IMPROVEMENTS IN THE SMELTING OF IRON AND OTHER ORES, AND IN THE MANU- PACTURE OR WORKING OF IRON AND OTHER METALS, AND IN CERTAIN ROTARY ENGINES AND FANS, MACHINERY OR APPARATUS, AS CONNECTED THEREWITH
Year: 1850

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ANDREW
BARCLAY, of Kilmarnock, in the County of Ayr, North Britain, Engineer,
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 Fifth day of September,
in the fourteenth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and succes-
sors, give and grant unto me, the said Andrew Barclay, Her especial license,
full power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said Andrew Barclay,
my exors, adñiors, and assigns, and such others as I, the said Andrew
Barclay, my exors, admors, 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, my Invention
of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE SMELTING OF IRON AND OTHER ORES, AND IN THE MANU-
PACTURE OR WORKING OF IRON AND OTHER METALS, AND IN CERTAIN ROTARY ENGINES
AND FANS, MACHINERY OR APPARATUS, AS CONNECTED THEREWITH;" in which said
Letters Patent is contained a proviso requiring that I, the said Andrew
Barclay, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, shall particularly
describe and ascertain the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, and shall cause the same to be enrolled in
Her said Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar months
next and immediately after the date of the said in part recited Letters
Patent

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Andrew Barclay, do hereby declare the nature of my Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascer-
tained in and by this present instrument in writing, reference being had to the
Drawings hereunto attached, and to the letters and figures marked thereon,
that is to say-
My said Invention relates, first, to various improvements applicable to blast
furnaces for the smelting of iron and other ores, and to the manufacture and
working of iron and other metals.
Second, to an improved blowing apparatus, wherein the direct action of the
steam is employed in producing the blast.
Third, to certain arrangements or contrivances applicable to rotary engines
of the emission, reaction, or impulsive class, whereby the waste or discharged
steam is carried off from contact with the revolving arms of the engine.
Fourth, to an arrangement of rotary engines and blowing fans, wherein the
engines and fans revolve horizontally upon vertical spindles.
Fifth, to an improved rotary engine of the impulsive class, which engine, or
a modification thereof, is applicable as a blowing fan.
And in order that my said Invention may be readily understood, I shall now pro-
ceed to describe the various Figures on the Sheets of Drawings hereunto attached.
Figure 1, on Sheet 1 of my Drawings, is a vertical section of a blast
furnace, as constructed for smelting iron ore, to which furnace my improve-
ments are applied; Figure 2 is a horizontal section of the same through the
heating chambers; and Tigure 3 is an external elevation of the furnace.
A, B, is the body of the furnace; it is of the ordinary section, and may be built
to any suitable or convenient form, having three bottom twyeres C, C, C,
placed at or about the usual height. D is the main cold-air pipe leading from
the blowing engine, having three branches E, E, E, for conveying the air to
the three twyeres by the vertical pipes F, F, F. Each of these pipes has
upon
its upper end a triple branch G, with three stopcocks, H, H, and I, for the
admission of air to the furnace twyeres by the two side branches, J, J, and by
the central pipe K. These pipes form a compound twyere, the pipe K having
an expanded bell mouth L for the discharge of air into the small end of the side
fuel or heating chamber M, forming a portion of the furnace opening into the
body thereof by an expanded mouth N. Above the twyeres a tubular fuel
changing chamber O is formed in the furnace wall, having a double door at P
in the outer end for charging by, whilst its lower end opens into the top of the
fuel chamber M. The furnace is charged from the top in the usual manner
with the ore, fuel, and fluxes; but in addition to the fuel thus supplied at the

page_text: top, and mingled with the ore, a quantity of fuel, along with any other suitable
carbonaceous matter, is also charged by the chambers O to smelt in this fur-
nace. The air is first admitted by the central twyere branch pipes K, so as to
act with a uniform diffused blast upon the fuel contained in the chambers M,
and the air thus heated, by passing through the incandescent fuel, is blown into
the furnace in a diffused state through the wide mouths of the chambers.
As the air thus blown in is in a very great measure robbed of its oxygen, it
becomes necessary to afford an additional supply sufficient for the proper
smelting action by another channel. When the fuel in the chambers M is
brought to a state of intense combustion, the blast is turned on by the two
side branches J, J, which are likewise fitted with expanding twyere months Q
for admitting air at the expanded mouths of the chambers M, so that it is
blown into the furnace in a heated 'state, but without encountering the de-
oxidizing effect produced by passing directly through the burning fuel. This
arrangement of the twyeres and fuel chambers has the effect of producing an
intensely hot blast at its point of contact with the materials in the furnace, the
action being similar to that of the blow pipe on a large scale. As the smelting
proceeds, the heating fuel for the blast is periodically supplied to the
chambers M and O, by the double doors at the top of the latter, which allow
of charging whilst the blast is on, and the chambers are thus kept filled with
fuel. As the air blast, in passing through the heated materials in the furnace,
becomes more or less deoxydized, according to the extent or duration of its
exposure to the heated materials, it is obvious that the upper portions of
ordinary furnaces will act very inefficiently in smelting, owing to the want of a
sufficient supply of oxygen. As a remedy for this objection I have made
provision for supplying air at various heights in the furnace, with the intention
of rendering all parts of it equally efficient. For this end, I carry up from the
vertical pipe F of each bottom tuyere a vertical pipė R outside the furnace.
Each of these pipes is bent to pass the chambers O, the upper end being
connected by flanges at S to a side branch near the lower end of the pipe T,
which opens into the upper side of the chamber O at U. In this way the
pipe T is in communication with the cold blast passing by the pipes R and F
from the main pipe D, and with the heated air and gases discharged from the
chamber O by the pressure of the blast through the branch at U. The pipe T
is furnished with stopcocks V, from which branches pass to expanded
tuyeres W, passing into the furnace at various levels, the best positions
for which are determinable by experiment. The pressure of the blast from the.
bottom tuyeres will tend to force heated air and gases through the incan-
descent fuel in the chamber O into the pipe T, so that a heated blast is easily

page_text: supplied to all the upper tuyeres W, the supply to each being regulated by
the stopcock X on the pipe R. By this arrangement, either a hot or cold
blast may be supplied alone to the upper tuyeres as in the lower ones, or the
mixture of the two blasts may be regulated or modified to supply oxygen to
those parts of the furnace which most require it. It is to be observed that the
whole of the tuyeres, together with the mouths of the side heating chambers M,
are expanded for the purpose of affording a uniform diffused blast, so as to
avoid the objectionable burning of the furnace and its materials by the sharp
confined blast of a narrow tuyere. The slope of the chambers at the bottom
tuyeres has also the effect of allowing the silica to flow down in the furnace,
where it may be tapped off. In charging the side heating chambers, charcoal,
wood, or other carbonaceous matter is to be added along with the heating fuel,
should it be intended to produce iron of a superior quality, what is commonly
known as Number 3 iron being readily made equal to Number 2 or Number 1
by a suitable addition of carbon in this manner. If it is intended to use raw
or green coal in smelting according to this process, it will be necessary to
make provision for the escape of a portion of the disengaged gases and vapour
from the chambers O, instead of passing the whole of the products through the
body of the furnace.
Figure 4, of Sheet 1 of my Drawings, is a vertical section of another
arrangement of furnace, having three bottom compound tuyeres; and
Figure 5 is a plan of the saine, shewing the heating chambers in full
plan. A, A, is the boily of the furnace, having three tuyeres B, B, B,
supplied with air by the pipes C, C, C, from the mains. These pipes termi-
nate in forked ends, the upper arms of which, D, D, D, pass above the fuel
therein, whilst the lower arms, F, F, F, open into the bottoms of the heating
chambers beneath the grate bars G, G. Thus each of the heating chambers has
a compound tuyere, the proportions of air from which, passing through and
over the fuel, being adjustable by the stopcocks H, whilst the combined blast
passes into the furnace by the tuyeres I. The heating fuel, with the intended
amount of carbonaceous matter, is supplied to the chambers E by the double
doors J at the top. The closed ashpits beneath the grate bars admit of the
deposit of refuse from the fuel, which can be removed periodically by a side
door.
Figure 1, of Sheet 2 of my Drawings, is a vertical section of another
modification of a blast furnace, to which a portion of my improvements is
attached. Figure 2 is an external elevation corresponding, and Figure 3 is a
horizontal section of the same through the heating ovens or chambers, shew-
ing also the two compound tuyeres. A is the body of the furnace, which

page_text: has two compound tuyeres B, B. The cold air is supplied to these tuyeres
by the two branches C, C, from the main. Each tuyere has two vertical
pipes D, D, passing up from the branches C, C, to the horizontal pipe E, with
two elbow branches F, F. This pipe E has two blast or tuyere pipes G, G,
blowing air into the front of the side heating chamber H, close up to the roof
of the latter by expanded apertures I, I, for diffusing the blast. The branches
F have also each two blast pipes J, J, for blowing air into the lower part of
the sides of the heating ovens by the expanded openings K, K. The side
heating ovens or chambers H are charged with fuel by the upper doors L, the
body of the furnace being charged in the usual manner by the doors at the
top. In commencing operations with this furnace, the blast is turned on to
the bottom of the heating chambers by the pipes J, J, so as to diffuse a uniform
blast through the body of the fuel, producing intense combustion in the
chambers. When properly heated, the blast from the pipes G, G, at the front
of the chamber, are to be turned on to pass a body of air over the fuel; the air
being heated in its passage by the sides and roof of the chamber, and mixed
with the gases from the fire, is, together with the air from the pipes J, J,
passed into the furnace by the passages M. The proportions of air supplied
over and through the fire are to be regulated by suitable stopcocks, as when
large proportion of air is passed over the fire, and a smaller quantity
through it, the heated blast passing into the furnace will contain a greater
quantity of oxygen than when the greater bulk of the air is sent through the
firc. The particular proportions are to be varied to answer the purpose of the
peculiarities of the cases to which my process is applied. When it is intended
to convert the product of the furnace at once into malleable iron, the refined
or plate metal may be run off into ladles at the proper time for charging tho
puddling furnaces, and poured into these furnaces in a fluid state, thus
economizing fuel, time, and labour. When both a combining and separating
furnace are used in conjunction, the product of the first or combining furnace
is to be conveyed into the second, either in a fluid or simply a red hot state,
adding at the same time the proper quantity of fuel or carbon required
for producing the particular quality of iron to be made. In working furnaces
under this arrangement it will be convenient to place them on the side of
sloping ground, so that the hearth of the first furnace shall be at a higher
level than the charging doors of the second. The object of this arrangement
of what I term combining and separating furnaces is, to facilitate the com-
bination of the ores and fluxes in the first instance by the combining furnace
previous to the separation of the metal from the scoria and cinder, and the
H

page_text: charging it with carbon in the second portion of the process. When only one
furnace is employed, the upper set of tuyeres answers for the combining action,
and the lower set for the separation and the addition of carbon. I would here
observe, that I am aware that a Patent was granted to Thomas Botfield, in
the year 1828, for his Invention of an arrangement, wherein he proposed to
draw atmospheric air through a fire previous to forcing it into the furnace;
and also that a Patent was granted to Charles Pierre Devaux, in the year
1836, for his arrangement of blowing air through the bars of a heating oven
or chamber, but in neither of these cases was any provision made for
securing any of the essential points of my present Invention, the claims for
which are fully set forth at the end hereof.
Figure 1 of Sheet 3 of my Drawings is a vertical section of one cylinder of
my blowing apparatus, and Figure 2 is a corresponding external elevation,
shewing two cylinders working in combination. In erecting a blower of this
kind, a row of vertical cylinders A, A, are to be erected in connection with
each other by branches from the cross pipes B, C, and conveniently near the
furnaces or fires. The pipe B runs along the series of cylinders, and conveys
steam at-the proper pressure for delivery into the upper part of each cylinder
by the pipe D, terminating in a funnel or expanded mouth E, opening upwards
inside the cylinder. Near the top of the cylinder a clack valve F is placed,
opening inwards and commanding the open branch G. The small pipe H at
the bottom conveys cold injection water for discharge into the cylinder by a
rose or jet at I, and on the opposite side is a valve. J opening outwards into
the branch K, communicating with the pipe C, which conducts the blast to
the tuyeres or fires. In the section Figure 1 the cylinder is delineated as
receiving air by the upper valve F, whilst the previous supply of steam from
the funnel E is being condensed by the jet of water at I. So soon as the
steam is condensed, and the full supply of air admitted, the jet is shut off, the
stopcock L on the steam pipe is opened, and the steami, being spread over the
top of the cylinder by the funnel, closes the valve F, and passing downwards
expels the air in the cylinder by the valve J, whence it passes to the tuyeres.
When the air is all expelled the rush of steam from the small aperture
M indicates that the water jet must be again let on, when the cylinder will
obtain a fresh supply of air by its top valve, the water being discharged from
the bottom of the cylinder by the pipe N. Although I have herein explained
no mechanical arrangements for working the stopcocks on the steam and
injection water pipes, it will be obvious to practical men that arrangements for
this purpose may be easily applied...

page_text: My improvements in rotary engines refer to engines of the emission, reaction,
or impulsive class. Figure 3 of Sheet 3 of my Drawings is a vertical section
of an emission or reaction engine constructed according to my improvements.
and Figure 4 is a plan of the engine with the upper plate of the case removed.
A is a portion of the top of the boiler which supplies the engine with steam
by the vertical pipe B bolted down upon it. This pipe, which has a stopcock
at C for regulating the steam supply, has an end stuffing box D for receiving
the lower end of the tubular engine spindle E. The upper part of this
spindle is supported in a bearing F carried on a bracket on the top of the
engine case G. It is passed through the case by two stuffing boxes, and has
attached upon
it the two emission arms H, revolving within the case. A circle
of guide or division pieces I, I, are fixed between the two sides of the case at
about half an inch asunder, each division being set at a tangent with the circle
described by the centres of the two emission orifices of the arms H. The case
is made considerably greater in diameter than the circle-formed by the external
ends of the division pièces I, I, so as to leave a'clear circular channel J, J, all
round for the passage of the waste steam to the discharge pipe K. As the
engine revolves in the direction of the arrows, the emitted steam leaving the
arms at a tangent with the circle described by the discharging orifices, passes
off into the spaces between, the division pieces I, I, and thence into the
external channel J, J. As the steam is prevented from rebounding upon the
arms of the engine by the angular division pieces, it is thus passed clear off
to the waste pipe without retarding the engine's movement. The vertical
position of the spindle of the engine produces a considerable improvement in
the working of this class of engines, inasmuch as by proportioning the weight
of the revolving parts to the upward pressure of the steam from the boiler,
the friction is reduced to a minimum.
Figure 5 of Sheet 3 of my Drawings represents a complete plan of my
improved fan, and a corresponding side elevation of the same is delineated at
N, O, in Figure 3, the fan case P being in section. The fan is keyed upon
the top of the vertical spindle of the engine, the case being supported by the
pillars Q, Q springing from the engine case below. The rim R of the fan
has upon it a series of double angular blades S, S, revolving just clear of the
case P, the concave side of the blades being used as the impelling surface for
the blast, which is discharged by the passage T. The great speed at which
rotary engines of the kind I have described are worked answers excellently for
driving the fan when placed on the engine spindle. This arrangement of a
fan may also be efficiently applied as a rotary engine of the.impulsive class,"
steam being admitted by the passage: T striking upon the concave sides of the

page_text: blades, so as to cause the fan or engine wheel to revolve in a direction opposite
to that delineated in Figure 6, when applied as a fan.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of my Inven-
tion, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried into
effect, I may observe, in conclusion, that I do not confine or restrict myself to
the precise details or arrangements which I have had occasion to describe or
refer to, as many variations may be made therefrom without deviation from
the principles or main features of my Invention; but what I consider to be
novel and original, and therefore claim as the Invention secured to me by the
herein-before in part recited Letters Patent, is,-
First, the system or mode of blowing, smelting, or melting furnaces, by
separate and distinct air blasts, to be combined and applied in the furnace or
its heating chambers, for the purposes herein-before described.
Second, the use or employment of compound tuyeres for the purposes
herein-before described.
Third, the application and use of fuel heating chambers, forming in them-
selves parts of the furnace.
Fourth, the application and use of tuyeres for simple or combined air and
vapour blasts, for the supplying of air or vapour at points above the level of the
ordinary or bottom tuyeres, as described in reference to Figures 1, 2, and 3,
of Sheet 1 of my Drawings.
Fifth, the system or mode of charging fuel and carbonaceous matter at the
bottom of the furnace, or at any suitable point beneath the ordinary charging
doors.
Sixth, the application and use of an escapo valve, for the discharge of gases
and vapours from raw or green coal, where supplied at the bottom of the
furnace.
Seventh, the system or mode of smelting ores by two operations, either by
passing the ores through two separate furnaces, or by the use of upper and
lower tuyeres in the furnaces.
Eighth, the use or employment of a steam blower, wherein the direct
pressure of the steam is employed for expelling the air from the cylinders or
receivers.
Ninth, the application and use of guide or division pieces in the cases of
rotary engines, for the purpose herein-before described.
Tenth, the system or mode of working rotary engines of the emission, re-
action, and impulse class, and blowing fans upon vertical spindles, as herein-
before described.
Eleventh, the use or employment of rotary engines and fans with angular

page_text: blades, as herein described in reference to Figures 3 and 5 on Sheet 3 of my
Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Andrew Barclay, have hereunto set my
band and seal, the Third day of March, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-one.
Enrolled the Fifth day of March, in the year of our Lord Que
thousand eight hundred and fifty-one.