Burner with Monitoring

Abstract

An oxy-fuel burner with monitoring including a fuel passage terminating in a fuel nozzle, a primary oxidant passage terminating in an oxidant nozzle, one or more sensors including a nozzle temperature sensor for sensing at least one of an oxidant nozzle temperature and a fuel nozzle temperature and a position sensor for sensing a burner installation angle, and a data processor programmed to receive data from the sensors and to determine the presence or absence of an abnormal burner condition including a potential partial obstruction of at least one of the primary oxidant passage and the fuel passage based on an increase or decrease in at least one of the oxidant nozzle temperature and the fuel nozzle temperature, and to determine whether the burner is installed at a desired orientation with respect to at least one feature of the furnace based on the burner installation angle.

1 . An oxy-fuel burner with monitoring, comprising:
 a fuel passage terminating in a fuel nozzle;   a primary oxidant passage terminating in an oxidant nozzle;   one or more sensors including:
 a nozzle temperature sensor for sensing at least one of an oxidant nozzle temperature and a fuel nozzle temperature; and 
 a position sensor for sensing a burner installation angle, the position sensor being configured to sense one or more of a burner pitch and a burner roll; and 
   a data processor programmed to receive data from the sensors and to determine based on at least a portion of the received data the presence or absence of an abnormal burner condition including a potential partial obstruction of at least one of the primary oxidant passage and the fuel passage based on an increase or decrease in at least one of the oxidant nozzle temperature and the fuel nozzle temperature, and to determine whether the burner is installed at a desired orientation with respect to at least one feature of the furnace based on the burner installation angle.   
     
     
         2 . The burner with monitoring of  claim 1 , wherein the data processor is programmed to base its determination at least in part upon changes in at least a portion of the received data with time. 
     
     
         3 . The burner with monitoring of  claim 1 , the one or more sensors further including an oxidant pressure sensor positioned in the primary oxidant passage for sensing a primary oxidant pressure;
 wherein the data processor is programmed to identify a potential partial obstruction of the primary oxidant passage based on a change to the primary oxidant pressure and at least one of the fuel nozzle temperature and the oxidant nozzle temperature.   
     
     
         4 . The burner with monitoring of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a secondary oxidant passage spaced apart at a fixed distance from the primary oxidant passage; and   a staging valve for proportioning oxidant between the primary and secondary oxidant passages;   the one or more sensors further including a staging valve position sensor for sensing a staging valve position as indicative of the relative proportion of oxidant being directed to the primary and secondary oxidant passages;   wherein the data processor is further programmed to determine the presence or absence of a partial obstruction of the primary oxidant passage based on the staging valve position and at least one of the fuel nozzle temperature and the oxidant nozzle temperature.   
     
     
         5 . The burner with monitoring of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a secondary oxidant passage spaced apart at a fixed distance from the primary oxidant passage; and   a staging valve for proportioning oxidant between the primary and secondary oxidant passages;   the one or more sensors further including:
 an oxidant pressure sensor for sensing an oxidant pressure at one or more of upstream of the staging valve, downstream of the staging valve in the primary oxidant passage, and downstream of the staging valve in the secondary oxidant passage; and 
 a staging valve position sensor for sensing a staging valve position as indicative of the relative proportion of oxidant being directed to the primary and secondary oxidant passages; 
   wherein the data processor is further programmed to determine the presence or absence of one or more of a partial obstruction of one of the primary oxidant passage and the secondary oxidant passage and a sub-optimal staging valve position based on the staging valve position and the oxidant pressure at one or more of upstream of the staging valve, downstream of the staging valve in the primary oxidant passage, and downstream of the staging valve in the secondary oxidant passage.   
     
     
         6 . The burner with monitoring of  claim 5 , further comprising:
 two pressure sensors, one positioned on either side of a flow restriction device in at least one of the fuel passage, the primary oxidant passage, and the secondary oxidant passage, for sensing a pressure upstream of the flow restriction device, a pressure downstream of the flow restriction device, and a differential pressure across the flow restriction device as indicative of flow rate;   wherein the data processor is further programmed to determine the presence or absence of an abnormal burner condition based on the differential pressure and one of the pressures upstream and downstream of the flow restriction device.   
     
     
         7 . The burner with monitoring of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a burner block having a hot face adjacent to the furnace; and   a burner block temperature sensor for sensing a burner block temperature near the hot face;   wherein the data processor is further programmed to determine the presence or absence of one or more of burner block overheating and flame asymmetry based on the burner block temperature.   
     
     
         8 . The burner with monitoring of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a data collector programmed to provide power to individual sensors only when data is to be collected, based on one or both of a combination of sensed data and a periodic schedule, and taking into account the specific requirements of each of the individual sensors;   a transmitter for wirelessly transmitting sensor data from the data collector to the data processor; and   a local power generation system for powering the data collector, the sensors, and the transmitter.   
     
     
         9 . The burner with monitoring of  claim 1 , wherein the oxidant passage is annular and surrounds the fuel passage. 
     
     
         10 . A method of determining an operating condition of an oxy-fuel burner including a fuel passage terminating in a fuel nozzle, a primary oxidant passage terminating in an oxidant nozzle, and a burner block having a face adjacent to the furnace, the method comprising:
 sensing at least one of an oxidant nozzle temperature and a fuel nozzle temperature;   sensing a burner installation angle indicative of one or more of a burner pitch and a burner roll;   comparing the at least one nozzle temperature to a threshold temperature;   determining a potential partial obstruction of one of the oxidant nozzle and fuel nozzle based on an increase or decrease in the at least one nozzle temperature; and   determining whether the burner is installed at a desired orientation with respect to at least one feature of the furnace based on the burner installation angle.   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , further comprising:
 sensing an oxidant pressure;   determining a potential partial obstruction of the oxidant nozzle based on the oxidant pressure and the at least one nozzle temperature.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 10 , the burner further including a secondary oxidant passage spaced apart at a fixed distance from the primary oxidant passage and a staging valve for proportioning oxidant between the primary and secondary oxidant passages, the method further comprising:
 sensing an oxidant pressure at a location selected from upstream of the staging valve, downstream of the staging valve in the primary oxidant passage, and downstream of the staging valve in the secondary oxidant passage;   sensing a staging valve position indicating the proportion of oxidant being directed to the primary and secondary oxidant passages;   determining one or more of a potential partial obstruction of one of the primary oxidant passage and the secondary oxidant passage and a sub-optimal staging valve position based on the staging valve position and the oxidant pressure at one or more of upstream of the staging valve, downstream of the staging valve in the primary oxidant passage, and downstream of the staging valve in the secondary oxidant passage.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , further comprising:
 sensing pressures at two locations, one on either side of a flow restriction device in at least one of the fuel passage, the primary oxidant passage, and the secondary oxidant passage;   determining a flow rate from the pressures at the two locations; and   determining the presence or absence of an abnormal burner condition based on the flow rate and the pressure of at least one of the two locations.   
     
     
         14 . An oxy-fuel burner with monitoring, comprising:
 a primary first reactant passage terminating in a first reactant nozzle;   a primary second reactant passage terminating in a second reactant nozzle;   one or more sensors including a nozzle temperature sensor for sensing a nozzle temperature of at least one of the reactant nozzles;
 a position sensor for sensing a burner installation angle, the position sensor being configured to sense one or more of a burner pitch and a burner roll; and 
   a data processor programmed to receive data from the sensors and to determine based on at least a portion of the received data the presence or absence of an abnormal burner condition including a potential partial obstruction of at least one of the primary first reactant passage and the primary second reactant passage based on an increase or decrease in the at least one nozzle temperature, and to determine whether the burner is installed at a desired orientation with respect to at least one feature of the furnace based on the burner installation angle;   wherein one of the first and second reactants is fuel and the other of the first and second reactants is oxidant.   
     
     
         15 . The burner with monitoring of  claim 14 , the one or more sensors further including a first reactant pressure sensor positioned in the primary first reactant passage for sensing a primary first reactant pressure;
 wherein the data processor is programmed to identify a potential partial obstruction of the primary first reactant passage based on a change to the first reactant pressure and the at least one nozzle temperature.   
     
     
         16 . The burner with monitoring of  claim 14 , further comprising:
 a secondary first reactant passage spaced apart at a fixed distance from the primary first reactant passage; and   a staging valve for proportioning the first reactant between the primary and secondary first reactant passages;   the one or more sensors further including a staging valve position sensor for sensing a staging valve position as indicative of the relative proportion of the first reactant being directed to the primary and secondary first reactant passages;   wherein the data processor is further programmed to determine the presence or absence of a partial obstruction of the primary first reactant passage based on the staging valve position and the at least one nozzle temperature.   
     
     
         17 . The burner with monitoring of  claim 14 , further comprising:
 a secondary first reactant passage spaced apart at a fixed distance from the primary first reactant passage; and   a staging valve for proportioning the first reactant between the primary and secondary first reactant passages;   the one or more sensors further including:
 a first reactant pressure sensor for sensing a first reactant pressure at one or more of upstream of the staging valve, downstream of the staging valve in the primary first reactant passage, and downstream of the staging valve in the secondary first reactant passage; and 
 a staging valve position sensor for sensing a staging valve position as indicative of the relative proportion of the first reactant being directed to the primary and secondary first passages; 
   wherein the data processor is further programmed to determine the presence or absence of one or more of a partial obstruction of one of the primary first reactant passage and the secondary first reactant passage and a sub-optimal staging valve position based on the staging valve position and the first reactant pressure at one or more of upstream of the staging valve, downstream of the staging valve in the primary first reactant passage, and downstream of the staging valve in the secondary first reactant passage.   
     
     
         18 . The burner with monitoring of any of  claim 14 , further comprising:
 a burner block having a hot face adjacent to the furnace; and   a burner block temperature sensor for sensing a burner block temperature near the hot face;   wherein the data processor is further programmed to determine the presence or absence of one or more of burner block overheating and flame asymmetry based on the burner block temperature.