USRE68E - Improvement in the construction and heating of furnaces for metallurgic operations - Google Patents

Description

UNITED STATES C. E. DETMOLD, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

IMPROVEMENT IN THE CONSTRUCTION AND HEATING 0F FURNACES FOR METALLURGIC OPERATIONS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 3,176, dated Julyl, 1l43; Reissue No. 68, dated February 20, 1845.

To all whom it may concern.-

Beit known'that I, CHRISTIAN EDWARD DETMOLD, civil engineer, of the city of New York, N. Y., have invented a new and useful improvement in the construction and heating of furnaces for all kinds of metallurgie operations, and which is applicable also to the heating of boilers and various other purposes requiring a high temperature, of which the following is a full and exact description.

My invention is intended as an improvement on the process of and apparatus for applying the combustible gases from blast and cupola furnaces to the manufacture of bariron and other purposes. invented byWilhelm Von Faber du Faur, and for which Letters Patent of the United States were granted to me as the assignee of the said Wm. Von Faber; and it consists in such a modification of the grate or rechamber of reverberatory furnaces as enables me always to have a very thick stratum of fuel upon the grate, which fuel is converted into combustible gases by a blast or current of air forced into a closed ash-pit under the grate, and in the combinanation of this gas-generating chamber and furnace with an arrangement -of blow-pipes or other convenient apparatus through which heated atmospheric air is -to be forced by means of any ordinary blowing-machine into the said gases for the purpose of effecting their combustion in their passage to the main chamber of the furnace, where the heat is to be applied, as hereinafter more fully described.

To explain more fully my improvement, and to enable those skilled in the art of constructing furnaces and working metals to use the same, I proceed to describe it more particularly as applied to a puddling -furnace for converting crude or cast iron into malleable iron, it being understood that the same arrangement of parts is equally applicable to all other kinds of furnaces, forges, boilers, &c., reference being had to the annexed drawings, in all the figures of which the same'letters refer to the same parts throughout.

Figure 1 is a vertical longitudinal section of a puddling-furnace. Fig. 2 is a plan or horigreater, so that there may always be a very thick stratum of fuel upon the grate, which is indispensable for the purpose of converting all the fuel into combustible gases. This part .of the furnace I call the gas-generating chamber. Its depth may be from three to five feet, more or less, according to .the nature of the fuel to be used. When bituminous coal is employed, I find' three feet sufficient, and

with anthracite coal from fourto ve feet.

B is the grate upon which the fuel rests.

C is the ash-pit, which has a door in front -by which it may be closed entirely.

D is an opening in one of the sides of the ash-pit, through which atmospheric air is blown in by means of any ordinary blowingmachine.

E is the stoking-door, for filling the chamber A with fuel.

F is a hot-air chamber, from which issues a row of blow-pipes, G G G G G G G, of about one and one-half inch diameter at the mouth or nozzle. As represented, there are eight; but a greater or less number may be employed, it being necessary, however, that the aggregate sectional area of the blow-pipes be suiicient to supply the requisite quantity of air for the complete combustion of the gases generateda H is the fire-bridge, over which the combustible gases and streams of heated air be- A L is the chimney through which the burned gases finally escape.

M M is a cast-iron pipe, of any convenient v form, which is built into the walls of the furnace so aste surround, in part, the hearth. Y

the sides of the furnace cool, so as to protect i them from the intense heat. The air may also be heated by causing it to pass through an arrangement of pipes placed in the chimney, or in any other convenient way. y

O is a valve, by means of which the quantity of air for the combustion of the gases may be duly regulated.

P is an arch, of re-brick, which forms the top of the generating-chamber, and serves at the same time to protect the blow-pipes from the action of the fire. Their proper protection is of essential importance to the successful application of this apparatus, and I effect it by the above-named arch under them, leaving the-blow-pipes exposed to the cooling action of the atmosphere,'their nozzles or mouths being inserted througha range of fire-brick or fire-clay, as shown at W, by which the roof of the furnace R is connected with the arch P.

I have tried other modes of protecting the blow-pipes, but have found none so effectual as that above described.

Q is the passage through which the combustible gases pass over the fire-'bridge to the main chamber I I.

R R R is the roof of the furnace.l

S is the working-door. l

T is a smaller door, through which the pigiron may be charged upon the further end of the hearth. l

' V is a valve for regulating the supply of cold air under the grate.

X X is a pipe through which the air is brought from any blowing-machine.

All other parts vof the furnace are essentially the same as in ordinary puddling-furnaces.

The mode of operating with one of my improved furnaces is as follows: The gas-generating chamber A is filled with any kind of fuel, which is ignited in the ordinary manner.

By means of any blowing-machine air is blown into the ash-pit C through the aperture E, which causes the partial combustion of the lower stratum of fuel immediately upon the grate-bars. A great portion of the gases resulting from this will be a combustible gasnamely, the carbonic-oxide gas- Which is invariably produced when the proportion of carbon is in excess to that of oxygen. The rest is carbonio-acid gas, which in `its passage through the superincumbent mass of ignited coal absorbs au additional dose of carbon, and 1 is thereby'also converted into carbonio-oxide gas. The small portion of hydrogenous gases that may be contained in the fuel-such as carbureted and bicarbureted hydrogen-will be evolved or distilled by the heat, and thus all the fuel in the gasgenerating chamber is converted into combustible gases, which are burned in their passage over the fire-bridge by being mixed with a number of continuous jets of highlyheated atmospheric airinj ectedth rough theblowpipes,thus producing an intense temperature in themain chamber of the furnace, uwhere the heat is to be applied, while the temperature of the fuel in the gas-generating chamber is comparatively low, being kept at a red heat only, Whereas in the ordinary furnaces the temperature in the rechamber or grate is much higher than in the main chamber of the furnace. The pipes through which the air is forced under the ash-pit for the" generating of the combustible gases, as well as into the hot-air chamber for their subsequent combustion, being provided with propto be generated and the intensity of their combustion can be accurately regulated by admitting a greater or less quantity of air through these valves. As it requires the same quantity of air for the combustion of the carbonic-oxide gas that it does forits formation, and as the air which is forced through the blow-pipes is ina highly-heated state, whereby its bulk or volume is considerably expanded, (being doubled at 460 Fahrenhe'it,) it is evident that the aggregate sectional area of the blow-pipes must be at least the double of the opening of the valve that admits the air under the ash-pit for the formation of the combustible gases.

The process of puddling, as well as all other operations to be performed in these improved furnaces, are conducted in the same manner as in furnaces of ordinary construction.

The advantages resulting from the applica` tion of my improvements are, first, an important economyl of fuel; second, an important saving of iron Worked in these furnaces; third, a more intense and uniform heat than can be obtained in ordinary reverberatory furnaces.

Having thus given an exemplifcation of the manner in which I combine and arrange the respective parts of my improvement when applied to a puddling-furnace, from which description any competent person will be able to adapt it to other purposes, Iwish it under- 'stood that I do not claim as my invention the employing of carbonio-oxide gas in combination with heated atmospheric air, this being known as the invention of Wm. Von Faber du Faur, upon which this is intended as an improvement; but

What I do claim as my invention is- The combination of a reverberatory furnace having a deep fire-chamber for the special purpose of generating combustible gases from any kind of fuel, as above described, with an arrangement of blow-pipes or other convenient er valves, the quantity of combustible gases apparatus through which continuous jets of K presence of witnesses whose names are hereto highly-heated atmospheric air are forced into subscribed, on the 8th day of January, A. D.

the combustible gases in their passage over 1.845. the tire-bridge for the purpose of produein` their perfect ahd rapid combustion, Substanz-` C E DETMOLD' tially as set forth in the above specieation. In presence of- In testimony whereof I, CHRISTIANEDWARD THos. CHAMBERS, DETMOLD, hereto subscribe my name, in the R. B. COLEMAN.

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