Improvements in Regenerative Gas Cupolas and Furnaces.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 5th Dec., 1891
Complete Specification Left, 31st Aug., 1892-Accepted, 15th Oct., 1892
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Regenerative Gas Cupolas and Furnaces.
I THOMAS WILLIAMSON, Engineer, Hartington House, Franklin Mount,
Harrogate in the County of York do hereby declare the nature of this invention to
be as follows:—
The cupola has for its object the smelting or reducing of minerals and metals by
the application of gaseous fuel, while molten metal or Huid, is run into the of the
regenerative furnace, which serves as a reservoir for keeping and retaining the fluid
metal hot, until it is tapp'd off and run into the steel converting furnace, or into pig
iron beds, or into ladles for foundry castings.
The regenerative chambers which are built underneath the furnace are for
restoring the waste heat, and for reheating the gas and air blast required for the
cupola.
The cupola is made of a hollow cylindrical form with plated casings, and lined
with fire brick, or other refractory materials, it is set up on end, upon columns,
secured to suitable foundations.
A short distance up from the bottom, is the melting chamber, which is encircled
with flues, for the watergas, producer gas, and the hot air blast, from these flues,
small passages are built in the walls, which join each other, forming a combustion
chamber where the gases mix at their entrance into the melting chamber and may
be called tuyeres.
Each set of tuyeres are situate on different levels where they issue into the melting
chamber towards the centre of the cupola.
The gas and air, are brought into flues by pipes covered by nonconducting
materials for retaining the heat, during its passage to the cupola, regulating and
shutting off valves are provided for each of these pipes.
The bottom of the cupola is made of refractory materials, it slopes towards the
tapping hole, there are provided side and drop bottom doors, for cleaning out and
repairing, it is also joined by a runner trough lined with gannister & fitted with a
cover to preserve the heat in the metal while flowing into the bath furnace.
The upper part of the cupola is made with a charging door on one side, on which
the metal to be melted, is raised from the ground floor by an automatic endless chain
elevator, it is discharged from the top drum into a shoot projecting through the
charging door into the cupola, a self closing door is attached to the shoot which closes
itself immediately each piece of pig iron is discharged into the cupola and prevents
the heat from escaping.
The top part is built over, leaving a hole in the centre, upon which is placed a
pipe, with a damper valve on the top, for allowing the waste gases to escape
or keep them in, or to allow cold air to be drawn in, a branch pipe is fixed on one
side with a main leading to the exhaust machine for drawing off the hot waste gases
to be used over again, after having passed through the regenerative chambers of the
furnace.
The regenerative furnace is made with a circular body and bottom, and is plated,
and lined with fire-brick or other refractory material, it is supported on solid rolled
girder beams placed accross the top of the walls of the regenerator chambers. The
Bath of the furnace is connected to the cupola by a runner trough to the tapping
hole.
The roof of the furnace is dome shaped, and built over with fire bricks, or other heat
resisting material. The bottom of the bath is made to slope towards the tapping
hole, which has a lander or runner trough for conveying the hot metal to the steel
converting furnace it has also a slag tap hole and runner. Under the furnace and

page_text: girders upon which it rests, are the regenerator chambers, which are of sufficient
depth and built on concrete foundations having strong walls and are roofed over,
they are made in four compartments with other partitions and flues from each,
taken up through tubes lined with fire brick, there are two flues on each side
of the furnace, one gas & one air the gas flue enters through the side of the
furnace while the air is taken over the gas where combustion takes place while
the waste gases pass out through the flues on the opposite side, passing through
the regenerator chambers, between rows of cross tubes, and out through the
reversing valves to the exhauster, by which they are returned back through the
cross tubes in the regenerator chambers (which are protected from burning by
brick covers) the waste gases are reheated in passing through the chambers in
these tubes, and are conveyed in covered pipes to the cupola (as already described,)
at a high temperature.
Each of the chambers has gas and air flues communicating with the furnace,
and are operated by ordinary butterfly reversing gas and air valves, and are each
connected to the exhauster and gas producers by tubes and pipes, shut of valves are
provided for each and for regulating the supply.
Watergas can be supplied by pipes leading from the gasholder to the melting
chamber of the cupola, where it is connected by a branch pipe to a segmental pipe
which encircles the cupola above the gas and air flues, from which gas tubes are
connected to branches, one for each tuyere, and are directed through the wall of the
gas flue issuing as a jet directly in line with the gas and air tuyeres in their entrance
to the melting chamber of the cupola, regulating cocks and valves are provided for
the supply of the watergas.
Dated 4th day of December 1891.
THOMAS WILLIAMSON.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Regenerative Gas Cupolas and Furnaces.
I, THOMAS WILLIAMSON, Engineer, Hartington House, Franklin Mount,
Harrogate, in the County of York, 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 has for its object the working or reducing of minerals and metals
by the application of gaseous fuel to the cupola, the molten or fluid metal being run
into the bath of a regenerative furnace which serves as a reservoir for keeping and
retaining the fluid metal hot, until it is tapped off and run into a steel converting
furnace or into pig iron beds or into ladles for foundry castings.
The regenerative chambers which are built underneath the furnace are for
heating the gas and air blast required for the cupola, and for restoring the waste
heat.
As represented in the accompanying drawings of which Fig. 1 is a sectional side
elevation, shewing the cupola and regenerator furnace and chambers in section,
Fig. 2 an elevation at right angles to Fig. 1, also showing the regenerator
chambers in section, and Fig. 3 a plan, the cupola A which is inade of a hollow
cylindrical form with plated casing and lined with fire brick or other refractory
material, is set up on end upon columns B secured to suitable foundations. A
short distance up from the bottom of the cupola is the melting chamber C
which is encircled with flues D D¹ to which the gas, which may be water gas
or producer gas, and the hot air blast are admitted. From these flues small
passages are built in the walls, which join each other forming a combustion
chamber where the gases mix at their entrance into the melting chamber and
may be called tuyeres. Each set of tuyeres are situated on different levels where
they issue into the melting chamber towards the centre of the cupola.
The air from a fan or blower G passes through a pipe d, as indicated by the

page_text: arrows entering a compartment H in the regenerative chambers I, through cross
tubes i and into another compartment H', thence back through another row of
cross tubes into a passage or flue h. This passage or flue communicates with
a compartment J provided with a similar set of tubes j¹, through which the air
passes and thus becomes heated on its way to the cupola, to which it is conducted
through a pipe E covered with non-conducting material. The gas which is supplied
to the cupola from a producer through pipes e el passes into compartments K, L,
also passing through cross tubes k, l, into other compartments K', L', respectively.
These compartments K', L', communicate with each other by means of a flue A and
the gas from each of these being now heated passes out through a pipe F covered
with non-conducting material to the cupola where it meets the heated air. The
cross tubes in the regenerative chambers are protected from burning by brick
covers.
The bottom of the cupola which is made of refractory material, slopes towards
the tapping hole c and is provided with side and ordinary bottom doors for cleaning
out and repairing. It is connected with the regenerative furnace by means of a
runner trough M lined with gannister or fitted with a cover to preserve the heat in
the metal whilst flowing into the bath furnace Q. The upper part of the cupola is
made with a charging door N on one side, to which the metal to be melted is raised
from the ground by an endless chain elevator O.
The metal is discharged from the top drum of the elevator into a shoot n
projecting through the charging door into the cupola, said shoot being provided
with a self-closing door o, which closes immediately each piece of pig iron is
discharged into the cupola and prevents the heat from escaping.
The top portion of the cupola is built over, leaving a hole in the centre, upon
which is placed a pipe with a damper valve o¹ over the top for allowing the waste
gases to escape or keep them in or to allow cold air to be drawn in.
The regenerative furnace Q, which is situated on the top of the regenerative
chambers I, is shown with a circular body, but may be of any other form, and
is plated and lined with fire brick or other refractory material. It is supported on
solid rolled girder beams R placed across the top of the walls of the regenerator
chambers.
The roof of the furnace Q is dome shaped and built over with fire bricks or other
heat resisting material. The bottom of the bath is made to slope towards the
tapping hole, which has a lander or running trough 9 for conveying the hot metal
to the steel converting furnace, and has also a slag tap hole and cover.
Entering the bath furnace Q are two flues s, t, which communicate with
compartments S and T in the regenerative chambers. Air is supplied to the air
compartment S by means of the flue s¹, where it passes round the outsides of the
cross tubes i i¹ and thence to the bath furnaces by means of the flue 8. Gas is
supplied to the gas compartment T from the producer through the flue t', the gas
passing round the outsides of the tubes and thence through the flue to the bath
furnace where combustion takes place on the mixing of the gas and air, the waste
gases passing out through similar flues (2 into similar compartments S¹, T', round
the outside of the tubes jj and thereby heating the tubes and thence through the
flues & and reversing valves & t to the chimney U.
By means of the reversing valves the air and gas can be admitted through the
flues s, t, the waste gases then passing out through the flues s, t, to the chimney.
When it is desired to use the hot and waste gases in the cupola over again, a branch
pipe P may be fixed to one side of the cupola having a main connecting it with the
exhauster G. The waste gases are then reheated by being passed through the tubes
in the regenerative furnace in the manner already described with reference to the
fresh air and are conveyed in the covered pipes E to the cupola at a high
temperature.
Fig. 4 shows a modification of the invention in which in lieu of the producer
gas, water gas. is supplied by a pipe leading from a gasholder and connected to a
segmental pipe V which encircles the cupola about the air flues and from which gas

page_text: tubes, one for each tuyere, are directed through the wall of the air flue, issuing as
a jet directly in line with the air tuyeres in their entrance to the melting chamber
of the cupola. Regulating cocks and valves are provided for the supply of the
watergas.
As shown at Figure 1 the pipes for supplying the watergas may be superadded to
the arrangement for working the cupola with producer gas.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is:
1. The arrangement in combination with a cupola of regenerative chambers and
accessories for working such cupola by means of gaseous fuel substantially as
described.
2. A cupola constructed and furnished with gas and air flues or pipes substantially
as described.
CRUIKSHANK & FAIRWEATHER,
62, St. Vincent Street, Glasgow, Agents.