US2400300A - Regenerative furnace - Google Patents

Description

i port for the'inner end of the burner.

Patented May 14, 1946 REGENERATIVE FURNACE kurt o. Gehring, Homewood, nl., and sebren T.

Puryear", Munster, Ind., assignors to Carnegie- Illinois-Steel Corporation, a corporation of New Jersey Application January 11,1943, Serial No. 472,032

3 claims. (ci. 263-44) The present invention relates to specific structural features f improvement in open hearth regenerative furnaces'of the type used in making orrefining steel. More particularly, the invention isdirected to a burner tunnel structure for prov tecting the burner of an oil or gas-fired furnace.

Heretofore the means for protecting the burner tunnel has included a structural frame with a flat cooler tankseated on the top thereof,and side cooling tanks fastened thereto. In addition, in prior constructions a series of cooling pipes are usually embedded in the brickwork at the nose of the tunnel and in both sides with a separate cooler tank supporting the burner` at the inside end of the tunnel. 'I'hese priorart practices are objectionable, first, because they necessitate the use of a multiplicity of pipe connections which of necessity are madefin a relatively restricted area and therefore inaccessible, and cannot vbe readily maintained in proper operating condition. Moreover, in the old practice many special Abricks must be cut to fit over and around the cooling pipes embedded in the brickwork.

One object of the present invention is to provide a cooler tunnel which combines top and side cooling legs and presents a smooth exterior surface to the brickwork on three sides and at the rear of the burner tunnel. lThus our improved cooling tunnel simplifies the laying of bricks, and exposes a relatively homogeneous mass of refractory material to the gases at the outgoing port end of the furnace.. This contributes to longer life of the brickwork.

Another object of the invention is the elimination of many pipe connections formerly required so as to conserve essential materials and to cut furnace.

the improved burnertunnel detached from the Figure Gis an elevation as viewed from the left A end of Figure 5.

Figure '7 is a detail viewshowing the water circulation for the burner support of- Figure 4.

Referring in detail to the drawings, the lletters A and B represent the front and back brickwork walls respectively of a conventional form of open hearth furnace having at each end a conventional end wall such as indicated at C, except that it is equipped with a built-in water-cooled tunnel of a novel design and arrangement hereinafter'more fully set forth in detail. The furnace is formed with the usual air uptakes D-D which are connected by ports E-E leading to the combustion chamber F in the usual manner, which chamber l communicates with the usual hearth zone of the furnace proper.

A burner G `is provided which supplies either liquid or gaseous fuel to the combustion chamber F of the furnace. The fuel mixes in the usual manner with air heated in conventional regenerdown initial installation and maintenance costs.

ators (not shown), and the air flows through the uptakes D in the ports E to the combustion chamber F. The burner G is connected with a suitable fuel supply by pipe H in any conventional manner.

A particular feature of the invention herein claimed 'relates to the structural design and arrangement of a burner tunnel unit indicated as a inner and outer walls I' and 2, so as to provide an -end water box 6.

lowing disclosure when read in connection with-- Figure 5' is an enlarged longitudinal section .fot

for varying thedischarge point ofl said branches` Il and I2. The function of pipes l and I0 is to discharge' cool' water near the ends of -the side waterlegs ofthe tunnel, where such water will rise and flow rearwardly, as indicated by the arstatic head in the distributing pipes 9 and I0 and also to maintain an adequate supply of water near the overflow point at an eiiective cooling temperature. At the lower outer corner of the water box yIi, outlet spuds I5 are provided which are adapted to be connected by ppesnot shown, to a Waste water-line. The boxj is normally closed at the top by a detachable cover I6 which is adapted to permit of ready inspection of the water clrculation'in the cooling tunnel structure. Near the lower ends of the. side legs of the tunnel structure, Vplugged spuds I1 and I8 are provided which permit of draining the tankand 'cleaning i out any accumulated sludge or other foreign matter from time to time.

The side water legs are equipped, near ltheir lower ends, with pipes I9 and 20, adapted to be l connected with a suitable compressed air supply which is admitted periodically so as to create sunlcient turbulence in the water to effect elimination of deposits from raw water. This provides eilicient means for cleaning the tank without requiring the removal of the tunnel structure from its normal location in the .port end of the furnace.

'I'he end water box 8 at the outer end of the tunnel structure, as clearly shown in Figure 5, is wider at the top than at the lower portion thereof, since the upper outermost end wall 2l is spaced a substantial distance beyond the lower outer end wall 4. The upper extremity of the wall 4 extends a short distance beyond the horizontal wall 22 which connects wall 2I with wall 4, as shown, to thus form an interior bame.

Ears 23-23 are formed on the side walls of the water box 6, and these carry ttings or lifting.

rings 2I-2I adapted to be engaged with a crane Ahook so as to facilitate initial installation of the tunnel or removal when repair or replacement be comes necessary.

.The tunnelpassage is open to atmosphere at its outer end and substantially closed at its inner end by water-cooled member 25 of .invertedA to practice has demonstrated is very desirable and eicient in practical metallurgical furnace operation, what we desire to secure by Letters Patent is deiined specically -in the following claims.

We claim: 1." In a metallurgical furnace, a protective tunnel structure -for a fuel burner comprising 4inner and outer spaced walls -connected'at the bottom by closure portions and at the top by arched porconnected together at the top by said arched portions, a wall connected to the inner extremities of said inner and outer spaced walls and closing the inner ends of said water legs, and an outer end water box communicating with said side water legs and located beyond the outer end face of the end wall of the furnace, the structure recited defining a tunnel passageway open to atmosphere at its outer end, and a burner extending through said passageway and supported against drooping by a water-cooled member substantially closing the inner end of said tunnel passageway.

2. In a metallurgical furnace. a protective tunnel structure for a fuel burner comprising inner and cuter spaced walls connected at the bottom by closure portions and at the top by arched portions so as to jointly deiine an inverted U-shaped tunnel structure. having hollow side water legs connected together at the top by said arched portions, a wall connected to the inner extremities of saidinner and outer spaced wallsand closing the inner ends of said water legs, an outer water box communicating with said side water legs located beyond the outer end 'of the furnace, a burner housed between the water legs of said tun- Anel structure, and an upright hollow water-cooled closure adjacent the inner extremity of the tunnel substantially closing the space between the side water legs and the arched portions thereof,

said closure having a seat portion-on which the' burner rests, the passageway defined by the tunnel structure being open to atmosphere at its outer end.

3. Ina' metallurgical furnace, a protective tunnel structure for a fuel burner comprising inner and outer spaced walls connected at the bottom by closure portions and at the top by arched portions so as to jointly define an inverted U-shaped tunnel structure having hollow side water legs connected together at the top by said arched portions, a wall connected to the inner extremities of said inner and outer spaced walls and closing the inner ends of said water legs, an. outer waterbox communicating with said side water legs and located beyond the outer end of the furnace, a'

burner housed between the water legs of said tunnel structure, an upright hollow water-cooled tions so as to jointly denne an inverted U-shaped tunnel structln'e having` hollow side water less burner support adjacent the inner extremity of the tunnel substantiallyclosing the space between the side water legs and the arched portions of the tunnel, said burner support having spaced legs connected by an arched portion shaped to form a ledge on which the burner rests, and inlet and outlet coolant pipes connected with the legs of said clostn-e member, the passageway denned by the tunnel structure being open to atmosphere at its outer end.

KURT C. GEHZRING.

BEBREN T. PURYEAR.

Images