GB1243185A - Improvements in or relating to regenerative furnaces - Google Patents

Abstract

1,243,185. Thermal regenerators. PILKING- TON BROS. Ltd., J. E. HALL, W. CHARLTON, H. C. WYNNE, and L. A. NEVARD. 8 Nov., 1968 [14 Nov., 1967; 6 Nov., 1968], Nos. 51778/67 and 52576/68. Heading F4K. In a regenerator 20 comprising a fluid-pervious bed 25 of rubble through which the heat exchanging fluids pass alternately, a method of operation consists in continually removing rubble from the lower region of the bed, sieving said rubble to remove fine material therefrom, and then returning said rubble to the upper end of the bed. The glass making furnace shown has two of the regenerators 20 fluid flow through which is controlled in the conventional manner by reversing valves 19. In each regenerator the bed is supported on grate portions 23, 24 disposed so as to provide an opening 26 sufficiently large to permit rubble to gravitate therethrough towards an opening 30 when periodically a door 32 is opened and a shaker 35 manually operated. Fine material in the rubble falls through perforations in the grate portion 23 to the bottom of the regenerator chamber whence it is sub sequently removed through a door 36. The fine material may, for example, be carry-over from the furnace gases or small pieces of rubble produced by abrasion. The withdrawn rubble is returned by a conveyer (not shown) to the top of the bed via an opening 38. An alternative form of grate (Figs. 3, 4) consists of parallel bars (52) of circular or non- circular cross-section linked together so that they can be simultaneously and continuously oscillated by an hydraulic piston (57) to cause a steady flow of rubble through the grate on to a sieve (60) sloping towards the outlet opening 30 from which the rubble is removed, fine materials from the rubble passing through the sieve as in the first embodiment. In a further embodiment (Fig. 5) also having oscillating grate bars, these are arranged in two groups (87, 88) at different levels above a chamber (94) with perforate walls (196) for sieving the rubble. Sieved rubble from the chamber (94) is reintroduced into the bed through a hopper (80) at the upper end of the regenerator to one side thereof whereby the incoming rubble forms an inclined surface (97) opposite the exhaust gas inlet (82) to the regenerator and so protects the regenerator wall against erosion by the hot gases. In this arrangement the rubble is to some extent preheated in the hopper before re-entering the bed so reducing thermal shock.