IMPROVED MEANS AND APPARATUS FOR EFFECTING COMBUSTION IN FURNACES
Year: 1878

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by John Imray at the Office of the
Commissioners of Patents on the 27th August 1878. A communication from
abroad by Joseph Kasalovsky, of Vienna, Austria.
JOHN IMRAY, of No. 20, Southampton Buildings, in the County of Middlesex.
"IMPROVED MEANS AND APPARATUS FOR EFFECTING COMBUSTION IN FURNACES."
[A communication from abroad by Joseph Kasalovsky, of Vienna, Austria.]
It has been proposed in working furnaces to heat in retorts the fuel about to be
supplied to the grates for the purpose of obtaining more complete combustion and
more intense heat, and to utilise the beat of the waste products of combustion for
acting on such retorts.
This Invention relates to improvements in this method of operating and in the
apparatus employed therefor; the object of these improvements being to promote
the generation of combustible gases from the fuel while it is being heated, and the
complete combustion of these gases as well as of the fuel.
The accompanying Drawings illustrate various forms and arrangements of which
the improved apparatus is susceptible, with the modifications necessary for
applying it to various kinds of boilers and furnaces.
In all the Figures the same letters are employed to indicate corresponding parts,
namely:
"
at, retort or chamber in which fuel is heated before it is fed on to the fire-grate,
combustible gases being produced from the fuel while it is being so heated;
b, opening or mouth of the retort or chamber, through which opening the heated
fuel is raked or pushed on to the fire-grate, and through which also the combustible
gases generated in the retort issue to mix with the hot products of combustion and
air over the fire-grate.
c, the fire-grate, which is kept covered with a layer of incandescent fuel supplied
from the retort or chamber a; d, the throat of the flue through which pass the
flame and hot products of combustion of the fuel on the grate and of the gases
issuing from the retort.
e, the fire-door for giving access to arrange the fuel on the fire-grate.
ach mit ning mitting air to the orate and rotort

page_text: •
g, a grate supporting the fuel in the retort, or it may be merely an opening
exposing the side of the fuel in the retort, the fuel in that case resting on a solid
bottom. The openings through the grate g or through the exposed fuel are such as
to give passage for a small amount of air to the retort sufficient for the production
of combustible gases, but not for complete combustion.
h, a sliding damper to regulate the passage through the throat of the flue.
i, a door for giving access to the damper h or to the flues.
Fig. 1 represents a longitudinal section of a furnace arranged according to this
Invention for a cylindrical boiler, Fig. 2 being a front elevation, and Figs. 3, 4,
and 5, transverse sections through the fire-grate, the flue throat, and the retort
chamber.
Fig. 6 is a longitudinal section; Fig. 7, a front view; and Fig. 8, a transverse
section of a similar arrangement for a pan.
Fig. 9 is a longitudinal section; Fig. 10, a front view; and Figs. 11, 12, and 13,
transverse sections of an arrangement in which two vertical retorts are placed, one
on each side of a boiler, and are fed at the top.
Fig. 14 shews a modification presenting one retort passing through the body of
the boiler.
Fig. 15 is a longitudinal section; Fig. 16, part elevation and part transverse
section; Fig. 17 shews transverse sections of an arrangement in which the fire-
grate is placed in a tube within a portion of the boiler, and the products of com-
bustion pass through inclined tubes in other portions of the boiler.
Fig. 18 is a section of an arrangement in which tho retort is inclined; and Fig. 19,
a modified form of this arrangement.
Figs. 20, 21, and 22 are sections of an arrangement applicable in front of a s
Cornish boiler, the products of combustion passing through its flue.
Fig. 23 is a sectional plan; and Figs. 24 and 25 are respectively longitudinal
and transverse sections of an arrangement in which the retort is horizontal placed
above the fire, its contents being fed forward by a screw.
Figs. 20 to 40 inclusive are sections shewing modifications in the furnace :
arrangements to suit several different forms of boilers.
Fig. 41 is a longitudinal section; and Fig. 42 a transverse section of the fire-
placo and retort for a furnace, such as that for puddling or re-heating.
The retort chamber may be more or less inclined, as indicated by the dotted
lines a in Fig. 42.
Figs. 43 and 44, and also Figs. 48 and 49 shew modified arrangements for such
furnaces.
Figs. 45, 46, and 47 shew how the retort chambers may be arranged vertically or
horizontally, or one vertical at one side of the fire-grate and another horizontal at
the other side.
Figs. 50 to 55 inclusive shew applications of the retort arrangement to boilers
of the locomotive type.
It will be seen that in all these arrangements the fuel in the retort chamber is
more or less exposed to the heat of the combustion of that on the fire-grate, and is
supplied with a limited amount of air, that the combustible gases generated in the
retort issue into the flue where they mix with the gaseous products and hot air
over the grate, by which they are consumed, and that the hot fuel from the retort,
after having parted with more or less of its gaseous ingredients, is spread over the
fire-grate, where it undergoes complete combustion.