Post-manufacturing processes for submerged combustion burner

• US 10,442,717 B2
• Filed: 08/02/2017
• Issued: 10/15/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 08/12/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Johns Manville Corporation (Berkshire Hathaway Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Johns Manville Corporation (Berkshire Hathaway Incorporated)
• Inventors: Madeni, Juan Carlos, Baker, John Wayne
• Primary Examiner(s): Herring, Lisa L
• Application Number:
  US15/666,762
• Publication Number:
  US 20170327400A1
• Time in Patent Office: 804 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: C03B 2211/22 by direct combustion in the melt
• CPC Class Codes: C03B 2211/60 oxy-fuel burner construction
• CPC Class Codes: C03B 5/2356 Submerged heating, e.g. by using heat pipes, hot gas or submerged combustion burners bubblers C03B5/193
• CPC Class Codes: C03B 5/44 Cooling arrangements for furnace walls
• CPC Class Codes: C21D 1/74 Methods of treatment in inert gas, controlled atmosphere, vacuum or pulverulent material
• CPC Class Codes: C21D 9/0068 for particular articles not mentioned below
• CPC Class Codes: C21D 9/50 for welded joints
• CPC Class Codes: F23D 14/76 Protecting flame and burner parts
• CPC Class Codes: F23D 2213/00 Burner manufacture specifications
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 40/50 Glass production, e.g. reusing waste heat during processing or shaping
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 40/57 Improving the yield, e-g- reduction of reject rates

Abstract

A portion of a submerged combustion burner is disposed into a pressure vessel. The portion of the submerged combustion burner has a welded area that has a first microstructure defined by a first number of voids. The vessel is filled with an inert gas, pressurized, and heated. Pressurizing and heating operations are performed for a time and at a temperature and a pressure sufficient to produce a second microstructure in the welded area of the burner. The second microstructure is defined by a second number of voids less than the first number of voids.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

disposing a toroidal tip of a submerged combustion burner in a vise, wherein the toroidal tip has an average first surface roughness across an area of the toroidal tip, wherein the area of the toroidal tip includes a plurality of initial surface features having heights of about 10 microns to about 100 microns prior to polishing; and

polishing the toroidal tip of the submerged combustion burner to an average second surface roughness across the area of the toroidal tip, wherein the average second surface roughness is less than the average first surface roughness.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the area of the toroidal tip includes a plurality of polished features having heights not greater than 1 micron after polishing.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the area of the toroidal tip includes a plurality of polished features having heights between about 1 micron and about 0.1 micron after polishing.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the average second surface roughness is about 5% of the average first surface roughness.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the average second surface roughness is about 1% of the average first surface roughness.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the average second surface roughness is about 0.1% of the average first surface roughness.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the polishing of the toroidal tip is performed substantially circumferentially.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the polishing of the toroidal tip is performed randomly.