Combustion Fan Failure Detection in Hot Water Heaters
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional hot water supply devices face challenges in accurately detecting combustion fan failures due to fluctuations caused by external disturbances like wind, leading to false detection of failure signs.
Innovation Solution
The device employs a multi-step heating operation with a pre-purge and ignition step to determine the presence of disturbance factors and uses initial or failure reference data to accurately detect combustion fan failures, preventing false alarms and ensuring timely inspection.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If rotational responsiveness and deviation of the combustion fan are used to detect failure signs, then failure detection capability is improved, but false detection occurs due to external disturbances like wind
Solution Approach 1:
The heating operation is divided into multiple sequential steps (preheating step, heating step, etc.), and failure sign detection is performed at different stages. By segmenting the detection process across different operational phases, the system can distinguish between temporary disturbances and actual failures, thereby improving detection reliability while maintaining accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs a preheating step before the main heating operation, during which initial measurements of rotational responsiveness and deviation are taken. This preliminary action establishes a baseline state before external disturbances (like wind) may affect the combustion fan, allowing the system to differentiate between normal operational variations and actual failure signs.
2Reliability
If ignition time is extended to accommodate low temperature conditions and strong winds, then ignition reliability is improved, but failure sign detection accuracy deteriorates due to fluctuation in ignition time
Solution Approach 1:
The ignition process is separated into distinct phases: preheating phase and main heating phase. Failure sign detection based on ignition time is specifically performed during the preheating phase before the main ignition occurs. This segmentation allows the system to detect failure signs during a controlled period when ignition time fluctuations have not yet occurred, maintaining detection accuracy while still accommodating variable ignition conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary measurements of ignition time during the preheating step before actual ignition takes place. By conducting detection actions before the ignition process begins, the system captures baseline data that is not affected by ignition time fluctuations caused by low temperatures or strong winds, thereby maintaining detection precision while ensuring ignition reliability.
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 enables highly accurate failure sign detection, preventing false alarms and ensuring timely inspection and maintenance, thus maintaining the device's operational reliability.
Implementation Method 1
a combustion fan for supplying combustion air to the combustion part
Implementation Method 2
hot water supplied from the water supply part is heated in the heat exchange part by combustion heat generated in the combustion part
Data Source
AI summary
A hot water supply device includes a combustion part, a combustion fan, a heat exchange part, a water supply part, a hot water discharge part, and a control part. In the hot water supply device, in a pre-purge step of a heating operation, the presence or absence of a disturbance factor is determined based on rotational responsiveness and deviation of the combustion fan with respect to a scavenging rotation speed. When there is no disturbance factor, in an ignition step, detection of a failure sign is performed based on responsiveness and deviation of the combustion fan with respect to an ignition rotation speed.