Charge Car
The charge car performs the functions necessary to charge (fill) the coke oven with coal, load hoppers, unload hoppers, and clean goosenecks. To efficiently accomplish these tasks, the Saturn charge car has several systems:
- Semi-Automatic Spotting System- This PLC controlled system tells the operator what direction to travel, then within a few inches of a spot, takes over and moves the machine to the exact spot.
- Hydraulic
- System- This system provides hydraulic power to the drive system, augers, gate valves, drop sleeves, and gooseneck cleaners.
- Gooseneck Cleaners- Using flailing-chain cleaning heads, the gooseneck cleaners move in virtually all planes to conform to gooseneck distortion.
Basic Operation is as follows. The operator enters command to spot the charge car to the coal bunker, and travels the machine using the joystick. When within a few inches, the operator selects the auto spot function and the machine moves to the final position. The operator fills the hoppers at the coal bunker. The oven number is selected at this point and the operator travels using the joystick to within a few inches of spot. Final spotting is selected and the machine positions itself. The operator charges the oven at this point by selecting the auto charge function or can manually charge using the operator interface. The operator can spot the gooseneck cleaner at this point and clean if necessary.