Melter Cooling Panel Structure for Wear-Resistant Coolant Flow
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing glass manufacturing equipment, particularly submerged combustion melters, face issues with wear, cracking, and erosion due to harsh conditions, leading to panel failure and inefficiencies in construction and coolant flow.
Innovation Solution
A cooling panel design featuring a monolithic structure with optimized fluid flow paths and external welds, allowing for faster assembly, reduced error, and improved heat transfer, using additive manufacturing to enhance durability and coolant efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If traditional cooling panels are used in submerged combustion melters, then the equipment can withstand high temperatures, but the panels suffer from wear, cracking, and erosion leading to failure
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling panel is divided into a modular construction with separate refractory lining and steel shell components that can be independently replaced. The refractory material is applied as a separate layer onto the steel panel, allowing the refractory to be renewed without replacing the entire panel structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The cooling panel uses a composite structure combining refractory material (for high temperature resistance) with a steel shell (for structural strength and cooling). This composite design allows each material to perform its optimal function while protecting against the limitations of individual materials.
2Power
If complex cooling panel constructions are used, then heat transfer efficiency can be improved, but construction time and assembly errors increase
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling channels and structural features are pre-formed in the steel panel using additive manufacturing technology before the refractory material is applied. This eliminates the need for complex field assembly and reduces construction time while maintaining optimized heat transfer pathways.
Solution Approach 2:
Traditional mechanical welding and assembly processes are replaced with additive manufacturing technology to create the cooling panel structure. This substitution reduces assembly complexity, minimizes weld errors, and accelerates construction while maintaining structural integrity.
3Productivity
If additive manufacturing is used to create cooling panels, then assembly speed and accuracy improve, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The manufacturing approach transitions from traditional subtractive or assembly-based methods to additive manufacturing, changing the fundamental production parameter from material removal or assembly to material deposition. This enables complex geometries to be created directly without proportional increases in assembly complexity.
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 cooling panel reduces wear and failure, enhances coolant flow, and improves heat transfer efficiency, while allowing for faster construction and reduced maintenance, making it better suited for high-temperature glass manufacturing environments.
Implementation Method 1
a cooling panel configured to cool a portion of the molten material
Implementation Method 2
optimized fluid flow paths and external welds, allowing for faster assembly, reduced error, and improved heat transfer
Data Source
Figure 1A
Figure 1B
Figure 2A~2C
AI summary
A cooling panel (12,212, 312, 412) for a melter (10) and method for fabricating the cooling panel (12, 212, 312, 412) are disclosed. In particular, the cooling panel (12, 212, 312, 412) can include first (20, 120, 220, 420) and second (22, 122, 222, 422) outer walls and a plurality of side walls (34, 36, 38, 40, 134, 136, 138, 140, 334, 336, 338, 340, 434, 436, 438, 440) coupled to the outer walls that define an interior space (62, 462). A plurality of baffles (24, 424) is disposed in the interior space (62, 462), where projections (48, 52) in the baffles (24, 424) fit into respective openings (28, 44) in the outer walls (20, 22, 120, 122, 220, 222, 420, 422) and can be connected from outside the cooling panel (12, 212, 312, 412). The cooling panel (12, 212, 312, 412) can be formed by way of welding and/or additive manufacturing, as discussed herein.