Macro Economic Environment... Challenge or Opportunity?

Darwin was right…Evolve or Perish

While domestic industry is sorting out the impact of current global trade negotiations, working hard to determine if we are in a period of challenge or opportunity, some things remain constant: those basic concepts defined by fundamental scientific principles of physics and heat transfer.

As a technical professional, engineer, and self-proclaimed geek, in times of uncertainty, I take comfort in going back to fundamentals.  Going back to basic concepts defined by scientific principles of physics and heat transfer brings us to a point where we know what will happen, and this can position our businesses best for uncertain times.  We can take comfort in knowing that when we combine the right mix of air and fuel with an ignition source, we will get fire!  And as the caveman said, “Fire Good!”  There was a time when the caveman’s torch was the top end of heat treating technology. We have since learned that all fire is not created equal.  Heat treat technology has evolved from fire to combustion and from combustion to efficient combustion.  We have learned how to optimize the delivery of energy produced by fire to achieve remarkable results. There is high-value technology available today (i.e. low cost with high impact) that can be quickly and easily implemented on existing furnaces, regardless of size or age, that will allow Heat Treating Operations a profitable response to whatever the economy brings us, whether Challenge or Opportunity.

The cycle of challenge and opportunity is not new, especially in heat treating, and we are constantly being pushed to respond in new and unique ways.   Many businesses have existed for generations, overcoming other challenges and stepping up to new opportunities.  How did they do it?  They evolved!  

Darwin was right; “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, not the most intelligent that survives.  It is the one that is most adaptable to change ― Intelligence is based on how EFFICIENT a species becomes at doing the things they need to survive.”  

Combustion efficiency and furnace efficiency are the heart of all gas fired heat treating operations.  Combustion and furnace efficiency can mean the difference between profit and loss, high quality and scrap, survival and extinction.  Now more than ever, finding low cost, easily implemented technologies to increase efficiency is critical to your business’s evolution. Good news!  Products and services enabled by revolutionary technology exist today and can improve the efficiency of your business. Because the technology is revolutionary, the implementation is simple.

Case Study

To understand the impact of this type of innovative technology, let’s look at an example from a box annealing furnace.  This furnace is heated by fourteen non-recuperated 5” ID x 130” vertical U-tubes.  The company installed the latest technology in ceramic Radiant Tube Inserts into the exhaust legs of the radiant tubes. Once the RTI’s were installed, the combustion system was tuned, utilizing the latest Combustion Monitoring and Alerting sensing technology. The results are impressive:

• Ramp cycle time reduced by 53%
• Total gas consumption per load reduced by 59%  
• Furnace throughput capacity increased 30%  

The total time to implement this solution was two days.  The total cost to implement this solution was less than $40,000.  Payback on this installation is less than 3 months!  

Combustion Efficiency

Combustion efficiency is getting the most energy out of the gas purchased and ensuring you continue getting that same level of performance.  Most talk about the importance of proper tuning, yet how many recognize they are likely not running optimally today and can quantify the impact?  A furnace running just two points out of tune at 5% excess oxygen is delivering 8% less energy to the system.  Jump that to 7% excess oxygen and you are throwing away over 20% of the energy.  Keeping the combustion system in tune is critical.

Just like the caveman, gone are the days of running through the burners with a hand held meter once a year, making adjustments based on a single point in time. There are combustion engineering service teams utilizing the latest technology to achieve higher levels of system performance.  It is no longer acceptable to take a single burner view of combustion.  It must be at the combustion system level, watching all burners concurrently.  If your service team is still working with single handheld meters, it is time to evolve. At a minimum, service teams today should be equipped with the latest sensing technology that allows them to view combustion in entire zones, if not entire furnaces, record data over the range of operation, and store this data for trending and preventative maintenance. 

Once the combustion system is tuned, it is necessary to ensure the system stays tuned.  Combustion Monitoring and Alerting Technology that monitors combustion across the entire furnace multiple times per day is available.  Utilizing the latest sensing equipment, along with leading edge controls and IIOT technology, these systems seamlessly collect, analyze, and store combustion data, along with providing simple, actionable alerts that keep your combustion system operating at maximum efficiency.  Utilizing this type of technology allows you to stay ahead of combustion efficiency in real time and prevent your operation from throwing away profits.

Furnace Efficiency

Getting and keeping maximum combustion efficiency is certainly the first step in your evolution; however, the only thing you get paid for is getting that energy to the product.  How well the energy provided through efficient combustion is transmitted to the product being processed is furnace efficiency.  Again, there is low cost, high value technology available to drive up furnace efficiency.  Waste heat recovery technology continues to evolve.  Recuperators have been a great first step that many in the industry have incorporated into their systems, but there is more that can be done. Ceramic inserts are waste heat recovery devices that work alone or in conjunction with recuperators, balancing the energy delivered across the entire length of the radiant tube, significantly improving furnace efficiency as well as increasing radiant tube life. Recent technological advancements in ceramic insert design and material have increased the effectiveness of ceramic inserts. Additionally, alternative radiant tube designs, such as bubble tubes and textured tubes, help deliver more energy to the product. 

Don't let your radiant tube furnace be the caveman of your operations.  Take comfort in understanding that all fire is not created equal, and many combustion technology advancements are based on fundamental scientific principles. Learn more information on these low cost and easily implemented technologies available to the heat treating industry today.  Recognize that utilizing these revolutionary technologies is the key to evolving your business to measurably higher levels of responsiveness and performance.  Allow your business to thrive in this environment.  

Will you evolve?