US3476321A - Multifuel burners - Google Patents

Description

Nov. 4, 1969 I J. M. LEVAUX MULTIFUEL BURNERS Filed July 24, 1967 FIGBC FIG.6"'

United States Patent 3,476,321 MULTIFUEL BURNERS Jean Marie Levaux, Liege, Belgium, assignor to Cockerill- Ougree-Providence, Seraing, Belgium, a Belgian body corporate Filed July 24, 1967, Ser. No. 655,495

Claims priority, application Luxembourg, Aug. 29, 1966, I

51,838 Int. Cl. F23d 11/40, B051) N14 US. Cl. 239-422 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A multiple fuel burner with a head divided into a plurality of partial burners, each having individually controlled supply lines for oxygen, liquid fuel and gaseous fuel so that the flame of each partial burner may be individually controlled. The partial burners may be individually orientatable if desired to achieve a further versatility.

The present invention relates to multiple fuel burners.

The method is well known currently of carrying out various metallurgical and siderurgical operations by means of burners of a type known as oxy-fuel burners, in which the supporter of combustion used is pure oxygen, supplied in amounts suitable for the operation envisaged.

As generally understood, the term oxy-fuel burner means a post mixing burner in which the liquid fuel is mixed with and atomised by oxygen jets outside the body of the burner.

A quite recent development has been that in which consideration is given to supplying such burners with several fuels simultaneously, for instance liquid fuel and gaseous fuel, the liquid fuel possibly being atomized beforehand by means of a compressed gas, which may be air. A burner of this type, which is known as a multifuel burner, is described in Belgian Patent 673,821.

In order to increase the surface area over which a burner of this type can act effectively, consideration has also been given to the idea of imparting to the said burner a periodic rotational movement about its longitudinal axis as well as about an axis that is substantially vertical and perpendicular in relation to the said longitudinal axis. By this means, with one and the same burner, it is possible to envisage the melting of metals over a fairly extensive surface area, by virtue of the fact that the said burner can be oriented in any chosen direction.

The aim of the present invention is an improvement in the said arrangement, by which it is possible to obtain a further increase in the effective surface area covered by burners of this type.

The improvement provided by the invention has the considerable advantage of making it possible to keep the burner in a fixed, or practically fixed, position, which means that the whole device for the periodic operation itself of the burner can be eliminated, together with all the inconvenience inherent in operating, maintaining and contigently repairing the said device.

The improvement of the invention consists essentially in uniting in a single burner body at least two partialburners of the oxy-fuel-gas type, which can, be supplied with gas independently of each other, the flame of each partial-burner preferably being adapted to be directed in a different direction.

The invention accordingly consists in a multiple fuel burner, comprising a body having at its end on the outlet side an obturating plate, the said plate having at least two groups of nozzles, each group comprising nozzles K 3,476,321 Patented Nov. 4, 1969 "ice supplied respectively with pure oxygen, gaseous fuel, liquid fuel, according to an arrangement known per se, each of the said groups accordingly forming the head of an oxy-fuel-gas partial-burner; the nozzles of each group being connected to channels having supply members suitable for each groupandv independent of those of the other groups.

Each partial-burner can have a separate liquid cooling device, or the body of the burner can have a single cooling device serving both or all the partial-burners.

It is obvious that there will be numerous ways of arranging the heads of the partial-burners in juxtaposition, the said juxtaposition of the partial-burners constituting a burner head according tothe invention. The various nozzles will be arranged'in accordance with requirements so that the effective. field covered by the flames issuing from the burner will be circular, rectangular, spherical or arcuate as required, although the above enumeration is not restrictive.

In this connection it is possible to act solely on the effective surface area covered by one of the said partialburners, without interfering with the others. In this case, the single body of the burner serves in actual practice as a sheath for the partial-burners, which latter can arranged on its periphery, inclined in the direction of also have an individual cooling circuit.

Each partial-burner head can moreover have nozzles the flame axis. By supplying the said nozzles individually with fuel and oxygen, it is possible to alter the shape of the flame of each partial-burner entirely independently.

The invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, which are given by way of example only and in no restrictive sense.

In the drawings:

FIGURES la, 1b, and 1c are three views of one form of the burner of the invention.

FIGURES 2a, 2b, and 20 show alternative arrangements which can be adopted for the faces of three partialburners.

FIGURES 3a, 3b and 3c show a further alternative arrangement,

FIGURES 4a and 4b show a still further alternative arrangement, and

FIGURES 5 and 6 are two views which show a method of producing a multiple burner in which the partialburners are themselves orientable.

The burner of FIGURES 1a, 1b and 1c, shown in side and front elevation and in plan, is constituted of three partial-burners (1, 2, 3) of oxy-fuel-gas in juxtaposition, the three flames being in the same plane. Each of the said partial-burners has its obturating plate with nozzles and each has its own supply conduits for oxygen, liquidfuel an gaseous fuel as well as compressed air.

FIGURES 2a, 2b and 2c show a modification of the relative arrangements of the three burners from the horizontal arrangement of burners. The views are similar to those of FIGURE 1, and show the flames inclined. FIG- URES 3a, 3b and 3c show the flames vertically directed. The end and side elevation of FIGURES 4a and 4b show an arrangement of three burners with their flames direct ed outwardly.

In FIGURE 3, the burner is constituted of an external cylindrical sheath 4, in which are located three guide plates 5 having as many circular holes as there are partial-burners. Each partial-burner has an external cylindrical shape and can rotate or slide in a pair of the holes in the plates 5. It is accordingly possible to adjust the position of the partial-burners somewhat, even during operation.

I claim:

one of the groups of nozzles i s slidable and/or rotatable A multiple fuel bufn'er' do mprising a" body ha ing an outlet end, at least 0nd,:jbbtul'2lting plate on the said outlet end nozzles in the said at least one obturating plate and conduits for supplying "oxygen, liquid fuel and "gaseous fuel to individual'nozzles; the burner having the improvement that the 'nozzles in the said at least one obturating plate are divided into at least two groups each comprising at least one nozzle fed with oxygen, at least one "nozzle fed with liquid fuel, and at least one nozzle fed with gaseous fuel, the supplying conduits for each group of nozzles being independent of the supplying conduits for the remaining nozzles, whereby each group of nozzles constitutes a head of a partial oXy-fuel burner. I 2. A burner as claimed in claim 1, in which the nozzles of each oxy-fuel-gas partial-burner are arranged in such a way that the flame of achpartial-burner is orientated in a different, predetermined direction, which makes it possible to use the combination of the flames to cover an effective area of predetermined configuration.

3. A burner as claimed in claim 2, in which at least relatiye to the o fhe r groups of nozzlesof the multiple burner, which makes it possible to alter the orientation of the flame formed by the fluids issuing from the said at least one group of nozzles.

4. A burner as claimed in claim 1, in which the said body is cylindrical. 1

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 598,873 2/1898 Joy 2. 239-557 x 1,626,047 4/1927 Morley

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