Shuttle kiln

The shuttle kiln consists of a firing chamber with two or more kiln cars on which the bricks to be fired are set. While one load of brick is being fired, a second is being set. Somewhat similar is the beU top or top-hat kiln which is raised and lowered above and over the kiln cars to be fired. These kilns are more expensive to operate than tunnel kilns but provide flexibiUty in burning conditions and production schedules. 

Fig. 6.7-49 A large periodic shuttle kiln forthe firing of chimney flues (courtesy Eisenmann, Boblingen, Germany)...

Fig. 1.1. Seven (of many kinds of) batch-type furnaces. (See also shuttle kilns and furnaces, fig. 4.8 and liquid baths in fig. 1.12 and sec. 4.7.)...

Fig. 4.8. Shuttle kiln or furnace. One furnace with two shuttle hearths and 33% longer rails can provide almost 100% more production with considerably less capital investment by heating loads a higher percentage of the time. To some extent, the shuttle arrangement also improves efficiency of personnel because there is less waiting around, and everyone is on a better schedule.

Envelope Kiln. Alternative name, particularly in USA, for top-hat kiln (q.v.) or shuttle kiln (q.v.). Equilibrium Diagram. See phase... 

Shuttle Kiln. An intermittent bogie kiln consisting of a box-like structure with doors at each end and accommodating kiln cars (usually two in number). Pottery-ware is set on the refractory decks of the cars which are then pushed along rails into the kiln, displacing two other cars of fired ware from the kiln. The fired ware is taken from the displaced cars which are then re-set with more ware to be fired. The shuttle movement of the kiln cars is is then repeated (cf. bogie kiln). 

The raw batch calcination can be accomplished in almost any kind of furnace. Tunnel kilns, box kilns, shuttle kilns, and rotary kilns have been used for many years, each with its own advantages, disadvantages, and limitations. In some instances, patents have been issued for the calcination technique Special firing profiles have been developed for some pigments to guide the reaction chemistry. 

Air Drying Equipment. Tunnel kiln dryers (70) are long furnaces comprised of several zones of different temperature, humidity, and air flow through which the ware travels on a moving car or belt. These kilns afford continuous processing. Periodic kiln cross-circulation dryers (70) are box furnaces in which ware is stacked on permanent racks or on a car that can be shuttled in and out of the furnace. Fans or jets are used to circulate heat uniformly through the ware. The process is not continuous, but production rates can be enhanced by shuttling multiple cars. 

Q2. How do shuttle furnaces and kilns overcome some of the disadvantages of batch furnaces ... 

Shuttle car-hearth furnaces and kilns are hybrids between batch and continuous furnaces and kilns, combining the compact lower cost of a batch operation with the productivity and fuel economy of a continuous furnace or kiln. A shuttle furnace has doors at both ends and with two rolling hearths, permitting quick unloading and reloading of the furnace with minimum cooling during the switch-around. (See fig. 4.8.) The capital cost is only about 65% of two furnaces, but the production rate is almost doubled. The fuel economy per year and per ton heated is better because the doors are closed and the burners are in use more often. 

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