the Ore, and Apparatus therefor.
Year: 1885

page_text: the Ore, and Apparatus therefor.
I, WILLIAM PHILLIPS THOMPSON, Fel. Inst. P.A. of the Agency for Foreign Patent
Solicitors, 6, Lord Street, Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster, and 323, High
Holborn, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature
of this invention (a communication from abroad by Christian Husgafvel of
Pieksämäki, Finland, in the Empire of Russia, Engineer), and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement:-
This process of producing malleable iron or steel direct from the ore must be.
carried out in furnaces constructed for the purpose. It consists in principle in
charging the ore with less coal than usual in common blast furnaces, and besides in
working the furnace at a comparatively low temperature. Thereby the process
can be conducted so that the iron is not carburetted so much as to form pig-iron.
A metal is thus obtained, with a carbon percentage corresponding to that of
malleable iron or steel, and which may afterwards be treated in several manners for
producing a finished product.
The furnace is worked comparatively cool being for a greater or lesser part sur-
rounded by double metallic walls between which air is forced in, whereby the
furnace is cooled, and besides hot air is obtained for the blast. The furnace will
consequently possess no so-called carburetting zone proper, but the iron after having
been reduced sinks rapidly past the tuyeres down in the hearth beneath the light
fused scoria. Under this scoria the extracted iron collects in a lump. The hearth
is movable and rests on wheels, whereby, when the lump has grown to a suitable
size, the hearth may be removed from the furnace, after which the hearth is over-
turned, and the remaining scoria runs out and the lump may easily be taken out of
the hearth. There are two or more spare hearths in readiness, in order that one
being removed from the furnace, the other may immediately be pushed in under it.
The manner in which this method of iron manufacture is carried out will be easily
comprehended from the following description. It is evident that the details of the
furnace shewn, are however only to be considered as examples of some ways, in
which it may be constructed for anyone at all acquainted with iron manufacture
Price 11

page_text: ·
will easily understand that the furnace may be varied in various ways without
departing from the principle of the invention.
On the annexed drawing the furnace is represented in some different
modifications.
Figures 1 and 2 are a side view and a vertical section of a furnace, which from
top to bottom is surrounded by a hollow metallic casing.
Figure 3 is a horizontal section on the line c d of this furnace.
Figure 4 shows at the right side a horizontal section of the hearth of the furnace
and at the left side the hearth viewed from above. Besides that, this figure shews
how the one hearth immediately succeeds the other, when change of hearths is to
take place under the furnace, and how the nozzles are applied to the hearth.
Figure 5 is a horizontal section of the same furnace on the line e, f.
Figures 6 and 8 are vertical sections of some different modifications of a furnace,
which only partly, that is on the lower part, is surrounded by a hollow casing.
Figure 6 shows the casing divided in horizontal belts at the right side made of cast
iron with the outer sides of iron plate, and on the left side made entirely of iron
plate. In Figure 8 the casing is not divided in horizontal belts, but provided on
the inside with a helix conducting the air in several turns around the furnace. For
the rest, the right and left sides in Figure 8 distinguish themselves in the same
manner as in Figure 6. In Figure 6 the top of the furnace is constructed in two
coatings, an outer and an inner one, the right side shewing the furnace surrounded
by a plate casing, but the left only by iron hoops.
Figure 9 represents a hearth partly viewed from the side, and partly in section
provided with a movable tuyere and tuyere hole without any particular tuyere.
Figure 12 shows part of a vertical section of the furnace perpendicularly against
the section in Figure 6.
Figure 7 is a horizontal section on the line g h, Figure 6.
Figures 10 and 11 represent a movable tuyere (in Figure 10 with a nozzle) in
section and viewed from the front.
The main part of the furnace represented in Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 consists of a
hollow plate casing t which may either be divided in horizontal belts, or, as shown
Figure 2, provided within with a helical partition wall. Below the furnace is, as
shown in Figure 2, preferably provided with a hollow cast annular piece B, into
which air is conducted from the main casing situated above. This annular piece B
is in the inside preferably made of a somewhat smaller diameter than the casing A
situate immediately above, whereby space is obtained for a lining of fire-brick, with
which the lower part of the casing A is provided. Air is conducted into the helix
of the casing through the pipe C. This pipe is at one or more places D1, D³, D³
and D connected with the casing A, whereby the air may be conducted into the
same, higher or lower, and consequently cools the furnace more or less. From the
lowest turn in the casing, the air is conducted through pipes E into the ring B, and
from the latter through some suitable pipes to the nozzles F. There can be tuyere
openings at one or more heights; in Figure 2 such are shown at three different
heights, two in the hearth, and one in the lower part of the furnace itself. The
plate casing of the furnace rests on pillars G of wrought or cast iron. The
hearth H, which is placed beneath the furnace, is provided with wheels, and it can
be pushed from the furnace, when the lump is ready, and another hearth containing
burning coal immediately pushed in. The hearth is provided with a series of slag
holes T, whereby the slag may be let out at a suitable height. When the hearth
containing the lump arrives at any of the supports K, it can by means of its pivots
be overturned, when the lump is easily taken out. The hearth is preferably lined
with a loose bottom L (see Figures 1 to 9) which may be raised or lowered by
applying under the same, some substance more or less of a non-conductor. Hereby
the size of the lumps may be regulated. The little tramway M, on which the
hearths travel, provided beneath the furnaces with some mechanism, whereby it
can be raised or lowered. By this means the hearth can be held close against or
lowered a little from the bottom of the furnace.

page_text: The modifications of the furnace represented in Figures 6, 8 and 12 differ from
the above modification principally only therein that the hollow casing surrounds
only the lower part of the furnace, while the upper part is constructed of brick
work and by means of a ring N of cast iron resting on the iron pillars G, which
also support the casing. Figure 12 shows how the rooms superposed one upon
another in the casing are connected by means of pipes O, when the furnace casing
is divided in several belts. Figure 9 shows partly from the side and partly in
section a hearth of. a furnace, made of two rings fixed one, to another and beneath
them the bottom in a separate piece. The rings can also be made separately of
several pieces (with vertical joints). This has the advantage that the whole
hearth needs not to be condemned if it be damaged at one place. The right part
of the same Figure shows two tuyeres openings of which the upper one is provided
with a separate tuyere; the lower one on the contrary is without a tuyere, but in
the walls are pipes for conducting cooling water in them. Figure 9 shows at V the.
pivots, on which the hearth is overturned, when the lump is to be taken out.
The movable tuyeres are represented by Figures 10 and 11. The tuyere has
outside a shape partly spherical and is introduced between two corresponding half
bearings which, at the same time as the tuyere are pushed into the tuyere opening
and secured there. By this construction the tuyere may in the course of the
smelting process be turned in any direction, which is of great advantage in
managing the furnace. Besides the tuyere is hollow, and provided with inlet
and outlet pipes for cooling water, which pipes can also serve as handles for
adjusting the tuyere.
The blast is
The mode of working the furnace is now easily understood. As stated above,
the arc is charged with less coal than in a common blast furnace.
forced in through the hollow casing, whereby the furnace is kept comparatively
cool. Flux is added so that the slag becomes light, fusible, and preferably basic,
whereby the greatest part of the phosphorus present in the ore gets into the slag.
In consequence of the said cooling the ore is not reduced until immediately above_
the tuyeres. The reduced iron sinks soon down below the slag in the hearth and
collects together into a lump. As this is growing the nozzle pipes are removed to
the tuyeres situate higher up, and the lower tuyere openings are then closed.
The slag is let out from time to time through the slag hole suitable for the
moment. When the lump has grown to a suitable size, the hearth which is to
be pushed in, in the place of the one below the furnace is filled with burning coal.
Thereafter the loose part of the tramway is let down a little, so that the hearth
under the furnace is made free from the furnace, whereafter the said hearth is
pushed away by the furnace kept ready. When the new hearth has got beneath
the furnace, the tramway is raised anew, so that the hearth by means of interposed
clay or such like is well luted against the bottom of the furnace. The hearth
containing the ready lump is then pushed further to any of the supports, K. where
it can be easily overturned on its pivots V and the lump is taken out.
By regulating the relative quantities of ore and coal, and the quantity of blast
and the height, at which the blast is conducted into the casing surrounding the
furnace, the yield of the coal in the manufactured iron can be regulated. The
furnace can therefore evidently be worked so, that pig-iron is obtained instead of
malleable iron or steel if wanted.
The advantages of this furnace consist partly in the cheaper first cost, partly
therein that malleable iron or steel can be produced therein as cheap as pig-iron in
a common blast furnace.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated
to me by my foreign correspondent, I declare that what I claim is
1st. A mode of manufacturing malleable iron or steel direct from the ore by
reducing the ore with a comparatively small quantity of coal in a blast furnace,
entirely or partly surrounded by double metallic walls, between which the blast

page_text: requisite for the furnace is first caused to pass previous to its being conducted to
the tuyeres whereby the temperature both of the furnace and of the blast is
regulated, so that the smelted iron takes up only so much carbon as is present in
malleable iron or steel.
2nd. A blast furnace for manufacturing malleable iron or steel (or pig iron)
direct from the ore, provided for a greater or a smaller part of the height of the
shaft with double walls of metal, between which the blast is conducted and heated,
substantially as described.
3rd. A movable hearth for blast furnaces, arranged as stated in the preceding
claim, provided with tuyeres or tuyere openings in the walls.
4th. A movable hearth for blast furnaces, provided with a loose bottom which
can be raised or lowered, in order to regulate the depth of the hearth.
5th. A tuyere for blast furnaces, hearths and the like, the exterior of which has
the shape of part of a sphere and which is introduced into a corresponding bearing
secured to the wall of the tuyere, whereby it is possible to move the tuyere in all
directions during the course of the process.