IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF APPARATUS FOR SUPPLYING AIR STEAM TO FURNACES TO CAUSE MORE PERFECT COMBUSTION OF FUEL
Year: 1884

page_text: I ROBERT HENRY HEPBURN of 66 Oakley Square Regents Park in the County
of Middlesex Engineer do hereby declare the nature of my invention for
IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF APPARATUS FOR SUPPLYING AIR
STEAM TO FURNACES TO CAUSE MORE PERFECT COMBUSTION OF FUEL to be as
follows:-
AND
My invention has reference to apparatus for supplying air and steam by means
of jets or injectors to furnaces with the object of causing more perfect combustion
of the fuel burnt therein. Various attempts have already been made to supply air
or steam or both air and steam by means of jets or injectors to furnaces with the
object aforesaid, but the arrangements hitherto adopted or proposed have been
either costly to manufacture or ineffective in their results.
Now the object of my invention is to construct an apparatus both simple and
inexpensive in manufacture and efficient in action. My improved apparatus
comprises one common steam chamber to supply a series of nozzles and a series of
compartments equal in number to the nozzles each compartment being open at its
lower and hinder part to allow of the entrance of air thereto and also open at its
inner end to allow the steam and air to pass out into the furnace and the whole
of the apparatus except the nozzles themselves being cast or made in one piece.
The
The steam chamber forms the back of the apparatus and is supplied with steam
by a pipe from the boiler so that it is kept fully charged with the steam.
nozzles are fitted with holes formed for the purpose in the inner face of the steam
chamber and they each discharge steam into the corresponding compartment. Each
jet of steam causes air to enter the corresponding compartment and the steain and
air pass together in a stream out of the front of the compartment as from an
injector, the volumes of mixed air and steam discharged from the several compart-
ments being separate and distinct. The front open end of the compartments may
be diminished in area so as to concentrate the air and steam discharged therefrom.
The apparatus can be fitted to any required part of the furnace, for example, at
the front of the furnace below the level of the fire bars so as to inject the mixture
of steam and air below the bars, or at the front of the furnace above the fire bars

page_text: so as to inject the steam and air into or above the fuel, or at the back of the
furnace either above or below the fire bars, or in other required position, the
particular position forming no part of my invention.
In some cases I make the apparatus double, that is to say, with two sets of
compartments and two sets of nozzles arranged back to back with a common
steain chamber between them; with this arrangement I can inject the air and
steam in two opposite directions; for example below the fire bars at the back of
the furnace by the one set of nozzles, and behind or through the ordinary brick
arch or bridge by the other set of nozzles; the two sets of compartments and the
stean chamber are, as before, made in one piece.
In cases where it is desired to destroy noxious gas or vapors I admit them with
or instead of the air to the compartments before described.
The steam chamber for supplying all the nozzles being cast or made in one piece
with all the compartments as already stated, all expense of fitting or securing these
parts together or of securing them separately to the furnace is avoided.
Dated this first day of January 1884.
J. C. MEWBURN,
Agent for the Applicant.

page_text: I ROBERT HENRY HEPBURN of 66 Oakley Square, Regents Park in the County
of Middlesex, Engineer do hereby declare the nature of my invention for
IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF APPARATUS FOR SUPPLYING AIR AND
STEAM TO FURNACES TO CAUSE MORE PERFECT COMBUSTION OF FUEL and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement:-
My invention has reference to apparatus for supplying air and steam by means
of jets or injectors to furnaces with the object of causing more perfect combustion
of the fuel burnt therein. Various attempts have already been made to supply air
or steam or both air and steam by means of jets or injectors to furnaces with the
object aforesaid, but the arrangements hitherto adopted or proposed have been
either costly to manufacture or ineffective in their results.
Now the object of my invention is to construct an apparatus both simple and
inexpensive in manufacture and efficient in action. My improved apparatus
comprizes one common stean chamber to supply a series of nozzles and a series of
compartments equal in number to the nozzles each compartment being open at its
lower and hinder part to allow of the entrance of air thereto and also open at its
inner end to allow the steam and air to pass out into the furnace and the whole of
the apparatus except the nozzles themselves being cast or made in one piece.
The steam chamber forms the back of the apparatus and is supplied with steam
by a pipe from the boiler so that it is kept fully charged with the steam. The
nozzles are fitted into holes formed for the purpose in the inner face of the steam
chamber and they each discharge steam into the corresponding compartment.
Each jet of steam causes air to enter the corresponding compartment and the
steain and air pass together in a stream out of the front of the compartment as
from an injector, the volumes of mixed air and steam discharged from the several
compartments being separate and distinct. The front open end of the compartments
may be diminished in area so as to concentrate the air and steam discharged
therefrom or it may be enlarged in so as to spread the discharged air and steam.
The apparatus can be fitted to any required part of the furnace, for example, at
the front of the furnace below the level of the fire-bars so as to inject the mixture
of steam and air below the bars, or at the front of the furnace above the fire-bars
so as to inject the steam and air into or above the fuel, or at the back of the
furnace either above or below the fire-bars, or in other required position, the
particular position forming no part of my invention.
In some cases I make the apparatus double that is to say: with 2 sets of
compartments and 2 sets of nozzles arranged back to back with a common steam
chamber between them; with this arrangement I can inject the air and steam in
2 opposite directions, for example, below the fire-bars at the back of the furnace
by the one set of nozzles, and behind or through the ordinary brick arch or bridge
by the other set of nozzles; the 2 sets of compartments and the steam chamber
are, as before, made in one piece. Where thought desirable the apparatus may
form a resting bar for the fire-bars. In cases where it is desired to destroy noxious
gas or vapors I admit them with or instead of the air to the compartments before
described.
The steam chamber for supplying all the nozzles of the apparatus being cast or
nade in one piece with the compartments as already stated, all expense of fitting
or securing these parts together or of securing them separately to the furnace is
avoided.

page_text: The annexed drawings show an apparatus constructed according to my invention
and illustrate its application to the front of a furnace so as to inject the mixture
of steam and air below the level of the fire-bars and also its application at the
back of a furnace so as to inject the mixture above the fire-bars. Figure 1 is a
longitudinal section of the furnace; Figure 2 is a horizontal section taken partly
above and partly below the fire-bars; Figure 3 is a front elevation and Figure 4
a transverse section. A is the furnace, B the fire-bars, C the bridge, D the boiler,
E a pipe for supplying steam from the boiler to the steam-aud-air injecting
apparatus. Fa regulating cock on the pipe E. G G¹ branches of the pipe E to
supply respectively the apparatus at the front of the furnace and the apparatus at
the back. Ha three-way cock to allow the steam to be turned into or shut-off from
either of the branches GG¹ as or in the proportion required. The steam-and-air
injecting apparatus at the front of the furnace is composed of a common steam
chamber a to supply a series of nozzles bb and a series of compartments cc equal
in number to the nozzles; each compartment is open at its lower and hinder part d
to allow of the entrance of air and also at its inner end e to allow the steam and
air to pass out into the furnace. The whole of the apparatus except the nozzles
themselves is cast or made in one piece. The nozzles are fitted into holes formed
for the purpose in the inner face of the steam chamber a and they each discharge
steam into the corresponding compartiment c. The apparatus at the back of the
furnace is likewise constructed all in one piece and only differs from that at the
front in that the nozzles band chambers c are placed vertically and that the mouths
or inner ends of the chambers are turned inwards so as to direct the air and steam
in a suitable direction.
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
Constructing apparatus for supplying air and steam to furnaces with one common.
steam chamber to supply a series of nozzles and a corresponding series of compart-
ments the compartments having openings for the entrance of air thereto and for
the discharge of the steam and air therefrom into the furnace and the whole of the
apparatus except the nozzles being cast or made in one piece as hereinbefore
described.
Dated this 26th day of Sentember 1884