IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF IRON AND IN THE STEAM APPARATUS USED THEREIN, PART OR PARTS OF WHICH ARE ALSO APPLICABLE TO EVAPORATIVE AND MOTIVE PURPOSES GENERALLY
Year: 1851

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOSEPII
STENSON, of Northampton, in the County of Northampton, Engineer and Iron
Manufacturer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent, under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, bearing date at Westminster, the Twenty-seventh day of
December, One thousand eight hundred and fifty-one, in the fifteenth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, 'give and grant unto me,
the said Joseph Stenson, my exors, adñiors, and assigns, Her especial licence,
full power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said Joseph Stenson, my
exors, adiñiors, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Joseph Stenson, my
exors, adiñiors, or assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from
time to time and at all times during the term of years therein expressed,
should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England,
Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, and in the Islands of Guernsey,
Jersey, Alderney, Sark, and Man, and also in all Her said Majesty's Colonies
and Plantations abroad, my Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE
OF IRON AND IN THE STEAM APPARATUS USED THEREIN, PART OR PARTS OF WHICH ARE
ALSO APPLICABLE TO EVAPORATIVE AND MOTIVE PURPOSES GENERALLY;" in which said
Letters Patent is contained a proviso that I, the said Joseph Stenson, shall
cause a particular description of the nature of my said Invention, and in what

page_text: manner the same is to be performed, by an instrument in writing under my
hand and seal, to be inrolled in Her Majesty's High Court of Chancery within
six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said in part
recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same, reference being thereunto had,
will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Joseph Stenson, hereby declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following Specification thereof, reference being had to the
Drawings hereunto annexed, that is to say:
My improvements in the manufacture of iron relate, -
I mix
Firstly, to the reducing of iron from its ores by a new method of combining
or mixing the ore with the materials employed in its reduction, and also by new
and improved arrangements in the management of the furnace and of the
apparatus connected therewith. The first portion of the process relates more
especially to that description of ore known as "iron sand" (which is found
in abundance on the coast of New Zealand), and the small iron ore of India,
and called "wootz," and other similar ores found in small and disintegrated
particles. The mode in which I treat these ores is as follows:- Having burnt
limestone in the ordinary manner so as to expel the carbonic acid gas,
the lime thus obtained with clay, preferring (when it can be obtained) ferru-
ginous clay, and reduce the whole into a paste or wash by adding a sufficient
quantity of water thereto; I then mix the iron ore therewith in the propor
tions of about one-twelfth of a ton of clay and one seventh of a ton of calcined
lime for each ton of the iron sand, and one sixth of a ton of clay and one
eighth of a ton of lime for each ton of the wootz ore; I then place the
mixture in a mill somewhat similar to a pug mill, in which I reduce the whole
to a plastic state; I then divide the mass into lumps or pieces suitable for
charging into the blast furnace. A quantity of charcoal made from wood or
peat (but I prefer that made from wood) may be advantageously mixed with
the ore, clay, and lime, the object of this being to secure more porosity in the
mass, and also to assist the combustion and separation of the ore; also slate or
shale may be used in lieu of clay, but I prefer to use clay where it can be pro-
cured. The moisture may be expelled from the materials so prepared by drying
or calcining them by some or one of the ordinary methods now in use.
I am
aware that the above mentioned or like materials have been used before in
reducing iron from its ores; I do not, therefore, claim as of my Invention the
use of those materials, except when combined as herein-before described. And
I hereby declare, that I claim as of my Invention the treating and mixing of

page_text: the materials so as to produce the combinations herein-before described as an
improvement in the manufacture of iron.
gas burner
Secondly, my Invention relates to improvements in the arrangement of the
blast furnaces employed in the manufacture of iron, and in the apparatus con-
nected therewith, which are as follows:-In order to obtain a more equable
distribution of the blast, and a more uniform combustion in the furnace, than is
obtained by the methods now in use, I use tuyeres so disposed that the blast
may be divided into two parts at or near the escape or jet, and that these two
jets of blast shall cross each other somewhat after the manner of the
known as the "swallow-tail burner." In order to obtain a higher rate of
combustion in the blast furnace than is usually obtained by the methods now in
use, I mount a pipe or hopper on the upper part of the blast pipe and near to
the nozzle the bottom end of this pipe is to have a communication with the
blast pipe, and the top end to be fitted with a cap, to prevent the escape of air
under pressure. The lower end of this hopper is provided with a fluted or other
feed roller or rollers, which by revolving shall cause small coal, charcoal, or
other carbonaceous matter to be introduced into the midst of the blast, and so
impelled forward into the furnace. The spindle of this roller is to be connected
with some suitable part of such motive power as may be used at such furnace
or furnaces. The cover of the hopper is to be removed, when necessary, to
renew the charge, and then replaced, and kept closed until a further charge is
required. I claim as of my Invention the employment and adaptation of
double jet tuyeres to blast furnaces as above described, and I also claim the
employment and adaptation of hoppers to the blast pipes of furnaces for
applying carbonaceous matters as above described.
Thirdly, my Invention relates to the manufacture of wrought iron, and
consists in a peculiar method of piling the iron before it is put in the mill
furnace, and in the welding of the pile when it comes out of the mill furnace.
And first, as to the piling of iron, this part of my Invention consists in con-
structing my piles of a combination of narrow bars cut and laid together in the
manner herein-after described. These narrow bars are cut at their ends to an
angle of 45°, and of the length required to correspond to the proposed width of
the pile intended to be made. They are placed obliquely to the length of the
pile upon and across the bottom plate or bar, as shown in Figure 1.
rough flat bar, of the same width and length as the intended pile; on this
rough bar I lay the narrow bars, as shewn at b, b, b, at an angle of 45°.
place another tier of similar narrow bars on the top of those marked b, b, b,
but in an opposite direction, as shewn at c, c, c, the edges of these narrow bars:
touching each other, and so arranged as that each narrow bar- may cross the
a is a
I then

page_text: bars immediately below it at right angles, and so that the ends of the narrow
bars in every layer may run flush or even with the outer edges of the bottom
plate or bar. I then lay other tiers or layers of similar narrow bars, every
alternate layer being so disposed in the manner before described as that the
bars in each layer may cross those in the layer below at right angles, as before
stated; and I continue to build up these tiers of narrow bars, layer upon layer,
until a sufficient number of tiers or layers have been formed in manner before
mentioned (and as shewn in the edge or side view of the pile shown in
Figure 2) to construct a pile of the size and weight required, the exact num-
ber of tiers or layers to be dependent on the intended size and weight of the
finished bar, taking care that the narrow bars in each alternate layer are so
laid as to cross those immediately below them in contrary directions, alternately,
as shown by the Drawing in Figures 1 and 2. I then cover the whole with
another rough flat bar similar to the one at the bottom, when and with which
the pile is complete and ready for the furnace By the employment of this
combination and arrangement of narrow bars the fibrous character of the iron,
on which its strength or toughness mainly depends, is increased, and I also
obtain the facility of employing in piles of every required width a combination
of bars of the same size, and which can always be readily cut down to a length
corresponding with the width and weight of the proposed pile, as before stated.
A piece of wood of a suitable size and form might be employed at the bottom
of the pile in the stead of the rough bar a, and the flat bar at the top might be
dispensed with. And I claim as my Invention, and as an improvement in the
manufacture of iron, the construction of a pile of a combination of a series of
narrow bars arranged and disposed as above described and represented. In
order to lessen the liability to cleavage or lamination, which so frequently exists
in iron as now usually manufactured, I also adopt other modes of piling,
which will be more readily understood by a reference to the Drawings herein
next referred to. Figure 3 shows a transverse section of a pile constructed
according to one of these modes. In this pile the forge rolls are turned so as
to prepare iron of the forms shewn in a, b, c, which are then placed in com-
bination together, as shown in the section, my object in thus forming the pile,
as shown in this and the following Figure, being to prevent any straight line of
division or cleavage existing throughout the pile. Figure 4 shews another
method of piling. In this pile the roughing rolls are to be turned so as to
produce forms, as a, b, c, which three forms, when combined with the addition
of the pieces or bars of iron marked d, d, d, and arranged in the manner
shown in the Drawing, compose the pile. Figure 5 shews a third method of
piling. In this pile the roughing rolls are to be turned so as produce forms, as

page_text: d, d, which, when combined with the other pieces or bars of iron marked f, and
arranged in the manner shewn in the Drawing, compose the pile, the object
here being the same as that described in Figure 3. Figure 6 shows a method
of building up large piles. These I construct so as to be hollow through the
centre, so that the welding heat may be more uniform. The heat circulates
through the aperture shewn at g, and thus assists to weld the interior of the
pile. I also claim as of my invention, and as an improvement in the manufac-
ture of iron, the constructing the piles according to the several arrangements
described and represented in Figures 3, 4, 5, and 6.
Fourthly, my Invention relates to a method of effecting the welding together
of the piles of iron when brought from the mill furnace more perfectly and
with less oxidation than according to the methods now in use. I subject such
heated piles to percussion, immediately on the pile being brought from the
furnace, and before it is passed through the rolls; and for this purpose I place a
hammer as close as conveniently may be to the mouth of the furnace, and
subject the pile, while yet at a welding heat, and as soon as it leaves the furnace,
to the blows of such hammer, worked by means of the motive power used at
iron works. The piles are then passed on to the rolls, and finished according
to the usual practice. By treating the piles in this manner a complete welding
together of the parts composing the pile is effected immediately on coming out
of the mill furnace, and before being passed into the rolls. And I claim as this
part of my Invention the welding such piles by hammering them immediately
on leaving the mill furnace, previous to being rolled into the finished bar.
Fifthly, my Invention relates to certain apparatus for the generation of
steam, as herein-after described. An auxiliary or furnace boiler may be con-
structed in the interior of any reverberatory furnace, connected with the boiler
attached to the engine by which the motive machinery of iron works is usually
worked. My method of constructing and using such auxiliary boiler is as
follows: I construct in the interior of a reverberatory furnace a boiler of the
same form in its interior as the inside of the fire-place of such furnace. The
outer case of the boiler may be of any convenient shape, but I should prefer it
of a form somewhat similar to the interior case of the same boiler, but of
larger dimensions, so as to leave a water space on all sides and at the top,
except on that side towards the bridge or throat of the furnace, on which side
there must be an opening corresponding to the aperture along which the flame
is made to pass over the bridge of the furnace. There must also be openings
through the side of such boiler corresponding to the holes now in use, for the
supply of fuel and for the heating of staffs. All the openings before mentioned

page_text: are to be made water-tight according to the ordinary methods. The fire
surface of this auxiliary boiler is lined with fire-brick, so as to prevent the
auxiliary boiler absorbing too much of the heat necessary for well working the
iron either in puddling or other operations. I connect this boiler, by means of
pipes, with such large steam boiler as may be used for the impelling of the
motive machinery employed in the works. Of one of these pipes is connected
from the top of the auxiliary or furnace boiler just described with the upper
part (but below the water line) of such large steam boiler, and the other pipe
is connected from the bottom or near the bottom of such furnace boiler with
the lower part of the said large steam boiler. The top pipe is fixed, so that it
may rise a little between its connection on the top of the furnace boiler towards
its junction with the large one, thus completing the circulation of the water
therein contained. The top pipe I call the flow-pipe, and the bottom one the
return pipe. This boiler is shewn in plan in Figure 7, and in elevation in
Figure 8. Another auxillary boiler or steam generator may also be placed in
the neck or outlet duct of the puddling or other furnace, which auxiliary boiler
or steam generator I make of a form suitable to the neck or throat of such
furnace, but leaving an opening on one side of such auxiliary boiler or steam
generator for the purpose of getting off the cinder which runs from the bottom
of the furnace; this opening to be secured in the manner before stated. This
auxiliary boiler I also connect by pipes in a way similar to that adopted in the
connecting pipes of the furnace boiler before described, as being fixed in the
fire-place of furnaces. This boiler is shown at Figure 9. The object of both these
auxiliary boilers is to gain a greater supply of steam by the same expenditure
of fuel as is required for the proper heating of reverberatory furnace with
which such auxiliary boilers are connected in manner before mentioned.
Another form of boiler or apparatus for generating steam, and supplying it to
the engine by which the motive machinery of iron works is usually worked, is
represented in Figure 10, which is a plan through the line a, b, of a vertical
boiler (Figure 11), having tubes for the descent and also for the ascent of
the products of combustion. Figure 11 is a sectional elevation of this boiler,
the arrows shewing the descending tubes leading into the smoke-duct c, c. I
do not draw off the smoke or other products of combustion from this smoke-
duct into an ascending flue or chimney outside of the boiler (which has been
done before from descending flues).
What I claim as my Invention is the introduction of the series of ver-
tical ascending tubes c, c, corresponding with the descending tubes as
now usually employed, and by means of which ascending vertical tubes

page_text: the products of combustion, instead of being carried off by the external
chimney (whereby much heat is wasted), are passed through the steam
chamber, and thus serve to dry the steam contained in such chamber. The
precise arrangement of the tubes is shown in Figures 10, 11. Figure 12
shews another mode which may be adopted for increasing the generative power
of any boiler, whether used for supplying steam to an engine by which the
the motive machinery in iron works is worked, or for motive or evaporative
purposes generally. A generator a is placed immediately above the fire, and
the products of combustion made to pass through a contracted space e, e, on
their passage towards the tubes, thus securing a greater effect by an increase of
beating surface near the fire. Another construction of steam generator or
boiler is represented in Figures 13 and 14, applicable for various purposes.
The objects specially aimed at in this boiler are, first, a much larger flue surface,
for the more equable and economical application of the heat; and, secondly, the
reduction of the friction of air or products of combustion passing through the
tubes. The arrangement I propose admits of enlarging the blast pipe, reduces
the velocity of draught, and by means of return tubes through an extra steam
chamber ensures the drying of the steam. In Figure 13 are represented three
tubes, marked a, a, a, the aggregate area of which should not be less than that
of the chimney. C is the steam chamber, which should be strong, and will supply
a long acknowledged desideratum, namely, a boiler oval in point of form with-
out any diminution in the width of the water-line or the depth of water above
the tubes, while the increase of weight would be but little additional to that of
the boilers now in use. A steam dome would be desirable at D, from some point
near the top of which the steam pipe should receive its supply for the cylinders.
Holes perforated through the upper surface of the boiler would carry off the
steam as generated by the tubes, and give facility to a free circulation of the
water generally. Another arrangement for increasing the generating of steam
is shewn in longitudinal section, Figure 15, transverse section, Figure 16, and
a modification of the same in longitudinal section, Figure 17, and transverso
section, Figure 18, in which the tubes are made to project, as shewn, into the
body of the fire-box, and a great increase of heating surface thereby obtained,
thus securing an additional length in the tubes without adding to the length
of the boiler. I claim in respect of the part of my Invention lastly described
the steam generators and boilers constructed in the manner herein-before
described, and represented in Figures 7, 8, and 9, when used as auxiliary boilers
in connection with reverbatory furnaces.
I also claim the steam generators and boilers constructed in the manner
herein-before described, and represented in Figures 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16,