In-furnace retro-reflectors with steerable tunable diode laser absorption spectrometer
First Claim
1. A method of monitoring combustion properties in an interior of a combustion furnace, the method comprising:
- providing at least one penetration in a wall of the furnace;
providing at least two retro-reflecting surfaces within an interior of the furnace;
projecting a beam of light through an optic comprising a collimating lens residing outside the interior of the furnace, the collimating lens being optically coupled to the at least one penetration to project the beam into the interior of the furnace toward a first retro-reflecting surface of the at least two retro-reflecting surfaces;
receiving the beam of light from the first retro-reflecting surface with the optic;
measuring the combustion properties based on the received beam of light from the first retro-reflecting surface;
steering the beam of light through the optic to a second retro-reflecting surface of the at least two retro-reflecting surfaces;
receiving the beam of light from the second retro-reflecting surface with the optic; and
measuring the combustion properties based on at least the received beam of light from the second retro-reflecting surface.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method of monitoring combustion properties in an interior of a furnace is described. A beam of light is projected through a pitch optic including a pitch collimating lens residing outside the boiler interior. The pitch collimating lens projects the beam through a penetration into the boiler interior. The beam of light projected by the pitch collimating lens is reflected from at least one in-furnace retro-reflector, and received with a catch optic substantially identical to the pitch optic residing outside the boiler interior. The pitch optic and the catch optic may be embodied in the same pitch/catch optic. The pitch collimating lens may also be steered toward another of the at least one in-furnace retro-reflectors. Combustion properties may be calculated for each retro-reflector based on retro-reflector zones within the furnace.
143 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method of monitoring combustion properties in an interior of a combustion furnace, the method comprising:
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providing at least one penetration in a wall of the furnace; providing at least two retro-reflecting surfaces within an interior of the furnace; projecting a beam of light through an optic comprising a collimating lens residing outside the interior of the furnace, the collimating lens being optically coupled to the at least one penetration to project the beam into the interior of the furnace toward a first retro-reflecting surface of the at least two retro-reflecting surfaces; receiving the beam of light from the first retro-reflecting surface with the optic; measuring the combustion properties based on the received beam of light from the first retro-reflecting surface; steering the beam of light through the optic to a second retro-reflecting surface of the at least two retro-reflecting surfaces; receiving the beam of light from the second retro-reflecting surface with the optic; and measuring the combustion properties based on at least the received beam of light from the second retro-reflecting surface. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. An apparatus for sensing combustion properties in an interior of a combustion furnace, the apparatus comprising:
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a diode laser having a select lasing frequency; a collimating lens optically coupled to a beam generated by the diode laser, the collimating lens being configured to project the beam from the diode laser into a penetration in a wall of the furnace; at least two retro-reflecting surfaces positioned within an interior of the furnace, and each configured to reflect the beam from the collimating lens back to the collimating lens; a kinematic tilt stage including at least one stepper motor, a motor drive, and a stage coupled to at least the collimating lens, wherein the at least one stepper motor is configured to tilt the stage about at least one of two orthogonal axes that are perpendicular to an optical axis of the first penetration, so as to steer the beam from a first retro-reflecting surface to a second retro-reflecting surface of the at least two retro-reflecting surfaces; and a detector sensitive to the select lasing frequency optically coupled to the collimating lens. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification