US2119310A - Cleaning device for regenerators - Google Patents

Description

May 31, 1938.

l? f e? y@ fnl/f H. c. BAUGHMAN 2,119,31

CLEANING DEVICE FOB. REGENERATORS F'iled April 15, 1937 5 Sheets-Sheet l H. C. BAUGHMAN CLEANING DEVICE FOR REGENERATORS May 31, 1938.

3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 15, 1937 Hwy dwm H. C. BAUGHMAN CLEANING DEVICE FOR REGENERATORS May 31, l1938.

Filed April 15, 1937 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 l I I l IIIIMUHUIIIIIIMHVIHI Patented May 31, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,119,310 l CLEANING DEVICE Fon REGENERATORS Application April 15, 1937, Serial No. 137,034

1 7 Claims.

My invention relates to metallurgical furnaces and more particularly to improvements in the arrangement and construction ofthe regenerative chambers, whereby means are provided for i5 cleaning the uptake ues between the checkers of two pass regenerators. v

Heretofore it has been almost' the universal practice in open-hearth furnaces to use regenerators at opposite ends of the furnace for heating both the gas and the air before it passes over the hearth of the furnace, but the present day practice leans towards the use of fuels not requiring preheating such as oil, tar, pulverized coal or the like which enters the hearth chamber direct and the air only is heated. One of the difliculties with such fuels, however, is that they introduce a considerable quantity of dust or like foreign substances into the furnace which is carried by the off gases of combustion through the checkerconstruction and flues of the regenerators which soon become clogged by this foreign substance carried in suspension by the exhaust gases from the furnace. This` is also true when producer gas is used for this purpose and both the air and gas are heated before passing over the hearth of the furnace.

In order to prevent as much as possible ue dust and other foreign material from clogging up the regenerator chambers, slag pockets have been usually constructed at the required points at the end of the furnace and beneath the checker construction and ue passages which have to be cleaned out as required manually through suitable doors which is a difficult oper'- ation on account of the excessive heat and during this operation which requires several hours Work the operation of the furnace is suspended. This operation of cleaning out the slag pockets and checkers sometimes has to be done during a furnace heat, in which case the bath is liable to freeze.

In open-hearth furnaces of Y this type air and gas or other gaseous or vaporizable combustibles are received at one end of the furnace and directed over the hearth or bath and then the off gases discharged from the other end of the furnace. Regenerators at the opposite ends of the furnace are adapted to heat the incoming air and gases or in case a burner is used at each end of the furnace the incoming air only is heated before it enters the furnace, while the off gases from the furnace heat the regenerators at the opposite end of the furnace, the ow being F1155 reversed as the incoming air, or air and gas cool the regenerators to a certain temperature at that end of the furnace. f

For illustration I have shown my device as adapted for cleaning the uptake flues between the checkers of a pair of two pass regenerators 5 for heating the air and gas before it enters the hearth chamber of the furnace, but it may be adapted for use in other flue passages of the furnace or other types of regenerators equally as well.

One of the objects of my invention relates to the manner of constructing the lower portions of the uptake nues between a two pass regenerator or the like.

Another object of my invention relates to the l5 means for directing the accumulations of flue dust or other foreign matter toward the openings of a suitable` system of piping through which it may be readily removed.

A further object of my invention relates to the 20 manner of ejecting the ue dust or the like material from the regenerator.

Another advantage of my device is that the regular operation of this cleaning system may be depended upon to prolong the utility of the 25 double pass regenerator for practically the entire life of the furnace as demonstrated by actual eX- periments.

Another object of my invention relates to the manner of arranging doors in the checker cham- ,30 ber roof directly above each of the ejector outlets to permit working of the dirt or flue dust by inserting a bar `or weight when necessary.

Still another advantage of my invention relates to the manner of cleaning the uptake flues be- :35 tween a two pass regenerator or the like during the operation of the furnace.

Having thus given a general description of the objects of my invention, I will now in order to make the same more clear, refer to the annexed #40 three sheets of drawings forming a part of this specification and in which like characters of reference indicate like parts. 4`

Figure 1 is a horizontal longitudinal section through a two pass regenerator for an openhearth furnace or the like taken on the line I l of Fig. 2.

Fig. 2 is a Vertical longitudinal section taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.. 50 Fig. V3 is a detail of an enlarged horizontal` section through a portion of the bottom of the regenerator taken on the line 3 3 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 4 is a detail transverse section taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a detail longitudinal section taken on the line 5--5 of Fig. 3.

Fig. G is a front elevation of the blow pipe jet.

Fig. 'l is a side elevation of a two pass regenerator showing diagrammatically the arrangement and manner of connecting up the piping for one of the cleaning devices, and Fig. 8 is an enlarged detail view of a portion of the pipe connections illustrating more clearly the manner of controlling and operating the flow of compressed air to the blow pipe jets and the siphon.

Referring now to the characters of reference on the drawings the numeral i, indicates a pair of two pass regenerators for a metallurgical furnace as a whole comprising an air regenerator 2 and a gas regenerator 3 each having two passes Li and 5,

The passes fi are illustrated as having a greater area and the checkers and the ducts are of larger size than the checkers and ducts in passes 5 of the regenerators.

The air and gas regenerators are divided by means of a longitudinal wall El and each pass of the regencrators is divided longitudinally by means of partition walls and spaced transverse walls 8 and S adapted to form the uptake ilues IU between the two passes of each of the regenerators. f

The checkers are supported on the usual arches Ii and have fines beneath them as at I2 and I3. The nues I2 extend from the front wall I4 of the regenerators to the transverse wall 9, while the iiues I3 extend from the transverse wall 9 to the nues I5 and IE- leading to the usual stack and source of supply of gas and air.

The rear end of each of the flues I2 beneath the uptakes Iii is formed hopper shaped by means of laterally and inwardly inclined faces of tapered side blocks I'I having sloping tops I8 and an inwardly inclined face of a central wedge block I9. Between the forwardly extending ends of the tapered side blocks I1 and directly in front of each central wedge block I9 is a funnel shaped mouth 2Q of a pipe connection 2i through which the flue dust and dirt or other foreign material may be siphoned or drawn ofi.

Extending through the floor of each flue I2 in front of each funnel 2S is aAblow pipe jet 22 for the purpose of blowing any accumulation of the dust into a position in the hopper where it will be sucked out through the pipes 2l by the siphon.

In the roof of the regenerator directly above Y each funnel shaped mouth 29 is a door 23 adapted frs to permit the insertion of a bar or similar tool to work the dirt or flue dust in the funnel or hopper.

In operation assuming that the flow of off gases of combustion from an open-hearth furnace is passing through the regenerators to the stack, it rst ows into a slag pocket chamber 2 at the end of the furnace hearth, thence through ka universal passage 25 to the ducts 255, then vertically down through the checkers of pass 4 into the flue I2 and then vertically through the uptakes Iii into ducts 2l at the top of the checkers in pass 5 from which point they pass down through the checkers into fiues I3 and into the iiues I5 and It which extend to a stack, or stack and gas supply (not shown). As the cold incoming air and gas passing through the regenerators at the opposite end of the furnace soon cools the checker work the flow will have to be reversed every few minutes. The o gases of combustion from the hearth of the furnace carry with them considerable dust, fused slag, soot and the like so that in passing through thc`regen erators the checkers and uptakes between the two passes soon become clogged. This is particularly the case in the lower ends of the uptakes I between the two passes which soon bccome filled up to such an extent that the flow is cut off between the two passes. With the use of my device which may be operated when desired without interrupting the operation of furnace the uptake lues between the two passes are always kept free from obstruction and the regular operation of the cleaning system may be de pended upon to prolong the utility of the double pass checkers for the entire run of the furnace.

In Figs. '7 and 8 I have illustrated the manner of controlling the flow of compressed air to the blow pipe jets 22 and of siphoning out the inatcrial through pipes 2i at one side of a two pass regenerator. It will be understood that the other side of the regenerator will have a simiiar arrangement and will be operated in a like manner.

In actual practice I have found it is desirable to clean the uptake flues about once a week which may vary somewhat depending on the kind of fuel used in the furnace.

The manner of operating the cleaning device for the ues in the regenerators is as follows: It is the usual practice to have an air line located adjacent to the ends of the regenerators for openhearth furnaces of this type. A pipe 28 is connected to this air line which extends to and is coupled as at 2Q to the outer ends of the pipes for the blow pipe jets 22. These blow pipe jets are individually controlled by means of valves Sil. A' pipe BI provided with a valve extends from one of the couplings 29 to a flexible connection 33 which is coupled as at 34 to a siphon 35 adapted to be secured in turn to the outer threaded ends of the pipes 2l by means of a coupling 3S, and controlled by means of a valve 3l'. When the device ris not in operation the valves 3@ and 32 are closed. The uptake lil at the end of each of the flues I2 is cleaned individually. In doing this the operator first opens one of the valves 39 to allow the compressed air to flow into the pipe which extends to a blow pipe jet 22 for the purpose of blowing any accumulation of the flue dust or like material into position in the hopper where it will be more easily siphoned out. Valve 3i! is then closed. The siphon 35 is then coupled to the threaded outer end of the pipe 2l which has its opposite end extending to the lower end of the uptake Iii at the end of the flue i2 in which the blow pipe jet 22 has just blown lthe flue dust or foreign material into the hopper. Valves 32 Aand 3l are then opened and the aspirating effect of the siphon will draw olf the said flue dust or foreign material accumulated in the hopper at the lower end of the uptake and discharge the same from the open end of the siphon.

I have found that the siphon is more effective if the valve 31 is opened and closed several times in quick succession during the siphoning operation. After this siphoning operation, the valves 32 and l are closed and the siphon uncoupled and then applied to the threaded end of another pipe ZI. The operation above described will be repeated on each flue I2 and the lower end of the uptake Iii until all of the uptakes in the regenerator have been cleaned.

In Figs. 7 and 8 of the drawings I have shown and described a single pipe 28 as extending to the air line for supplying air pressure for the blow pipe jetsr22 and the siphon 35. I may however4 in some cases desire to use an individual andere pipe connection from theair line `for1 the -`blow pipe jets and the siphon, and although -I have shown the Siphon as discharging the material vertically it can be coupled and arranged to dis-- charge material horizontally `or at any other angle desired equally as well.

Although I have shown and described my invention in considerable detail, I do not wish to be limited to the exact and specific details `shown and described, but may use such substitutions, modifications cr equivalentsthereof as are embraced within the scope of my invention, or as pointed out in the claims.

I-Iaving thus described my invention what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a device for discharging ue dust or like material from a chamber comprising a pipe having an open end extending into the chamber for discharging the flue dust or like material from the chamber, and a jet for advancing the material to be discharged to the open end'of the pipe in the chamber. Q a a 2. In a device for discharging flue dust crithe like from regenerators comprising a pipehaving an open end extending into the regenerator having suction means for discharging the flue dust or like material therefrom, and means for blov ing the material towards the open end of the plpe.

3. In a device for discharging flue dust or the like material from regenerators, a regenerator, a ilue in the lower portion of the regenerator, a pipe having an open end extending into the ilue adapted to eject the material to be discharged by suction, and a jet adapted to advance the 'material to the open end of the pipe in the flue.

fl. In a device for discharging flue dust or like material from the uptake of a regenerator, an uptake in the regenerator, a hopper shaped recess at the lower end of the uptake, a pipe having an open end extending into the hopper shaped recess adapted to pneumatically discharge the material in the hopper shaped recess, and means -for advancing the ilue dust or like material to the open end oi the pipe in the hopper shaped recess.

5. In a device for discharging ilue dust or like material from the uptake of a two pass regenerator, an uptake between the two passes of the regenerator, a pipe having an open end extending into the lower end of the uptake adapted to pneumatically discharge the ilue dust or the like material from the lower end of uptake, and a jet adapted to advance the material to be discharged to the open end of the pipe at the lower end of the uptake.

6. In a device for discharging flue dust or the like material from the uptake of a two pass regenerator, an uptake between the two passes of the regenerator, a hopper shaped recess at the lower end of the uptake, a pipe having a funnel shaped mouth extending into the hopper shaped recess at the lower end of the uptake adapted to discharge the ilue dust or like material from the regenerator, and a jet extending into the regenerator adjacent to the hopper shaped recess adapted to blow the ilue dust or like material toward the funnel shaped mouth of the pipe.

7. In a device for discharging flue dust or the like material from the uptakes of two pass regenerators, a pair of two pass regenerators spaced longitudinally extending partition walls in the two passes ofthe regenerators, spaced transverse walls between the two passes of the regenerators connecting the longitudinally extending partition walls adapted to form the uptakes between the two passes of the regenerators, a .hopper shaped recess formed at the lower end of each uptake, a pipe having an open end extending into each hopper shaped recess at the lower end of each uptake adapted to discharge the ilue dust or like material from the regenerators, and a jet in the regenerators adjacent to each hopper shaped recess adapted to blow the flue dust or like material toward the open end of each pipe.

8. In-a device for discharging ilue dust or like material from the uptake of a two pass regenerator, a two pass regenerator, spaced longitudinally extending walls in the two passes oi the regenerator, spaced transversely extending walls between the two passes of the regeneratcr con-- necting the longitudinally extending walls adapted. toform an uptake between the two passes,` a flue beneath 'one pass of the regenerator extending to the uptake, tapered side blocks having laterally and inwardly inclined faces and a cen-- tral wedge block having an inwardly inclined Vface adapted to form a hoppershaped recess at the end of the flue beneath the uptake, a pipe having an open end extending into the hopper shaped recess at the lower end of the uptake adapted to discharge flue dust or like material therefrom, and a jet in the flue adjacent to the hopper shaped recess adapted to blow the iiue dust or like material toward the open end of each pipe.

9. In a device for discharging flue dust or like material from the uptakes of a two pass regenerator, a two pass regenerator, spaced longitudinally extending partition walls in the two passes of the regenerator, spaced transversely extending walls between the two passes of the regenerator connecting the longitudinally extending walls adapted to form a plurality of uptakes between the two passes, a plurality of flues beneath one pass each extending to an uptake, a pairof tapered side blocks having laterally and inwardly inclined faces and a central Wedge block having an inwardly inclined face adapted to form a hopper shaped recess at the end of each ue beneath each uptake, a pipe having an open end extending into each hopper shaped recess at the lower end of each uptake adapted to discharge the flue dust or the like material therefrom, and a jet extending into each flue adjacent to each hopper shaped recess adapted to blow the flue dust or like material toward the open end of each pipe.

10. In a device for discharging ilue dust or the like material from the uptake of a two pass regenerator. a two pass regenerator, a ue under one of the regenerators extending to the uptake, a hopper shaped recess at the end of the flue beneath the uptake, a pipe having a funnel shaped open end extending into the hopper shaped recess adapted to discharge the flue dust or the like material from the regenerator, a blow pipe having an elongated jet opening extending into the nue adjacent to the hopper shaped recess adapted to blow the flue dust or like material toward the funnel shaped open end of the discharge pipe, and a door in the roof of the regenerator above the uptake.

11. In a device for discharging ue dust or the like material from regenerators, a regenerator, a pipe having an open end extending into the regenerator, and means connected to the pipe for withdrawing the flue dust or like material from the regenerator.

12. In a device for discharging flue dust or like material from regenerators, a regenerator, a flue in the lower portion of the regenerator, a pipe having an open end extending into the flue, and means connected to the pipe for withdrawing the ilue dust or like material from the regenerator.

13. In a device for discharging flue dust or like material from the uptake of a regenerator, an uptake in the regenerator, a pipe having an open end extending into the lower end of the uptake, and means connected to the pipe for withdrawing the flue dust or like material from the uptake.

14. In a device for discharging flue dust or like material from the uptake of regenerators, an uptake in the regenerator, a hopper shaped recess at the lower end of the uptake, a pipe having an open end extending into the hopper shaped recess, and means connected to the pipe for withdrawing the flue dust or like material from the hopper shaped recess.

15. In a device for discharging flue dust or like material from regenerators, a regenerator, a nue in the lower portion of the regenerator, an uptake at one end of the flue, a hopper shaped recess at the lower end of the uptake, a pipe having an open end extending into the hopper shaped recess, and means connected to the pipe for withdrawing the flue dust or like material from the hopper shaped recess.

16. In a device for discharging flue dust or the like material from the uptake of a two pass regenerator, a two pass regenerator, an uptake between the two passes of the regenerator, a hopper shaped recess at the lower end of the uptake, a pipe having a funnel shaped mouth extending into the hopper shaped recess at the lower end of the uptake, and means connected to the pipe for withdrawing the ilue dust or the like material from the hopper shaped recess.

17. In a device for discharging flue dust or like material from the uptakes of a two pass regenerator, a two pass regenerator, spaced longitudinally extending walls in the two passes of the regenerator, spaced transversely extending walls between the two passes of the regenerator connecting the longitudinally extending walls adapted to form uptakes between the two passes, ilues beneath one pass of the regenerator extending to the uptakes, a hopper shaped recess formed at the lower end of each uptake, a pipe having an open end extending into each hopper shaped recess at the lower end of each uptake, and means for withdrawing the flue dust or like material from each hopper shaped recess.

HARRY C. BAUGHMAN.

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