Gas Valve Pre-Fill Sequence for Reliable Heating Burner Ignition
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for starting a heating device, particularly those using hydrogen as fuel, face challenges such as hard ignition, deflagration, flame flashback, and time delays in fuel gas flow stabilization, leading to unreliable start-up processes and user discomfort.
Innovation Solution
A method involving brief opening of the gas valve before activating the delivery system to fill the gas valve with fuel gas, followed by a purge and ignition attempt, ensuring safe and rapid initial ignition, especially for hydrogen-powered appliances.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the gas valve is opened and the conveying device is started simultaneously during burner start-up, then the ignition process can begin, but time delays occur in fuel gas flow stabilization leading to unreliable ignition and user discomfort
Solution Approach 1:
The gas valve is opened briefly before the conveying device is started to pre-fill the gas valve with fuel gas. This preliminary action ensures that fuel gas is already present and stabilized in the gas valve when the conveying device begins operation, eliminating delays in fuel gas flow stabilization and ensuring reliable ignition without extending overall start-up time.
2Use of energy by moving object
If hydrogen is used as fuel gas, then energy efficiency is improved, but the volatility and low density of hydrogen cause significantly less reliable start-up behavior and increase likelihood of critical conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The brief opening of the gas valve before conveying device activation allows hydrogen fuel gas to be pre-loaded into the gas valve chamber. This preliminary filling compensates for hydrogen's volatility and low density by ensuring the gas is already present and stabilized, preventing start-up failures while maintaining hydrogen's energy efficiency benefits.
3Reliability
If a pilot flame with its own fuel supply is used to ignite the main burner, then critical conditions during start-up are avoided, but the design is associated with considerable effort and complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts and eliminates the need for a separate pilot flame system with its own fuel supply. Instead, the main burner is ignited directly using the brief pre-opening of the gas valve to ensure fuel gas presence, followed by activation of the conveying device and ignition. This removes the complexity of dual fuel supply systems while maintaining start-up safety.
4Reliability
If the gas valve is briefly opened before the conveying device is started, then fuel gas flow stabilization is achieved and ignition reliability is improved, but additional control steps are required
Solution Approach 1:
The control sequence is enhanced with a brief preliminary opening of the gas valve before conveying device activation. This additional step, while simple in concept, ensures fuel gas is pre-loaded and stabilized in the gas valve, significantly improving ignition reliability without requiring complex control logic or additional hardware.
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 significantly reduces time delays and enhances the reliability of the ignition process, minimizing the risk of misfires and user discomfort by ensuring quick and stable fuel gas flow initiation.
Implementation Method 1
the gas valve is briefly opened before the conveying device is started, thereby filling the gas valve with fuel gas
Implementation Method 2
filling the gas valve with fuel gas
Implementation Method 3
a conveying device for supplying a combustion mixture of fuel gas and combustion air to a burner
Implementation Method 4
an ignition device for the combustion mixture
Implementation Method 5
the combustion of a fuel
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2~3
Figure 4a~4d
AI summary
A method for starting a heating appliance (1) is proposed, comprising a conveying device (2) for conveying a combustion mixture of fuel gas and combustion air to a burner (3), an ignition device (12) for the combustion mixture, and a gas valve (5), wherein, prior to the commissioning of the conveying device (2), the gas valve (5) is briefly opened (32), thereby filling the gas valve (5) with fuel gas. The duration of the brief opening (32) of the gas valve (5) can be a maximum of half the regular safety period (35) for commissioning the heating appliance (1). This reduces the influence of time delays, caused by a longer period since the last interruption of burner operation, between the opening of the gas valve (5) and the commencement and stabilization of the fuel gas flow.