Intelligence solves burn ratio problems
March 2004
Motion Control & Drives
The Smartfire intelligent combustion control system from Maxon has been designed to operate and control burner systems (either gas or liquid fuels) to meet stringent standards in both efficiency and emission control.
Maxon is represented in South Africa by The Combustion Group, which supplies the system as a turnkey, mass flow air fuel/ratio control system for industrial burners. The five components are easily integrated into a conventional burner management system and pipetrain. These are an interface panel, air valve actuator and fuel valve actuator, airflow controller and fuel flow controller.
The interface panel contains the heart of the system, the 'burner brain'. This contains all the factory-installed combustion intelligence (such as the burner specific air/fuel ratio and flow data), enabling the Smartfire system to be commissioned easily after installation. The user display panel allows the operator to monitor and adjust the performance of the combustion system. The valve actuators are factory calibrated, high-quality components that give excellent repeatability and precise control.
The final items in the system are the air and fuel controllers each of which consists of a precision calibrated thermal mass flow sensor, control electronics and flow body with integrated flow conditioners accurate measurement and control.
The system permits the burner to be started in response to the commands from the user's burner management system. The factory installed air/fuel ratio is maintained for the desired heat output, as set by the user's process controller. The cross-limited mass flow control of air and fuel automatically compensates for changes that affect combustion efficiency such as air and fuel temperature and pressure and combustion chamber pressure.
Gone are the days when flapping mechanical linkages on control valves and a thumb-suck approach to burner adjustment were acceptable. Modern-thinking factory engineers demand a state-of the-art solution to these problems.
For more information contact The Combustion Group, 011 452 5060, info@combustion.co.za
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