Cooler Seal Assembly for Preventing Grate Riddlings
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Solution Overview
Problem
Coolers for cooling hot bulk materials like cement clinker often experience grate riddlings and wear on drive elements due to relative movements, which negatively impact functionality and mechanical components.
Innovation Solution
A cooler design featuring a stationary aeration grate with movable conveyor planks and a seal assembly that includes an adjustable wall element and wear-protection elements to prevent grate riddlings, where the seal assembly lies against the drive element and can be adjusted to maintain contact and prevent material drop-through.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If movable conveyor elements are used to transport bulk material, then material transport capability is improved, but grate riddlings and wear on drive elements occur due to relative movements
Solution Approach 1:
A flexible seal element is introduced between the movable conveyor element and the stationary support structure. This seal element flexes with the movement of the conveyor element while maintaining contact to prevent grate riddlings, thus resolving the contradiction between maintaining transport capability and preventing wear and material drop-through.
Solution Approach 2:
The seal element acts as an intermediary between the movable conveyor element and the stationary support structure. It mediates the relative movement while maintaining sealing contact, preventing both grate riddlings and excessive wear on drive elements during the reciprocating motion.
2Reliability
If the seal assembly is fixed to maintain contact with the drive element, then grate riddlings are prevented, but wear on the seal assembly increases
Solution Approach 1:
The seal assembly is designed with dynamic characteristics, allowing it to move and flex in response to the reciprocating motion of the conveyor element. This dynamic design maintains continuous contact to prevent grate riddlings while distributing wear over a larger area and reducing peak stresses, thereby extending service life.
Solution Approach 2:
The seal element is made from materials with changed parameters - specifically high-temperature resistant and wear-resistant materials. This allows the seal to maintain contact and prevent grate riddlings while withstanding the thermal and mechanical stresses for extended periods.
3Ease of manufacture
If the spacing between seal assembly and drive element is fixed, then manufacturing is simplified, but effective sealing contact cannot be maintained during operation
Solution Approach 1:
The seal assembly incorporates adjustable spacing mechanisms that allow the seal to dynamically adapt its position relative to the drive element during operation. This maintains effective sealing contact throughout the reciprocating cycle while keeping the manufacturing process relatively simple through standardized adjustment mechanisms.
Data Source
AI summary
A cooler for cooling bulk material such as cement clinker may include a stationary aeration grate that is for receiving the bulk material is passably by a flow of cooling gas, a conveyor unit having conveyor planks that are disposed above the aeration grate and that for transporting the bulk material are movable in a reciprocating manner in a conveying direction and counter to the conveying direction, a seal assembly that prevents grate riddlings and is attached to the stationary aeration grate, and a drive element that drives the conveyor planks and extends through the stationary aeration grate. The seal assembly may lie against the drive element, and spacing between the seal assembly and the drive element may be adjustable. Further, a method for preventing grate riddlings in a cooler may involve in the event of wear decreasing the spacing between the seal assembly and the drive element.