MENTS IN OPEN HEARTH GAS FURNACES FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF STEEL
Year: 1884

page_text: OLECTIVATION.
I FRANCIS RADCLIFFE of 55 Crescent Road Plumstead in the County of Kent,
Forge Manager do hereby declare the nature of my said invention for IMPROVE-
MENTS IN OPEN HEARTH GAS FURNACES FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF STEEL to be
as follows:-
The construction and arrangement of the Furnace is such that the Bath for
melting also the Regenerator and the Gas Producers are all combined in one
structure thereby dispensing with a seperate gas producing Plant-I supply heated
air under pressure in a closed Chamber to the Gas Producers:
The Gases generated at a high temperature pass immediately into the melting
Chamber thus avoiding the cooling of the gases and the consequent deposit of heavy
hydrocarbons in the form of Tar.
The Furnace is under perfect control by regulating the supply of air to the
Producers by means of slides or valves and doors.
I place the Regenerator above and parallel to the melting Chamber which affords
greater accessibility for repairs and less liability of choking up with dust passing
over with the products of combustion.
The heating of the air for combustion is combined in one Regenerator and is
continuous in its action dispensing with valve arrangements and duplicate
Regenerators for reversing the currents.
My Regenerator consists of a series of square or rectangular Tubes made of a
refractory material and having male and female joints cemented together and easily
built up and supported at intervals with ordinary fire bricks.
I arrange the Gas Producers so that the heat of the spent Gases after passing
through the Regenerator give up their remaining heat around the walls of the Gas
Producers promoting the distillation of the gases from the Fuel.
The combustible gases are produced with less volume of nitrogen as a less volume
of air will be required for maintaining the combustion in the Gas Producers.
By my system the construction of the Furnace is much simplified and a more
equable and uniform temperature maintained than in the ordinary Regenerators
where the currents has to be alternately reversed.
In the Flues and passages to the smoke stack I obtain additional heat from the
waste gases by inserting one or more rows of pipes or Tubes made of iron or of a
refractory material and through which I convey the air to the Furnace.
Dated this second day of December 1884.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
I FRANCIS RADCLIFFE of 55 Crescent Road Plumstead in the County of Kent
Forge Manager, do hereby declare the nature of my said' Invention for IMPROVE-
MENTS IN OPEN HEARTH GAS FURNACES and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be 'particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
-statement
The construction and arrangement of the Furnace as applied to the manufacture
of Steel is such that the Bath for melting also the Regenerator and the Gas
Producers are all combined in one structure; thereby dispensing with a seperate
Gas producing Plant-I supply highly heated air under pressure in a closed
Chamber to the Gas Producers-The Gases generated at a high temperature pass
immediately into the melting Chamber thus avoiding the cooling of the gases and
the consequent deposit of heavy hydrocarbons in the form of Tar Pitch etc.
The Furnace is under perfect control by regulating the supply of air to the
Producers by means of slides or valves and Doors-I place the Regenerator above
and parallel to the melting Chamber which affords greater accesibility for repairs
and less liability of choking up with dust passing over with the products of
combustion-The heating of the air for combustion is combined in one Regenerator
and is continuous in its action dispensing with valve arrangements for and
duplicate Regenerators for reversing the currents.
My Regenerator consists of a series of square rectangular or other suitable
shaped Tubes or Pipes made of a refractory material having male and female joints
cemented together and easily built up and supported at intervals with ordinary
firebrick.
I prefer to arrange the Gas Producers so that the heat of the spent gases after
passing through the Regenerator give up their remaining heat around the walls of
the Gas producers promoting the distillation of gases from the fuel, but this is not
essential to my Invention.
The combustible Gases are produced with a less volume of nitrogen; as a less
volume of air will be required for maintaining the combustion in the Gas
Producers.
By my system the construction of the Furnace is much simplified a more equiable
and uniform temperature maintained than in ordinary Regenerators where the
current has to be alternately reversed.
In the flues and passages to the stack I obtain heat from the waste gases by
inserting one or more rows of Tubes or Pipes made of Iron or of a refractory
material through which I convey the air from the Blower or steam jet to the
Furnace,
I am enabled to use Coke as Fuel either with or without Coal with the steam
jet or jet of superheated steam entering under the Firebars.
The same system of Gas Furnace with all its advantages is equally applicable
to all Furnaces for the melting or manufacture of Steel, Iron, or any metal, Glass
pots, Retorts, etc.

page_text: DESCRIPTION OF DRAWING.
The accompanying Drawing represents one of my Gas Furnaces as applied to
the manufacture of Steel.
Fig. 1 is a sectional elevation lengthways.
Fig. 2 is a cross section.
Fig. 3 is a sectional plan shewing the melting Chamber and Gas Producers.
Fig. 4 is a sectional plan through the Regenerator and passages.
The same letters represent the same parts in each view.
A, A, are the Gas Producers consisting of closed Chambers with grate bars a, a,
at the bottom and ash pits b, b, closed with Doors c, c, for removing the ashes-
The Hoppers d, d, through which the Fuel is fed, are closed by moveable Covers
or slides and Cones e, e, for closing the nock of the Hopper during filling and
actuated by a Lever for discharging the fuel into the Producer-f. f, are passages
through which the Gases evolving from the fuel pass to the melting Chamber B
at the neck of which the gases become mixed with the highly heated air from the
Regenerator and are at once ignited.
The highly heated air is distributed through openings g, g, g, in the Box h, across
the entire width of the Furnace or Chamber-The Chamber is fitted with
Doors i, i, i, for charging and viewing also discharging Trough j
The Regenerator D is supported on Columns and Girders independent of the
Furnace Chamber-k, k, are the Tubes through which the air travels from the
Blower or Steam Jet and becomes heated in passing through one half of the Tubes
in one direction and returning in an opposite direction through the other half and
thence to the melting Chamber-The whole of the heat passing away from the
melting Chamber distributes itself around the Tubes of the Regenerator and in the
direction of the arrows and thence to the flues around the Gas producers and
finally through an enlarged flue E on its way to the Stack or Chimney F.
The enlarged flue E is filled with one or more rows of Tubes or pipes L, L, and
boxes m, m, exposed to the spent gases thereby utilising and abstracting the
remaining heat for raising the temperature of the air supplied to the Gas
Producers.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
Invention and in what manner it is to be performed I declare that what I claim is
First. A combined arrangement of Gas Producers and Furnace with Regenerator
and heated air supply forced in under pressure. The Furnace continuous in its
action and entirely under control substantially as described.
Second. The construction and arrangement of Regenerator and method of
supporting it directly over and yet independent of the Chamber of the Furnace
substantially as described.
Third. The arrangement of closed Gas Producers fed with heated air under
pressure or Steam and air jet substantially as described.
Fourth. Utilising the waste heat on its way to the chimney for heating up the
walls of the Gas Producers and the air supply substantially as described.
Dated this eighth day of Mar 1908