Web Heat Treatment Airflow Layout for Uniform Heating
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing heat treatment devices for continuously conveyed flat structures, such as tire cord fabrics, suffer from non-uniform temperature distributions, leading to poor energy transfer and product quality, along with issues like fabric deformation, vibration, and high energy consumption, making them inefficient and costly.
Innovation Solution
The device employs a system with laminar air flow and strategically placed suction bodies to ensure homogeneous air distribution and temperature control across the heating chambers, reducing vibrations and wrinkling, and optimizing energy use through cross-connected heating sections and a heat exchanger on the pressure side.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of energy
If conventional heating chambers with lateral air supply are used, then heating can be provided, but non-uniform temperature distributions occur leading to poor energy transfer
Solution Approach 1:
The heating chamber is divided into multiple heating zones with independent air supply and exhaust systems. Each zone has its own nozzle boxes and suction bodies that can be controlled independently, allowing precise temperature control in different sections of the chamber to eliminate non-uniform temperature distributions.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the heating chamber are provided with locally optimized air supply and exhaust arrangements. The nozzle boxes and suction bodies are strategically positioned to create uniform air flow patterns in specific areas, ensuring homogeneous temperature distribution throughout the entire chamber volume.
2Loss of energy
If higher air currents are used to improve energy transfer, then heating efficiency increases, but light webs are damaged due to cross flow causing wrinkling
Solution Approach 1:
The air supply and exhaust systems are arranged asymmetrically with respect to the fabric path. The nozzle boxes and suction bodies are positioned to create air flow patterns that follow the fabric direction rather than crossing it, eliminating the harmful cross flows that cause wrinkling while maintaining heating efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of supplying air laterally as in conventional systems, the invention uses vertically oriented nozzle boxes and suction bodies that create air flow parallel to the fabric direction. This inverted arrangement eliminates cross-flow damage while maintaining effective heat transfer.
3Loss of energy
If dryer height is increased to provide sufficient heating, then energy transfer improves, but light material vibrates over the free length causing damage
Solution Approach 1:
The long heating chamber is segmented into multiple smaller heating zones with intermediate support structures and distributed air supply/exhaust points. This segmentation provides frequent support points that prevent light material from vibrating or flapping between supports while maintaining sufficient total heating capacity through the distributed zone arrangement.
4Productivity
If existing devices are used to treat various products, then production capacity is maintained, but individual adaptation is difficult due to large number of products with different properties
Solution Approach 1:
The device incorporates dynamically adjustable components including variable air flow controls, adjustable nozzle positions, and programmable heating zone controls. These dynamic elements allow the system to be quickly reconfigured for different product types, coatings, and processing requirements without requiring physical modifications, thus maintaining high productivity across diverse product ranges.
5Object-affected harmful factors
If line speed is reduced to minimize fabric vibration, then material damage is prevented, but productivity of the line is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The heating chamber is divided into multiple short heating zones with distributed support structures. This segmentation provides frequent support points that prevent fabric vibration and flapping at higher line speeds, allowing the system to maintain both fabric integrity and high productivity without requiring speed reduction.
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 solution achieves precise control over process conditions, prevents fabric deformation, ensures uniform energy transmission, and reduces energy consumption, allowing for universal use with various materials and coatings while minimizing space requirements.
Implementation Method 1
Each heating section has at least one line connection for supplying a heating medium into the heating chamber
Implementation Method 2
The web of material is acted upon by a heating medium... ensures uniform energy transmission
Implementation Method 3
exhaust means for exhausting the heating medium from the heating chamber
Implementation Method 4
a heat exchanger on the pressure side
Data Source
Figure 1a
Figure 1b
Figure 2
AI summary
The invention relates to a device for performing heat treatments comprising at least one treatment module (10), which has a first and a second heating section (11a, 11b). Hot air (L) is introduced into the heating sections (11a, 11b) via a line connection (13). After the treatment, the hot air (L) is discharged via suction means (14). The suction means are arranged at the end faces of the heating sections (11a, 11b).