P. S. Komrowski, O'Brien & Gere, Fayetteville, NY
One of the largest costs for heat treat and forging operations is energy. Furnaces and product must be heated to specified temperatures to develop material properties. With energy costs reaching some of their highest levels in 2008 there has been increased interest energy component of product cost.
In a project partially funded by NYSERDA Firth Rixson tasked O’Brien & Gere to design and build a new furnace that had improved combustion efficiency over their existing furnaces. The existing heat treat and forge furnaces are operated with excess air to produce turbulence needed to maintain uniformity. This is inefficient in terms of natural gas usage because as the load approaches the desired temperature, the furnaces are still burning fuel to heat the excess air. One way to improve efficiency of a combustion system is with pulse firing.
One of the largest costs for heat treat and forging operations is energy. Furnaces and product must be heated to specified temperatures to develop material properties. With energy costs reaching some of their highest levels in 2008 there has been increased interest energy component of product cost.
In a project partially funded by NYSERDA Firth Rixson tasked O’Brien & Gere to design and build a new furnace that had improved combustion efficiency over their existing furnaces. The existing heat treat and forge furnaces are operated with excess air to produce turbulence needed to maintain uniformity. This is inefficient in terms of natural gas usage because as the load approaches the desired temperature, the furnaces are still burning fuel to heat the excess air. One way to improve efficiency of a combustion system is with pulse firing.
