Fuel-fired heating appliance having improved burner assembly
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Fuel-fired heating appliances suffer from operational noise due to synchronized combustion reactions on flat burner surfaces, leading to resonance and inefficient heat transfer.
Innovation Solution
A burner assembly with a unitary mesh structure featuring dome-shaped burners and a diffuser plate with perforated areas corresponding to the burners, directing the fuel and air mixture flow to each burner, reducing noise and enhancing heat transfer efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If a flat single mesh burner is used, then the device complexity is reduced, but operational noise increases due to synchronized combustion reactions causing resonance
Solution Approach 1:
The single flat mesh burner is segmented into multiple individual burners arranged in an array. Each burner operates independently with its own flame, preventing synchronized combustion reactions. This segmentation eliminates the resonance phenomenon that causes operational noise while maintaining a relatively simple overall burner structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The burner design transitions from a two-dimensional flat mesh surface to a three-dimensional array of individual burners with domed shapes. This dimensional change allows flames to be directed into combustor tubes, improving heat transfer efficiency and eliminating the planar combustion surface that causes synchronized reactions and noise.
2Ease of manufacture
If a flat burner surface is used, then manufacturing is simplified, but heat transfer efficiency decreases due to heat loss to burner box walls
Solution Approach 1:
Each burner in the array is given a specific domed shape with optimized geometry for directing flames into combustor tubes. This local quality optimization at each burner location maximizes heat transfer efficiency to the combustor tubes while minimizing heat loss to the burner box walls, despite the increased manufacturing complexity compared to a flat surface.
3Loss of energy
If multiple individual burners are used instead of a single flat mesh, then heat transfer efficiency improves, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple individual burners are merged into a single integrated burner assembly that functions as a unified structure. The burners are arranged in an array and supported by a common support structure, allowing them to operate independently for optimized heat transfer while maintaining a compact, integrated design that limits overall complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
Each burner is given a domed or curved shape rather than a flat surface. This curvature optimizes flame direction into the combustor tubes, improving heat transfer efficiency. The consistent curved geometry across all burners provides manufacturing regularity that helps control complexity despite the increased number of burners.
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
The solution reduces or eliminates operational noise and improves heat distribution by directing individual flames into combustor tubes, increasing the active burner surface area and reducing heat loss to the burner box walls.
Implementation Method 1
A diffuser plate is disposed in a fixed position upstream of the mesh structure so that, when the burner assembly is disposed in the flow path, a respective flow of the fuel and air mixture is directed from each of the plurality of perforated areas to its corresponding burner
Implementation Method 2
An associated igniter is also disposed in the burner box and is operative to combust the fuel/air mixture, thereby creating hot combustion gases used to heat air (or another fluid as the case may be)
Implementation Method 3
a blower portion of the furnace forces air being recirculated to and from a conditioned space served by the furnace externally over the heat exchanger combustor tubes to transfer combustion heat therefrom and thereby heat the recirculating air
Data Source
AI summary
A burner assembly for a fuel-fired heating appliance that defines a direction of flow of a fuel and air mixture in a flow path. The burner assembly comprises a plurality burners defined in a unitary mesh structure. Each burner defines at least one peak at a distal end thereof in a direction of flow of a fuel and air mixture. The burner assembly also comprises a diffuser plate having a plurality of perforated areas defined therein and one or more imperforate areas between respective perforated areas of the plurality of perforated areas. The perforated areas respectively correspond to the plurality of burners. The diffuser plate is disposed in a fixed position upstream of the mesh structure so that, when the burner assembly is disposed in the flow path, a respective flow of the fuel and air mixture is directed from each of the plurality of perforated areas to its corresponding burner of the plurality of burners.