Slurry drier for cement plants

Oct. 11, 1938.

A. A. CHANEY 2,132,984

SLURRY DRIER FOR CEMENT PLANTS

Filed May 22, 1934 3 Sheets-Sheet 1

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ATTORNEY

Oct. 11, 1938. _A * ^{A A} chaney 2,132,98^

SLURRY DRIER FOR CEMENT PLANTS

Filed May ₂₂, 1934 3 Sheets-Sheet 2

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ATTORNEY

Oct. 11, 1938.

A. A. CHANEY

SLURRY DRIER FOR CEMENT PLANTS Filed May 22, 1934

2,132,984

Sheets-Sheet 3

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BY

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ATTORNEY

Patented Oct. 11, 1938

2,132,984

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE

2,132,984 SLURRY DRIER FOR CEMENT PLANTS Alpha A. Chaney, Fort Worth, Tex.

Application May 22, 1934, Serial No. 726,893 (Cl. 159—9)

Claims.

This invention relates to the manufacture of cement and it has particular reference to machinery especially adapted to operate between a kiln arid its stack wherein slurry, or hydraulic 5 cement, can be dried and pre-heated prior to its introduction into the kiln and its principal object resides in the provision Of a combination of elements whereby such slurry can be slowly passed through a process of dehydration and heating by 10 bringing the material into contact with the hot blast which emanates from the kiln and escapes through the stack into the atmosphere and is thereby wasted.

Another object Of the invention is manifest in 1⁵ the provision of such an arrangement of mechanical elements as will be capable of so handling the slurry as to minimize the moisture content of the mixture to the extent that the latter requires the minimum of treatment after the same has been -0 delivered to the kiln and, since the subjection of the material to the excess heat or hot blast passing from the kiln into the stack substantially dries the mixture, a great saving in fuel consumption can be realized. The manifestation of a 25 saving in fuel consumption is also due to the fact that the slurry is pre-heated prior to its passage into the kiln.

A still further Object of the invention resides in the provision of mechanism, as described in the ³⁰ foregoing, capable of affording greater facilities whereby production can be increased and at a saving in time, as well as other important items attendant upon the production of cement.

While the foregoing objects are paramount ³⁵ other and lesser objects will become manifest as the description proceeds, taken in connection with the appended drawings wherein:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of the invention, having portions cut away, illustrating the ⁴⁰ maimer in which the apparatus is installed between the kiln and the stack and showing the revolving tables and feeding arrangement.

Figure 2 is a plan view of the invention as ,- shown in Figure 1, as viewed when the top or upper portion is removed, and illustrating the driving inechanism for the revolving tables and the feeding apparatus, and showing the spirallike scraper blade.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary view of the mariner in which the ririgs or ririi members of the tables are supported.

Figure 4 -Shows the invention in* elevation frorii the side normally facing the kilri, as shown in 55 Figure 1, arid illustrating the coriveyor, as well as the revolving tables driving mechanism, arid the spiral-like scraper blade, and

Figure 5 is a fragmentary elevational view of ^;the conveyor Chain, buckets arid sprocket for driving same. 5

In the manufacture of cement there are at least two methods of preparing the same for use as such arid which consist, in substance, of grinding the rock and burning in a kiln and, by grinding the rock to a finely divided mass and mixing 10 the material with water. The present invention is designed for use under the conditions last mentioned, that of producing cement from a wet mixture.

Under certain conditions it is found most de- 15 sirable to make use of the so-called wet mixture to obtain the best results. This fact, however, is well known in the aft and it is thought unnecessary to here Cite the advantages of either method of production. 20

It has beeri found, however, that in the use of the method wherein the mixture is introduced to the kiln in a wet state a tremendous amount of heat is necessary to properly dry and then burn the material to produce a high grade product and 25 it follows that when this great amount of heat is required much of its usefulness is lost through the stack. It is, therefore, the primary purpose of this invention to make use of this energy by Subjecting the slurry mixture to its drying and 30 heating possibilities and thus take advantage of the saying which would result.

Accordingly, the invention consists primarily of a housing i, illustrated more in detail in Figure -2, which is strengthened on all of its sides by 35 supports 2 preferably in the form of I-beams. -It is not intended that the walls of the housing I should be arranged in any particular manner but the illustration in Figure 2 is deemed to serve the purpose in a satisfactory manner and, for the 40 sake of clarity, such a structure is herein described.

Situated within the housing I and arranged in conceritric relationship to the walls thereof are a multiplicity of bands or rings 3 preferably L- 45 Shaped in cross-section, such as angle irons, and which are supported at numerous points around their circumference by vertical supports 4, preferably in the form of I-beams, as shown particularly in Figure 2. Each of the rings 3 are 50 individually secured to the supports 4 in a manner shown in Figure 3 which consists in attaching the ring 3 to the supports 4 by means of a bolt 5, or the like, arid a spacer 6. This arrangement Wil retain the rings 3 in their proper 55

2,132.984 position, their function to be presently described. The rings 3 do not form a complete circle, as shown in Figure 2, for reasons which will become manifest shortly in the herein description.

Concentrically arranged within the rings 3, that is to say, axially with respect thereto, is a vertical shaft 7 which is mounted in bearings 8 and 9, the bearing 8 being secured in the top of the frame work 2 and the bearing 9 is disposed 10 at the bottom of the assembly as particularly illustrated in Figure 1. Mounted securely upon the shaft· 7 is a series of disk-like tables 10 which are capable of revolving with the shaft 7 and whose outer peripheries extend beneath the lat15 erally extending flange a of the rings 3, as illustrated in Figure 3.

Attention is directed to the fact that each of the rings 3 do not extend completely around the shaft 7, as shown in Figure 4, for the reason that 20 a means must be provided on one side of the assembly to permit any commodity of material placed on the said tables 10 to be dislodged therefrom, a more detailed description of this function will Become manifest in another part of this 25 specification.

As exemplified in Figures 1 and 4, the rings 3 and the tables 10 are arranged one upon the other, or in superimposed relationship, and a plurality of such rings 3 and tables 10 are illus30 trated. Each of the tables 10 are provided with feeders I 1 which are in turn provided with cylindrical members 12 extending horizontally toward the shaft 7 over each of the tables 10 and within which are rotating flight conveyors 13. 35 Feed pipes 12 extending from a feeder box 15 afford a communication between the said box 15 and the tables 10, as illustrated in Figures 1 and 4. An agitator 16, such as a flight conveyor, or the like, is mounted for rotation within the feeder 40 box 15, as shown in Figure 4, to agitate and properly distribute the mixture as the latter is passed therethrough. A series of valves 17 in the pipes 14 regulate the flow of the mixture from the feeder box 15 to the tables 10.

,.-, Each of the tables 10 are provided with hubs 18, the latter being secured to the shaft 7 in a manner shown in Figure 1. These hubs 18 are provided to support the tables 10 and the weight which they are designed to carry and which will 50 be presently described. Securely attached at b at one side of each of the rings 3 is, a curved knife, or scraper 19, which extends substantially spirally over the surface of the table 10 as shown in Figure 2, and terminates on the opposite side 55 of the shaft Ί from the opening provided in the rings 3, previously described. It must be remembered that the scrapers 19 are stationary, being securely attached at b to the rings 3 which are also stationary, but their opposite ends are co free and terminate, as previously stated, on the opposite side of the shaft 7 from the openings in the rings 3. The purpose of this scraper 10 will become manifest as the description proceeds. Each of the feeders 11 are driven by pinion 20

C„5 and a bevelled gear 21.

The series of bevelled gears 21 are rigidly mounted upon a vertical shaft 22 which is supported by an I-beam 23 and driven by a bevelled gear 24, situated near the bottom of the assem70 bly, as shown in Figure 1, and driven by a motor 25, or the like, as shown in Figure 2. The function, of course, of the shaft 22, bevelled gears 21 and pinions 20 is to bring about the rotation of the flight conveyor I3 arranged within the cylin.75 drical member 12, previously described. It is also pointed out that the cylindrical members 12 which extend horizontally along the surface of the tables 10 are provided with slots 26 which extend from the point c where the cylindrical members 12 reach the edge of the tables 10 and 5 diverges toward the end thereof at d. This arrangement is shown in Figure 2, and the function of this slot 26 will be later described.

Situated near the bottom of the shaft 7 and securely fixed thereto is a relatively large bevelled 10 gear 27, as shown in Figure 1, which rotates the shaft 7 through a bevelled pinion 28 and the shaft 29 driven by a motor 30 through a series of reducing assemblies 31, as illustrated in Figures 2 and 4. The reducing assemblies 31 are 15 optional, although considered desirable in the operation of the herein described invention. It is found that best results can be obtained by rotating the tables 10 very slowly.

As previously stated, the invention is primarily 20 designed for the purpose of drying slurry or hydraulic cement, it being found desirable, in some cases, to manufacture cement in this manner in order to bring about a close co-mingling of the ingredients and in order to reduce materially the 25 fuel consumption necessary for drying and burning the mixture, it is necessary to provide some means of dehydrating the said mixture prior to its introduction into the kiln. Thus such material is delivered from tanks or vats (not shown) 30 to the feeder box 15 from which it is delivered through the conduits or feeder pipes 14 to the tables 10 through the feeders 11 and the cylindrical members 12, previously described, and evenly distributed thereby over the surface of the disk- 35 like tables 10.

As the slurry passes through the pipes 14, the volume of which can be controlled by the valves 17, it is deposited in the feeders 11, illustrated in Figure ! from where it is carried by flight conveyors 13 through the cylindrical members 12 and deposited through the slot 26 onto the tables 10 as the latter rotate. As previously mentioned, the slot 26 diverges from its beginning at c in the cylindrical member 12 to the end of the latter at ₄₅d thus affording a proper and even distribution of the material over the surface of the tables 10.

As the tables 10 are caused to rotate very slowly, requiring approximately thirty minutes for each complete rotation thereof, the mixture ₅₀is subjected to a very severe heat passing from the kiln 32 to the stack 33 through the assembly just described which is situated intermediate the kiln 32 and the stack 33 in the manner illustrated in Figures 1 and 2. 55

After the material is deposited on the tables 10, the latter rotating in an anti-clockwise direction, as illustrated by the arrows in Figure 2, the knives or scrapers 19, due to their peculiar spiral-like shape, gradually urge the material ₀₀towards the outer periphery of the tables 10, and at the point of opening in the rings 3, previously described, the material leaves the tables 10 and drops into a trough-like depository 34, illustrated by dotted lines in Figure 1, and which extends ₆₅crosswise to the assembly with respect to the kiln 32, and adjacent to the bottom of the housing I, through which a chain conveyor 35 operates over sprocket 36 carrying buckets 37 attached at intervals thereto, as shown in Figure 5, 70 Which latter pick up the substantially dry or dehydrated material and carry it to a point above the approximate center of the assembly at e and deposits the same in the hopper 38 where the material drops through a chute 39 into the kiln 75

2,132,984

32, as shown in Figure 1. By the time the material reaches the hopper 38 and is passed through the chute 39 approximately all of the moisture has been driven therefrom and thus it requires 5 Jess heat to properly burn the same in its final process in the kiln 32.

The hot blast from the kiln that it is herein proposed to make use of emanates from the mouth of the kiln 32 and passes through the hous10 ing I between the table 10 and rings 3, in the manner shown by the arrows in Figure 1, and contacts the material deposited upon the tables 10. A baffle 40 is arranged in the mouth of the kiln 32, as shown by the dotted lines in Figure 1, 15 and another baffle 31 is positioned on the opposite side of the assembly adjacent to the opening 42 into the stack 33. The baffle 31 extends some distance under one of the rings 3 and the tables 10 to deflect the hot blast, passing in the direc20 tion of the arrows previously referred to, back through the assembly toward the side adjacent to the kiln 32, again passing between the tables ! 8 and out through the opening 42 in the stack 33. In this manner the full benefit of the heat 25 emanating from the kiln is taken advantage of to dry out and preheat the slurry before the same is delivered into- the kiln by the conveyor assembly 35, 36, and 37, and the chute 39.

Again referring to the rings 3, the primary pur30 pose of these members is to retain the material on the tables 10 in their. rotation, yet allowing the latter to freely rotate under them to move the mixture slowly within the confines of the housing I until it Is dislodged from the tables 10 by the 35 scraper 19 which is formed in such a manner as to graduate the material toward the outer periphery of the tables 10 and are preferably set at an angle with respect to the upper surface in Figures 2 and 4, the lowermost edge of which 40 is designated as f.

Having further reference to the conveyor assembly 35, 36 and 37, it is pointed out that four sprockets 36 are utilized, two of which are mount ed in the upper frame work of the assembly and others in the lowermost portion thereof, as illustrated in Figures 1 and 4.

Although the invention has been described with great particularity, it is manifest that certain 5 changes and modifications may be resorted to from time to time by those versed in the art and such changes and modifications being considered within the scope of the appended claims.