Description:TECHNICAL FIELD
[001] The present subject matter is generally related to the field of iron ore sintering process. Particularly, but not exclusively, the present disclosure relates to a method and a blower controlling system for optimizing energy utilization of blowers of a sinter cooler. 5
BACKGROUND
[002] An iron ore sintering process is the second largest energy intensive process next to a blast furnace in a steel plant value chain. In a sinter machine, fine iron ore particles are 10 agglomerated to form porous coarse particles by combustion of fuel. After an agglomeration process in the sinter machine, the hot sinter is crushed by a rotating breaker and conveyed to a transfer chute to distribute the crushed sinter onto a moving annular sinter cooler for cooling. The size and temperature of the crushed sinter varies from 30mm to 100mm and 500°C and 650°C, respectively. Cooling of this moving sinter is carried out by blowing normal air from 15 the bottom of the cooler (also, called cooler bed) with the help of one or more blowers. These blowers are operated at maximum Revolutions Per Minute (RPM) at all the time. The maximum RPM for the blowers may not be needed all the time. Hence, the blowers running at maximum RPM all the time result in wastage of energy if cooling of the moving sinter can achieve a target temperature at a lesser RPM. 20
[003] The information disclosed in this background of the disclosure section is for enhancement of understanding of the general background of the invention and should not be taken as an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that this information forms the prior art already known to a person skilled in the art. 25
SUMMARY
[004] Additional features and advantages are realized through the techniques of the present disclosure. Other embodiments and aspects of the disclosure are described in detail herein and 30 are considered a part of the claimed disclosure.
[005] Disclosed herein is a method for optimizing energy utilization of blowers of a sinter cooler. The method includes receiving a plurality of parameters of a sinter in each segment of
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the sinter cooler from one or more sources. Thereafter, the method includes determining real-time temperature profile of the sinter in each segment of the sinter cooler based on the plurality of parameters of the sinter. Subsequently, the method includes determining optimal differential pressure below the sinter cooler based on the real-time temperature profile of the sinter in each segment of the sinter cooler. Lastly, the method includes controlling Revolutions Per Minute 5 (RPM) of at least one blower of the sinter cooler based on the optimal differential pressure to optimize energy utilization of at least one blower.
[006] Further, the present disclosure discloses a blower controlling system for optimizing energy utilization of blowers of a sinter cooler. The blower controlling system includes a 10 processor, a memory communicatively coupled to the processor, and a Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID) controller communicatively coupled to the processor. The processor is configured to receive a plurality of parameters of a sinter in each segment of the sinter cooler from one or more sources. Thereafter, the processor is configured to determine real-time temperature profile of the sinter in each segment of the sinter cooler based on the plurality of 15 parameters of the sinter. Subsequently, the processor is configured to determine optimal differential pressure below the sinter cooler based on the real-time temperature profile of the sinter in each segment of the sinter cooler. Lastly, the PID is configured to control RPM of at least one blower of the sinter cooler based on the optimal differential pressure to optimize energy utilization of at least one blower. 20
[007] Embodiments of the disclosure according to the above-mentioned method, and the blower controlling system bring about technical advantages.
[008] The present disclosure optimizes RPM of the at least one blower, thereby, avoiding 25 running the at least one blower at maximum RPM all the time. This approach optimizes energy utilization (or reduces energy consumption) of at least one blower of a sinter cooler.
[009] The foregoing summary is illustrative only and is not intended to be in any way limiting. In addition to the illustrative aspects, embodiments, and features described above, further 30 aspects, embodiments, and features will become apparent by reference to the drawings and the following detailed description.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS
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[010] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this disclosure, illustrate exemplary embodiments and together with the description, serve to explain the disclosed principles. In the figures, the left-most digit(s) of a reference number identifies the figure in which the reference number first appears. The same numbers are used 5 throughout the figures to reference like features and components. Some embodiments of system and/or methods in accordance with embodiments of the present subject matter are now described below, by way of example only, and with reference to the accompanying figures. The disclosure itself, however, as well as a preferred mode of use, further objectives, and advantages thereof, may best be understood by reference to the following detailed description 10 of an illustrative embodiment when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The novel features and characteristic of the disclosure are set forth in the appended claims.
[011] Figure 1 illustrates an exemplary environment for optimizing energy utilization of blowers of a sinter cooler in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. 15
[012] Figure 2 shows a detailed block diagram of a blower controlling system in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.
[013] Figure 3 illustrates a flowchart showing a method for optimizing energy utilization of 20 blowers of a sinter cooler in accordance with some embodiments of present disclosure.
[014] Figure 4 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary system for implementing embodiments consistent with the present disclosure.
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[015] It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that any block diagrams herein represent conceptual views of illustrative systems embodying the principles of the present subject matter. Similarly, it will be appreciated that any flowcharts, flow diagrams, state transition diagrams, pseudo code, and the like represent various processes which may be substantially represented in computer readable medium and executed by a computer or 30 processor, whether or not such computer or processor is explicitly shown.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
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[016] In the present document, the word "exemplary" is used herein to mean "serving as an example, instance, or illustration." Any embodiment or implementation of the present subject matter described herein as "exemplary" is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments.
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[017] While the disclosure is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiment thereof has been shown by way of example in the drawings and will be described in detail below. It should be understood, however that it is not intended to limit the disclosure to the particular forms disclosed, but on the contrary, the disclosure is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the scope of the disclosure. 10
[018] The terms “comprises”, “comprising”, or any other variations thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a setup, device or method that comprises a list of components or steps does not include only those components or steps but may include other components or steps not expressly listed or inherent to such setup or device or method. In other 15 words, one or more elements in a system or apparatus proceeded by “comprises… a” does not, without more constraints, preclude the existence of other elements or additional elements in the system or method.
[019] In the following detailed description of the embodiments of the disclosure, reference is 20 made to the accompanying drawings that form a part hereof, and in which are shown by way of illustration specific embodiments in which the disclosure may be practiced. These embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the disclosure, and it is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and that changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. The following 25 description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense.
[020] The present disclosure discloses a method and a blower controlling system for optimizing energy utilization of blowers of a sinter cooler. Sintering process consists of two moving beds, namely a sintering machine, and an annular sinter cooler (referred as a sinter 30 cooler in the present disclosure). Once the sintering process is completed, a hot sinter is discharged on the sinter cooler. The sinter cooler is segmented into many segments to accept sinters of a pre-defined manner (also, referred as sinter lots or sinter). Sinter lots are made to fall/loaded on each segment of the sinter cooler. These sinter lots on the segments traverses the
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sinter cooler for a residence time and eventually get discharged from the sinter cooler. During the residence time, sinters are being cooled by blowing air from the bottom of the sinter cooler with at least one blower to achieve a target exit sinter temperature. The target exit sinter temperature may be below 80 °C. The present disclosure optimizes energy utilization of the at least one blower of the sinter cooler to achieve the target exit sinter temperature by controlling 5 Revolutions Per Minute (RPM) of the at least one blower of the sinter cooler based on an optimal differential pressure below the sinter cooler. The optimal differential pressure is determined based on a real-time temperature profile of the sinter in each segment of the sinter cooler. The real-time temperature profile of the sinter in each segment of the sinter cooler is determined based on the plurality of parameters of the sinter such as an input sinter temperature, 10 a sinter cooler speed, a sinter cooler measured differential pressure, a sinter cooler bed voidage, an input sinter cooler diameter, a sinter cooler height, and a sinter cooling area. In one embodiment, the present disclosure tracks/determines the real-time temperature profile of the sinter in each segment of the sinter cooler from the beginning when each segment is loaded with a pre-defined quantity of sinters. 15
[021] Figure 1 illustrates an exemplary environment for optimizing energy utilization of blowers of a sinter cooler in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.
[022] As shown in the Figure 1, the environment 100 includes a blower controlling system 20 101, a communication network 111, a sinter cooler 113 and at least one blower 115. The sinter cooler 113 includes one or more segments. Each segment of the sinter cooler 113 contains a hot sinter (i.e., sinters of a pre-defined quantity) discharged post-sintering process. At least one blower 115 is arranged below the sinter cooler 113.
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[023] The sinter cooler 113 and the at least one blower 115 are communicatively coupled to the blower controlling system 101 through the communication network 111. A plurality of parameters such as an input sinter temperature, a sinter cooler speed, a sinter cooler measured differential pressure, a sinter cooler bed voidage, an input sinter cooler diameter, a sinter cooler height, and a sinter cooling area is collected from sensors is sent or transmitted to a processor 30 103 (described below) of the blower controlling system 101 through the communication network 111. The sensors (not shown in Figure 1) are attached to and/or arranged in vicinity of the sinter cooler 113. The sensors may be referred as one or more sources in the present disclosure. The sensors include, but not limited to, an input sinter temperature sensor (for
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sensing the input sinter temperature), a sinter cooler speed sensor (for sensing the sinter cooler speed), a sinter cooler pressure sensor (for sensing/measuring the sinter cooler differential pressure, hereinafter referred as sinter cooler measured differential pressure), and a sinter cooler bed voidage sensor (for sensing the sinter cooler bed voidage). The input sinter cooler diameter, the sinter cooler height, and the sinter cooling area of the sinter cooler 113 may be 5 pre-defined industry standard parameters/values. The communication network 111 involves any of the following communication methods/protocols, but is not limited to, a direct interconnection, an e-commerce network, a Peer-to-Peer (P2P) network, Local Area Network (LAN), Wide Area Network (WAN), wireless network (for example, using Wireless Application Protocol), Internet, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and the like. 10
[024] In the embodiment, the blower controlling system 101 receives the plurality of parameters such as the input sinter temperature, the sinter cooler speed, the sinter cooler measured differential pressure, the sinter cooler bed voidage, the input sinter cooler diameter, the sinter cooler height, and the sinter cooling area of the sinter in each segment of the sinter 15 cooler 113 from one or more sources via an Input/Output Interface 107 in a memory 105. The blower controlling system 101 include an Input/Output (I/O) interface 107, a memory 105 and a processor 103, as shown in Figure 1. In one embodiment, the PID controller 109 is communicatively coupled to the processor 103. In another embodiment, the PID controller 109 is communicatively coupled to the processor 103 is external to (i.e., not part of) the blower 20 controlling system 101. The I/O interface 107 is configured to receive the plurality of parameters such as the input sinter temperature, the sinter cooler speed, the sinter cooler measured differential pressure, the sinter cooler bed voidage, the input sinter cooler diameter, the sinter cooler height, and the sinter cooling area of the sinter in each segment of the sinter cooler 113 from one or more sources. Analogously, the I/O interface 107, based on input from 25 PID controller 109, is configured to communicate with the at least one blower 115 to control Revolutions Per Minute (RPM) of the at least one blower 115 of the sinter cooler 113 when the PID controller 109 is part of the blower controlling system 101 or when the PID controller 109 is external to the blower controlling system 101.
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[025] The plurality of parameters received by the I/O interface 107 is stored in the memory 105. The memory 105 is communicatively coupled to the processor 103 of the blower controlling system 101. The memory 105, also, stores processor instructions which cause the
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processor 103 to execute the instructions for optimizing energy utilization of blowers 115 of the sinter cooler 113.
[026] The processor 103 includes at least one data processor for optimizing energy utilization of blowers 115 of the sinter cooler 113. The processor 103 includes specialized processing 5 units such as integrated system (bus) controllers, memory management control units, floating point units, graphics processing units, digital signal processing units, etc.
[027] The PID controller 109 is configured to control RPM of the at least one blower 115 of the sinter cooler 113 based on an optimal differential pressure below the sinter cooler 113 to 10 optimize energy utilization of the at least one blower 115. The optimal differential pressure below the sinter cooler 113 is received, by the PID controller 109, from the processor 103 of the blower controlling system 101. The PID controller 109 controls the control RPM of the at least one blower 115 of the sinter cooler 113 through the communication network 111.
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[028] Hereafter, the operation of the blower controlling system 101 with respect to the sinter cooler 113 and the at least one blower 115 is described.
[029] When a sinter (i.e., sinters of a pre-defined quantity) are loaded/falls on each segment of the sinter cooler 113, the blower controlling system 101 receives a plurality of parameters 20 of the sinter in each segment of the sinter cooler 113 from the one or more sources in real-time. The plurality of parameters comprises the input sinter temperature, the sinter cooler speed, the sinter cooler measured differential pressure, the sinter cooler bed voidage, the input sinter cooler diameter, the sinter cooler height, and the sinter cooling area. The one or more sources comprise the input sinter temperature sensor, the sinter cooler speed sensor, the sinter cooler 25 pressure sensor, and the sinter cooler bed voidage sensor. Thereafter, the blower controlling system 101 determines real-time temperature profile of the sinter in each segment of the sinter cooler 113 based on the plurality of parameters of the sinter. In detail, the blower controlling system 101 calculates transport of gas based on the plurality of parameters of the sinter to determine at least one of velocity of each segment of the sinter cooler 113, pressure on the 30 sinter and bulk density of the sinter. The blower controlling system 101 calculates heat transfer coefficient based on at least one of the velocity of each segment of the sinter cooler 113, the pressure on the sinter and the bulk density of the sinter to determine a temperature of gas emanating from the sinter. The blower controlling system 101 calculates temperature of the
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sinter based on the temperature of gas emanating from the sinter to determine real-time temperature profile of the sinter. Subsequently, the blower controlling system 101 determines optimal differential pressure below the sinter cooler 113 based on the real-time temperature profile of the sinter in each segment of the sinter cooler 113. The temperature (or real-time temperature profile) of the sinter and the optimal differential pressure below the sinter cooler 5 113 are directly proportional. Based on the optimal differential pressure, the blower controlling system 101 controls (or adjusts) the RPM of the at least one blower 115 of the sinter cooler 113 to optimize energy utilization of at least one blower 115.
[030] Figure 2 shows a detailed block diagram of a blower controlling system in accordance 10 with some embodiments of the present disclosure.
[031] The blower controlling system 101, in addition to the I/O interface 107, the processor 103 and the PID controller 109 described above, includes data 201, and one or more modules 211 (also, referred as modules), which are described herein in detail. In one embodiment, the 15 data 201 and the modules 211 are stored within the memory 105 configured in the blower controlling system 101. The data 201 includes sinter data 203, Revolutions Per Minute (RPM) data 205, and miscellaneous data 207.
[032] The sinter data 203 comprises a plurality of parameters, which include at least one of 20 an input sinter temperature, a sinter cooler speed, a sinter cooler measured differential pressure, a sinter cooler bed voidage, an input sinter cooler diameter, a sinter cooler height, and a sinter cooling area. The sinter cooler speed refers to a velocity of the sinter cooler movement. The sinter cooler measured differential pressure refers to a pressure measured at the bottom of the sinter cooler using the sinter cooler pressure sensor. The sinter cooler bed voidage refers to a 25 free space inside a sinter bed. The sinter cooling area refers to an area of the sinter bed.
[033] The RPM data 205 comprises a list of RPM values with corresponding optimal differential pressure below the sinter cooler.
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[034] The miscellaneous data 207 stores data, including temporary data and temporary files, generated by one or more modules 211 for performing the various functions of the blower controlling system 101.
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[035] In some embodiments, the data 201 stored in the memory 105 are processed by the one or more modules 211 of the blower controlling system 101. In one embodiment, the data 201, especially the RPM data 205 stored in the memory 105 is processed by the PID controller 109. The one or more modules 211 is stored within the memory 105. In one embodiment, the one or more modules 211 communicatively coupled to the processor 103 is present outside the 5 memory 105 (not shown in Figure 2). In some implementations, the one or more modules 211 is communicatively coupled to the processor 103 for performing one or more functions of the blower controlling system 101. The one or more modules 211 when configured with the functionality defined in the present disclosure will result in a novel hardware. In one embodiment, the PID controller 109 communicatively coupled to the processor 103 is part of 10 the blower controlling system 101 (shown in Figure 2). In another embodiment, the PID controller 109 communicatively coupled to the processor 103 is external to (i.e., not part of) the blower controlling system 101.
[036] In one implementation, the one or more modules 211 include, but are not limited to, a 15 receiving module 213, and a determining module 215. The one or more modules 211, also, include miscellaneous modules 217 to perform various miscellaneous functionalities of the blower controlling system 101.
[037] The receiving module 213 receives a plurality of parameters of a sinter in each segment 20 of the sinter cooler 113 from one or more sources. The one or more sources comprise input sinter temperature sensor, a sinter cooler speed sensor, a sinter cooler pressure sensor, and a sinter cooler bed voidage sensor. The plurality of parameters comprises an input sinter temperature, a sinter cooler speed, a sinter cooler measured differential pressure, a sinter cooler bed voidage, an input sinter cooler diameter, a sinter cooler height, and a sinter cooling area. 25
[038] The determining module 215 determines a real-time temperature profile of the sinter in each segment of the sinter cooler 113 based on the plurality of parameters of the sinter. In detail, the determining module 215 calculates transport of gas based on the plurality of parameters of the sinter to determine at least one of velocity of each segment of the sinter cooler 30 113, pressure on the sinter and bulk density of the sinter. Thereafter, the determining module 215 calculates heat transfer coefficient based on at least one of the velocity of each segment of the sinter cooler 113, the pressure on the sinter and the bulk density of the sinter to determine a temperature of gas emanating from the sinter. The heat transfer coefficient is a proportionality
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constant between a heat flux and temperature. Subsequently, the determining module 215 calculates temperature of the sinter based on the temperature of gas emanating from the sinter to determine real-time temperature profile of the sinter. Based on the real-time temperature profile of the sinter in each segment of the sinter cooler 113, the determining module 215 determines optimal differential pressure below the sinter cooler 113. In one embodiment, the 5 determining module 215 determines an RPM value corresponding to the optimal differential pressure from the list stored in the RPM data 205. The determining module 215 sends the RPM value to the PID controller 109.
[039] The PID controller 109 receives the RPM value from the determining module 215. 10 Thereafter, the PID controller 109 controls/adjusts the RPM of at least one blower 115 of the sinter cooler 113 based on the optimal differential pressure to optimize energy utilization of at least one blower 115.
[040] Figure 3 illustrates a flowchart showing a method for optimizing energy utilization of 15 blowers of a sinter cooler in accordance with some embodiments of present disclosure.
[041] As illustrated in Figure 3, the method 300 includes one or more blocks for optimizing energy utilization of the blowers 115 of the sinter cooler 113. The method 300 may be described in the general context of computer executable instructions. Generally, computer executable 20 instructions can include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, procedures, modules, and functions, which perform particular functions or implement particular abstract data types.
[042] The order in which the method 300 is described is not intended to be construed as a 25 limitation, and any number of the described method blocks can be combined in any order to implement the method. Additionally, individual blocks may be deleted from the methods without departing from the scope of the subject matter described herein. Furthermore, the method can be implemented in any suitable hardware, software, firmware, or combination thereof. 30
[043] At block 301, the blower controlling system 101 may receive a plurality of parameters of a sinter in each segment of the sinter cooler 113 from one or more sources. The plurality of parameters may comprise an input sinter temperature, a sinter cooler speed, a sinter cooler
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measured differential pressure, a sinter cooler bed voidage, an input sinter cooler diameter, a sinter cooler height, and a sinter cooling area. The one or more sources may comprise an input sinter temperature sensor, a sinter cooler speed sensor, a sinter cooler pressure sensor, and a sinter cooler bed voidage sensor.
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[044] At block 303, the blower controlling system 101 may determine real-time temperature profile of the sinter in each segment of the sinter cooler 113 based on the plurality of parameters of the sinter.
[045] At block 305, the blower controlling system 101 may determine optimal differential 10 pressure below the sinter cooler 113 based on the real-time temperature profile of the sinter in each segment of the sinter cooler 113.
[046] At block 307, the blower controlling system 101 may control RPM of at least one blower 115 of the sinter cooler 113 based on the optimal differential pressure below the sinter 15 cooler 113 to optimize energy utilization of at least one blower 115.
[047] Some of the technical advantages of the present disclosure are listed below.
[048] The present disclosure optimizes RPM of the at least one blower, thereby, avoiding 20 running the at least one blower at maximum RPM all the time. This approach optimizes energy utilization (or reduces energy consumption) of at least one blower of a sinter cooler.
[049] The present disclosure allows visualisation of real-time temperature profile of the sinter in each segment of the sinter cooler for different time instances. 25
[050] Figure 4 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary computer system for implementing embodiments consistent with the present disclosure.
[051] In an embodiment, the computer system 400 may be used to implement the blower 30 controlling system 101. The computer system 400 may include a central processing unit (“CPU” or “processor”) 402. The processor 402 may include at least one data processor for optimizing energy utilization of blowers 115 of a sinter cooler 113. The processor 402 may include
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specialized processing units such as, integrated system (bus) controllers, memory management control units, floating point units, graphics processing units, digital signal processing units, etc.
[052] The processor 402 may be disposed in communication with one or more I/O devices (not shown in Figure 4) via I/O interface 401. The I/O interface 401 employ communication 5 protocols/methods such as, without limitation, audio, analog, digital, monaural, Radio Corporation of America (RCA) connector, stereo, IEEE-1394 high speed serial bus, serial bus, Universal Serial Bus (USB), infrared, Personal System/2 (PS/2) port, Bayonet Neill-Concelman (BNC) connector, coaxial, component, composite, Digital Visual Interface (DVI), High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI), Radio Frequency (RF) antennas, S-Video, 10 Video Graphics Array (VGA), IEEE 802.11b/g/n/x, Bluetooth, cellular e.g., Code-Division Multiple Access (CDMA), High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA+), Global System for Mobile communications (GSM), Long-Term Evolution (LTE), Worldwide interoperability for Microwave access (WiMax), etc.
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[053] Using the I/O interface 401, the computer system 400 may communicate with one or more I/O devices such as input devices 412 and output devices 413. For example, the input devices 412 may be an antenna, keyboard, mouse, joystick, (infrared) remote control, camera, card reader, fax machine, dongle, biometric reader, microphone, touch screen, touchpad, trackball, stylus, scanner, storage device, transceiver, video device/source, etc. The output 20 devices 413 may be a printer, fax machine, video display (e.g., Cathode Ray Tube (CRT), Liquid Crystal Display (LCD), Light-Emitting Diode (LED), plasma, Plasma Display Panel (PDP), Organic Light-Emitting Diode display (OLED) or the like), audio speaker, etc.
[054] In some embodiments, the computer system 400 consists of the blower controlling 25 system 101. The processor 402 may be disposed in communication with the communication network 111 via a network interface 403. The network interface 403 may communicate with the communication network 111. The network interface 403 may employ connection protocols including, without limitation, direct connect, Ethernet (e.g., twisted pair 10/100/1000 Base T), Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), token ring, IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/x, 30 etc. Using the network interface 403 and the communication network 111, the computer system 400 may communicate with the PID controller 109, the sinter cooler 113 and at least one blower 115 for optimizing energy utilization of the at least one blower 115 of the sinter cooler 113.
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The PID controller 109 may be a part of the computer system 400 consisting of the blower controlling system 101 or may be external to (i.e., not part of) the computer system 400.
[055] The communication network 111 includes, but is not limited to, a direct interconnection, a Peer to Peer (P2P) network, Local Area Network (LAN), Wide Area Network (WAN), 5 wireless network (e.g., using Wireless Application Protocol), the Internet, and Wi-Fi.
[056] In some embodiments, the processor 402 may be disposed in communication with a memory 405 (e.g., RAM, ROM, etc. not shown in Figure 4) via a storage interface 404. The storage interface 404 may connect to memory 405 including, without limitation, memory drives, 10 removable disc drives, etc., employing connection protocols such as, Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (SATA), Integrated Drive Electronics (IDE), IEEE-1394, Universal Serial Bus (USB), fiber channel, Small Computer Systems Interface (SCSI), etc. The memory drives may further include a drum, magnetic disc drive, magneto-optical drive, optical drive, Redundant Array of Independent Discs (RAID), solid-state memory devices, solid-state drives, 15 etc.
[057] The memory 405 may store a collection of program or database components, including, without limitation, user interface 406, an operating system 407, etc. In some embodiments, the computer system 400 may store user/application data, such as, the data, variables, records, etc., 20 as described in this disclosure. Such databases may be implemented as fault-tolerant, relational, scalable, secure databases such as Oracle or Sybase.
[058] The operating system 407 may facilitate resource management and operation of the computer system 400. Examples of operating systems include, without limitation, APPLE® 25 MACINTOSH® OS X®, UNIX®, UNIX-like system distributions (E.G., BERKELEY SOFTWARE DISTRIBUTION® (BSD), FREEBSD®, NETBSD®, OPENBSD, etc.), LINUX® DISTRIBUTIONS (E.G., RED HAT®, UBUNTU®, KUBUNTU®, etc.), IBM®OS/2®, MICROSOFT® WINDOWS® (XP®, VISTA®/7/8, 10 etc.), APPLE® IOS®, GOOGLETM ANDROIDTM, BLACKBERRY® OS, or the like. 30
[059] In some embodiments, the computer system 400 may implement web browser 408 stored program components. Web browser 408 may be a hypertext viewing application, such as MICROSOFT® INTERNET EXPLORER®, GOOGLETM CHROMETM, MOZILLA®
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FIREFOX®, APPLE® SAFARI®, etc. Secure web browsing may be provided using Secure Hypertext Transport Protocol (HTTPS), Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), Transport Layer Security (TLS), etc. Web browsers 408 may utilize facilities such as AJAX, DHTML, ADOBE® FLASH®, JAVASCRIPT®, JAVA®, Application Programming Interfaces (APIs), etc. The computer system 400 may implement a mail server (not shown in Figure 4) stored program 5 component. The mail server may be an Internet mail server such as Microsoft Exchange, or the like. The mail server may utilize facilities such as ASP, ACTIVEX®, ANSI® C++/C#, MICROSOFT®, .NET, CGI SCRIPTS, JAVA®, JAVASCRIPT®, PERL®, PHP, PYTHON®, WEBOBJECTS®, etc. The mail server may utilize communication protocols such as Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP), Messaging Application Programming Interface (MAPI), 10 MICROSOFT® exchange, Post Office Protocol (POP), Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP), or the like. The computer system 400 may implement a mail client (not shown in Figure 4) stored program component. The mail client may be a mail viewing application, such as APPLE® MAIL, MICROSOFT® ENTOURAGE®, MICROSOFT® OUTLOOK®, MOZILLA® THUNDERBIRD®, etc. 15
[060] Furthermore, one or more computer-readable storage media may be utilized in implementing embodiments consistent with the present disclosure. A computer-readable storage medium refers to any type of physical memory on which information or data readable by a processor may be stored. Thus, a computer-readable storage medium may store instructions for 20 execution by one or more processors, including instructions for causing the processor(s) to perform steps or stages consistent with the embodiments described herein. The term “computer-readable medium” should be understood to include tangible items and exclude carrier waves and transient signals, i.e., be non-transitory. Examples include Random Access Memory (RAM), Read-Only Memory (ROM), volatile memory, non-volatile memory, hard drives, CD 25 ROMs, DVDs, flash drives, disks, and any other known physical storage media.
[061] The described operations may be implemented as a method, system or article of manufacture using standard programming and/or engineering techniques to produce software, firmware, hardware, or any combination thereof. The described operations may be implemented 30 as code maintained in a “non-transitory computer readable medium”, where a processor may read and execute the code from the computer readable medium. The processor is at least one of a microprocessor and a processor capable of processing and executing the queries. A non-transitory computer readable medium may include media such as magnetic storage medium
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(e.g., hard disk drives, floppy disks, tape, etc.), optical storage (CD-ROMs, DVDs, optical disks, etc.), volatile and non-volatile memory devices (e.g., EEPROMs, ROMs, PROMs, RAMs, DRAMs, SRAMs, Flash Memory, firmware, programmable logic, etc.), etc. Further, non-transitory computer-readable media include all computer-readable media except for a transitory. The code implementing the described operations may further be implemented in hardware logic 5 (e.g., an integrated circuit chip, Programmable Gate Array (PGA), Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), etc.).
[062] The terms “an embodiment”, “embodiment”, “embodiments”, “the embodiment”, “the embodiments”, “one or more embodiments”, “some embodiments”, and “one embodiment” 10 mean “one or more (but not all) embodiments of the invention(s)” unless expressly specified otherwise.
[063] The terms “including”, “comprising”, “having” and variations thereof mean “including but not limited to”, unless expressly specified otherwise. 15
[064] The enumerated listing of items does not imply that any or all of the items are mutually exclusive, unless expressly specified otherwise.
[065] The terms “a”, “an” and “the” mean “one or more”, unless expressly specified otherwise. 20
[066] A description of an embodiment with several components in communication with each other does not imply that all such components are required. On the contrary, a variety of optional components are described to illustrate the wide variety of possible embodiments of the invention. 25
[067] When a single device or article is described herein, it will be readily apparent that more than one device/article (whether or not they cooperate) may be used in place of a single device/article. Similarly, where more than one device or article is described herein (whether or not they cooperate), it will be readily apparent that a single device/article may be used in place 30 of the more than one device or article, or a different number of devices/articles may be used instead of the shown number of devices or programs. The functionality and/or the features of a device may be alternatively embodied by one or more other devices which are not explicitly
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described as having such functionality/features. Thus, other embodiments of the invention need not include the device itself.
[068] The illustrated operations of Figure 3 show certain events occurring in a certain order. In alternative embodiments, certain operations may be performed in a different order, modified, 5 or removed. Moreover, steps may be added to the above-described logic and still conform to the described embodiments. Further, operations described herein may occur sequentially or certain operations may be processed in parallel. Yet further, operations may be performed by a single processing unit or by distributed processing units.
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[069] Finally, the language used in the specification has been principally selected for readability and instructional purposes, and it may not have been selected to delineate or circumscribe the inventive subject matter. It is therefore intended that the scope of the invention be limited not by this detailed description, but rather by any claims that issue on an application based here on. Accordingly, the disclosure of the embodiments of the invention is intended to 15 be illustrative, but not limiting, of the scope of the invention, which is set forth in the following claims.
[070] While various aspects and embodiments have been disclosed herein, other aspects and embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art. The various aspects and embodiments 20 disclosed herein are for purposes of illustration and are not intended to be limiting, with the true scope being indicated by the following claims.
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REFERRAL NUMERALS:
Reference number
Description
100
Environment
101
Blower controlling system
103
Processor
105
Memory
107
I/O Interface
109
PID Controller
111
Communication network
113
Sinter cooler
115
At least one blower
201
Data
203
Sinter data
205
RPM data
207
Miscellaneous data
211
Modules
213
Receiving module
215
Determining module
217
Miscellaneous modules
400
Computer system
401
I/O interface
402
Processor
403
Network interface
404
Storage interface
405
Memory
406
User interface
407
Operating system
408
Web browser
412
Input devices
413
Output devices , Claims:We claim:
1. A method for optimizing energy utilization of blowers (115) of a sinter cooler (113), the method comprising:
receiving (301) a plurality of parameters of a sinter in each segment of the sinter cooler 5 (113) from one or more sources;
determining (303) real-time temperature profile of the sinter in each segment of the sinter cooler (113) based on the plurality of parameters of the sinter;
determining (305) optimal differential pressure below the sinter cooler (113) based on the real-time temperature profile of the sinter in each segment of the sinter cooler (113); and 10
controlling (307) Revolutions Per Minute (RPM) of at least one blower (115) of the sinter cooler (113) based on the optimal differential pressure to optimize energy utilization of at least one blower (115).
2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the plurality of parameters comprises an 15 input sinter temperature, a sinter cooler speed, a sinter cooler measured differential pressure, a sinter cooler bed voidage, an input sinter cooler diameter, a sinter cooler height, and a sinter cooling area.
3. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the one or more sources comprise input 20 sinter temperature sensor, a sinter cooler speed sensor, a sinter cooler pressure sensor, and a sinter cooler bed voidage sensor.
4. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein determining the real-time temperature profile of the sinter based on the plurality of parameters comprising: 25
calculating transport of gas based on the plurality of parameters of the sinter to determine at least one of velocity of each segment of the sinter cooler (113), pressure on the sinter and bulk density of the sinter;
calculating heat transfer coefficient based on at least one of the velocity of each segment of the sinter cooler (113), the pressure on the sinter and the bulk density of the sinter to 30 determine a temperature of gas emanating from the sinter; and
calculating temperature of the sinter based on the temperature of gas emanating from the sinter to determine real-time temperature profile of the sinter.
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5. A blower controlling system (101) for optimizing energy utilization of blowers (115) of a sinter cooler (113), the blower controlling system (101) comprising:
a processor (103);
a memory (105) communicatively coupled to the processor, wherein the processor is configured to: 5
receive a plurality of parameters of a sinter in each segment of the sinter cooler (113) from one or more sources;
determine real-time temperature profile of the sinter in each segment of the sinter cooler (113) based on the plurality of parameters of the sinter;
determine optimal differential pressure below the sinter cooler (113) based on 10 the real-time temperature profile of the sinter in each segment of the sinter cooler (113); and
a Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID) controller (109) communicatively coupled to the processor (103), the PID controller (109) is configured to:
control Revolutions Per Minute (RPM) of at least one blower (115) of the sinter 15 cooler (115) based on the optimal differential pressure to optimize energy utilization of at least one blower (115).
6. The blower controlling system (101) as claimed in claim 5, wherein the plurality of parameters comprises an input sinter temperature, a sinter cooler speed, a sinter cooler 20 measured differential pressure, a sinter cooler bed voidage, an input sinter cooler diameter, a sinter cooler height, and a sinter cooling area.
7. The blower controlling system (101) as claimed in claim 5, wherein the one or more sources comprise input sinter temperature sensor, a sinter cooler speed sensor, a sinter cooler 25 pressure sensor, and a sinter cooler bed voidage sensor.
8. The blower controlling system (101) as claimed in claim 5, wherein the processor (103) is configured to:
calculate transport of gas based on the plurality of parameters of the sinter to determine 30 at least one of velocity of each segment of the sinter cooler (113), pressure on the sinter and bulk density of the sinter;
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calculate heat transfer coefficient based on at least one of the velocity of each segment of the sinter cooler (113), the pressure on the sinter and the bulk density of the sinter to determine a temperature of gas emanating from the sinter; and
calculate temperature of the sinter based on the temperature of gas emanating from the sinter to determine real-time temperature profile of the sinter.