Moveable Riser Reactor for Thermal Fatigue Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing reactors face thermal fatigue issues due to rapid temperature changes during start-up and shut-down, leading to potential damage and reduced reliability, especially when used for biomass gasification where the riser undergoes significant thermal expansion.
Innovation Solution
The reactor design includes a moveable riser attachment to the housing, allowing thermal expansion, with a downcomer and spacer elements that enable relative movement, and a flue gas outlet with pressure control to manage temperature and prevent thermal shock, ensuring the reactor's durability and efficient operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If the riser is fixed rigidly to the housing, then structural stability is improved, but thermal fatigue occurs due to thermal expansion during operation
Solution Approach 1:
The riser is designed with a moveable connection to the housing, allowing it to expand and contract thermally while maintaining structural integrity. The moveable connection enables the riser to dynamically adjust its position in response to thermal expansion forces, preventing rigid constraint and subsequent thermal fatigue damage.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention explicitly accounts for thermal expansion by providing a moveable connection between the riser and housing. This allows the riser to expand freely in the thermal expansion direction during operation, eliminating the thermal fatigue that would occur in a rigidly fixed configuration.
2Reliability
If the riser is made moveable to accommodate thermal expansion, then thermal fatigue is prevented, but structural stability may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The moveable connection provides controlled mobility that accommodates thermal expansion while maintaining structural stability through proper mechanical design. The connection allows necessary movement for thermal expansion but constrains the riser sufficiently to prevent excessive displacement or instability during operation.
3Reliability
If spacer elements are added between riser and downcomer, then relative movement is enabled, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Spacer elements are introduced as intermediary components between the riser and downcomer. These spacers enable relative movement and accommodate thermal expansion while maintaining proper spacing and alignment. The spacers are simple mechanical elements that facilitate the necessary movement without significantly increasing overall device 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
This design prevents thermal fatigue, ensuring the reactor's reliability and efficient operation even after multiple starts and stops, maintaining performance and extending the lifespan of reactor components.
Implementation Method 1
the riser can thermally expand with respect to the down comer channel, as a result of which no thermal fatigue of the reactor components occurs
Implementation Method 2
The ash removal device is thus capable of effectively (gravity based) removing material from the reactor
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
AI summary
Reactor for producing a product gas from a fuel having a housing (11, 12, 13) with a combustion part accommodating a fluidized bed (7) in operation, a riser (2) extending along a longitudinal direction of the reactor (1), and a downcomer (3) positioned coaxially around the riser (2) and extending into the fluidized bed (7). One or more feed channels (8) for providing the fuel to the riser (2) are provided. The riser (2) is attached to the housing (11, 12, 13) of the reactor (1) in a bottom part (13) of the housing (11, 12, 13), and a part of the riser (2) above the one or more feed channels (8) is moveable with respect to the downcomer (3) in the longitudinal direction of the reactor (1).