Equipment
Advanced joint and siphon system
for optimal heat transfer and
temperature profile
Achieving optimal
steam joint and siphon
performance is critical
for efficient corrugator
operations.
TO PREPARE THE LINER OR MEDIUM FOR
GLUING APPLICATIONS OR CORRUGATING,
the paper must be heated. This is
achieved using steam-heated rolls
that heat the paper as it passes over
the rolls. As steam is injected into the
roll using a rotary joint, the steam
must give up its heat energy through
condensation to allow the heat to be
passed through the roll shell to the
paper. The heat energy is released as
the steam condenses. If the steam
does not condense, no heat energy is
given off. The warm paper provides
better flexibility and allows the appli-
cation of adhesives, resulting in full
contact between the liner and the cor-
rugated medium flutes and produc-
ing a higher-quality, single-face web.
With increasing web speeds, con-
sideration must be given to the
amount of heat transferred to the
Wesley Martz
board as well as the temperature
deviation across the face of the roll,
to maintain proper characteristics for
gelatinization. Although the metal
shell of the roll is an excellent con-
ductor of heat energy, other factors,
such as scale, dirt, noncondensable
gases, and condensate, serve as resis-
tors to heat transfer. Of these factors,
condensate provides the largest
resistance to heat transfer through
the roll shell. If the level of conden-
sate inside the roll can be minimized,
the heat transfer can be maximized,
and the temperature profile across
the roll will be improved.
EFFECTS OF CONDENSATE
LEVEL ON HEAT TRANSFER
Since condensate is the greatest
resistance to the heat transfer
through the roll, it is important to
minimize the level of condensate to
provide greater heat transfer and a
more even temperature profile
across the roll. Increasing the heat
transferred through the roll to the
paper allows the machine to run
faster using the same steam pres-
sure. The starch application is
improved from a better temperature
profile, and the end product has
higher-quality characteristics. In the
end, efficiency is increased, per-ton
cost is reduced, and a higher-quality
product is manufactured while dra-
matically reducing waste.
The condensate’s behavior
inside the roll depends on the diam-
eter of the roll, the depth of conden-
sate, and the speed of the machine.
Condensate behavior has three
stages: puddling, cascading, and
rimming, as shown in Fig. 1. Con-
sidering a 200-mm (8-in.)-ID roll
with a siphon clearance of 10 mm
(0.39 in.), condensate puddling
occurs at operating speeds below 75
m/min (245 ft/min), when the con-
densate is beginning to move up the
side of the roll. At this stage, there is
very little turbulence in the roll, and
only a thin layer of condensate cov-
ers the inner circumference of the
roll. The majority of the condensate
in the roll is located in a puddle
near the bottom of the roll.
As the machine speed increases
to 75–240 m/min (245–787 ft/min),
the condensate puddle moves
higher along the curve of the roll
until the cascading stage is reached.
This is a turbulent stage, which is
characterized by the condensate
continuously moving up around
the roll and then falling down. This
high level of turbulence results in a
high capacity to transfer heat
through the roll to the web. As the
machine speed continues to
increase, the condensate goes into
the final stage of rimming.
While rimming, the condensate
covers the entire inner circumfer-
ence of the roll. The drive load as
well as the turbulence inside the roll
are significantly reduced. Assum-
ing that the pressure and condens-
VOL. 2: NO. 3 Corrugating International 57
Equipment
Puddling
1. Puddling, cascading, and rimming
ing load are fixed, a siphon that is
set at a smaller clearance allows the
condensate to go into rimming at a
lower machine speed than a siphon
with a larger clearance. The cascad-
ing stage, with its turbulent action
inside the roll, is the most stressful
environment for the internal siphon
equipment. As speed is increased
beyond the onset of rimming, the
capacity to transfer heat decreases.
The approximate speed at which
rimming occurs can be derived
from the following equation (see
Fig. 2):
V = [260 – (30,000/D)] L0.33
where
V = velocity, m/min
D = inside roll diameter, mm
L = rim film thickness, mm.
The level of condensate inside the
roll is largely controlled by the clear-
ance between the siphon pickup tip
and the roll. The larger the clearance
between the siphon tip and the shell,
the higher the level of condensate
inside the roll. As the clearance is
reduced, the level of the condensate
is also reduced, assuming proper
evacuation of the condensate.
ADVANCES IN SIPHON DESIGN
The most common types of siphon
equipment used by corrugators
today are bent pipes and siphon
elbows—both of which are station-
ary siphons (fixed relative to the
rotating roll). Because the siphons
58 Corrugating International July 2000
Cascading Rimming
are stationary, the clearance between
the siphon pickup and the shell must
be large enough to prevent contact of
the stationary siphon and the rotat-
ing roll. The potential vibration of
the siphon and its limited support
require the clearance of the tradi-
tional siphon to be set at 25 mm (1
in.). In some cases, the clearance is
reduced to as low as 5 mm (0.20 in.),
but this increases the potential for
siphon breakage and increased
maintenance downtime.
To address the production and
quality needs of today’s corrugators,
an advanced steam joint and siphon
(1) system has been developed. The
Corr-Pro™ system uses a unique com-
bination of rigid-support, balanced-
seal technology as well as a locking
mechanism to optimize joint and
siphon performance and provide
better heat transfer and an improved
temperature profile. This revolution-
ary concept provides the corrugator
with a higher-quality product while
reducing maintenance downtime
and improving efficiencies.
The heart of the concept is the
90° locking elbow and siphon sys-
tem. Conventional siphon elbows
are not designed to handle the high
levels of stress found in the corru-
gating environment. Generally, the
siphon elbow is the most frequently
replaced component in the conven-
tional joint and siphon system. The
90° locking elbow uses a robust
screw to lock the siphon elbow in
place and withstand heavy vibra-
tion and stress. The adjustable
siphon clearance mechanism allows
the operator to fine tune the clear-
ance between the siphon pickup
and the roll after the equipment is
installed. Siphon clearance guess-
work is eliminated, and the distance
between the siphon pickup and the
shell can be minimized to allow
optimal heat transfer, an improved
temperature profile, and better glue
application.
Siphon pickup location is
another important factor—particu-
larly when the machine is stopped.
During downtime, it is important to
continue evacuating the condensate
inside the roll to avoid temperature
differentials in the roll surface.
These differentials may cause blis-
tering of the sheet and roll deflection
(a “banana-shaped” roll). Conden-
sate that is not evacuated from the
roll during machine downtime lays
at the bottom of the roll and keeps
the roll much cooler in the area
where the condensate is located.
When the machine starts up, there is
a large temperature differential
around the circumference of the roll,
resulting in potential sheet blister-
ing and roll deflection. To continue
condensate evacuation during
machine downtime, the siphon
must be located in the 6 o’clock posi-
tion while the machine is stopped.
The advanced joint and siphon sys-
tem features a fixing mechanism in
the head of the steam joint to hold
the siphon pickup location in place.
This fixing mechanism prevents the
siphon from moving with the roll
after installation.
As with conventional siphon sys-
tems used in corrugator, preheater,
and preconditioning rolls, blow-
through steam is not essential to
evacuate condensate. However, if the
design features a cascade-type sys-
tem, blow-through steam is needed
for proper evacuation of condensate
and noncondensable gases.
MODERN STEAM AND
CONDENSATE SYSTEMS
As the steam condenses in the
steam-heated roll, the condensate
removed via the siphon pipe col-
lects in the trap and is discharged
via a rolling ball valve. A properly
designed trap will ensure constant
discharge of naturally occurring 600
noncondensable gases and provide Roll diameter, mm
efficient energy use under all steam 200
500 255
and condensate loads. Many years 305
of laboratory and field testing have 460
400 915
proven that the conventional corru-

SPEED, m/min
gator steam system has problems in
the following areas: 300

• Steam flow surges throughout

200
the system, causing tempera-
ture variance.
• Temperature changes cause 100
warp.
• Corrugator machine speeds are 0
reduced to the “heat” limit of 2 4 6 8 10 12
the rolls. FILM THICKNESS, mm
• The boiler requires extra atten-
tion and large amounts of 2. Rimming speed at various roll diameters and condensate thickness
makeup water and chemicals.
• Excessive steam flow, carry-
over, and wet steam are gener-
ated from the boiler. Steam flow

As shown in Fig. 3, a modern Heated vessel

steam system addresses these Boiler steam on corrugator
issues with traditional corrugator 175 psi – 377°F Vessel steam area
Boiler water 175 psi – 377°F
steam systems and increases steam 175 psi – 377°F Siphon
pipe
efficiency and plant operating effi- 12.1 Bar – 192°F 12.1 Bar – 192°F
ciency. All steam vessels on the cor-
rugator receive steam directly from Condensate flow Steam
Boiler trap
the boiler, resulting in no steam feedwater
flow surges. The steam tempera- Soft
tures are maximized and constant water
at all corrugating speeds. When Donahue 50°F
high-pressure receiver 10°C
used in conjunction with the 90 psi – 330°F Deaerator
advanced joint and siphon system Makeup water
6.2 Bar 166°C 5 psi – 228°F
with the external siphon clearance
0.34 Bar 109°C
adjustment, roll surface tempera-
ture deviations are minimized. Boiler Makeup
feed Water
Warp is reduced, and the finished pump pump softener
board is firm and ready for final
processing. Steam losses are near
3. Modern steam system
zero, and 90% of the condensate is
returned to the boiler. Because the
constant-temperature steam is
introduced to each steam vessel and improved boxboard quality while significant to the overall operation
due to optimal condensate evacua- increasing operating efficiencies. of the plant. The advanced steam
tion, total steam flow from the Understanding the condensate joint and siphon system introduces
boiler is reduced by approximately behavior inside the rolls and know- a new level of control and reliabil-
25%, allowing similar reductions in ing the role that siphon equipment ity, which results in increased qual-
boiler fuel and water requirements. has in giving the paper the proper ity and efficiency to the corrugating
characteristics provide modern cor- industry.CI
CONCLUSIONS rugators the necessary tools to dif-
The advanced steam joint and ferentiate their products. Achieving Martz is director of global marketing at Johnson
siphon system for corrugators optimal steam joint and siphon per- Corp., 805 Wood St., Three Rivers, MI 49093.
allows increased speeds and formance is not difficult but is very

VOL. 2: NO. 3 Corrugating International 59