Improvements in Apparatus for Burning Liquid Fuel in Steam Generators and the like.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 1st Nov., 1898
Complete Specification Left, 1st Aug., 1899-Accepted, 2nd Sept., 1899
Improvements in Apparatus for Burning Liquid Fuel in Steam
Generators and the like.
I, JOHN JONATHAN KERMODE, of 14, Gertrude Road, Anfield, Liverpool, in the
County of Lancaster, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention
to be as follows:-
This invention relates to apparatus for burning liquid fuel in steam generators
and the like, and has reference more particularly to certain improvements in the
invention described in the Provisional Specification of my prior application dated*
27th May, 1898 and numbered 12060.
In my said prior specification I have described, among other matters, a liquid
fuel burner of the injector type in which there is a central nozzle controlled by a
valve and surrounded by an annular nozzle, the amount of opening of the latter
being controlled by the movement of the former; the central nozzle is intended
for the admission of the liquid fuel to the furnace and the annular nozzle for hot
air under pressure which heats the liquid fuel as it passes through the central
nozzle and blows it as spray or vapour into the furnace. A prolongation of the
valve spindle in the form of a helically twisted strip, fitting within the central
nozzle, is also described, its function being to scrape and so clean the latter and
to give the liquid fuel a whirling motion; and with the object of giving the air
also a whirling motion, helical wings are fitted in the annular nozzle, their
"hand" being opposite to that of the twisted strip.
In the course of experiments with a burner such as I have described, I have
found that under certain circumstances there is great advantage in subjecting the
liquid fuel to a jet of hot air before it enters the central nozzle, or during its
passage through the latter, the combined jet of liquid fuel and air thus traversing
the central nozzle and finally mixing with the air supplied through the annular
nozzle.
This inner air jet is preferably arranged annularly round the liquid fuel supply
passage, and the supply may be regulated simply by a valve on the air pipe or, in
addition, by making the bounding surfaces of the nozzle of tapering contour, and
providing means for moving one of them axially, after the manner common in
apparatus of the injector class.
The air for the inner jet may be taken from the same supply as the outer jet,
the two supplies being capable of independent regulation, or the two jets may
be supplied at different temperatures or pressures if found desirable, and in some
cases, steam may be substituted for or combined with either or both jets.
As a burner such as I have described requires to be thrown out of action at
intervals in order to be cleaned, and as it is in the highest degree desirable that
the combustion and production of steam should be continuous, I prefer to dupli-
cate the burners, fitting them in pairs side by side, so that one can be in use while
the other is being cleaned or repaired. Common supply pipes for the liquid fuel
and the air or steam respectively are led to three-way cocks or the like placed
near the two burners with branches to each of them, so that the act of throwing
the one out of action brings the other into action, and if desired the liquid fuel

page_text: cock and the air or steam cock may be articulated together so that a single hand
lever controls both.
Toad this 21st day of October 18OS
SLOAN & LLOYD BARNES,
34, Castle Street, Liverpool,
Agents for the Applicant.
Improvements in Apparatus for Burning Liquid Fuel in Steam
Generators and the like.
I, JOHN JONATHAN KERMODE, of 14, Gertrude Road, Anfield, Liverpool, in the
County of Lancaster, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention.
and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement:-
This invention relates to apparatus for burning liquid fuel in steam generators
and the like, and I have illustrated its application to the furnace of a marine
boiler in the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. I is an elevation, the furnace
being shown in section on the line A, A, of Fig. II, Fig. II is an end elevation,
Fig. III is a plan view, the furnace being in longitudinal section, and Fig. IV is
an end elevation in transverse section on the line B, B, of Fig. I. Fig. V is an
elevation of the burner, to a larger scale, in longitudinal medial section, and
Figs. VI, VII and VIII are transverse sections of the burner on the lines C C,
DD, and E E, respectively, of Fig. V; Fig. IX is a view, similar to Fig. V, of a
modification of the burner. Figs. X, XI and XII illustrate an arrangement in
which the burners are duplicated, Fig. X being an elevation partly in section on
the line F F of Fig. XI, Fig. XI an end elevation, and Fig. XII a plan.
Figs. XIII, XIV, XV and XVI illustrate a further modification of the burner,
and are views analogous to Figs. V, VI, VII, and VIII.
Throughout the drawings the same and similar parts are indicated by the
same figure of reference.
Referring first to Figs. I to IV: -the furnace is provided with the usual
bridge 2 and dead plate 3 to carry the fire bars, and is further provided with an
air heating trunk 4, carried round three sides of the furnace as shown in Fig. III.
Air is forced under pressure into the trunk 4 by the pipe 5, and after having
been heated in its passage round the furnace, is led by the pipe 6 to the burner 7,
where it mixes with and vaporises the oil supplied to the burner by the pipe 8,
and the resulting flame is directed on to a mass of refractory material 9, such as
asbestos, which is thereby heated to incandescence.
The oil may be vaporised before it is supplied to the burner by being passed
through a vaporising pipe 10 placed within the furnace, in which case the
valve 81 is opened to connect the pipe 8 to the pipe 10¹, the valve 11 is closed, and
the right-angled two-way cock 12 is turned so as to connect the pipe 10" to the
pipe 13 which leads to the burner 7; or the oil may pass direct to the burner 7,
in which case the valve S' is closed, the valve 11 is opened, and the cock 12 is
turned to connect the pipe 8 to the pipe 13 and so to the burner. Heated air is
also supplied to the burner by a pipe 14 which branches, as shown, from the
main air pipe 6.
Referring now to Figs. V, VI, VII and VIII, which are detail views of the
burner to a larger scale:-131 is the oil inlet which is connected to the pipe 13,
61 is the main air inlet which is connected to the pipe 6, and 14' is the branch air
-inlet which is connected to the pipe 14. The valve 15 controls the oil passage in
the burner, and, as it requires a fine adjustment, I operate it by means of worm

page_text: gear, but to avoid complexity in the drawings, I have simply shown a hand
wheel for this purpose. The valve is provided with a spiral prolongation 15¹ in
the form of a twisted strip which serves to give the oil a whirling motion as it
passes to the nozzle along the inner axially sliding tube 16; the spiral prolonga-
tion 15 also serves as a scraper to clean the passage way of this tube 16 and the
valve seating 20, and the gland 17 is made easily removable so as to facilitate the
operation of cleaning.
The main supply of hot air which passes the nozzle is regulated by the axially
sliding tube 18, the end of which is adapted to adjust the amount of the annular
opening for air at the nozzle, and the air is given a whirling motion, in the
opposite direction to that of the oil, by the spiral wings 19.
The hot air which enters the passage 14' from the branch pipe 14 passes through
the annular passage between the sliding tube 16 and the fixed seating 20 of the
valve 15, and then mixes with the oil, ensuring its vaporisation and driving it
with vigour into the furnace; the sliding tubes 16 and 18 are independently
operated in the usual manner by the racks, pinions, and hand wheels shown.
The burner is carried, as shown in Fig. V, by flanges connected to a plate 21,
which is secured to the furnace front plate 22, and which also carries the oil
vaporising pipe and its connections.
In the modified form of burner shown in Fig. IX the connections and con-
struction are similar to those already described with the exception that a valve 16'
is substituted for the inner sliding tube 16, which is its equivalent in Fig. V.
In order that my invention should be more readily understood I have in the
first instance described an arrangement with but the one burner fitted to the
furnace; I have found, however, that it is desirable for many reasons to fit the
burners in duplicate and to so arrange the connections that the burners can be
used alternatively, so that the one may be cleaned or repaired while the other is
in operation. An arrangement of this kind, which is the preferred form of the
apparatus, is illustrated in Figs. X, XI and XII, which are drawn to a somewhat
larger scale than Figs. I, II and III.
As before, air is led through the pipe 5 to the heating trunk 4 in the furnace,
and from the latter by a pipe 6 to a right-angled two-way cock 23, by means of
which the air can be directed to either of the burners 7 or 7b. The branch air
pipes 14 and 14b, each controlled by a valve, supply air to the branch opening 14"
in the burner 7 or 7b, as the case may be.
The oil supply pipe 8 may be connected to the lower branch of the four-branch
cock 121 through the vaporising pipe 10, by closing the valve 11, and opening the
valve 81 which connects the pipes 8 and 101; or the oil may be led directly to the
upper branch of the cock 12 by closing the valve S¹ and opening the valve 11,
and in either case it can be led from the cock 121, by suitably turning the plug
thereof (which has two ports at right-angles), either to the burner 7 by the
pipe 13, or to the burner 7 by the pipe 13 as the case may be.
The front plate 22 of the furnace is protected from the intense heat by an air
screen formed by the plate 24, and air may be supplied if necessary below the fire
bars through the ash pit door 25.
The action of the apparatus is as follows:-
Oil is supplied to the oil pipe 8, and, asuming that the vaporising pipe 10 is
used, it passes through the said pipe on its way to the burner, being thus
vaporised more or less completely before reaching the burner; as it passes through
the burner complete vaporisation is ensured by the admixture with the oil of hot
air which enters, as described, by the branch inlet 141, and the further supply of
hot air necessary for combustion enters the burner by the hot air inlet G, the
relative proportions of the several supplies being adjusted by the controlling
devices described.
The issuing flame from the nozzle of the burner is directed on to a mass of
refractory material which is adapted to be heated. to incandescence thereby; and
which therefore acts as an equaliser and radiator.

page_text: In some cases steam may be substituted for, or supplied in conjunction with,
one or other or both of the hot air supplies, and the smaller air supply which
enters the burner by the inlet 14' may, instead of being branched from the main
supply pipe 6, be supplied from an independent source so as to be capable of
independent regulation as to temperature and pressure.
The form of burner illustrated in Figs. XIII, XIV, XV and XVI is a further
modification of the form illustrated in Figs. V to VIII and shown in the general
arrangement; the oil enters at 13" which is connected to the pipe 13, 6 is the
main air inlet and 14" is the branch inlet, which it will be noted is now formed
in the casing of the burner itself, so that when this form of burner is used the
pipe 14 (Figs. I, II and III), is dispensed with. Spiral wings 19 are provided as
before, but the sliding tube 18¹ is carried through the burner and is provided
with a hand wheel by which it can be rotated and so moved axially by virtue of
the screwed portion 26 engaging with a nut formed in the casing. The inner
sliding tube 16 has the spiral prolongation 15, and it can be moved axially
relatively to the tube 181, by rotating it by means of its hand wheel, the axial
movement being due to the screwed portion 27 engaging with a nut formed in the
tube 18; the oil supply is regulated by this movement and depends upon the
coincidence of the holes 28 and slots 29; the branch air supply is regulated by the
valve like end 16 on the inner tube 16" fitting a seating in the tube 181, the
opening depending upon the relative axial movement between these two tubes,
the air passing through the tube 18¹ by means of the holes 30. In addition to, or
instead of the air, steam may be admitted to the oil through a steam pipe con-
nected to the boss 31.
It is to be understood that I make no claim herein to those features which have
been described in my prior Specification No. 12060 and dated May 27th, 1898, and
which have been introduced here to illustrate the application of my present
invention.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:
1. In burners of the type herein described in which the oil vapour is given a
whirling movement as it passes through a central passage surrounded by a passage
through which the air for combustion passes and which is given a whirling move-
ment in the opposite direction; the use of a branch air inlet, controlled by a
suitable valve, through which a determinable portion of the heated air passes and
at once mixes with and completely vaporises the oil as it enters the central
passage of the burners; substantially as described and illustrated.
2. The improved burner substantially as described and illustrated in Figs. V
to VIII.
3. The improved burner substantially as described and illustrated in Fig. IX.
4. The improved burner substantially as described and illustrated in Figs. XIII
to XVI.
5. In apparatus for burning liquid fuel the arrangement of two burners so con-
nected, through two-way cocks, to the oil supply and vaporising pipe and the
heated air supply, that the burners may be used alternatively without interrupting
the action of the apparatus, and with or without the oil vaporiser; substantially
as described and illustrated in reference to Figs. X, XI and XII.
Dated this 20th day of Tul 1900
SLOAN & LLOYD BARNES,
Chartered Patent Agents,
34, Castle Street, Liverpool,