Regeneration Chamber Cleaning Lance for Hot Furnace Chimneys
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for cleaning furnace regeneration chambers in glass production are limited by uncomfortable working conditions, restricted space, air leakage, and the need for continuous furnace cooling, which affects production efficiency and increases costs.
Innovation Solution
A self-propelled cleaning machine with motorized wheels, adjustable idle wheels, and a telescopic cleaning lance equipped with compressed air and quartz dust, controlled by a remote console, allowing for automated operation and continuous cleaning without exposing operators to high temperatures and maintaining furnace efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If operators manually clean chimneys using lances through access openings, then cleaning effectiveness is achieved, but working conditions become uncomfortable due to high temperatures reaching 100°C
Solution Approach 1:
A remote-controlled cleaning machine serves as an intermediary device, allowing operators to clean chimneys from a safe distance. The machine is equipped with a telescopic lance that can reach into the high-temperature zones while the operator remains outside the regeneration chamber, eliminating direct exposure to harmful heat while maintaining cleaning effectiveness.
Solution Approach 2:
The manual mechanical cleaning process is replaced with an automated remote-controlled system. The cleaning machine incorporates motorized wheels for movement, a telescopic lance with compressed air and quartz dust delivery, and remote control capabilities, substituting the manual mechanical approach with an automated system that eliminates operator exposure to high temperatures.
2Reliability
If lances are made long enough to reach innermost sections of chimneys, then cleaning coverage is improved, but maneuverability deteriorates in confined spaces with limited vertical development
Solution Approach 1:
The lance is designed with telescopic capability, allowing it to dynamically adjust its length. When extended, it reaches the innermost sections of chimneys for complete cleaning coverage. When retracted, it becomes compact and easy to maneuver in confined access spaces. This dynamic adjustment resolves the contradiction between reaching distance and ease of operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The cleaning system is divided into modular components: a self-propelled machine body with motorized wheels, a telescopic lance that can extend and retract, and remote control systems. This segmentation allows the lance to be extended only when needed for cleaning, while the main body remains maneuverable in confined spaces.
3Ease of operation
If access openings are provided for manual cleaning operations, then cleaning access is enabled, but hot air escapes and oxygen enters causing temperature drops and requiring recalibration of furnace parameters
Solution Approach 1:
The remote-controlled cleaning machine acts as an intermediary that enables cleaning operations without requiring large access openings. The machine can enter through smaller openings and perform cleaning internally, minimizing the disruption to the furnace's thermal environment and preventing significant heat loss and oxygen intrusion.
Solution Approach 2:
The cleaning operation is designed to be continuous and efficient, reducing the duration that access openings remain open. The self-propelled machine can move autonomously between chimneys and perform cleaning without requiring repeated opening/closing of access points, thereby maintaining furnace temperature stability while still enabling effective cleaning access.
4Ease of operation
If cooling the regeneration chamber is performed to enable cleaning operations, then cleaning can proceed, but the furnace must also be cooled causing production problems unless heating power is increased
Solution Approach 1:
The remote-controlled cleaning machine enables cleaning operations without requiring the furnace to be cooled. The machine is designed to operate in high-temperature environments, eliminating the need to interrupt furnace operation for cooling, thereby maintaining production efficiency while still enabling effective cleaning.
Solution Approach 2:
The cleaning machine is self-sufficient and equipped with its own cooling system for internal components, allowing it to operate in hot environments without requiring the entire furnace to be cooled. This self-service capability enables cleaning during normal furnace operation, maintaining productivity.
5Temperature
If breaks are introduced between work periods to restore optimal temperature, then temperature stability is improved, but production potential is reduced due to downtime
Solution Approach 1:
The remote-controlled cleaning machine enables continuous cleaning operations without interrupting furnace operation or requiring temperature restoration breaks. The machine can work continuously through multiple chimneys, maintaining both temperature stability and production potential by eliminating downtime.
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 machine enables efficient, automated cleaning of narrow spaces within regeneration chambers, maintaining furnace efficiency and reducing operational costs by allowing continuous operation without cooling the furnace or exposing operators to hazardous conditions.
Implementation Method 1
lances delivering a flow of compressed air and quartz dust
Implementation Method 2
lances delivering a flow of compressed air and quartz dust, which in this way cleans the chimney themselves
Implementation Method 3
a self-propelled support structure with a body (3) and with movement members associated with a drive motor
Implementation Method 4
two idle wheels (6) of the adjustable type, which ensure the stability of the machine on the surface along which it must be moved
Data Source
AI summary
A machine for cleaning regeneration chambers of furnaces, the regeneration chambers having stacks of hollow refractory elements delimiting vertical passages, which define chimneys includes a self-propelled support structure to be introduced into a compartment, below the regeneration chamber to be cleaned, which communicates with the regeneration chamber. The machine further includes at least one lance, applied to the self-propelled support structure and configured to send within the vertical passages a stream of cleaning material powder and compressed air generated by a compressor positioned outside of the regeneration chamber to be cleaned, and at least one suction mouth, applied to said support structure and configured to suck cleaning material dust and aspirable materials from the ground, which were removed during the cleaning operation. At least one video camera is mounted on the support structure and at least one monitor controls from outside, through the video camera, operation of the machine.