JP7146659B2 - In-furnace observation device, maintenance method for in-furnace observation device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an in-furnace observation device and a maintenance method for the in-furnace observation device.

Observation devices capable of observing the inside of a high-temperature furnace are known. For example, Patent Literature 1 describes an in-furnace observation device having an imaging device housed in a housing. This observation device includes means for cooling the imaging device with cooling air introduced from the outside of the housing, a thermoelectric cooling element surrounding the imaging element main body, and a heat conduction block filling the gap between the imaging element main body and the thermoelectric cooling element. , and cooling fins provided on the thermoelectric cooling element.

JP 2007-225266 A

In a coke oven, it is desirable to observe the inside of the oven by inserting an imaging device into the oven at appropriate times in order to grasp the deterioration state of the coking chamber and determine the necessity of maintenance. However, while the temperature inside the coke oven is 1100° C. to 1200° C., the heat resistance temperature of the image pickup device is often about 50° C. Therefore, in order to protect the image pickup device, a large-scale cooling device or heat insulation is required. You have to have the means.

In recent years, there has been a demand for simplifying the configuration of such in-furnace observation devices in order to facilitate manufacturing and handling. From this point of view, the in-furnace observation device described in Patent Document 1 is always installed on the extrusion ram and always placed in the furnace, so it requires a large-scale configuration for cooling and heat insulation. There is a problem that it is difficult to simplify.
Based on these findings, the inventors of the present invention have recognized that there is a problem to be solved in the in-core observation apparatus from the viewpoint of simplifying the configuration.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an in-furnace observation apparatus capable of simplifying the configuration.

In order to solve the above problems, an in-furnace observation device according to one aspect of the present invention is an observation device attached to an extrusion ram used in a coke oven, comprising an imaging device and a phase-change material layer covering the imaging device. and a refractory material layer covering the phase change material layer, wherein the refractory material layer comprises gypsum.

Arbitrary combinations of the above constituent elements, and mutually replacing the constituent elements and expressions of the present invention in methods, systems, etc. are also effective as aspects of the present invention.

ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the in-furnace observation apparatus which can simplify a structure can be provided.

1 is a perspective view schematically showing an example of an in-core observation apparatus according to a first embodiment; FIG. FIG. 2 is a side sectional view showing the in-furnace observation device of FIG. 1; FIG. 2 is a side view showing the configuration of a glass filter of the in-furnace observation device of FIG. 1; FIG. 2 is a side view showing a frame and a refractory material layer of the in-furnace observation device of FIG. 1; 2 is another side view showing the frame and the refractory material layer of the in-furnace observation device of FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is a side view showing a state in which the in-furnace observation device of FIG. 1 is attached to an extrusion ram; FIG. FIG. 2 is a side view showing a mounting portion of the in-furnace observation device of FIG. 1;

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The present invention will be described below based on preferred embodiments with reference to the drawings. In the embodiments and modified examples, the same or equivalent constituent elements and members are denoted by the same reference numerals, and duplication of description will be omitted as appropriate. In addition, the dimensions of the members in each drawing are appropriately enlarged or reduced for easy understanding. Also, in each drawing, some of the members that are not important for explaining the embodiments are omitted.
Also, terms including ordinal numbers such as first, second, etc. are used to describe various components, but these terms are used only for the purpose of distinguishing one component from other components, and the terms The constituent elements are not limited by

[First embodiment]
The configuration of the in-furnace observation apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 7. FIG. FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically showing an example of an in-furnace observation device 100. As shown in FIG. FIG. 2 is a side sectional view showing the in-furnace observation device 100. As shown in FIG. Frames are omitted in FIG. The in-furnace observation device 100 is an observation device that is attached to an extrusion ram and taken into and out of a coking chamber of a coke oven (hereinafter sometimes simply referred to as “furnace”) to image the inside of the furnace. Based on the result of this imaging, it is possible to grasp the condition of unevenness of the furnace wall, etc., and to support the determination of the necessity of maintenance.

An in-furnace observation device 100 of this embodiment mainly includes an imaging device 10 , a memory device 12 , a housing 18 , and a glass filter 14 . The housing 18 accommodates the imaging device 10 therein and functions as a container for protecting the imaging device 10, which has a heat resistance of about 50° C., from the high temperature (for example, 1200° C.) in the furnace. The housing 18 may be capable of keeping the temperature of the space in which the imaging device 10 is accommodated (hereinafter referred to as “accommodation space”) below the heat-resistant temperature of the imaging device 10 for a predetermined time (for example, 5 minutes). The housing 18 of this embodiment has a hexahedral outline such as a rectangular parallelepiped or a cube, and the translucent window 16 is provided on one surface extending vertically. A glass filter 14 is attached to the translucent window 16 .

The imaging device 10 functions as an image acquisition device that acquires an image of the surface of the furnace wall as a still image or a moving image. The imaging device 10 may acquire, for example, an image formed by a lens as image information using an image sensor such as a CCD or a CMOS. The field of view of imaging device 10 faces the outside of housing 18 through glass filter 14 . Hereinafter, for convenience of explanation, the direction in which the field of view of the imaging device 10 is directed will be referred to as the "viewing direction", and the direction opposite to the viewing direction will be referred to as the anti-viewing direction. In this example, the visual field direction is a direction along a horizontal line La that passes through the center of the visual field of the imaging device 10, and extends left and right on the paper surface of FIG.

The in-furnace observation device 100 may output the imaging result of the imaging device 10 to the outside via a cable, but the cable is not used in this embodiment. The in-furnace observation device 100 of the present embodiment stores the imaging result of the imaging device 10 in the memory device 12 accommodated in the accommodation space within the housing 18 . In particular, memory device 12 is removably disposed in a space covered by phase change material layer 20 .

The memory device 12 may be a card-type storage device using semiconductor memory such as flash memory. The memory device 12 may be removably mounted in a memory mounting portion (not shown) provided within the housing 18 . This memory mounting unit may be provided inside the imaging device 10, for example.

The housing 18 includes a temperature rise suppressing member capable of suppressing temperature rise in the housing space based on various principles. The housing 18 of this embodiment includes a phase change material layer 20 , an insulation material layer 24 and a refractory material layer 30 .

The phase change material layer 20 is a temperature rise suppression member that covers the imaging device 10 and suppresses temperature rise in the housing space. The phase change material layer 20 is a layer body made of a phase change material that absorbs heat from the outside and heat generated by the imaging device 10 by latent heat generated when the solid phase changes to the liquid phase. Various known phase change materials can be used for the phase change material layer 20 . For example, sodium acetate trihydrate or sodium sulfate decahydrate may be used as the phase change material from the viewpoint of having a larger latent heat of fusion than water. The phase change material layer 20 of the present embodiment has a hexahedral box shape surrounding the accommodation space, and one of the six faces intersecting the viewing direction is provided with a window. Shape parameters such as the thickness of the phase change material layer 20 can be set by calculation or simulation according to the desired amount of latent heat.

The refractory material layer 30 is a temperature rise suppression member that covers the phase change material layer 20 and suppresses temperature rise in the accommodation space. Since the refractory material layer 30 is exposed to high temperatures in the furnace, it is desirable to have fire resistance at high temperatures. Various known refractory materials can be used for the refractory material layer 30 . For example, gypsum may be used as the refractory material from the viewpoint of containing a large amount of water of crystallization. Gypsum contains more than 20% of its weight of water of crystallization.

This water of crystallization does not dissipate stably under normal conditions, but when exposed to the high temperature inside the furnace, it undergoes thermal decomposition and begins to evaporate. Therefore, gypsum can keep the inside temperature below a certain level (for example, about 120° C. to 150° C.) until all the water of crystallization is thermally decomposed and released as water vapor. The refractory material layer 30 of this embodiment has a hexahedral box shape surrounding the phase change material layer 20, and a window 30w is provided on one of the six surfaces intersecting the viewing direction. The refractory layer 30 includes six refractory plates 30b, 30c, 30d, 30e corresponding to each side of the hexahedron and can be separated from each other. The refractory plate 30b extends parallel to the horizontal plane to form the bottom, the refractory plate 30c and three refractory plates 30d extend parallel to the vertical plane to form side walls, and the refractory plate 30e It extends parallel to the horizontal plane so as to form a ceiling. A window 30w is provided in the refractory plate 30c.

Shape parameters such as the thickness of the refractory material layer 30 can be set by calculation or simulation according to the desired amount of water of crystallization. Gypsum cannot be reused once it loses its water of crystallization. Therefore, it is desirable to replace the refractory material layer 30 after each predetermined number of uses.

Since the refractory material layer 30 emits water vapor, the water vapor may affect the internal phase change material layer 20 and the imaging device 10 . Therefore, in this embodiment, the heat insulating material layer 24 is provided between the phase change material layer 20 and the refractory material layer 30 . The insulation layer 24 can reduce the ingress of water vapor into the containment space and increase the insulation performance between the refractory material layer 30 and the phase change material layer 20 .

The heat insulating material layer 24 of this embodiment has a hexahedral box shape surrounding the phase change material layer 20, and a window 24w is provided on one of the six surfaces intersecting the viewing direction. The insulation layer 24 includes six insulation plates 24b, 24c, 24d, 24e corresponding to each side of the hexahedron and can be separated from each other. The insulating plate 24b extends parallel to the horizontal plane to form the bottom, the insulating plate 24c and three insulating plates 24d extend parallel to the vertical plane to form side walls, and the insulating plate 24e It extends parallel to the horizontal plane so as to form a ceiling. A window 24w is provided in the heat insulating plate 24c.

Various known heat insulating materials can be used for the heat insulating material layer 24 . The heat insulating material layer 24 of the present embodiment uses an inorganic heat insulating material with high heat resistance, such as a siliceous porous composite material. In this case, since the porous body is included, it is possible to adsorb water vapor to reduce permeation and easily obtain the desired heat insulation performance. In addition, durability that withstands repeated use can be realized. Shape parameters such as the thickness of the heat insulating material layer 24 can be set by calculation or simulation according to the desired heat insulating performance.

FIG. 3 is a side view showing the configuration of the glass filter 14. As shown in FIG. It is desirable that the glass filter 14 have light transmittance, heat resistance, and heat insulation to the extent that the inside of the furnace can be imaged. Therefore, the glass filter 14 may be composed of a plurality of laminated light-transmitting plates 14b to 14f.

As shown in FIG. 1, housing 18 further includes frame 32 . The frame 32 functions as a skeleton that supports the housing 18 from the outside. The frame 32 detachably supports the refractory material layer 30 .

Frame 32 will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5 are side views showing the frame 32 and the refractory layer 30. FIG. 4 shows the assembled state and FIG. 5 shows the disassembled state. In this embodiment, the frame 32 includes a bottom portion 32b, four vertical frames 32c, and a ceiling portion 32d. The bottom portion 32b and the ceiling portion 32d are rectangular in plan view. The four vertical frames 32c extend vertically along each edge of the housing 18 from the four corners of the bottom portion 32b. The lower ends of the four vertical frames 32c are fixed to the bottom portion 32b. The ceiling portion 32d is fixed to the upper portions of the four vertical frames 32c with fasteners (not shown) such as bolts. The ceiling portion 32d is configured to be easily detachable from the vertical frame 32c by removing fasteners.

As shown in FIG. 1, a handle portion 36 is provided on the ceiling portion 32d of this embodiment. The in-furnace observation device 100 is configured to be portable by lifting the handle portion 36 by hand. The shape of the handle portion 36 is not limited, but in this example, the handle portion 36 has a shape in which both sides of a horizontally extending bar are bent downward.

As shown in these figures, the six refractory plates 30b, 30c, 30d and 30e can be removed separately from each other by removing the ceiling portion 32d. As described above, the gypsum board cannot be reused if it loses the water of crystallization. Therefore, during maintenance, the refractory material layer 30 that has been used a predetermined number of times or for a predetermined period of time is replaced with a new refractory material layer 30. be. With the in-furnace observation device 100, the used refractory material layer 30 can be easily removed, and a new separate refractory material layer 30 can be easily attached. In particular, as shown in FIG. 5, the refractory plates 30b, 30c, 30d, 30e can be easily disassembled and removed from the frame 32 by hand. Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the disassembled refractory plates 30b, 30c, 30d, and 30e can be easily assembled by attaching them to the frame 32 manually.

FIG. 6 is a side view showing a state in which the in-furnace observation device 100 is attached to the extrusion ram 50. As shown in FIG. As shown in this figure, the furnace interior observation device 100 is attached to the extrusion ram 50, pushed into the coke oven 60 together with the extrusion ram 50, and images the interior of the furnace in this state. The in-furnace observation device 100 that has taken an image of the inside of the furnace is pulled out of the furnace together with the extrusion ram 50 . Therefore, the in-furnace observation device 100 may be attached to the extrusion ram 50 immediately before being pushed into the coke oven 60 to be observed, and may be removed from the extrusion ram 50 immediately after being pulled out of the furnace.

FIG. 7 is a side view showing the mounting portion 34 of the in-furnace observation device 100 and the ram-side mounting portion 52b of the extrusion ram 50. As shown in FIG. The mounting portion 34 is a portion for detachably mounting the in-furnace observation device 100 to the extrusion ram 50 . The mounting portion 34 of this embodiment is four leg-like portions extending downward from the four corners of the bottom portion 32 b of the frame 32 .

The extrusion ram 50 is provided with a mounting table 52 for mounting the in-furnace observation device 100 thereon. The mounting table 52 is provided with four ram-side mounting portions 52 b at positions corresponding to the mounting portions 34 . The ram-side mounting portion 52b protrudes upward from the mounting table 52 and has a shape that allows engagement with the mounting portion 34. As shown in FIG. When the in-furnace observation device 100 is mounted on the mounting table 52 , the outer surface of the ram-side mounting portion 52 b contacts the inner surface of the mounting portion 34 . The ram-side mounting portion 52b may restrict the horizontal movement of the placed in-furnace observation device 100 and may not restrict the upward movement of the in-furnace observation device 100 . For example, the ram side mounting portion 52b may be arranged such that the inner surface of the ram side mounting portion 52b is in contact with the outer surface of the mounting portion . The in-furnace observation device 100 is mounted by being placed on the ram-side mounting portion 52b, and is removed by being lifted upward. In other words, the in-furnace observation device 100 is fixed by directly engaging the ram-side mounting portion 52b and the mounting portion 34 without using an additional fixing tool such as a bolt. 50 is configured to be detachable.

Next, the usable time of the in-core observation apparatus 100 configured as described above will be described. In the in-furnace observation device 100, the temperature rise suppression effect of the refractory material layer 30 decreases as the water of crystallization is lost due to evaporation, and the temperature rise suppression effect of the phase change material layer 20 decreases as the amount of heat absorbed increases. . For these reasons, when the cumulative operating time of the in-furnace observation device 100 exceeds a certain period of time, the effect of suppressing the temperature rise is greatly reduced.

When the temperature rise suppressing effect is reduced and the temperature of the accommodation space reaches the allowable upper limit temperature of the imaging device 10, the in-furnace observation device 100 cannot be used. The usable time of the in-furnace observation device 100 can be calculated by calculation or simulation using parameters such as the crystal water content of the refractory material layer 30, the latent heat amount of the phase-change material layer 20, the in-furnace temperature, and the allowable upper limit temperature. The in-furnace observation device 100 is desirably used within the usable time range calculated in this manner. The in-furnace observation device 100 can be reused by replacing the refractory material layer 30 and cooling the phase change material layer 20 .

Next, an example of how to use the in-furnace observation device 100 will be described. This description shows an example in which the in-furnace observation device 100 is used within the usable time range in a coke oven in which a large number of furnaces (for example, 100 gates) are connected. Although it is conceivable to make all furnaces subject to observation, in this example, furnaces extracted at a predetermined rate (for example, 10%) are targeted for observation. In this case, the number of furnaces to be observed may be set so that the cumulative use time is within the usable time.

(1) First, the in-furnace observation device 100 to which the memory device 12 is attached is prepared.
(2) For the furnace to be observed, the in-furnace observation device 100 is attached to the extrusion ram 50 before it is inserted to push out coke.
(3) The in-furnace observation device 100 is pushed into the furnace together with the extrusion ram 50 to take an image of the inside of the furnace, and the result of the imaging is stored in the memory device 12 .

(4) Remove the in-furnace observation device 100 pulled out of the furnace from the extrusion ram 50 .
(5) Repeat steps (2) to (4) for the remaining furnaces to be observed.
(6) After completion of the observation of the inside of the furnace to be observed, the memory device 12 is removed from the inside of the furnace observation device 100 and the stored imaging results are analyzed.
(7) Perform predetermined maintenance on the used in-furnace observation device 100 .
These procedures are only examples, and other steps may be added, some steps may be changed or deleted, and the order of the steps may be changed.

Next, the operation and effect of this embodiment configured in this manner will be described.

Furnace observation device 100 is a furnace observation device that can be put in and taken out of a coke oven to observe the inside, and includes imaging device 10, phase change material layer 20 covering imaging device 10, and phase change material layer 20. and an overlying refractory layer 30, the refractory layer 30 comprising gypsum.

According to this configuration, since the phase change material layer 20 and the refractory material layer 30 containing gypsum are provided, imaging can be performed without using piping for introducing a coolant such as cooling air from the outside or cable wiring for electronic cooling. A temperature rise of the device 10 can be suppressed. Since there is no piping or wiring, these incidental facilities can be omitted, and the configuration can be simplified.

An insulation layer 24 may be provided between the phase change material layer 20 and the refractory material layer 30 . In this case, it is possible to reduce the intrusion of water vapor from the refractory material layer 30 into the housing space. Also, the heat insulating performance between the refractory material layer 30 and the phase change material layer 20 can be improved. As a result, the usable time of the in-furnace observation device 100 can be extended.

The in-furnace observation device 100 may have a frame 32 that detachably supports the refractory material layer 30 . In this case, the refractory material layer 30 can be easily replaced. Further, reuse of the in-furnace observation device 100 is facilitated.

A mounting portion 34 for detachably mounting the in-furnace observation device 100 to the extrusion ram 50 may be provided. In this case, the in-furnace observation device 100 can be moved into and out of the furnace by the extrusion ram 50 . In addition, attachment and detachment of the in-furnace observation device 100 can be performed in a short time. In addition, the stop time of the extrusion ram 50 required for attaching and detaching the in-furnace observation device 100 can be shortened.

The in-furnace observation device 100 may be configured to be fixable to the extrusion ram 50 without using a tool. In this case, attachment and detachment of the in-furnace observation device 100 can be performed in a shorter time.

A memory device 12 for storing imaging results of the imaging device 10 may be detachably provided in the space covered with the phase change material layer 20 . In this case, compared to the case of outputting imaging results via cable wiring, the configuration can be simplified because there is no wiring. In addition, since there is no wiring, the attachment and detachment work of the in-core observation device 100 can be reduced accordingly. In addition, since the memory device 12 is used in the space covered with the phase change material layer 20, general-purpose memory elements with low heat resistance can be used.

[Second embodiment]
A second embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the description of the second embodiment, the same reference numerals are given to the same or equivalent components and members as in the first embodiment. Explanations overlapping with those of the first embodiment will be appropriately omitted, and the explanation will focus on the configuration different from that of the first embodiment.

A second embodiment of the present invention is a maintenance method for the in-furnace observation device 100 . This method includes a step of removing the used refractory material layer 30 from the in-furnace observation device 100, a step of attaching another refractory material layer 30 to the in-furnace observation device 100 from which the used refractory material layer 30 has been removed, including.

According to the second embodiment, the in-core observation device 100 can be easily maintained and reused. This embodiment may include cooling the phase change material layer 20 . In this case, the work of attaching and detaching the refractory material layer 30 is facilitated, and maintenance can be performed in a short time.

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention have been described above in detail. All of the above-described embodiments merely show specific examples for carrying out the present invention. The contents of the embodiments do not limit the technical scope of the present invention, and many design changes such as changes, additions, and deletions of constituent elements can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention defined in the claims. It is possible. In the above-described embodiment, descriptions such as "of the embodiment", "in the embodiment", etc. are added to the contents that allow such design changes. Changes are not unacceptable. Moreover, the hatching attached to the cross section of the drawing does not limit the material of the hatched object.

Modifications will be described below. In the drawings and description of the modified example, the same reference numerals are given to the same or equivalent components and members as the embodiment. Explanations that overlap with the embodiment will be omitted as appropriate, and the explanation will focus on the configuration that is different from the embodiment.

In the description of the embodiment, an example in which the housing 18 includes three layers of temperature rise suppressing members was shown, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the temperature rise suppressing member of the housing may have two layers, or may have four or more layers. The configuration of the housing may be changed according to desired temperature rise suppression performance.

In the description of the embodiment, an example of using a siliceous porous composite material for the heat insulating material layer 24 was shown, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the insulation layer may include insulation means based on various principles, such as vacuum insulation structures.

In the description of the embodiment, an example in which the in-furnace observation device 100 is moved into and out of the furnace by the extrusion ram 50 is shown, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the in-furnace observation device 100 may be moved into and out of the furnace by a mechanism different from the extrusion ram 50 .

Each of the modifications described above has the same functions and effects as the above-described embodiment.

Any combination of the above-described embodiments and modifications is also useful as embodiments of the present invention. A new embodiment resulting from the combination has the effects of each of the combined embodiments and modifications.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10... Imaging device, 12... Memory device, 14... Glass filter, 16... Translucent window, 18... Housing, 20... Phase change material layer, 24... Heat insulating material layer, 30... Refractory material Layer 32 Frame 34 Mounting part 36 Handle part 50 Extrusion ram 60 Coke oven 100 Furnace observation device.

Claims (7)

An in-furnace observation device that can be put in and out of a coke oven for observing the inside,
an imaging device;
a phase change material layer covering the imaging device;
a refractory material layer covering the phase change material layer;
The in-furnace observation device, wherein the refractory material layer contains gypsum. 2. The in-furnace observation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a heat insulating material layer is provided between said phase change material layer and said refractory material layer. 3. A furnace interior observation apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a frame that detachably supports said refractory material layer. 4. The in-furnace observation device according to claim 1, further comprising a mounting portion for detachably mounting the in-furnace observation device to the extrusion ram. 5. The in-furnace observation device according to claim 4, wherein the in-furnace observation device is configured to be fixed to the extrusion ram without using a tool. 6. The interior of the furnace according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein a memory device for storing the imaging result of the imaging device is detachably provided in the space covered with the phase change material layer. Observation device. A maintenance method for an in-core observation device according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
removing the used refractory material layer from the in-furnace observation device;
A step of attaching another refractory material layer to the in-furnace observation device from which the used refractory material layer has been removed;
A maintenance method for an in-core observation device, comprising:

Images