cooling cycles cause cracking
Solution Approach 1:
The cleaning member operates periodically only during non-combustion phases when temperature conditions are stable and favorable. This eliminates repeated thermal cycling through the flame, preventing the heating and cooling cycles that cause cracking while maintaining necessary cleaning action.
3Productivity
If the cleaning member operates during combustion, then deposits are removed, but machine downtime increases due to maintenance
Solution Approach 1:
The system maintains continuous operational capability by performing cleaning actions during non-combustion phases without interrupting the overall process. This eliminates the need to stop the system for maintenance, as the cleaning member operates continuously during appropriate phases, preventing deposit buildup that would require shutdowns.
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
This approach reduces deposit formation and cracking, enhancing the system's efficiency and extending the mean time between failures, thereby improving the overall performance and lifespan of the gas abatement system.
Implementation Method 1
a cleaning member movable from a first position wherein the cleaning member is outside a path of the flame associated with the nozzle to a second position wherein the cleaning member is in the path of the flame associated with the nozzle
Implementation Method 2
the exhaust gas is mixed with a fuel gas which is conveyed into a combustion chamber, via an inlet assembly, to be combusted
Implementation Method 3
the cleaning member undergoes repeated heating and cooling cycles
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~4
AI summary
A method of and system for cleaning a gas flowing through an inlet nozzle of an abatement burner combustion chamber. The abatement burner intermittently receives gas for combustion from a feed process. The nozzle comprises a cleaning mechanism including a movable cleaning member for physically removing unwanted deposits from the nozzle. The cleaning member is movable from a retracted first position wherein the cleaning member is outside a path of a flame associated with the nozzle, to a second cleaning position wherein the cleaning member is in a path of the flame associated with the nozzle. The method comprises the steps of : a. identifying when the nozzle is out of use; b. moving the cleaning member from the first position to the second position while the nozzle is out of use; and c. returning the cleaning member to the first position before nozzle is in use.