1. Cooling of industrial kilns and furnaces - still unsolved in many cases
The cooling of refractory lined kilns or furnaces for metallurgical or other industrial high temperature processes is often a difficult technique. The cooling of the steel shell in many applications is a must for an adequate lifetime of the refractory lining but in some cases the usual solutions do not show good results or contain hidden risks. Some types of kilns should be cooled, but this is difficult due to the geometry of the shell. Some kilns or furnaces are cooled with spray cooling or film cooling. Water losses are unavoidable. Maintenance is necessary to remove organic and inorganic deposits which insulate between water and steel Critical areas like feeding ports or tapping holes are always a problem at spray or film cooled furnaces. Some kilns are built with walls carrying welded cooling pockets or cooling pipes. The weld seams carry the long term risk of cracks and undetected water penetration into the refractory lining.
The temperature profile of the air-cooled wall is shown in the following picture If the outside of the shell is water cooled, the temperature gradient in the inner bricks is obvious steeper. This steeper gradient is the explanation for the lower wear rate of the refractory: The chemical reactions between slag and refractory material slow down. So this new cooling system is a technical solution between an unchilled shell and a furnace with "freeze lining". On furnaces with "freeze lining", the liquid slag freezes onto a water cooled (copper) wall. (fig. 1) But this simple spray cooling solution also had several disadvantages: In the kiln shop there is a lot of damp, which causes corrosion of the building and equipment The cooling requires a certain amount of maintenance as sintered carbonates cover the shell after a short while Water can penetrate through cracks in the steel shell into the magnesite and hydrates it. Some areas, e.g. neat flanges could not be sprayed with water. The part underneath was not cooled in a reproducible manner. The demands for an improved water cooling system resulted from the following requirements: Defined cooling of all those shell areas with wearing problems in the inner side, e.g. slag line, feeding ports, etc. Direct welding to the steel shell is not acceptable (danger of cracks and uncontrolled water penetration) The cooling system must work properly even on distorted and uneven areas of the surface. The cooling system must be a compromise between the increased heat losses of the process and the expected extension of the lifetime of the lining. As the steel shell is expanding and deforming under temperature and charge load, the cooling must work nevertheless. The cooling system should not require maintenance. In case of emergency, if cracks have to be welded in the shell, the cooling must not obstruct this work too much. The cooling system should not require an extension of the plants water supply system (pumps, pipes, cooling capacity) It must also be possible to install the cooling system during a 2-3 week relining shutdown period.
2. A new approach of shell cooling
The new cooling system (patent applied) , developed in a cooperation between BERZELIUS Germany and MAERZ Ofenbau AG in Zurich, Switzerland, is a new approach to this task. It is now an industrially approved technique and can be a solution for other industrial kilns and furnaces. In order to reduce the wearing of the lining, BERZELIUS installed a very simple water spray cooling system. This results in a higher temperature drop in the wear lining and the life of the bricks lasted longer. Fig. 1: Temperature gradient in the wear lining. Shell uncooled or water cooled.
Fig. 2: Group of cooling elements. Detail of fixation.
flexible hose
disc spring welding bolt
heat conductive paste
3. This is the new solution for the old problem
The solution, as shown on the pictures, has the following features (fig. 2) : The area to be cooled is covered by many single cooling elements. Each of those has an approximate area of 0.5 m2. Each of these consist of a thin base plate shaped as the shell. On the other side water channels made of half pipes are welded to these base plates. Fig. 3: Cooling elements mounted at a kiln of Berzelius, Germany
The cooling elements are pressed to the shell by numerous strong bolts. These bolts are welded semi-automatically to the shell. To maintain the tension, the nuts are underlayed with disk springs. Water in and outlets of the single elements are connected with flexible hoses. Groups of 8 - 12 elements are linked together for one water circuit. Each circuit has a temperature- and flow controlled outlet. Between the furnace shell and base plate of the cooling element a special heat conductive paste ensures good heat transport. If the unavoidable gap would not be closed with this heat conductive paste, the system could not work properly.
4. Installation and first operational results
The first part of a kiln at BERZELIUS was equipped in January 2003 with approximately 100 of these cooling elements during a 2 weeks shutdown. The cooling effect since the new start is within the calculated limits right from the beginning. (fig. 3 and 4)
The paste, specially developed for this application, was carefully tested in a large scale experiments by BERZELIUS and MAERZ. In particular, its properties after an overheating caused by a longer interruption of the water supply was investigated. The paste keeps its good heat conductivity and its softness in a range of several hundred degrees Celsius. The panels are designed in such a way that should the gap between the shell and the panel increase, for example due to a distortion of the shell, the gap can be refilled with heat conductive paste from outside.
6. Revamping an existing furnace how to proceed
The experiences gained during the successful prototype project enable MAERZ to revamp other kilns. This new technical solution is not without technical risks. Therefore, the following steps for a safe and smooth revamping must be taken. 6.1 Basic design study This study must include : Thermal calculations of heat losses, temperature profiles, cooling water demand. Outline drawing of one typical element and of the whole shell showing the cooled parts, the amount and the variety of single elements and the water circuits. Water flow sheet including emergency water supply and instrumentation. Recommendations if modifications in the refractory lining are advisable. FEM calculation to check the thermo-mechanical stress of the steel structure. After this basic design study the benefits of a revamping can be estimated, hidden risks should show up, the costs can be predicted and a time schedule for the whole project can be established. 6.2 Detail Design and project execution If the results of the basic design study show technically good results then a revamping would be worth doing assuming of course that the payback of the investment is acceptable. For an industrial kiln it is usually important to make the revamping modifications during a scheduled shutdown period of a few weeks . Normally this will be carried out during the relining of the kiln. Therefore the modification has to be designed to be carried out during this short shut down period. The control system of the plant also has to be supplemented in a way that the signals of the cooling water outlet are monitored and registered. A trend analysis can give reliable information of the wear of the lining. This makes the operation of the furnaces more predictable and safe. June 2003
Fig. 4: One side of the kiln with cooling elements
It is expected that the cooling elements will prolong the shutdown interval for relining from 18 months to at least 24 months. Other positive side effects are : Improved working environment - less vapour, and cooler reactor shell. Ideal monitoring of the cooling behaviour of all cooled areas. This allows conclusions to be drawn to the extent of the wearing of the lining.
5. The heat conductive paste
The heat conductive paste is one key element for this new cooling system. It is a product developed for improving the cooling of semiconductor elements for high current loads. The gap between the outside of the shell and the cooling panels is due to imperfections of the shell of an average 2 - 3 mm. This air gap would insulate quite a lot and the heat transfer would be low, uneven and unpredictable. The heat conductive paste closes the gap and a steady and even heat transport is guaranteed. The panels are designed in a way that during erection a closed film of paste can easily be achieved.
The average heat transfer is app. 10 kW/m2. The calculated heat loss of the air cooled shell is approximately 6 kW/m2. The outside temperature of the shell is circa 60C. The unchilled shell showed temperatures around 300C. During a longer shutdown in Summer 2003 the rest of the shell will be revamped with another 140 pieces.
