Metallurgical Furnace Cooling Panel with Modular Recess Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
Cooling panels in metallurgical furnaces face issues with rapid wear and leakage, leading to coolant loss and increased temperature, which can result in complete destruction and require complex and costly repairs, especially when traditional flexible hoses are used for temporary fixes.
Innovation Solution
The cooling panel design incorporates an elongate recess in the front face to accommodate a cooling pipe with angled branches, allowing for quick replacement and eliminating the need for welding, thereby reducing manufacturing time and cost, while ensuring secure installation and effective heat transfer.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Duration of action of stationary object
If a flexible hose is used to repair a leaking cooling channel, then the cooling panel can be operated further without replacement, but the installation is complicated and the hose has thin wall thickness that does not survive long against abrasion
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling panel is divided into modular components: a body with cooling channels and removable front faces. Each front face can be independently replaced when damaged, allowing quick repair without replacing the entire cooling panel. This modular design simplifies the repair process while extending the overall service life of the cooling panel system.
2Ease of repair
If coolant feed through the leaking cooling channel is interrupted until the next programmed stoppage, then repair can be performed, but material from the furnace enters the cooling channel thereby hindering subsequent installation of repair measures
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling panel is designed with readily available replacement front faces that can be quickly installed when damage is detected. The modular design with standardized cooling channels allows for immediate replacement without waiting for programmed stoppages, preventing furnace material from entering the cooling channel and maintaining cooling channel integrity.
3Temperature
If a cooling panel is severely worn, then temperature increase of the copper surrounding the channel occurs leading to loss of mechanical properties, but complete destruction exposes the furnace shell directly to high heat loads and abrasion
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling panel design allows for dynamic replacement of front faces based on their condition. When a front face shows signs of severe wear or temperature-induced property loss, it can be independently replaced while the rest of the cooling panel continues to function. This prevents complete destruction and protects the furnace shell from exposure to high heat loads and abrasion.
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 design enables rapid and cost-effective repair of damaged cooling panels, extending their lifespan and preventing coolant leakage, while simplifying the manufacturing process and improving heat transfer efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
the at least one cooling pipe being arranged in the at least one elongate recess such that the angled branches protrude through the openings in the rear face of the body
Data Source
AI summary
A cooling panel for a metallurgical furnace includes a body with a front face and an opposite rear face, a top face and an opposite bottom face and two opposite side faces. The body has at least one cooling channel therein, the cooling channel having openings in the rear face; wherein, in use, the front face of the body is turned towards a furnace interior. According to the invention, the cooling panel having at least one cooling pipe arranged in at least one elongate recess formed in the front face, where the cooling pipe has an elongate middle section and at either end thereof, an angled branch, the cooling pipe forming the cooling channel, and where the cooling pipe is arranged in the elongate recess such that the angled branches protrude through the openings in the rear face of the body.