JPH0130947B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a processing apparatus for linear or sheet-like objects.

More specifically, it has an opening through which a linear or sheet-shaped object to be processed is continuously introduced and taken out, and inside the processing device, the object to be processed is subjected to some kind of processing under pressure or reduced pressure. For example, it relates to a processing apparatus that performs processing under heat, and in particular, it is necessary to seal the opening without contacting the object due to the nature of the object to be processed, such as fibers. , heat treatment furnaces and drying furnaces for yarns, filamentous materials, fabrics, felts, films, etc., as well as firing furnaces, preheating furnaces, etc. for producing carbon fibers, graphitized fibers, etc. (hereinafter collectively referred to as heat treatment furnaces) This relates to a processing device for linear or sheet-like materials, as typified by the above.

(Prior Art) Generally, in the heat treatment furnace as described above, the workpiece is subjected to some kind of high-temperature treatment, for example, in a pressurized furnace using air, steam, or other gas as a heat medium. Firing, drying, stretching, heat setting, etc. are performed.

At that time, a resistance is provided at the opening of the heat treatment furnace that is provided for introducing and extracting the material to be treated into the furnace, so that air can flow into the furnace or medium gas can flow from inside the furnace. By sealing the furnace to minimize the outflow, the pressure inside the furnace can be maintained at an appropriate level, the temperature inside the furnace can be optimized and uniform, and high-quality processed materials can be obtained. is normal.
Of course, the sealing of such openings not only improves the quality mentioned above, but also immediately leads to energy saving, gas saving, and cost reduction, and has a great industrial significance.

Conventionally, a labyrinth seal mechanism has been widely used to seal the opening of this type of heat treatment furnace without contacting the object to be treated.

A labyrinth seal device generally consists of a partition plate arranged perpendicular to the direction in which gas is to flow (generally the same direction as the passing direction of the processed material) and a groove space partitioned by this partition plate. The pressure loss generated for each partition plate acts as a resistance to the gas flow, reducing the amount of gas flowing out and entering.

In such conventionally used labyrinth seals, the groove spaces are arranged continuously in a direction perpendicular to the passing direction of the object to be processed, and a portion of the outflow/inflow gas flows along the groove spaces. It flows and hits the object to be processed at right angles to its direction of movement, which disturbs the object and causes it to flutter, causing the object to come into contact with the partition plate and damage it, resulting in lower quality. On the other hand, in order to avoid such inconveniences, it is necessary to widen the distance between the labyrinth seal's partition plate and the workpiece. This led to a decrease in effectiveness. Due to these points, labyrinth seals can be made wider and have more stages, but in general, the labyrinth seal device itself is expensive to manufacture due to the formation of partition plates and grooves, and is heavy, so It has drawbacks such as poor operability when passing through or when trouble occurs, and the equipment is large-scale. However, there are many limitations on widening and multi-stage processing, and the problem of not being able to seal sufficiently to achieve the important objective of efficiently obtaining high-quality processed materials remains unresolved. It was something that existed in

Of course, the above-mentioned problems regarding the sealing mechanism also exist in processing apparatuses that perform some processing not only under pressure but also under reduced pressure.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) In view of the above-mentioned points, an object of the present invention is to improve the shortcomings of the conventional sealing technology, and in particular, to improve the drawbacks of the conventional sealing technology. A linear object that has significantly improved sealing performance at the opening, which is necessary to obtain high-quality and high-grade processing results when processing the object under pressure or reduced pressure in a processing device. Another object of the present invention is to provide a processing apparatus for sheet-like materials.

(Means for Solving the Problems) A linear or sheet-like material processing apparatus of the present invention that achieves the above object has the following configuration.

In other words, it is a processing device that processes a linear or sheet-shaped processed object under pressure or reduced pressure, and the opening through which the processed object passes has the following (a) to (c). This is a processing apparatus for linear or sheet-like objects, characterized by being provided with a non-contact sealing device having the following configuration.

(a) a first direction that is substantially the same direction as the direction in which the object to be processed passes through a cell whose space is two-dimensionally partitioned by a partition material; and a second direction that is not substantially the same direction. (b) a panel that closes one side of the cell material; and (c) opening of the cell. A non-contact method in which the surfaces are opposed to each other and a gap is formed between the opposing open surfaces so that the object to be processed can pass through without contacting the partition material, and are arranged in a pair. type sealing device.

More preferably, as a non-contact sealing device in the processing apparatus, the cell members arranged in pairs are arranged so that the partitioning materials forming a large number of cells are substantially aligned with each other. It is made up of a configuration in which the two faces face each other.

Further preferred embodiments of the present invention will become apparent in turn as the description follows.

(Example and operation) Hereinafter, the linear or sheet-like material processing apparatus of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the drawings and the like.

FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate a preferred embodiment of the processing apparatus of the present invention, and particularly show the vicinity of the non-contact sealing part as the main part, and FIG. 1 shows the vicinity of the non-contact seal part. FIG. 2 is a schematic longitudinal cross-sectional view taken along the Z-Z arrow in FIG. 1.

In FIGS. 1 and 2, a workpiece 1 is introduced into a processing apparatus, such as a heat treatment furnace 2, through a furnace opening 2a, and is subjected to a desired treatment under pressure or reduced pressure. A non-contact type sealing device 10 is provided in the furnace opening 2a, and the sealing device 10 two-dimensionally partitions the space between partition members 11a,
The cell 12 partitioned by the cell 11b is substantially continuous in two directions: a first direction that is substantially the same direction as the direction A in which the object to be processed 1 passes, and a second direction that is not substantially the same direction. A cell member 4 comprising a plurality of cell materials 3 and a panel 13 that closes one side of the cell material 3.
The open surfaces of the cells 12 are opposed to each other, and a gap ε is formed between the opposing open surfaces so that the workpiece 1 can pass through without contacting the partition members 11a and 11b. It is arranged in a shape.

The cell member 4 is provided with a side plate 14 on the side surface and a front plate 15 on the front surface, and the depth of the cell is practically equal to the partition material depth h.

The shape of the cells 12 partitioned by the partitioning material is not particularly limited, such as circular, polygonal, circular or polygonal shapes of mixed sizes, but from the viewpoint of ease of manufacture, it may be continuous or discontinuous. It is convenient to construct a partition material consisting of a partition plate having a parallel part and at least one partition plate arranged in a direction intersecting the partition plate, as shown in Fig. 2. A hexagonal shape, a rectangular shape as shown in FIGS. 3A and B, etc. are preferable, or commercially available honeycomb materials made of aluminum, asbestos, PVC, ceramics, etc. can be used to easily form the desired cell material 3. It can be configured. If the panel 13, side plate 14, and front plate 15 are also made of appropriate plates such as metal or plastic, and are bonded together with the honeycomb material using a heat-resistant adhesive, it is desirable for sealing, and weight and cost reductions can be achieved.

In configuring the present sealing device 10, the cell members arranged in pairs are arranged so that the partition members forming a large number of cells face each other in substantially the same positional relationship. In addition, the partitioning material may be constructed so that at least a portion thereof has a side portion perpendicular to the gas flow, that is, the partitioning material may be arranged in the manner as illustrated in FIG. This is desirable in order to further enhance the sealing effect.

In addition, if the sealing device 10 can be divided into upper and lower halves, and one cell member is fixed to the heat treatment furnace 2 while the other is configured to be rotatable with a hinge or the like, the workpiece can be It has operational advantages such as being easy to introduce and extract from the heat treatment furnace 2 and easy to remove from the treatment system.

In the above embodiment, according to the findings of the present inventors, the narrower the gap ε (mm) between opposing partition materials, the greater the sealing effect, and it is preferable to set it to at least 20 mm or less, and furthermore, a partition plate having parallel parts is used. In some cases, it is preferable to configure the parallel side spacing S (mm) and partition plate depth h (mm) having parallel parts shown in FIGS. 3A and B to satisfy the following formulas (a) and (b). .

(a) 0.1<h/S<0.4 (b) 5/8・ε+5<S</8・ε+30 Regarding equations (a) and (b), not only the case of the rectangular cell shown in Fig. 3, Of course, this applies to all cell shapes having parallel parts, such as hexagonal shapes. In addition, the above equations (a) and (b) do not exist not only in the side 11a perpendicular to the direction of gas flow, but also in the direction perpendicular to the direction of gas flow, such as 11b in Fig. 3. It can also be applied to parallel sides, and by configuring it in this way, even higher sealing effects can be obtained.

In addition, especially when the thickness of the workpiece 1 is so thick that it cannot be ignored with respect to the partition material gap ε, the gap between the workpiece 1 and the partition material is considered to be 1/2ε, and the above formula is satisfied. It is recommended to configure

FIG. 4 is for explaining another preferred embodiment of the processing apparatus of the present invention, and shows the vicinity of the non-contact seal portion as the main part, similar to FIG. 1. That is, in the embodiment shown in FIG.
When the gap ε between the opposing partition materials is narrowed in order to increase the sealing effect, the workpiece 1 is separated from the partition material 1.
1a and 11b and are likely to be damaged by contact with the objects 1a and 11b, a necessary number of at least one pair of opposing guides 16 are provided in a direction substantially perpendicular to the traveling direction of the object 1, as shown in FIG. , the guide gap ε' is made smaller than the partition material gap ε, and in this way, the sealing effect is further improved. In this case, it is preferable that the guide 16 be made of ceramic having a small coefficient of friction, or made of metal with a satin-plated finish. FIG. 4 shows a case where such guides 16 are provided at each of the inlet and outlet of the seal portion.

Furthermore, FIG. 5 is for explaining another preferred embodiment of the processing apparatus of the present invention, and also shows the vicinity of the non-contact type seal part as the main part.

In the figure, the back side (panel part) of the cell 12
is composed of a porous body 17, and a space 18 is formed on the back surface of the cell, so that fluid can be supplied or removed from the back surface of the cell through the porous body 17, or both functions can be performed. It is something. In such an embodiment, it is generally preferable to supply fluid when the pressure inside the furnace is higher than atmospheric pressure, and to remove the fluid when it is lower than atmospheric pressure. ,
It is also possible to actively create a flow in the direction opposite to the inflow/outflow gas flow at the opening. As the porous body 17, it is preferable to use a material having a rectifying effect, such as punching metal, wire mesh, porous metal, or the like.
Further, in the above embodiment, the entire back surface of the cell is made of the porous material 17, but in some cases, only a part of the panel may be made of the porous material, and only the porous part can be A fluid may be applied as shown in FIG.

In all the embodiments described above, the sealing device 1
0 is shown as an example in which the opening 2a is attached to the outside of the furnace, but depending on the case, it may be attached to the inside of the furnace or both sides.

Further, in the above-mentioned embodiment, a case is shown in which the workpiece 1 is introduced into and out of the processing apparatus in the horizontal direction, but the processing apparatus of the present invention is effective regardless of the direction in which the workpiece 1 is introduced and taken out. In particular, when the workpiece is introduced and taken out in a vertical direction, it is effective in eliminating and reducing the chimney effect of the atmosphere gas in the furnace (a phenomenon in which fluid leaks upward due to the difference in density of the fluid). But it exerts great power.

Hereinafter, the sealing performance of the processing apparatus of the present invention will be specifically explained using graphs showing example data for confirming the effect.

FIG. 6 shows the device of the present invention using the hexagonal cells shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, in which the seal portion length: L = 100 mm and the seal portion width: W = 850 mm. Partition material gap ε (mm)
is fixed at ε = 5 mm, room temperature air is used, and the difference ΔP between the furnace pressure and atmospheric pressure is 10 mmAq, the leakage wind speed u at the seal part and the honeycomb depth (depth of the partition plate) h (mm) and parallel side spacing S (mm)
This figure shows the relationship between h/S and the ratio h/S. The parameter of the graph is the parallel side spacing S, and the above relationship is shown for three types of cell sizes (same shapes).

As is clear from this graph, the parallel side spacing S
Regardless of the value, when the h/S value is in the shaded area in the figure, that is, approximately 0.1 < h/S < 0.4, the leakage wind speed is the lowest, and therefore the sealing ability is the highest. It is something. According to the findings of the present inventors, this relationship also holds true when the partition material gap ε and the differential pressure ΔP are used as parameters, and in particular, as shown in FIG. 6,
The highest sealing performance is shown when h/S≒0.25 is set.

Figure 7 shows h/
When S is set to the above-mentioned optimum value of 0.25 and the partition material gap ε is set to three types: 2 mm, 5 mm, and 10 mm, the leakage wind speed value u when the difference between the furnace pressure and atmospheric pressure ΔP = 10 mmAq is The results are summarized in the relationship between the gap ε and the ratio ε/S of the parallel side spacing S. In the figure, the data when ε/S=0 is for the panel with l=100 mm. This is the wind speed value when only one is attached to the furnace. As can be seen from this graph, for each gap value ε (mm), ε/S
There is a preferable range for the value for sealing, that is, when the gap ε is determined, the parallel side spacing S
(mm) value also determines a preferable range. Based on the various findings of the present inventors and the data shown in Figure 7, the S (mm) value should be within the range expressed by the following formula: 5/8・ε+5<S<5/8・ε+30 is essential.

Such a region is shown in FIG. 8 as a hatched region with ε on the X axis and S on the Y axis. In the same region, the plot point marked with an x mark is ε = 2 in the graph of Fig. 7.
This corresponds to the plot point showing the lowest wind speed value in each case of mm, 5 mm, and 10 mm.

FIG. 9 is a graph illustrating an example of the effect of the present invention with respect to various differential pressure values ΔP, using a hexagonal cell shape, a partition material gap ε=5 mm, and the above-mentioned ε value. The S value within the optimal range of the parallel side spacing S of the street is set to S = 25 mm, and from the relationship h/S≒0.25, the partition plate depth h is set to h = 6.3 mm, and the seal This figure shows the relationship between the differential pressure ΔP and the leakage air flow velocity u when the length l=100 mm and the seal width W=850 mm. In the same graph, ×
The plot point marked with a mark indicates the case where the air flow is perpendicular to the parallel side of the hexagonal cell (11a in Figure 2), and the plot point marked with △ indicates the case where the air flow is perpendicular to the parallel side of the hexagonal cell (11a in Fig. 2). A case is shown in which the airflow is configured to flow in parallel directions. The plot points marked with ○ indicate the wind speed when no sealing mechanism is provided and the gap between the furnace openings is set to 5 mm in accordance with the above-mentioned partition material gap value. As is clear from this graph, for example, when the differential pressure ΔP is 10 mmAq, the leakage wind speed without a sealing mechanism is
9.7 m/sec, whereas in the case of the device of the present invention, it is 5.5 m/sec, and the effect of reducing leakage air by the present invention is 40% or more. It is also understood that the cell members are preferably arranged so that parallel sides are provided in the direction in which the air flow hits at right angles.

Figure 10 shows a comparison with a conventional labyrinth seal mechanism as another example showing the effects of the device of the present invention, where the cell shape is hexagonal and ε=2 mm. The opening width direction is 100 mm in the case of the present invention device with the optimum partition material dimensions, that is, S = 22 mm and h = 5.5 mm, and the case of using the conventional labyrinth seal device with the same S and h dimensions. This figure shows the air flow velocity V in the width direction that occurs with respect to the differential pressure ΔP'. For example, if a processing pressure fluctuation ΔP' of 2 mmAq occurs at a point 100 cm wide in the width direction at room temperature, if a conventional labyrinth seal mechanism is used, the groove space in the labyrinth seal is oriented in the radial direction without any partition. Since it is continuous, the air flow velocity V in the width direction is as high as 9.5 m/sec, but in the case of the present invention, the air flow is only 1.5 m/sec. , 2 in the present invention
This clearly shows the dimensional seal effect.

(Effects) As explained above, when some kind of processing is to be carried out under pressure or reduced pressure, the apparatus according to the present invention can be used to seal the opening of the processing apparatus.
Since it adopts a two-dimensional sealing mechanism, it also exhibits a labyrinth effect in the width direction, and can significantly reduce turbulence caused by outflow and inflow gas flows to the workpiece. It can reduce the damage that objects receive from the partition material, or it can narrow the gap between the partition materials, and when these effects work together, it is possible to achieve a higher sealing effect than when using a conventional labyrinth seal mechanism. It is something.

In addition, especially if the cell material is made of a honeycomb material that is generally available on the market, a simple and lightweight sealing mechanism can be provided, and in the device of the present invention having such a sealing mechanism, it is easy to make the sealing mechanism multistage and wide. Therefore, in this respect as well, in combination with the inherent high sealing effect as described above, a significantly higher sealing effect can be achieved.

Of course, by using the processing apparatus of the present invention with such a high sealing effect, processing can be stably performed under desired processing conditions, and high-quality processed products can be stably produced. And energy saving,
This provides a great industrial advantage in that gas savings can also be achieved.

In the processing apparatus of the present invention, the fluid to be sealed is not particularly limited, and the present invention can be applied to any so-called fluid such as gas, liquid, steam, etc., and the desired effect can be achieved. can be achieved.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate a preferred embodiment of the processing apparatus of the present invention, and particularly show the vicinity of the non-contact seal part as the main part, and FIG. 1 shows the vicinity of the non-contact seal part. FIG. 2 is a schematic longitudinal cross-sectional view taken along the Z-Z arrow in FIG. 1. FIGS. 3A and 3B show an example of the cell shape of the cell material used in the present invention. Fourth
The drawings and FIG. 5 are for explaining another preferable embodiment of the processing apparatus of the present invention, and show the vicinity of the non-contact type seal portion as the main part, as in FIG. 1. FIG. 6, FIG. 7, FIG. 8, FIG. 9, and FIG. 10 are graphs showing example data for confirming the effectiveness of the sealing performance of the opening in the processing apparatus of the present invention. Explanation of symbols in the drawings: 1: Workpiece, 2: Furnace,
2a: furnace opening, 3: cell material, 4: cell member,
10: Non-contact sealing device, 11a, 11b:
Partition material, 12: cell, 13: panel, 14: side plate, 15: front plate, 16: guide, 17: porous body, 18: space, A: direction in which the processed material passes (first direction) , ε: partition material gap, ε': guide gap, h: partition material depth, S: parallel side spacing, l: seal length, W: seal width.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A linear or sheet-shaped object to be processed passing through,
In a processing device that processes under pressure or reduced pressure, the opening through which the object to be processed passes must have the following (a)
A processing apparatus for linear or sheet-like objects, characterized in that it is equipped with a non-contact sealing device having the configuration of (c). (a) a first direction that is substantially the same direction as the direction in which the object to be processed passes through a cell whose space is two-dimensionally partitioned by a partition material; and a second direction that is not substantially the same direction. (b) a panel that closes one side of the cell material; and (c) opening of the cell. A non-contact method in which the surfaces are opposed to each other and a gap is formed between the opposing open surfaces so that the object to be processed can pass through without contacting the partition material, and are arranged in a pair. type sealing device. 2. Claim No. 2 characterized in that cell members arranged in pairs have partition members forming a large number of cells facing each other in a substantially coincident positional relationship. The apparatus for processing linear or sheet-like materials according to item 1. 3. The partitioning material of the non-contact sealing device is composed of a partitioning plate having continuous or discontinuous parallel parts and at least one partitioning plate arranged in a direction intersecting the partitioning plate. An apparatus for processing linear or sheet-like materials according to claim 1, characterized in that: 4. The non-contact seal portion has at least one pair of opposing guides in a direction substantially perpendicular to the passing direction of the object to be processed, and the gap ε' between the pair of guides is a partition between opposing cell members. Material gap ε
2. The apparatus for processing linear or sheet-like objects according to claim 1, wherein the processing apparatus is smaller than the above. 5. The linear object or sheet according to claim 1, wherein the panel that closes one side of the cell material is made of a porous material, and fluid is supplied or removed through the panel and the cells. equipment for processing objects. 6 Partition material gap ε between opposing cell members
(mm), the parallel side spacing S (mm) of a partition plate with continuous or discontinuous parallel parts, and the partition plate depth h (mm) satisfy the following equations (a) and (b). An apparatus for processing linear objects or sheet objects according to claim 3, characterized in that: (a) 0.1<h/S<0.4 (b) 5/8・ε+5<S<5/8・ε+30 7. Claim 1, characterized in that the cell material is made of honeycomb material. A processing device for the linear or sheet-like material described above. 8. The processing apparatus for linear or sheet-like objects according to claim 1, wherein the processing apparatus is a heat treatment furnace that heat-treats the linear or sheet-like objects.