US2269477A - Apparatus and method for modification of flow of air, gases, and the like - Google Patents

Description

H. A. REEcE 2,269,477

APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR MODIFICATION OF. FLOW OF AIR, GASES, AND THE LIKE Jan. 13, 1942.

Filed July 16, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet l ATTORNEY.

INVENTOR. EMA.REEZ.

llll 2 Jan. 13, 1942. H. A. REECE APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR MODIFICATION OF FLOW AIR, GASES, AND THE LIKE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 -Filed July 16, 1940 INVENTOR. 7 MEBTA.EEEE M 2 ATTORNEY.

Patented Jan. 13, 1942 APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR MODIFIOA- TION OF FLOW OF AIR, GASES, AND THE Herbert A. Reece, Clevela signor to Meehanite Metal Corporation, a cor;-

poration of Tennessee Application July 16, 1940, Serial No. 345,719

(Cl. 26ii-30) 20 Claims.

My invention relates to supply apparatus for delivery of air and the like, such as wind boxes for metallurgical and other furnaces, and to'the operation of the same.

My present invention, herein described. is -re lated in subject matter to my invention described in my United States Letters Patent No. 2,197,947 issued on-April 23, 1940, and to my invention described in my co-pending United States patent application, Serial No. 330,878, filed April 22,

1940, and is directed to the same and similar problems of furnace operationand control of air flow as is set forth in said issued patent and said co-pending application.-

In the following discussion and description the operation and structure of a cupola for the remelting of metal will be referred to, but it is to be understood that my invention includes the 7 structure and operation of all furnaces or similar devices wherein a blast of air or other gase .is supplied through a plurality of tuyeres or like openings to the interior of the furnace or similar device.

It is an object of my invention to provide a wind box for supplying an air blast at substantially equal velocities to. each of a plurality of tuyeres.

A further object is the provision of improved apparatus and method for supplying an air blast to each of several tuyere at desired velocities without disturbing the relative volume of air supplied to each of the several tuyeres.

Another object is the control of the air blast delivered to a'plurality of tuyeres of a furnace from a wind box.

Another object is the modification of the current of air blast moving through a wind' box.

Another object is the modification of the direction of portions of anair blast passing through a wind box from an inlet to a plurality of outlets.

Another object is the provision of apparatus and method of modifying a flow of air and like gases through a common distributing chamber.

Another object is the provision of improved apparatus and method for eliminating of .tangential ilow of air through a wind box.

Another object is the provision for utilizing the force of tangential flow of air moving through the wind .box to provide a yieldable resistance to the flow of air moving through the wind box toward the tuyere entrances.

Another object is the provision for balancing tangential flow of air with longitudinal iiow of air to equalize said flow of air supplied to a plurality of tuyres from a wind box.

nd Heights, Ohio, as-

Another object i the-provision for equalizing the flow of air through a common distributing chamber by resisting members movable by the flow of air.

Another object is the provision for counter-balancing a resistance to air flow with a yielding to the air flow in a manner to equalize the velocity of the air flow in diflerent localities of the wind box to .supply the air to the outlets of th wind box at uniform velocity.

Other objects and a fullerunderstanding of my invention may be had by referring to the following description and claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is an elevational view of. a wind box mounted upon a cupolaj 7 Figure 2 is a cross-sectionaiview taken lengthwise of the cupola and wind box shown in Figurel; i y

Figure 3 is a transverse cross-sectional view taken through the. line 3-3 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is an enlarged detailed view of a revolvable vane member mounted within t e wind box as shown in Figures 2 and 3; p i t Figure 5 is an endwiseview of the revolvable vane member shown in Figure 4'as viewedin the direction of the arrows 5 5 of Figure 4;

Figure 6 illustrates a modified form oi revolvable vane member in which the vanes are spirally and disposed;

, Figure 7 is an endwise view of the vane members shown in Figure 6 as viewing the vane member in the direction of the arrows 1-1 of Figure 6; l

Figure 8 isa view of amodified form of apparatus in which the several vane members are not. connected together to operate in unison;

Figure 9 is a view largely 'diagrammatical in nature to illustrate the cooperative relationship of the parts of the apparatus and is a view of the wind box laid out in the flat upon opening ofthe wind box along a longitudinal seam, the figure showing theview as seenfrom the. inside of the furnace.

Inasmuch as the invention disclosed herein is directed to the wind box and the portion of the cupola adjacent thereto it has not been considered necessary to show all parts of thecupola and therefore the drawings do not include the top portion and the bottom portion of the cupola, which portions may be considered as having the usual form. Also, for purposes of simplicity in illustration, the usual tap hole and slag hole are not shown. It has also been considered unnecessary to illustrate such other openings as a cleanout door, breast arch, or drop-bottom doors. The cupola with which the invention is associatedand which is described herein may be considered, however, as having all of the part necessary for the usual operation of the same.

As shown in the several views of the drawings the cupola body or shell 2! is in the form of a cylindrical shaft, the inner walls of the cupola body 2! being lined by the fire brick lining 24. The body 2| and the lining 24 are mounted upon the usual bottom plate and thereby forming the enclosed shaft of the cupola.

A wind box 22 of cylindrical shape is mounted upon the cupola body 2i by welding or other suitable means and in the embodiment shown, the outer wall of the cupola body forms one of the enclosing walls of the wind box 22. It is is therefore seen from the views of the drawings that the wind box 22 forms an enclosed jacket surrounding the cupola body 2| in such a way that air introduced into the wind box may circulate entirely around the cupola body.

The inlet conduit 22 is in communication with the air blower or other source of an air blast (not shown) and the inlet conduit 23 is connected to the wind box 22 at the upper portion of the wind box 22 so as to afford communication between the air blower and the inlet opening 25 of the wind box 22.

In the cupola illustrated there are six tuyeres extending through the wall and lining of the cupola body 2| to establish communication between the interior of the shaft of the cupola and the wind box 22. Tuyeres 20, SI and 22 as seen from the inside of the shaft of the cupola are illustrated in Figure 2. All six tuyeres, 30, 3|, 32, 33, 34 and 25 are shown in dotted lines in Figure 3 and are also illustrated in Figure 9. These tuyeres are of substantially equal size and areuniformly spaced around the periphery of the cupola. It is to be noted that the tuyeres enter the cupola body at a low level in the cupola and communicate with the wind box in a lower portion thereof. In order that the operator may look into the tuyeres from the outside of the furnace, peep holes are provided in the wind box opposite each of the tuyeres and mica or other suitable substance is sealed over these keepholes. Except when necessary, keep hole covers 28 hingedly connected to the wind box 22 are kept in position over the keep holes by means of the latch members 29. V

The arrangement of the wind box, the inlet and the outlets to the tuyeres is such that without my control apparatus the blast of air entering the wind box 22 from the inlet 25 circles around the interior of the wind box in substantially one circumferential direction, the air so moving in currents of unequal velocity. The air blast thus moving through the wind box would be supplied to the tuyeres at unequal velocities in the absence of adequate control of the flow of air. The air circulating around the wind box tends to flow tangentially of the entrancesvof the tuyeres and for this reasoon this circular flow of air is generally referred to in the art as a "tangential flow. Without adequate control of such tangential" flow of air and of the velocity of the currents of air it is found that the air is supplied to the tuyeres at unequal velocities resulting in improper furnace operation. By the control of the flow of air through the wind box in the manner here described the velocity of the air is modified to provide a supply of air to the plurality of tuyeres at substantially equal velocity, the circulatory and tangential flow of air being transformed into a vertical flow of uniform density and equal velocity to the tuyere entrances.

with reference to the views of the drawings there is shown positioned within the wind box below, and at a distance from, the inlet opening 25 a plurality of vane members comprising vanes 2t radiating outwardly from the plurality ,of shafts 81. The shafts 21 are journalled to the walls of the wind box 22 by being rotatively mounted within openings 29 and ll) formed in the walls of the wind box. The vanes 38 radiating outwardly. from the shafts 31 are evenly spaced from each other as is shown in Figure 5. As the interior of the wind box is annular in shape it is preferable to have the vane members constructed with the diameter at one end larger than the diameter at the other end, the larger end of the vane member being positioned adjacent the outer wall of the wind box and the smaller end of the vane member being positioned adjacent the inner wall of the wind box. By the use of such wedge-shaped vane members in the cross-sectional area of the wind box at the plane of the axial shafts 21 is substantially filled with the vane members, leaving only a minimum of open space not blocked by the vane members. Also, by having the larger diameter end of the vane members somewhat curved to complement the inner wall of the wind box 22, as better shown in Figure 4, the interior cross-sectional area of the wind box is more effectively filled or blocked. As is shown in Figure 3 the plurality of vane members made up of the vanes 22 extending from the axial shaft 31 substantially fills the cross-sectional area of the wind box and thus substantially forms a movable obstruction dividing the upper portion of the wind box from the lower portion of the wind box.

The shafts 31 which form the axes for the vanes 2C extend radially out from the furnace and are disposed in one plane transversely of the wind box. Air moving through the wind box from the inlet 25 to the plurality of tuyere entrances encounters the vane members. The

' vanes 22 are extended in a gradual curve or are cupped as they radiate-from the shafts 21. By this form of the vanes the force of the air blast upon the upper half of the several vane members tends to revolve the vane members in one direction. As is more apparent in the end view of a vane member shown in Figure 5, the air blast tends to catch" in the upwardly curved vanes on the right side of Figure 5 and thus tending to cause the vane member shown in Figure 5 to revolve in a clockwise direction.

Non-rotatively secured to the outer end of each shaft 21 extended outwardly of the wind box 22 is a gear ll. As the radiating vanes 28 are rigidly secured to the shaft 31 the revolution of the vanes 28 causes the simultaneous rotation of the gears II. A large ring gear 42 completely encircling the wind box 22 has gear teeth formed in its lower edge which enmesh with the teeth of the gears 4i. Therefore, rotation of the gears 4! causes the revolution of the ring gear 42 around the wind box, the gears II and the ring 42 being thereby synchronized to move in unison The upper edge of the ring gear 42 has ratchet teeth 43 formed thereon and one or more pawls 44 pivotally secured to the wall of the wind box engage the ratchet teeth 43 in such manner as to permit the ring gear 42 to revolve in one direction and to prevent it to revolve in the opposite direction. The spring 45 connecting the pawl 44 with the wall of the wind box urges the pawl 44 into engagement with the ratchet teeth 43 and also provides a retarding action to the revolution of the ring gear 42 and hence the rotation of the gears 4|. The friction of the parts and the yield.- able resistance of the spring 45 providesa retarding action or drag upon the rotation of the shafts 31 and the revolution of the vanes 38 thereon. v

To prevent the locking or jamming of the ring gear 42 and the gears 4| there is provided an annular bearing support 48 which is secured by welding or other suitable means to the outer wall counter-clockwise" direction and thus tend to reof the wind box. Rollers 41 rotatively mounted I onpins 46 extending inwardly from, the ring gear 42 roll upon and are supported by the bearing support 48. In this manner the weight of the ring gear 42 is borne by the annular support 48 rather'than upon the gears 4|. The ring gear.

42 circles around and around the wind box upon the track formed by the support 48 upon the sist the downward flow of the air blast. It is therefore seen that the tangential force tends to urge the vane members against revolving in the direction they otherwise would be permitted to revolve and thus somewhat counter-balances the downward force of the air blast'causing the vane members to revolve. The force of the air blast brought into the upper portion of the wind box, however, causes the-vane members to yield to the force thereof, to revolve in the direction permitted and to permit the air to thus pass downwardly from the upper portion of the wind box to the lower portion of the wind box. By this arrangement the force of the tangential flow tends to yieldably urge the vane members against rotation while the dominant pressure of the downwardly movingair blast overcomesthe yieldable resistance of the vane membersto permit the air to flow downwardly at modified velocity.

This yieldable resistance offered by the force of the tangential flow is inaddition to the yieldable resistance which would otherwise. be offered by therevolvable vane members by reason of friction of the parts, the spring pressed pawl, and

the inherent resistance to the flow of air offered by the shape and disposition of the vane members.

By means of the yieldable resistance of the vanes'38 to the fiowof air the velocity of the air flow through the wind'box is modified and is brought into equilibrium in all locations through- V out the cross-sectional area of the wind box. As

trated by the diagrammatical view of Figure 9.

As indicated by the upper arrows the air blast entering the wind box from the inlet 25 moves from the left to the right. This same direction of flow of the air blast would beconsidered as a flow in a clockwise direction in the cross-sectional view of Figure 3. As has been explained, it is desirable to break up or diffuse this circulatory or tangential flow of air comprising eurrentsofunequalvelocity. If the vane members were positioned to revolve in the same general direction as the direction of the tangential flow some of the force of the tangential flow would tend to carry over into the lower portion of the wind box. However, by having the vane members revolve in such a direction as to oppose the undesired tangential" flow the movement of the air from the upper portion of the windbox to the lower portion of the wind box'will be made independently of the force of this tangential flow. In Figure 9 as the tangential flow is indicated as moving from left toright, the revolution of the vane members is in a counterclockwise direction as indicated by the curved arrows.

The curving disposition ofthe vanes 38 comprising each vane member is therefore such that downward movement of the air blast tends to rotate the vane members in a single-clockwise direction. Also, by means of the ring gear 42 moving in only one direction (by means of the ratchet teeth 43 and pawl 44) the vane members are permitted to revolve in only one direction, which in the view of Figure 9 would be in a counter-clockwise direction. Therefore, not only by the shape of the vanes 38 but also by the positive limitation means afforded by the ratchet and pawl on the ring gear, are the vane members prevented from revolving in the same general direction as the tangential" flow of air in the upper portion of the wind box.

Insofar as the flow of air in the upper portion of the wind box is tangential, it will tend to prevent the vane members from revolving in said the vane members are substantially. evenly distributed around the wind box and are vof'substantially the same size and subjectto the same retarding action, there is a modification. of the air flow in substantially the same way by all of the vane members. In addition, the connecting means, provided by the ring gear tying in together all of the revolving vane members assist in the distribution of the airflow to substantially equalize the velocity of all portions of the air flow passing from the upper portion of the wind box to the lower portion of the wind box. The described apparatus so modifies the velocity of the air flow and corrects the undesired tangential flow thatthe air is supplied to the plurality of tuyre openings in the lower portion of the wind box at substantially equal velocity.

' InFigures 6 and 7 there is illustrated a modifled form of vane member in which the vanes are spirally disposed'relative to the shafts 3! about which they revolve. The disposition of the spirally disposed vanes 50 is such that the vanes meet the force of the air blast at a compound angle; The general operation of the vane members having the spiral vanes 50 is similar in principle to that of the vane members having the straight sided vanes 38, the vane members with the spiral vanes taking on some of the characteristics of a turbine.

In Figure 8 there is a modifiedform of ar- I rangement illustrated wherein each vane member is independent of the operation of the other vane members, the use of the ring gear 42 connecting the vane members being eliminated. A ratchet wheel 52non-rotatively secured to the outer end the upper portion of the wind box to the lower 7 portion of the wind box. As the modifying force of each vane member would be approximately the same, the velocity of the air blast .would tend to equalize. Although there is a desirable modification of the velocity of the air blast and a correction of the tangential flow it is preferable to have the vane members operatively connected together such as in the manner shown in Figures 1, 2 and 3 as giving more efficient results in equalization of the velocity of the air blast delivered to the tuvere entrances.

The results obtainable by the use of the apparatus and method of air control herein described greatly increases the efficiency in the operation of furnaces. The description and disclosure herein made will at once suggest other forms and arrangements in the carrying out of the described invention but such other forms, arrangements and adaptations are included within the teaching of the discovery and invention herein disclosed by the drawings and description.

Although I have described my invention with a certain degree of particularity, it is understood that the present disclosure has been made only by way of example and that numerous changes in the details of construction and the combination and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a furnace having a wind box for supplying a blast of air to a lurality of tuyeres, said wind box having an inlet adapted to communicate with a source of an air blast and having outlets in communication with said tuyeres, a plurality of revolvabie vane members positioned in said wind box intermediate of, and at a distance from, said inlet and said outlets and in the path of the air blast passing through the wind box, said vane members having radially extending vanes revoluble on substantially horizontally disposed axes, said vane members resisting said air blast and yielding thereto to revolve on said axes, respectively, the air blast revolving said vane members being modified in velocity to be supplied to said outlets at said modified velocity.

2. In a furnace having a wind box for supplying a blast of air to a plurality of tuyeres, said wind box having an inlet adapted to communicate with a source of an air blast and having outlets in communicationwith said tuyeres, a plurality of revolvable vane members positioned around said wind box in the path of the said air blast passing through the wind box from the inlet to said outlets to divide the wind box into a portion adjacent the said inlet and another portion ad- Jacent the said outlets, said vane members having axes disposed radially of said furnace and being revolvable by the force of said air blast,,the vane members providing a resistance to said air blast yieldable upon revolution of the vane members to modify the velocity of the air blast passing to said another portion of the wind box adjacent said outlets.

3. In a furnace having a wind box for supplying a blast of air to a plurality of tuyres, said aaeasvr wind box having an inlet adapted to communicate with a source of an. air blast and having outlets in communication with said tuyeres, a plurality of revolvable vane members positioned in said wind box intermediate a portion of the wind box adjacent said inlet and another portion of the wind box adjacent said outlets, the axes of the revolvable vane members being disposed substantially radially of the furnace and being distributed substantially uniformly around the wind box, said revolvable vane members providing a resistance to said air blast and revolving under the force of the air blast to modify the velocity thereof, the air blast revolving said vane members and to said another portion of the wind box being supplied to said outlets at said modified velocity.

4. In a furnace having a wind box for supplying a blast of air to the entrances of a plurality of tuyeres communicationg with said furnace, said wind box having an inletadapted to communicate with a source of an air blast, a plurality of vane members positioned in said wind box to substantially separate the wind box into a portion adjacent said inlet and another portion adjacent said entrances, said vane members having axes Journalled to said wind box and disposed substantially radially of the furnace, the vane members having vanes extending radially from said axes, said vanes recurrently meeting and resisting said air blast and yielding thereto to revolve on said axes, the recurrent resistance and yieldance by the revoluble vanes modifying the velocity of said air blast supplied to said entrances from said another portion of the wind box.

5. In a furnace having a wind box positioned around the body of the furnace for supplying a blast of air to the entrances of a plurality of tuyeres communicating with said furnace, said wind box having an inlet adapted to communicate with a source of an air blast, .an obstruction mounted within the wind box to divide the wind box into a portion adjacent said inlet and a portion adjacent said outlets, said obstruction comprising a plurality of vanes radiating from a plurality of axes disposed radially of said furnace and distributed around said wind box, said vanes being revoluble about said axes recurrently to resist, and to yield to, said air blast. the air blast meeting and revolving said vanes being modified to be supplied at substantially equal velocities to said tuyere entrances.

8. In a furnace having a wind box for supplying ablastof air to a plurality of tuyeres, said wind box having an inletadapted to communicate witha source of an air blast and having outlets in communication with said tuyeres, a plurality of vane members positioned in said wind box intermediate of, and at a distance from, said inlet and said outlets'dividlng the wind box into ad- Jacent portions, said vane members having axes journalled on said wind box and disposed radially of the furnace at intervals around the wind box, said vane members having vanes extended from said axes and disposed recurrently to meet, and to be revolved about said axes by, said air blast passing through the wind box, said vanes successively yieldably resisting said air blast in revolving about said axes, the yieldable resistance of said vanes modifying the velocity of said air blast delivered to said outlets.

7. In a furnace having a wind box for supplying a blast of air to a plurality of tuyres, said wind box having an inlet adapted to communicate with a source of an air blast and having outlets in communication with said tuyeres, a plurality of movable resistors positioned in said wind box intermediate of, and at a distance from, said inlet and said outlets and in the path of the air blast passing through the wind box, said movable resistors being revoluble about axes disposed radially of said furnace at intervals around said wind box, said'movable resistors extending substantially throughout the cross-sectional area of the wind box substantially to separate the portion of the wind box adjacent the inlet and the portion of the wind box adjacent the outlets, the revolution of said movable resistors by the force of said air blast recurrently moving said resistors into the path of said air blast to yieldably resist the same, the recurrent resistance providedby said resistors modifying the velocity of. the air blast supplied to said outlets from the wind box.,

the wind box into a portion adjacentthe inlet and a portion adjacent the outlets, the vane members being revoluble by said-air blast on axes disposed substantiallyradially of 'the furnace and distributed around the'wind box, and means. for limiting the revolutionsof said vane members to revolvement in a 'direction opposed to said circumferential direction of the'airblast, said vane members providing a yieldable resistance to the air blast moving from the portion of the wind 8. In a furnace having a wind box for supplying a blast of air to a plurality of tuyeres entering the furnace, said wind box having an inlet adapted to communicate with a source of an air blast and having outlets in communication with said tuyeres, an obstruction positioned in said wind box intermediate the inlet'and the outlets for resisting the flow of air through the wind I box toward the outlets, said obstruction including a plurality of movable members arranged in groups radiating from a plurality of axes disposed trans- .versely of said wind box, said movable members being adapted to revolve about said axes and to recurrently pass through the plane of said plurality of axes, the said movable membersin said plane resisting saidair blast and revolving to a position away from said plane in yieldance to the force of said air blast, the revolvement of said movable members providing for the recurrent yieldable resistance of said movable members to the air blast to provide for the modification of the velocity of the air blast supplied to said outlets.

9. In a furnace having a wind box positioned around the body of the furnace for supplying air to a plurality of tuyeres entering the furnace, said wind box having an inlet adapted to communicate with a source of an air blast and having outlets in communication with said tuyres, the ar- .rangement of the wind box, inlet and outlets being such that currents of air of unequal velocities circulate and move through the wind box, an

box adjacent the inlet to the portion of the wind box adjacent the outlets to modify the direction and velocity of the air blastsupplied to said outlets. 11. In a furnace having a wind' box positioned around the body of the furnace for supplying air to a plurality of tuyres entering the furnace, said wind box having an inlet adapted to communicate with a source of an air blast and having outlets in communication with said tuyeres, the

" arrangement of the wind box, inlet and outlets being such that the blast of air entering the wind box from the inlet circles around within the wind box in one circumferential direction, the combination of a plurality of vane members positioned in said wind box intermediate of, and lat a distance'from, said inlet and said outlets to. divide the wind box into a portion adjacent the inlet and a portion adjacent theoutlets, the vane members being revoluble by said 'air blast on axes disposed substantially radially of the furjnace and distributed around the windbox, re-v tarding means for retarding, the revolutions of said vane members in resistance to said'a'ir blast, and meansfor limiting the revolutions of said vane members torevolvement in a direction opposed to said circumferential direction of the air blast, said vane members providing a yieldable resistance to the air blast moving from the portion of the wind box adjacent theinlet to the obstruction positioned in said wind box to divide the wind box into a portion adjacent the inlet and a portion adjacent the outlets, said obstruction comprising a plurality of vanes arranged in groups radiating from axes disposed radially of, and distributed around, said furnace, said vanes resisting said currents of air circulating around the wind box to modify the velocity thereof, the air moving through the wind box from the inlet to the outlets revolving said vanes about said axes into position recurrently to meet and resist said currents of air, the revolution of said vanes providing for the successive disposition of said vanes in the plane of the said obstruction and the successive yielding of the vanes to the force ofthe air blast to modify the velocity of the air blast supplied to said outlets.

10. In a furnace having a wind box positioned around the body of the furnace for supplying air to a plurality of tuyeres entering the furnace, said wind box having aninlet adapted to communicate with a source of an air blast and having portion of the wind box adjacent the outlets to modify the direction and velocity, of the air blast supplied to said outlets.

12 In a furnace having a wind box positioned around the body ofthe furnacefor supplying air to a plurality of tuyeresentering the furnace, said wind box having aninlet adapted to communicate, with a source of .an air blast and'having outlets in communication with said -tuyeres, the arrangement of the wind box, inlet and out lets being such thatthe ,blast of air entering the wind box from theinlet circles around within the wind box in one circumferential direction, the

g combination-of a plurality of vane:members positioned in said windbox intermediate of, and at a distance from, said inlet and said outlets to divide the wind box into a portion adjacent the inlet and a portion adjacent the outlets, the vane members being revoluble by said air blast on axes disposed substantially radially of thefurnace and distributed around-the wind box, retarding means for retarding the revolutions of said vane members in resistance to said air blast, connecting means operatively connecting said vane members to synchronize the revolutions thereof in unison, and means for limiting the revolutions of said tuyerescommunicating with said furnace, said wind box having an inlet adapted to communicafe witha source of an air blast, air blast resisting means positioned in said wind box to divide the wind box into a portion adjacent said inlet and a portion adjacent said entrances. said resisting means including a plurality of vanes extending intermediate the walls of said wind box,

said vanes being arranged in groups radiating from'a plurality. of axes extended in a plane disposed transversely of said wind box, said vanes being revoluble by said air blast on said axes to recurrentlymove in and out of said plane, the

, vanes'in .said plane yieldably resisting said air blast to modify the velocity thereof, the air blast being supplied to said tuyre entrances at said modified velocity.

, 14. In a furnace having a wind box positioned around the body of the furnace for supplying air to a plurality of tuyeres entering the furnace, said wind boxhaving an inlet adapted to communicate with a source of an air blast and having outlet in communication with said tuyeres,

the arrangement of the wind box, inlet and out-,

lets being such that currents of air entering the wind box circulate around in one general circumferential direction, a plurality of revolvable vane members positioned in said wind box in a plane intermediate of, and at a distance from, the said inlet and said outlets, said vane members beingrevolvable by the force of said-air blast to recurrently swing in and out of said plane, retarding meansfor retarding the revolution of the vane members, and means for limiting the revolution of said vanemembers to one direction, said vane members revolving to oppose said currents of air circulating in one circumferential direction and to yieldably'resist the air blast passing through the wind box from the inlet to the outlets, said air blast supplied to said outlets being modified in direction and velocity by said vane members.

15 In a furnace having a wind box positioned around the bodyof the furnace for supplying air to a plurality of tuyres entering the furnace, said wind box having an inlet adapted to communicate with a source of an air blast and having outlets in communication with said tuyeres.

the arrangement of the wind box, inlet and outlets being such that currents of air entering the wind box-circulate around in one general circumferential direction, a plurality of vane members positioned in said wind box intermediate of said inlet and said outlets, said vane members being revolvable on a plurality of axes disposed in a plane passing transversely of said wind box intermediate of, and at a'distance from said inlet and said outlets, connecting means operatively connecting said vane members to synchronize the revolving thereof in unison, and ratchet means limiting the, revolvement of the vane members to one rotative direction, said vane members being revolvable in opposition to said currents of air circulating around the wind box and in yieldable resistance to the air blas pas ing through the wind box to said outlets, the air blast being modified by said vane members to be supplied to said outlets at substantially equal velocity.

16. In a furnace having a wind box for supply. ing a blast of air to a plurality of tuyeres, said wind box having an inlet adapted to communicate with a source of anair blast and having out. lets in communication with said tuyeres, the arrangement of the wind box, inlet and outlets being such that the air blast entering the wind box from the inlet flows tangentially of the furnace. a plurality of vanes positioned in said wind box intermediate of, and at a, distance from, said inlet and said outlets and in the path of the air blast passing through the wind box, said vanes being arranged in groups radiating from a plurality of axes and being revoluble around said axes, said vanes being disposed to be urged to revolve in one direction by said tangential flow and to be urged to revolve in the opposite direction by the force of the air blast moving longitudinally of the wind box toward said outlets, said vanes being revolvable in only said opposite direction, the urging of the vanes in said one direction providing a yieldable resistance to the revolution in said oppolsite direction, said vanes providing a yieldable resistance to said blast of air moving toward the outlets to modify the velocity of the air blast supplied to said outlets.

17. In a furnace having a, wind box for supplying a blast of air to a plurality of tuyeres, said wind box having an inlet adapted to communicate with a source of an air blast and having outlets in communication with said tuyeres, the arrangement of the wind box, inlet and outlets being such that the air blast entering the wind box from the inlet flows tangentially of the furnace, a plurality of vanes positioned in said wind box intermediate of, and at a distance from, said inlet and said outlets and in the path of the air blast passing through the wind box, said vanes being arranged to revolve about axes disposed substantially parallel to a plane passing through said outlets and a plane passing through said inlet, the vanes in revolving on said axes recurrently extending into the path of said tangential flow vof air to resist the same, the said vanes being concavely formed to revolve, under the force of the air blast moving longitudinally of the wind box and toward the plane of the outlets, in a direction opposing the said tangential flow, said vanes yieldably urged in one direction by the tangential flow and yieldably revolving by the force of said longitudinal flow of air modifying the flow of air supplied to said outlets.

18. In a furnace having a wind box for supplying a blast of air to a plurality of tuyres, said wind box having an inlet adapted to communicate with a source of an air blast and having outlets in communication with said tuyeres, the arrangement of the wind box, inlet and outlets being such that the air blast entering the wind box from the inlet flows tangentially of the furnace, a plurality of vanes positioned in said wind box intermediate of, and at a distance from, said inlet and said outlets and in the path of the air blast passing through the wind box, the said vanes being mounted to recurrently resist said tangential flow of air and to recurrently yield to the flow of air moving longitudinally of the wind box toward the outlets to move in opposition to the force of said tangential flow, the yieldable movement of said vanes in opposition to said resistance modifying the velocity of the air blast 20. In the operation of a furnace, the method of furnishing an air blast to a plurality of tuyeres' moving through the wind box, and connecting means operatively connecting said vanes to move in unison, the modification of the velocity of the air blast by said plurality of vanes providing for the supply of air to said plurality of outlets at substantially equal velocities,

19. The method of controlling the flow of air supplied to a plurality of tuyeres of a furnace, comprising: passing an air blast through a conduit, supplying the air blast through the conduit into an enlarged air chamber, resisting the tangential flow of air set up in said air chamber,

resisting the flow of the air blast moving longitudinally of the air chamber at an angle to said tangential fiow and from one portion 01' the air chamber to another,'yielding said latter resistance in opposition to said first resistance, passing said air blast through said yielding resistance into said another portion oi'the air chamber, and supplying the air blast from said another portion of the wind box to said tuyres at velocities modified by said yieldable resistance.

having predetermined volume capacities from a wind box wherein tangential flow of air currents are encountered, comprising: resisting said tangential fiow of air in a first portion of the wind box, resisting the fiow of air moving longitudinally of the wind box at an angle to said tangential flow and from said first portion of the wind box to a second portion of the wind box, yielding said latter resistance to permit the flow 01 air to said second portion of the wind box, opposing said yielding with the resistance to said tangential fiow to'provide a yieldable resistance to the flow of air from said first portion of the wind box to a second portion of the wind box in accordance with the force of said tangential flow, and supplying the air fiow modified by said yieldable resistance to the plurality of tuyeres at substantially equal velocities.

HERBERT A. REECE.

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