Rotatable Drum Cooling White Slag Modular Panels
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for recycling white slag from steel refining processes face challenges such as high water consumption, poor heat exchange, and wear on equipment, leading to inefficient recycling and maintenance issues.
Innovation Solution
A system utilizing a rotatable drum with modular panels and a controlled cooling fluid circulation for indirect cooling of white slag, enhancing heat exchange efficiency and allowing for easier maintenance by replacing worn panels.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of substance
If indirect cooling through a rotatable drum is used, then water consumption is reduced, but heat exchange efficiency deteriorates requiring larger reactor dimensions
Solution Approach 1:
The drum surface is segmented into multiple heating zones with independent temperature control, allowing optimized heat exchange in each zone while maintaining overall water efficiency. The cooling system is divided into separate fluid circulation paths that can be independently controlled.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts heating and cooling parameters (temperature, fluid flow rates) based on real-time monitoring of slag properties and drum position, optimizing heat exchange efficiency without increasing water consumption.
2Loss of substance
If air flow cooling is used, then water consumption is reduced, but material hydration occurs reducing quality
Solution Approach 1:
An inert gas atmosphere (nitrogen or carbon dioxide) is introduced as an intermediary between the air flow cooling system and the white slag material, preventing direct contact with atmospheric moisture while maintaining effective heat transfer for cooling.
3Productivity
If continuous drum operation is used, then recycling efficiency is maintained, but drum wear increases requiring frequent replacement
Solution Approach 1:
The drum is constructed with sacrificial wear-resistant linings or replaceable modular panels that can be easily replaced when worn, allowing the main drum structure to continue operating while protecting it from direct contact with abrasive white slag material.
Solution Approach 2:
The drum surface uses composite materials combining wear-resistant properties with thermal conductivity requirements, such as ceramic coatings on metal substrates or specialized refractory composites that withstand both mechanical wear and thermal cycling.
4Productivity
If larger reactor dimensions are used, then heat exchange capacity is improved, but water dispersion increases reducing effectiveness
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple heating and cooling fluid channels are nested within the drum structure, with heating elements inside the drum wall and cooling channels outside, creating a compact heat exchange system that maximizes surface area without increasing overall reactor dimensions.
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 reduces recycling times, maintains high material quality, and minimizes downtime by optimizing heat exchange and fluid circulation, while enabling faster maintenance and reducing the need for refractory mortar.
Implementation Method 1
controlled cooling of the white slag contained inside said rotatable drum (3) by indirect thermal exchange with a cooling fluid that affects an internal chamber (361) made of modular panels removably fixed to the frame of the rotatable drum (3)
Implementation Method 2
a cooling fluid circulation for indirect cooling of white slag, enhancing heat exchange efficiency
Data Source
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AI summary
A system (1) for cooling and recycling white slag resulting from a production process of steel, comprises a loading apparatus (2) of the white slag, suitable to receive the white slag, and a rotatable drum (3) suitable to receive inside it the white slag coming from the loading apparatus (2). The rotatable drum (3) comprises a cooling segment (31) suitable to cool the white slag to induce a process of withering of the white slag, and a screening segment (32), placed downstream of the cooling segment (31), wherein the selection and separation of fragments and powder of the white slag having a piece size smaller than a predetermined piece size is performed. In addition, the rotatable drum (3) comprises a drum frame (33) and modular panels (35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50) removably fixed to said drum frame (33) that internally contain at least one chamber (361) suitable to be permeated by a cooling fluid (F), to obtain an indirect cooling of the white slag.