Camera module for a burner

Abstract

A camera module (10) for use with a burner (1) for a shaft melting furnace, in particular a copper shaft melting furnace, is arranged on the burner (1) or on an observation device (9) of the burner (1). The camera module (10) includes a housing (101) having a first opening (104) and a second opening (105), which is arranged axially opposite the first opening (104) and is closed off by an inspection glass (106) a beam splitter (108) arranged in an optical viewing axis (109) extending axially through the housing (101) between the two openings (104, 105); and a camera (112), the lens (113) of which is arranged perpendicularly to the viewing axis (109) and is aligned with the beam splitter (108), and a burner (1).

Claims

1.-14. (canceled)

15. A camera module (10) for use with a burner (1) for a shaft melting furnace, comprising: a housing (101) having a first opening (104), and a second opening (105), the second opening (105) being arranged axially opposite the first opening (104) and closed off by an inspection glass (106); a beam splitter (108) arranged in a viewing axis (109) extending axially through the housing (101) between the first opening (104) and the second opening (105); and a camera (112), the camera (112) having a lens (113) arranged perpendicularly to the viewing axis (109) and is aligned with the beam splitter (108), wherein the camera module (10) is configured to be arranged on the burner (1) or on an observation device (9) of the burner (1).

16. A burner (1) for a shaft melting furnace, comprising: an observation device (9) with a viewing axis (109) extending through a first chamber (4), a burner nozzle (7), and a radiant tube (8) of the burner (1), wherein a flame chamber of the shaft melting furnace can be monitored via the viewing axis (109); and the camera module (10) according to claim 15 arranged on the observation device (9).

17. The burner (1) according to claim 16, wherein the observation device (9) comprises a tube (22) that extends axially through the first chamber (4), wherein a first end (24) of the tube (22) is arranged outside the burner (1) and is connected to the camera module (10), and wherein a second end (26) of the tube (22) is arranged in a central opening (27) of a mixing nozzle (19), the mixing nozzle (19) being positioned in an outlet opening (16) of the first chamber (4).

18. The burner (1) according to claim 17, wherein the first chamber (4) comprises an inlet opening (14) and a fuel gas line (21) opening into the first chamber (4), and wherein the outlet opening (16) is arranged at a distal end of a conically tapering partial section (5) of the first chamber (4).

19. The burner (1) according to claim 18, wherein the fuel gas line (21) is arranged coaxially around the tube (22) of the observation device (9) and comprises at its end oriented towards the mixing nozzle (19) a plurality of circumferentially distributed nozzle openings (23).

20. The burner (1) according to claim 17, wherein the mixing nozzle (19) comprises an annular mixing chamber (20) having a plurality of blades (32, 34).

21. The burner (1) according to claim 20, wherein the annular mixing chamber (20) comprises a first set of radially outwardly arranged blades (32) and a second set of radially inwardly arranged blades (34), wherein the blades (32, 34) of both sets are arranged counterrotatingly to one another.

22. The burner (1) according to claim 16, wherein the burner nozzle (7) comprises a plurality of guide blades (36) arranged in a front region of the burner nozzle (7).

23. The burner (1) according to claim 16, wherein the burner nozzle (7) comprises a conically tapering outlet opening (38), arranged in a rear region of the burner nozzle (7).

24. The burner (1) according to claim 23, wherein the conically tapering outlet opening (38) has an edge (39) having a serrated structure with recesses (40).

25. A method, comprising: providing the burner as in claim 16; continuously monitoring a tube inner surface ( ) of the radiant tube (8) by the camera module (1) by comparing detected individual images with a reference image; and outputting an automatic acoustic and/or visual warning message if an actual value exceeds a target value.

26. The method according to claim 25, further comprising: activating an automatic control system and throttling a burner output of the burner (1) if the actual value exceeds the target value.

27. The method according to claim 25, further comprising: using the camera module (10) to continuously monitor a level of melting material by comparing the detected individual images with the reference image or a further reference image, and outputting a further automatic acoustic and/or visual warning message if an actual further value exceeds a further target value.

28. The method according to claim 25, further comprising: monitoring a brightness of the flame chamber of the shaft melting furnace by the camera module (10) by comparing the detected individual images with the reference image or a further reference image or with at least one individual image of another burner (1) arranged in the shaft melting furnace, and outputting a further automatic acoustic and/or visual warning message if an actual further value exceeds and/or falls below a further target value.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0022] The invention and the technical environment are explained in more detail below with reference to the figures. It should be noted that the invention is not intended to be limited by the exemplary embodiments shown. In particular, unless explicitly shown otherwise, it is also possible to extract partial aspects of the facts explained in the figures and combine them with other components and findings from the present description and/or figures. In particular, it should be noted that the figures and in particular the size relationships shown are only schematic. Identical reference signs designate identical objects, such that explanations from other figures may be used as a supplement if necessary.

[0023] FIG. 1 an embodiment of the camera module in a sectional view,

[0024] FIG. 2 an embodiment of the burner in a perspective view,

[0025] FIG. 3 the embodiment shown in FIG. 2 of the burner in a sectional view,

[0026] FIG. 4 an embodiment of the tube with the fuel gas line in a perspective view,

[0027] FIG. 5 an embodiment of the mixing nozzle in a perspective view,

[0028] FIG. 6 the embodiment shown in FIG. 5 of the mixing nozzle in a sectional view,

[0029] FIG. 7 an embodiment of the burner nozzle in a perspective view,

[0030] FIG. 8 the embodiment shown in FIG. 7 of the burner nozzle in a sectional view, and

[0031] FIG. 9 the embodiment shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 of the burner nozzle in a front view.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0032] FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the camera module 10 in a sectional view, which is intended for use with a burner 1, as shown in FIG. 2. The camera module 10 comprises a housing 101, which in the present case is formed of a first housing part 102 and a second housing part 103. The first housing part 102 has a first opening 104 and a second opening 105, which is arranged axially opposite the first opening 104 and is closed off by an inspection glass 106. On the outer side of the first housing part 102, the camera module 10 further has an adapter device 107 arranged around the first opening 104 and fixedly connected to the first housing part 102, via which the camera module 10 can be attached to an observation device 9 of the burner 1 (see FIG. 2). A beam splitter 108 is provided in the interior of the first housing part 102 and is arranged in an optical viewing axis 109 extending axially between the two openings 104, 105. The beam splitter 108 comprises a semi-transparent splitter mirror 110 arranged at an angle of 45?, which is mounted in a fixed position on a holder element 111. As can be further seen from the representation in FIG. 1, the camera module 10 further comprises a camera 112, whose lens 113 is arranged perpendicularly to the optical viewing axis 109 and is aligned with the beam splitter 108, in particular the splitter mirror 110. The structure of the camera module 10 allows an operator to view and analyze the furnace situation, in parallel with the camera 112.

[0033] FIG. 2 shows an embodiment of the burner 1 in a perspective view, which can, in principle, be used in all metallurgical melting units in which visual monitoring of the combustion chamber is required. Preferably, however, the burner 1 is provided to be used in a copper shaft melting furnace (not shown), in which copper cathodes are melted down in order to recover copper.

[0034] The burner 1 shown in the present embodiment comprises a first nozzle 2, via which an oxygen-containing gas, such as air, can be fed to the burner 1, and a second nozzle 3, via which a fuel gas can be fed to the burner 1. For example, the fuel gas can comprise a hydrocarbon-containing gas, such as natural gas or methane, hydrogen or a mixture thereof. Furthermore, the burner 1 comprises a first chamber 4 that has a conical partial section 5, a second chamber 6 having a burner nozzle 7 (see FIG. 3) along with a radiant tube 8. In the present case, the radiant tube 8 is made of silicon carbide. In the rear part, the burner 1 also has an observation device 9 with the camera module 10 shown in FIG. 1, via which visual monitoring of the combustion chamber can be carried out. As can be seen from the representation in FIG. 2, the burner 1 further has a first measuring nozzle 11, which is arranged in the first nozzle 2, and a second measuring nozzle 12, which is arranged at a distal end of the second chamber 6. The two measuring nozzles 11, 12 can be used, for example, to detect the volume flow rates and/or the composition of the oxygen-containing gas or the fuel gas mixture, as the case may be. Furthermore, an ignition ionization candle 13 is arranged at the distal end of the second chamber 6, via which the fuel gas mixture in the burner nozzle 7 can be ignited and the flame can be monitored immediately afterwards. The burner 1 shown in FIG. 1 is designed for a throughput of 900 Nm.sup.3/h and has a pressure loss of only 90 mbar.

[0035] In order to be able to install the burner 1 ergonomically, it has two crane lugs 41 on the outer side of the second chamber 6, which are located at the center of gravity and in each case comprise an elongated hole, in order to compensate for changes in the center of gravity that may result from supplementary attachments.

[0036] The burner 1 can be fed with the oxygen-containing gas both from above, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, and from below. If it is advantageous to feed the oxygen-containing gas from below, the burner 1 is rotated by 180?. The second nozzle 3, via which the fuel gas can be fed to burner 1, can also be mounted rotated by 90? steps, depending on the installation conditions, wherein the axial structure does not affect the action of burner 1.

[0037] FIG. 3 shows the embodiment of the burner 1 shown in FIG. 2 in a sectional view, but without the camera module 10.

[0038] On the one hand, such representation shows the first chamber 4, which has an inlet opening 14 through which the oxygen-containing gas is introduced into the first chamber 4 via the first nozzle 2. The first chamber 4 comprises, in addition to a main section 15 into which the inlet opening 14 opens, the conically tapering partial section 5 which has an outlet opening 16 arranged at its distal end. Connected to the conical partial section 5 of the first chamber 4 is the second chamber 6, which is formed from a hollow cylindrical element, for example a tube, and has a first end 17 facing the conical partial section 5 along with an axially opposite second end 18, at which the burner nozzle 7 is arranged. In the present case, the burner nozzle 7 is made of steel by means of an additive manufacturing process and is explained in more detail in FIGS. 7 to 9.

[0039] A mixing nozzle 19 with a mixing chamber 20 is arranged at the first end 17 of the second chamber 6 or in the outlet opening 16 of the first chamber 4, as the case may be, via which the oxygen-containing gas and the fuel gas can be mixed to form a fuel gas mixture. Thereby, the fuel gas is introduced into the burner 1 via a fuel gas line 21, which opens out in the first chamber 4, in particular in the conically tapering partial section 5 of the first chamber 4.

[0040] As can be seen from the representation in FIG. 3, the fuel gas line 21 in the embodiment shown here is arranged coaxially around a tube 22 of the observation device 9 and has a plurality of nozzle openings 23 at its end oriented towards the mixing nozzle 19, which are arranged in a manner distributed over the circumference thereof (see FIG. 4). Thereby, each of the nozzle openings 23 is oriented at an angle of 40? to 50? with respect to an optical viewing axis 28 of the burner 1, in order to achieve a premixing between the fuel gas flowing out of the nozzle openings 23 and the oxygen-containing gas that flows through the first chamber 4. The fuel gas mixture premixed in this manner upstream of the mixing nozzle 19 then flows through the mixing nozzle 19.

[0041] The tube 22 of the observation device 9, which extends axially through the first chamber 4, has a first end 24. The first end 24 of the tube 22 is arranged outside the burner 1 and is connected to the camera module 10, via the adapter device 107 (see FIGS. 1 and 2). The camera module 10 can be used for the automatic monitoring of the combustion chamber via the optical viewing axis 109, which extends through the first housing part 102, the first chamber 4, the mixing nozzle 19, the second chamber 6, the burner nozzle 7 and the radiant tube 8 into the inner chamber of the shaft melting furnace. Additionally, an operator can look into the inner chamber of the shaft melting furnace through the inspection glass 106 of the camera module 10 along the same optical viewing axis 109, in order to identify disruptions not identified by the camera 112 and/or to verify disruptions identified by the camera 112. Furthermore, the tube 22 comprises a second end 26, which is arranged in a central opening 27 of the mixing nozzle 19 and is connected to the latter in a fixed position via a bayonet lock 29 (see FIG. 4).

[0042] FIGS. 5 and 6 show the mixing nozzle 19 with its specific mixing geometry, which in the present case, like the burner nozzle 7, has been produced by means of an additive manufacturing process, but unlike the latter, is made of silicon carbide. In the embodiment shown in the present case, the mixing nozzle 19 has an annular mixing chamber 20, which is bounded by an inner ring 30 and an outer ring 31 arranged radially opposite. Inside the mixing chamber 20, blades 32, 34 are arranged, via which the premixed fuel gas mixture can be homogeneously mixed by multiple intermixing in the direction of flow. Specifically, the mixing chamber 20 comprises a first set of radially outwardly arranged blades 32 that are carried by the outer ring 31 and a second set of radially inwardly arranged blades 34, arranged counterrotatingly to the first set, that are carried by the inner ring 30. The blades 32, 34 of the two sets are arranged in the circumferential direction relative to one another in such a manner that each blade 32 of the first set forms three shear planes with each three blades 34 of the second set, and each blade 34 of the second set forms three shear planes with each three blades 32 of the first set, as the case may be. In other words, the fuel gas mixture flowing over the blade surfaces 33 of the radially outwardly arranged blades 32 is directed onto the blade surfaces 35 of the radially inner blades 34, which are arranged substantially perpendicularly thereto, and thereby mixes with the fuel gas mixture flowing over the blade surfaces 35 of the radially inner blades 34 and vice versa. As can be further seen from FIG. 6, each of the plurality of blades 32, 34 has a slightly curved shape in cross-section.

[0043] FIGS. 7 to 9 show an embodiment of the burner nozzle 7 in different representations. This consists substantially of a hollow cylindrical element and has a plurality of guide blades 36 in a front region, via which the fuel gas mixture can initially be guided through a central channel 37 formed between the guide blades 36 (FIG. 9). As can be seen from the representation in FIG. 8, the individual guide blades 36 have an arc-shaped bend for this purpose, as a result of which the fuel gas mixture is initially forced into the center as it flows through the front region of the burner nozzle 7 before it passes through the channel 37. This is substantially defined by the distal end sections of the individual guide blades 36 (FIG. 9). In the direction of flow immediately behind it, the burner nozzle 7 has a conically tapering outlet opening 38, the surrounding end face or edge 39, as the case may be, of which has a structure provided with recesses 40.

LIST OF REFERENCE SIGNS

[0044] 1 Burner [0045] 2 First nozzle [0046] 3 Second nozzle [0047] 4 First chamber [0048] 5 Conical partial section [0049] 6 Second chamber [0050] 7 Burner nozzle [0051] 8 Radiant tube [0052] 9 Observation device [0053] 10 Camera module [0054] 11 First measuring nozzle [0055] 12 Second measuring nozzle [0056] 13 Ignition ionization candle [0057] 14 Inlet opening [0058] 15 Main section [0059] 16 Outlet opening [0060] 17 First end of the second chamber [0061] 18 Second end of the second chamber [0062] 19 Mixing nozzle [0063] 20 Mixing chamber [0064] 21 Fuel gas line [0065] 22 Tube [0066] 23 Nozzle openings [0067] 24 First end of the tube [0068] 25 Inspection glass [0069] 26 Second end of the tube [0070] 27 Central opening [0071] 28 Viewing axis [0072] 29 Bayonet lock [0073] 30 Inner ring [0074] 31 Outer ring [0075] 32 First set of blades [0076] 33 Blade surface of radially outer blades [0077] 34 Second set of blades [0078] 35 Blade surface of radially inner blades [0079] 36 Guide blades [0080] 37 Channel [0081] 38 Conically tapering outlet opening of burner nozzle [0082] 39 End face/edge [0083] 40 Recesses [0084] 41 Crane lugs [0085] 101 Housing [0086] 102 First housing part [0087] 103 Second housing part [0088] 104 First opening [0089] 105 Second opening [0090] 106 Inspection glass of camera module [0091] 107 Adapter device [0092] 108 Beam splitter [0093] 109 Optical viewing axis [0094] 110 Splitter mirror [0095] 111 Holder element [0096] 112 Camera [0097] 113 Lens