Harper offers advanced Oxidation Oven technology to complement its industry-leading furnaces for carbon fiber processing. Our state-of-the-art oven designs available for tow-bands from 300mm to greater than 4000mm. Harper’s designs incorporate a multitude of improvements beyond what’s available on the market today. Some of these designs improvements include:
- Superior atmospheric seals
- Continuous monitoring of supply, recirculation, and exhaust flow rates
- Improved, patent-pending nozzle design
- Process based instrumentation array
- Quadrant construction for improved installation
For the customer, these technology advancements equal faster oxidation, improved velocity uniformity and range, assurance of temperature uniformity at a variety of flow rates, and optimal control of the reaction ultimately enhancing fiber quality. These improvements come in the form of clearly stated performance guarantees.
The most distinctive feature of Harper’s cutting-edge design, the end seal, reduces fugitive emissions, increases the active volume of the oven, and offers reduced energy consumption over alternatives. The seals have independent adjustment of the top and bottom inside and outside slots. Additionally, the design includes separation plates between passes, so each pass sits within its own muffle. Each pass has an independent vent with adjustable draw control and the exhaust plenum connects to a dedicated fan/VFD. As a result of these innovative design features, there is no vertical mixing in the seal, less air ingress, and virtually no process gas escape.
Harper’s instrumentation improvements include a two-tier balancing methodology, responsive quench system and rapid cool down system, emissions monitoring, and inherently safer pressure relief system. Additionally, Harper’s modular construction design is another advancement that sets us apart from the competition. Our ovens have shown a 90% reduction in labor versus similar field erection times into a full line pilot system (300mm).
Additionally, Harper’s proprietary research oven technology offers parallel, cross, and down airflow directions in a single oven, which allows for true evaluation of different flow techniques. The oven’s uniformity specifications meet or exceed best-in-class for each flow regime.
Learn more…
- Watch our innovative Oxidation Oven End Seal in action
- Read about solutions for Complete Carbon Fiber Process Lines
- Learn from the leaders with our Technical Presentations library