Burner flame stabilization method and system

Abstract

A system and method in which (i) a flame scanner provides UV and/or IR wave period and amplitude information for a burner flame and (ii) a flame stabilization metering module determines whether the wave period and amplitude of the flame have reached warning and shutoff set points for the burner, thus indicating that the operation of the burner is unstable, or that a flame out event is likely, and, in which event, corrective actions are taken, or the burner is shut down, to restore stable operation and prevent a flame out from occurring.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A system for detecting unstable conditions and preventing a burner flame out, the system comprising:
 a flame scanner which determines and transmits UV and/or IR wave period or frequency information and UV and/or IR amplitude information for a flame of a burner and   a flame stabilization metering module which receives the UV and/or IR wave period or frequency information and the UV and/or IR amplitude information transmitted by the flame scanner,   the flame stabilization metering module comprising a processing unit and a program code which is embodied on or in one or more computer readable storage components, and   the program code embodied on or in the one or more computer readable storage components being readable by the processing unit to cause the flame stabilization metering module to perform a programmed procedure in which the flame stabilization metering module automatically (i) determines, either directly or indirectly, whether a UV and/or IR amplitude of the flame is less than a high amplitude instability set point and/or greater than a low amplitude instability set point for the UV and/or IR amplitude and/or (ii) determines, either directly or indirectly, whether a UV and/or IR wave period of the flame is greater (longer) than a short period instability set point and/or less (shorter) than a long period instability set point for the UV and/or IR wave period.   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1  wherein:
 the high amplitude instability set point for the UV and/or IR amplitude is a high amplitude warning set point and the low amplitude instability set point for the UV and/or IR amplitude is a low amplitude warning set point; 
 the short period instability set point for the UV and/or IR wave period is a short period warning set point and the long period instability set point for the UV and/or IR wave period is a long period warning set point; and 
 the program code embodied on or in the one or more computer readable storage components further causes the flame stabilization and metering module to automatically provide, in accordance with the programmed procedure, a warning signal if (i) the UV and/or IR amplitude of the flame is not less than the high amplitude warning set point for the UV and/or IR amplitude and/or is not greater than the low amplitude warning set point for the UV and/or IR amplitude and/or (ii) the UV and/or IR wave period of the flame is not greater than the short period warning set point for the UV and/or IR wave period and/or is not less than the long period warning set point for the UV and/or IR wave period. 
 
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 2  wherein the program code embodied on or in the one or more computer readable storage components further causes the flame stabilization and metering module to automatically act, in accordance with the programmed procedure, to:
 determine, either directly or indirectly, whether (i) the UV and/or IR amplitude of the flame is less than a high amplitude shutoff set point which is higher than the high amplitude warning set point for the UV and/or IR amplitude and/or (ii) the UV and/or IR amplitude of the flame is greater than a low amplitude shutoff set point which is lower than the low amplitude warning set point for the UV and/or IR amplitude and/or 
 determine, either directly or indirectly, whether (i) the UV and/or IR wave period of the flame is greater than a short period shutoff set point which is less than the short period warning set point for the UV and/or IR frequency and/or (ii) the UV and/or IR wave period of the flame is less than a long period shutoff set point which is greater than the long period warning set point for the UV and/or IR wave period. 
 
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 3  wherein the program code embodied on or in the one or more computer readable storage components further causes the flame stabilization and metering module to automatically provide, in accordance with the programmed procedure, a warning signal if (i) the UV and/or IR amplitude of the flame is not less than the high amplitude shutoff set point for the UV and/or IR amplitude and/or is not greater than the low amplitude shutoff set point for the UV and/or IR amplitude and/or (ii) the UV and/or IR wave period of the flame is not greater than the short period shutoff set point for the UV and/or IR wave period and/or is not less than the long period shutoff set point for the UV and/or IR wave period. 
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 4  wherein the program code embodied on or in the one or more computer readable storage components further causes the flame stabilization and metering module to automatically act, in accordance with the programmed procedure, to shut off the burner if (i) the UV and/or IR amplitude of the flame is not less than the high amplitude shutoff set point for the UV and/or IR amplitude and/or is not greater than the low amplitude shutoff set point for the UV and/or IR amplitude and/or (ii) the UV and/or IR wave period of the flame is not greater than the short period shutoff set point for the UV and/or IR wave period and/or is not less than the long period shutoff set point for the UV and/or IR wave period. 
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 1  wherein:
 the high amplitude instability set point for the UV and/or IR amplitude is a high amplitude shutoff set point and the low amplitude instability set point for the UV and/or IR amplitude is a low amplitude shutoff set point; 
 the short period instability set point for the UV and/or IR wave period is a short period shutoff set point and the long period instability set point for the UV and/or IR wave period is long period shutoff set point; and 
 the program code embodied on or in the one or more computer readable storage components further causes the flame stabilization and metering module to automatically provide, in accordance with the programmed procedure, a warning signal if (i) the UV and/or IR amplitude of the flame is not less than the high amplitude shutoff set point for the UV and/or IR amplitude and/or is not greater than the low amplitude shutoff set point for the UV and/or IR amplitude and/or (ii) the UV and/or IR wave period of the flame is not greater than the short period shutoff set point for the UV and/or IR wave period and/or is not less than the long period shutoff set point for the UV and/or IR wave period. 
 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 6  wherein the program code embodied on or in the one or more computer readable storage components further causes the flame stabilization and metering module to automatically act, in accordance with the programmed procedure, to shut off the burner if (i) the UV and/or IR amplitude of the flame is not less than the high amplitude shutoff set point for the UV and/or IR amplitude and/or is not greater than the low amplitude shutoff set point for the UV and/or IR amplitude and/or (ii) the UV and/or IR wave period of the flame is not greater than the short period shutoff set point for the UV and/or IR wave period and/or is not greater than the long period shutoff set point for the UV and/or IR wave period. 
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 1  wherein the one or more computer readable storage components comprise a removable computer readable storage device. 
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 1  wherein, if the flame stabilization metering module automatically determines that (i) the UV and/or IR amplitude of the flame is not less than the high amplitude instability set point for the UV and/or IR amplitude, (ii) the UV and/or IR amplitude of the flame is not greater than the low amplitude instability set point for the UV and/or IR amplitude, (iii) the UV and/or IR wave period of the flame is not greater than the short period instability set point for the UV and/or IR wave period, and/or (iv) the UV and/or IR wave period is not less than the long period instability set point for the UV and/or IR wave period, the program code embodied on or in the computer readable storage component further causes the flame stabilization metering module to automatically act, in accordance with the programmed procedure, to: (i) adjust an air level to the burner; (ii) adjust a fuel pressure to the burner; and/or (iii) adjust a fuel composition to the burner. 
     
     
         10 . A method for detecting unstable conditions and preventing a burner flame out, the method comprising the steps of:
 a) automatically determining, either directly or indirectly, whether a UV and/or IR amplitude of a flame of a burner is less than a high amplitude instability set point for the UV and/or IR amplitude and   b) automatically determining, either directly or indirectly, whether a UV and/or IR wave period of the flame is greater than a short period instability set point for the UV and/or IR wave period.   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10  further comprising:
 automatically determining, either directly or indirectly, whether the UV and/or IR amplitude of the flame is greater than a low amplitude instability set point for the UV and/or IR amplitude and 
 automatically determining, either directly or indirectly, whether the UV and/or IR wave period of the flame is less than a long period instability set point for the UV and/or IR wave period. 
 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 10  wherein steps (a) and (b) are automatically performed by a flame stabilization metering module, the flame stabilization metering module comprising a processing unit and a program code embodied on or in one or more computer readable storage components readable by the processing unit to cause the flame stabilization metering module to automatically perform steps (a) and (b) in accordance with a programmed procedure. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  12  further comprising the step, using the flame stabilization metering module in accordance with the programmed procedure, of automatically providing a warning and/or shutoff signal if:
 the UV and/or IR amplitude of the flame is not less than the high amplitude instability set point for the UV and/or IR amplitude or 
 the UV and/or IR wave period of the flame is not greater than the short period instability set point for the UV and/or IR wave period. 
 
     
     
         14 . The method of  12  further comprising the step, using the flame stabilization metering module in accordance with the programmed procedure, of automatically shutting off the burner if:
 the UV and/or IR amplitude of the flame is not less than the high amplitude instability set point for the UV and/or IR amplitude or 
 the UV and/or IR wave period of the flame is not greater than the short period instability set point for the UV and/or IR wave period. 
 
     
     
         15 . The method of  12  further comprising the step, using the flame stabilization metering module in accordance with the programmed procedure, of automatically (i) adjusting an air level to the burner; (ii) adjusting a fuel pressure to the burner; and/or (iii) adjusting a fuel composition to the burner if:
 the UV and/or IR amplitude of the flame is not less than the high amplitude instability set point for the UV and/or IR amplitude or 
 the UV and/or IR wave period of the flame is not greater than the short period instability set point for the UV and/or IR wave period. 
 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 10  further comprising the steps, prior to steps (a) and (b), of:
 operating the burner using a fuel under stable operating conditions; 
 during the step of operating, determining either directly or indirectly, an upper range limit for the UV and/or IR amplitude of the flame of the burner using the fuel; and 
 during the step of operating, determining either directly or indirectly, an upper range limit for the UV and/or IR wave period of the flame using the burner fuel. 
 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16  wherein:
 the high amplitude instability set point of the flame is a point in a range of from 100% to 300% of the upper range limit for the UV and/or IR amplitude of the flame determined during the step of operating the burner using the fuel under the stable operating conditions and 
 the short period instability set point of the flame is a point in a range of from 5% to 90% of the upper range limit for the UV and/or IR wave period of the flame determined during the step of operating the burner using the fuel under the stable operating conditions. 
 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 16  wherein:
 the high amplitude instability set point of the flame is a point in a range of from 125% to 225% of the upper range limit for the UV and/or IR amplitude of the flame determined during the step of operating the burner using the fuel under the stable operating conditions and 
 the short period instability set point of the flame is a point in a range of from 5% to 40% of the upper range limit for the UV and/or IR wave period of the flame determined during the step of operating the burner using the fuel under the stable operating conditions. 
 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 10  further comprising the steps, prior to steps (a) and (b), of:
 operating the burner under stable operating conditions during a plurality of separate periods using a different fuel in each of the separate periods; 
 during the step of operating, determining for each different fuel an upper range limit for the UV and/or IR amplitude of the flame of the burner using the fuel; 
 during the step of operating, determining for each different fuel an upper range limit for the UV and/or IR wave period of the flame using the fuel; 
 determining which said fuel provided a highest upper range limit for the UV and/or IR amplitude of the flame; and 
 determining which said fuel provided a highest upper range limit for the UV and/or IR wave period of the flame. 
 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19  wherein:
 the high amplitude instability set point of the flame is set at a point in a range of from 125% to 225% of said highest upper range limit for the UV and/or IR amplitude of the flame and 
 the short period instability set point of the flame is set at a point in a range of from 5% to 60% of said highest upper range limit for the UV and/or IR wave period of the flame.