Tower distribution in a coal burning power plant

Abstract

A tower distributor receives a stream of working media including pulverized coal and a carrier gas in a coal burning power plant. The tower distributor includes a wall structure and one or more flow directing members including diverters, vane members, and/or protuberances. The wall structure defines a flow passageway for the stream of working media and includes an inlet and an outlet spaced from the inlet in an axial direction. Each flow directing member is provided to alter the flow of the working media through the tower distributor.

1 . A tower distributor that receives a stream of working media including pulverized coal and a carrier gas in a coal burning power plant, the tower distributor comprising:
 a wall structure defining a flow passageway for the stream of working media, the wall structure including an inlet and an outlet spaced from the inlet in an axial direction; and   at least one diverter between the inlet and the outlet and affixed to an inner surface of the wall structure, wherein the at least one diverter:
 extends axially and circumferentially along the wall structure from a first position located at an area of working media concentration downstream from the inlet to a second position downstream from the first position; and 
 defines a flow channel to effect a diversion of a portion of the stream of working media from the first position to the second position. 
   
     
     
         2 . The tower distributor of  claim 1 , wherein the area of working media concentration is located on a circumferentially opposed side of the wall structure from an exhauster mill fan that delivers the stream of working media to the tower distributor. 
     
     
         3 . The tower distributor of  claim 2 , wherein the area of working media concentration is located in close proximity to the inlet of the wall structure. 
     
     
         4 . The tower distributor of  claim 3 , wherein the working media flowing through the tower distributor forms a coal rope, and wherein the area of working media concentration defines an area of the coal rope with a higher allocation of pulverized coal than a remaining portion of the coal rope. 
     
     
         5 . The tower distributor of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one diverter comprises two circumferentially adjacent diverters extending axially downstream and extending circumferentially in opposite directions. 
     
     
         6 . The tower distributor of  claim 5 , wherein a gap having a component in the circumferential direction is formed between entrance portions of the respective diverters, the circumferential component of the gap being about 1-10% of an inner circumference of the wall structure. 
     
     
         7 . The tower distributor of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one diverter extends at an angle of about 35-55 degrees relative to the axial direction. 
     
     
         8 . The tower distributor of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one diverter extends along at least about 90° of an inner circumference of the wall structure. 
     
     
         9 . The tower distributor of  claim 1 , further comprising at least one adjustable vane member attached to the wall structure, each vane member extending radially inwardly from the inner surface of the wall structure. 
     
     
         10 . The tower distributor of  claim 9 , further comprising a handle for each vane member, each handle being located outside of the tower distributor for adjusting the orientation of the corresponding vane member during operation of the power plant to effect a change in flow direction of a portion of the working media flowing through the wall structure near the corresponding vane member. 
     
     
         11 . The tower distributor of  claim 10 , wherein each handle has a plurality of preset positions, each preset position corresponding to a particular orientation of the corresponding vane member. 
     
     
         12 . The tower distributor of  claim 9 , further comprising at least one protuberance generally axially aligned with each respective vane member, each protuberance extending radially inwardly from the wall structure downstream from the respective vane member. 
     
     
         13 . A tower distributor that receives a stream of working media including pulverized coal and a carrier gas in a coal burning power plant, the tower distributor comprising:
 a wall structure defining a flow passageway for the stream of working media, the wall structure including an inlet and an outlet spaced from the inlet in an axial direction; and   a pair of diverters affixed to an inner surface of the wall structure and located circumferentially adjacent to one another between the inlet and the outlet of the wall structure, wherein the diverters:
 extend along the wall structure in the axial direction and extend circumferentially in opposite directions, the diverters extending from respective first positions located at an area of working media concentration downstream from the inlet to respective second positions downstream from the respective first positions; and 
 define flow channels to effect a diversion of respective portions of the stream of working media from the respective first positions to the corresponding second positions; and 
   wherein the working media flowing through the tower distributor forms a coal rope, and wherein the area of working media concentration defines an area of the coal rope with a higher allocation of pulverized coal than a remaining portion of the coal rope.   
     
     
         14 . The tower distributor of  claim 13 , wherein the area of working media concentration is located in close proximity to the inlet of the wall structure on a circumferentially opposed side of the wall structure from an exhauster mill fan that delivers the stream of working media to the tower distributor. 
     
     
         15 . The tower distributor of  claim 13 , wherein:
 a gap having a component in the circumferential direction is formed between entrance portions of the respective diverters, the circumferential component of the gap being about 1-10% of an inner circumference of the wall structure; and   the diverters extend at angles of about 35-55 degrees relative to the axial direction and extend along at least about 90° of the inner circumference of the wall structure.   
     
     
         16 . A tower distributor that receives a stream of working media including pulverized coal and a carrier gas in a coal burning power plant, the tower distributor comprising:
 a wall structure defining a flow passageway for the stream of working media, the wall structure including an inlet and an outlet spaced from the inlet in an axial direction;   at least one diverter between the inlet and the outlet and affixed to an inner surface of the wall structure, wherein the at least one diverter:
 extends axially and circumferentially along the wall structure from a first position located at an area of working media concentration downstream from the inlet to a second position downstream from the first position, the area of working media concentration being located on a circumferentially opposed side of the wall structure than an exhauster mill fan that delivers the stream of working media to the tower distributor; and 
 defines a flow channel to effect a diversion of a portion of the stream of working media from the first position to the second position; and 
   at least one adjustable vane member attached to the wall structure, each vane member extending radially inwardly from the inner surface of the wall structure.   
     
     
         17 . The tower distributor of  claim 16 , wherein the at least one diverter comprises two circumferentially adjacent diverters extending axially downstream and extending circumferentially in opposite directions, and wherein a gap having a component in the circumferential direction is formed between entrance portions of the respective diverters. 
     
     
         18 . The tower distributor of  claim 17 , wherein the at least one vane member comprises two vane members, the first vane member being located in the circumferential direction between the respective entrance portions of the diverters and the second vane member being located in the circumferential direction generally midway between respective outlet portions of the diverters. 
     
     
         19 . The tower distributor of  claim 16 , further comprising a handle for each vane member, each handle being located outside of the tower distributor for adjusting the orientation of the corresponding vane member during operation of the power plant to effect a change in flow direction of a portion of the working media flowing through the wall structure near the corresponding vane member, wherein each handle has a plurality of preset positions, each preset position corresponding to a particular angle of the corresponding vane member. 
     
     
         20 . The tower distributor of  claim 16 , further comprising at least one protuberance generally axially aligned with each respective vane member, each protuberance extending radially inwardly from the wall structure downstream from the respective vane member and deflecting working media passing thereby.