IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MEANS OR APPARATUS, FOR SUPPLYING STEAM AND AIR OR AIR ALONE TO FURNACES TO CAUSE MORE PERFECT COMBUSTION OF FUEL
Year: 1884

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PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION..
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ROBERT HENRY HEPBURN of Palace Chambers Victoria Street, in the City of
Westminster, Engineer do hereby declare the nature of my invention; for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MEANS OR APPARATUS, FOR SUPPLYING STEAM AND AIR
OR AIR ALONE TO FURNACES TO CAUSE MORE PERFECT COMBUSTION OF FUEL, to
be as follows
In a former Provisional Specification dated 1st January 1884 N° 85, I described
a novel construction of apparatus for supplying steam and air by means of a series
of nozzles or injectors to furnaces with the object of causing more perfect combustion
of the fuel burnt therein.
Now according to my present invention I construct the series of compartments,
into which the nozzles discharge the steam, from sheet iron or steel which I corru-
gate so as to form the compartments; the top and bottom of the compartments
may be of separate pieces but they are by preference made in one piece with the
closed rear end thereof. This end is made circular in section to receive a pipe
which runs through it transversely to the compartments. This pipe is for supplying
the steam to the apparatus and is fitted with nozzles corresponding in number to
the compartments and facing the same and there is an air inlet drilled or punched
into each compartment. Instead of the corrugations dividing the apparatus into
separate compartments they may in some cases not do so and then there will be
only a single compartment or box fed by the nozzles. In some cases I make the
closed rear end of the compartments itself form the pipe for the supply of steam
either by bringing the top and bottom parts of the plate together at the proper
place to form the pipe and rivetting them or by inserting a liner between the said
top and bottom parts and rivetting them to the liner; in these cases the nozzles
may be inserted into holes formed in the plate at the meeting points of the top
and bottom part or into holes formed in the liner; or these holes themselves can
constitute the nozzles.
The apparatus may be fitted either at the front or back of the furnace and either
above or below the fire bars or at any other part where it is desired to admit the
steam and air

page_text: When however it is desired to admit steam and air or air alone to the upper part
of the furnace so as to consume or assist in consuming the smoke and gases which
collect at and near the crown I form at each side of the furnace, either at the front
or back or at any intermediate point, a channel which extends from the lower
part of the furnace to the upper part thereof and which at the top is carried in
a horizontal or approximately horizontal direction to the opposite side. of the
furnace where it is turned up towards the crown of the furnace, or it may be
carried a second time across the furnace before being turned up towards the crown.
The steam and air or air alone which are admitted to these channels by nozzles or
otherwise become highly heated as they pass up the channels and along the
horizontal part thereof to the open ends or mouths which discharge them at the
upper part of the furnace.
The channels may be arranged either to discharge the whole of the air or steam
and air at the ends or mouths, or to discharge a portion through perforations in
the horizontal parts of the channel and the rest at the ends or mouths, or to
discharge the whole through perforations the channel end being in this case closed.
These channels may be used in conjunction with other apparatus for injecting
air or steam and air by means of nozzles into the furnace either at the front above
or below the fire bars or at the back above or below the fire bars or at other desired
part in the manner explained in my former Provisional Specification. When I use
the channels in conjunction with the apparatus for supplying air and steam to
furnaces which is herein before described or that which is described in my said
Provisional Specification it will in many cases be convenient and economical to
make the channels as continuations of the two end' compartments of the series of
compartments which are comprised in those apparatus; the two end nozzles of the
series will thus discharge steam into the channels and draw a proportion of air
therewith..

page_text: I ROBERT HENRY HEPBURN, of Palace Chambers, Victoria Street, in the City of
Westminster, Engineer do hereby declare the nature of my invention for
" IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MEANS OR APPARATUS FOR SUPPLYING STEAM AND AIR,
OR AIR ALONE, 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:-
In a former Specification, N° 85 of 1884, I described a novel construction of
apparatus for supplying steam and air by means of a series of nozzles or injectors
to furnaces with the object of causing more perfect combustion of the fuel burnt
therein.
Now according to my present invention I construct the series of compartments,
into which the nozzles discharge the steam, from sheet iron or steel which I corru-
gate so as to form the compartments; the top and bottom of the compartments
may be of separate pieces but they are by preference made in one piece with the
closed rear end thereof. This end is made circular in section to receive a pipe
which runs through it transversely to the compartments. This pipe is for supplying
the steam to the apparatus and is fitted with nozzles corresponding in number to
the compartments and facing the same and there is an air inlet drilled or punched
into each compartment.
Figures 1, 2 and 3 of the annexed drawings represent an apparatus for supplying
steam and air to furnaces constructed according to this invention, that is to say,
with the series of compartments, into which the nozzles discharge the steam, made
of sheet iron or steel corrugated so as to form the compartments.. The apparatus
shown in these figures is intended to be placed at the back of the furnace in
a vertical position; therefore what I have herein before called the top and bottom
of the compartments become the front and back. Figure 1 is a front view, one
half in section, Figure 2 a transverse section and Figure 3 a top view. The front
and back (top and bottom) a and b are made of sheet iron or steel which is
corrugated as shewn so as to form the series of compartments c, c. The rear or
bottom end d of the apparatus is of circular form in section and is made in one
piece with the front and back a and b. e is the pipe for supplying steam to the
apparatus; it is passed into the circular end d and is fitted with nozzles f, f.
corresponding in number to the compartments c, c and facing the same. Each
compartment has an air inlet g. Each compartment has also an outlet h for the
discharge of the mixed air and steam horizontally into the furnace, the tops of the
compartments being stopped or plugged; if however it is required to discharge the
air and steam vertically the outlets h are dispensed with, and the tops of the com-
partments are left open. When there are outlets at h, as shown in the figures,
I prefer that the two end compartments should each have a sort of horn k, as seen
in Figure 1, with an additional outlet k³ therein for the discharge of the air and
steam.
Figures 4, 5 and 6, represent the apparatus with the front and back (top and
bottom) of the series of compartments made of separate pieces of corrugated sheet
iron or steel; these pieces are rivetted together along their sides. The rear end of
the apparatus may either be closed to receive the steam pipe e, as in Figures 1,
2 ani 3, or open, as shown, the steam pipe being placed below or behind it so that
the nozzles ff will discharge into the several compartments c, c.

page_text: Instead of the corrugations dividing the apparatus into separate compartments
they may in some cases not do so and then there will be only a single compartment
or box fed by the nozzles. In some cases I make the closed rear end of the com-
partments itself form the pipe for the supply of steam either by bringing the top
and bottom parts of the corrugated plate together at the proper place to form the
pipe, as represented in Figure 7, and rivetting them or by inserting a liner, as
represented at i, Figure 8, between the said top and bottom parts and rivetting
them to the liner, in these cases the nozzles may be inserted into holes formed in
the plate at the meeting points of the top and bottom part or into holes formed in
the liner, or, these holes themselves can constitute the nozzles.
The apparatus may be fitted either at the front or back of the furnace and either
above or below the fire-bars or at any other part where it is desired to admit the
steam and air.
When however it is desired to admit steam and air, or air alone, to the upper
part of the furnace so as to consume. or assist in consuming the smoke and gases
which collect at and near the crown I form at each side of the furnace, either at
the front or back or at any intermediate point a channel which extends from the
lower part of the furnace to the upper part thereof and which at the top is carried
in a horizontal, or approximately horizontal, direction to the opposite side of the
furnace where it is turned up towards the crown of the furnace or it may be carried
a second time across the furnace before being turned up towards the crown.
steam and air, or air alone, which are admitted to these channels by nozzles, or
otherwise, become. highly heated as they pass up the channels and along the
horizontal part thereof to the open ends or mouths which discharge them at the
upper part of the furnace.
The
The channels may be arranged either to discharge the whole of the air, or steam
and air, at the ends or mouths, or to discharge a portion through perforations in
the horizontal parts of the channel and the rest at the ends or mouths; or to
discharge the whole through perforations-the channel end being in this case
closed.
This part of my invention is illustrated in Figures 9 and 10, which are respec-
tively a sectional elevation and a transverse section. k, are the two channels, one
for each side of the furnace, these side channels extend from the lower part of the
furnace and, at or near the upper part thereof, the channel k is carried in
horizontal direction ¹ to the opposite side of the furnace where it is turned up
at towards the crown of the furnace; in like manner the side channel is at the
upper part of the furnace carried in a horizontal direction to the opposite side
where it is likewise turned up at 12 towards the crown. Steam is admitted to these
channels by the pipe or channel e and nozzles fand air is admitted by the openings g;
or if air alone is required the steam pipe and nozzles are dispensed with. The
steam and air, or air alone, becore highly heated as they pass up the channels k, l
and along the horizontal continuations, to the open ends or mouths k², 12 which
discharge them at the upper part of the furnace.
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. Constructing, in corrugated sheet iron or steel substantially as herein before
described, apparatus for supplying steam and air to furnaces by means of nozzles
or injectors to cause more perfect combustion of fuel.
2. The several ways, herein before described and shown in Figures 1 6 8, of
constructing, in corrugated sheet iron or steel, apparatus for supplying steam and
air to furnaces.
3. Forming at each side of a furnace vertical channel communicating at the
upper part with a horizontal channel which extends to the opposite side of the

page_text: furnace and is there turned up towards the crown, the vertical side channels being
supplied with steam and air or with air alone which become highly heated in
passing through the side and horizontal channels and are then discharged into the
upper part of the furnace, substantially as and for the purpose hereinbefore
described and represented in Figures 9 and 10.