US1731310A - Apparatus for firing furnaces with fluent fuels - Google Patents

Description

J. D. LALOR APPARATUS FOR FIRING FURNACES WITH FLUENT FUELS Filed June 13, 1925 ummnng mm mm: nun

2 Shgets-Sheet 1 I INVENTOR: I i'' BY Q Patented a. 15, 1929 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE nums vn. LALOR, or summons, manimn, nssronon. ro'rnn Lemon. rum. on.

'sYs'rm comm, me, or ngn'rmonn, mA'nY ANn, A conrona'rron' or my- LAND . nrrn wrus son name runnacns wrrn' rnunn'r 'runns i .s ncaeon med Time. is, 1925. swarm. asses.

' This invention'is-concerned with the use of fluent "fuels such as hydrocarbons, gas

(either natural or artificial), and powdered coal in firing furnaces ofv various kinds, as

I well as with equipment or systems useful for thispurpose;

l-with mar d advantages in furnace operation enerally, its importance is especially mani est in instances of manufacture where an intensely hot smokeless flame is absolutely essential to thdinsurance of a product, free manufacture of glass, and I have accordingly, by way of example, hereinafter described my invention as ap lied to a furnace more particularly adapte for making such'material.- The advantages both general and specific to the exemplification chosen, together with those accruing from novel structuralimprovements in furnaces and firing apparatus in accordancewith my invention,

' .will' be readily apparent wigproceeds, y .1

With reference to the drawings, I is a a larger scale through the recupfrator of the furnace, and taken as indicated y the arrows IV- -'IV in Fig. I. v

' Fig. V isan illustration, partly in elevaof the atomizing tion and partly in section,

connection with burner for oils shown in Fi s. I and II. fiig. VI is a fragmentary sectional view the mam and underlying object being to enable, attainment of homo-v geneously commingled and assimilated com-f from-physical and "chemical imperfections,

-. .One such, instance is in connection with the the recu erator- 5 wherein they pass g II is a centralj longitudinal' section of,

of the discharge end of the burner, this illustration being on a larger scale than that of they preceding figure.

Fig. VII is an. end view of one ofthe comonents of the fuelatomizing nozzle of the urner aforesaid; and u Fig. VIII is a detail sectional view of a swivel joint which I employ in the pipe line whereby the fuel is conducted to the atomizer. The glass furnace herein shown is generally of standard construction in that it com rises an elongated horizontal arch-roofed sing v chamber or tank 1 with a transverselyextending dam 2 adjacent its rounded front or delivery end.3, and an opening 4 in one of its sidewalls for convenience in introducing the ingredients which are to be converted into glass. Forming a part of the furnace and extending laterally of the opposite or rear end of the tank 1, is a recuperator 5 with a series ofho'rizontal flow passages 6 for the s ent hot gases resu'ltin fromcombustion, w ich afford a series 0 relatively-isolated crosscommunicating-intervening spaces '1 through which the air used to support combustion asses, in a general upwar direction, and is Incidentally preheated enroute to the tank 1, is a well known manner. The s ent ases leave the fusing chamber or tan 1 y a hown at 8, and enter the top 0; 8.0

passage s and fort as indicated by the arrows in Fig. IV, and as determined by bafll'es 9 at opposite sides of the structure, said gases finally-mak-- ing their exist,"through a passage 10 near the bottom, into a flue or stack, not shown. The air used to support combustion is, 'in

ghe present instance, supplied under 'ressure V y a of trunk conduits 12 that extend alon' opblower 11 from which exten a pair posite sides of the recuperator 5, as s own in Figs. I and II; each of said conduits terminatmg in a multiplicity of outlet branches 13. By this arrangement the air .supplyis uniformly distributed to the spaces 14 n the bottom of the recuperator 5Figs.'II and IV-for upward flow through the spaces 7, aforesaid. The trunk conduits 12 are each equipped with a suitable valve 12a, while the brane es 13 'arelikewise individually provided with adjustable gates 15 permitting regulation of the air supply as may be required, in initially securing the proper proportioning. After being preheated in the recuperator 5ilthe air leaves the chamber 16, in

the top of e latter, by an upwardly-sloping passage 17 which terminates in a constricting space or ante-chamber 18, see Figs. I and III, formed so as to induce swirling of the air, together with fluent fuel through-an inwardly tapering orifice 19 in the end wall 20 of the tank 1, as later on more fully described.

As a means to-inject the fluent fuel into the furnace, I conveniently employ the burner shown in Figs. V VI and VII, but other forms thereof may be adapted thereto, de-

pending on the kind of fuel which is to be used. The burner of Figs. V, VI and VII, is adapted for'consumption of oils, and since it is illustrated in the complete furnace organization, shown in Figs. I-IV, and therein esignated generally by the numeral 21, I

1 will now describe its details and operation.

As shown, this burner 21 comprises a long tubular body 22 which is held in a sleeve 23 adjustably secured to an upstanding bracket 24 on the top of the reeuperator5 between the walls of the passages 8 and 17, see Figs. I and II. The burner 21 is thus supported at theproper elevation in alignment with the opening 19, and with its front or nozzle-end v projecting throu h a replaceable apertured made so as tobe' rea block 25 of suita 1e refractory material let into the transverse outer wall 26 of the air assage18 so as to discharge the vaporized el across said passage into the tank 1. Atomizing air is conducted to the burner 21 through a pipe elbow 27 at its rear end, said elbow alfordmg connection with a depending branch of an overhead conduit 28 which extends from a high pressure blower shown at 29, Fig. II. Interposed. in the conduit 28 at a point convenient of access, is a suitable gate valve30 whereby the atomizing air flow to the burners 21 may be suitablyregulated.

The conduit 28 has also interposed in it, a joint connection 31 which, in practice, is

1 dily separablefor a purpose later disclosd herein.

Hydrocarbon fuel is su plied to the burner 21 under comparatively igh pressure, by a suitable pump from a storage'tank, neither.

of these elements being sho'wn, b a pipe line 32. Associated with this pipe. hne 32Fig. II-are' necessary or desirable auxiliaries such as a hand control valve 33, an automatic safety drain valve 34, a strainer 35, and an adjustable pressure control device 36. The

branch 37 of the fuel line 32 extending downto the burner 21, embodies a number of component sections 38 thatare interconnected by. means of swivel joints such as shown 0.1139" in Fig. VIII. Each such joint 39 includes a stuiling box fitting 40 that is. attached to the f end of one pipe component, and telescopically receives a lateral tubular extension 41 on.

sleeve 23, the swivel joints 39 allowing this movement. The burner 21 is thus'made accessible, for the purpose noted, without requiring disconnectionof the fuel line 32, thereby obviating contention with leaking connections as would otherwise result after a few repetitions of this operation. Again referring to Fig. V, it will be noted that the tubular body 22 of' the burner 21 encloses a coextensive co-axial tube 45 that conducts th liquid-fuel to the. atomizing nozzle, said i :be being connected to the fuel line 32 at me rear end and having interposed at this juncture, a hand valve 46* whereby the flow may be accurately regulated. As shown, the

tube 45 is ofbonsiderably smaller diameter than the tubular body 22, and a comparatively large annular space 47 is thus left through-which the atomizing air is conveyed or directed to the nozzle. advantage in Fig. VI, 21 at the front end of the tube 5 afi'ords a cavity that is internally threaded to take a part 49 As'shown to better 1 enlargement 48 constituting the tip of the nozzle, said tip having a minute axial orifice 50 with a di-- vergent exit flare 51. The hollow of the in wardly projecting portion of the tip 49 is tapered as at 52 and formed with a small circular counter recess 53 that is concentric with the orifice 50. Within the hollow of the tip 49 is located a core piece 54, shown-as being somewhat reduced in diameter through a gortion of its length as indicated at 55, an

circumferentially enlarged at one end as at 56, to a diameter corresponding substantially to that of the cavity in the extremity- 48 of the tube 45. I The opposite end of the core piece 54 is. fashioned to frusto-conical configuration, to coincide accurately with the conical internal surface 52 of the ti 49. A compressible washer 57 is interpos'e behind the core piece 54 to hold it firmly against endwise movement and to insure rmrand snug cal surfaces at 52. The fiat lateral end of the truncatedportion of the corepiece 54 forms jointly with the counter bore recess 53 of the tip 49, a closed circular chamber. This circular chamber is approached from the annular space'58 surrounding the smaller pressure contact'between the contiguous coni- P portion. 55 of the'core iece 54, by way of a number of tangential y disposed channels.

properly positioned, as shown in Fig. V, the

pro ecting port-ion of the tip 49 engages the opening in a central hub boss of a devi e 64 with radially-disposed angularly-pitched vanes 65. This vaned device 64 is screwed into a ring coupling 66 at the outer end of the tubular body '22 of the burner 21'. A second annular threaded coupling 67 serves to secure a centrally apertured disk 68 in a manner enablin ready adjustment of the space 69 between it and't-hevaned device 64. The

area of the aperture 70 in the disk 68 relative "to the internal area of the coupling 67 is about one-fourth of the latter.

The. operation of the furnace equipped as with the burner 21 is as follows: The fluid fuel fed to the burner 21 under high pressure is obliged to .tra'vel' the comparatively long spiral groove 63 defined by the insert 62 in the tube 45, and is incidentally raised in temperature by virtue of the passage of preheated atomizing air through the annular space 47 at-the same time. After traversing the spiral groove 63 within the tube 45, the liquid, now sufficiently warmed for facilitation of the atomizing process which is to follow,

passes through the opening 61Fig: VI-v directly into the annular space 58 by way of the branched duct'60 in the core piece .54. As a conse uence of'forced passage through the tangentially-disposed channels 59 of the core piece 54, the liquid is rapidly rotated in the small circular chamber 53, and incident to expulsion through the minute orifice 50 in the tip 49 under high velocity, is effectively atomized and issues as a-spirally-swirling spray. At the same time, it encounters a stream of preheated atomizing airrotating in'the space 69 due to forced passage through the vaned device 64. The convergent form of the aperture 70 in the disk 68 promotes mechanical interaction between the atomizing air and the fuel within the-space 69 so that the spray 18 further broken up and finally discharged, at

accelerated velocity, in a spirally-advancing "zed fuel crossing the terminal portion 18, of the air passagp 17 from the recupe'rator 5, is encountered y the combustion-supporting to air, swirling as already explained. By enforeedpommingling of the thoroughly atomized liquid fuel and air, a very homogeneous highly-combustible mixture is assured, the same being injected through the orifice 19 directly into the tank 1. By virtue of the burner adapted to discharge atomizing me-' dium with rotary motion so that the atomized thoroughly atomized condition. Referring agaln to Figs. I and II the thoroughly atonifuel for discharge with spirally-expan whirling impetus given the combustible mix-' ture, I secure-as conventionally indicated by dotted lines in Figs. I and IIa progressively-expanding, spirally-rolling flame, which, after passing along one side of the tank 1, is re-directed by the rounded end 3 in the opposite direction along the other side of the tank 1 for escape of the spent gaseous products of combustion into the passage 8 leading to the recuperator 5,. the flame being incidentally depressed by the deflecting action of the arched roof of the tank 1 so that the contents beneath are uniformly subjected to the action of the heat. By proper regulation of the various instrumentalities provided in the fuel and air lines 32, 28, the pressure and proportioning of the mixture may, obviously, be very accurately regulated and a white-hot smokeless flame obtained that is of extremely high calorific intensity and at such velocities which best suit the various exigencies of practice. It will be apparent that heavy fuel oils may be effectively atomized and carburized for the purposes set forth.

Having thus described my invention, I claim: J

1. In a recuperative furnace, the eombina tion of a burner including means to effective- I 1y atomize fuel, a vaned member in said fuel is emitted from the burner tip under spirally-flowing action, and means having a spiralized outlet forconcurrently discharging airwith whirling progressively-expanding flow to support combustion in the furnace.

2. A recuperatlve furnace embodying an ante-chamber w1th a constrictlng splral section andinwardly tapering outlet, a burner including devices adapted to effectively atomize liquid fuel under rotary action, said burner being positioned to discharge the atomized fuel across'the constricting spiral section, .and means supplying combustionsupporting air under pressure to the ante- 11 chamber for intimate commingling therein with the discharging atomized fuel and concurrent ejection through the tapering outlet aforesaid into the furnace.

3. In a recuperative furnace, the combination of a burner including aligned devices adapted to effectively atomize liquid-fuel for discharge with a splrally advancing motion, anda spirally-formed ante;chamber in the 'recuperator section-of the furnace intowhich the nozzle of the burner projects and through which preheated combustion-supporting air flows under pressure and-is thereby whirled for spiral progressively-expanding advancement into the, furnace concurrently with the vaporized fuel. I

' 4. Ina recu perative furnace, the combination of a burner including axially aligned devices adapted to effectively atomize 1i uid ing flow into the furnace, and a passage forming l a part of the recuperative section for conducting preheated combustion-supporting air un-' der pressure into said furnace, said passage 5 embodying a constrictive volut'e spiral terminus adapted to induce whirling of the combustion-supporting air for spiral progressively-expanding advancement into the furnace concurrently with the commingling 10 atomized fuel.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto signed my name at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, this 4t day of June, 1925.

JAMES D. LALOR.

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