The Iron Age 1889-10-10: Vol 44

HE THURSDAY, OCTOBER 10, 1889. IRON AGE easily and gives the operator quick and perfect control over the movements of the The machine we bere illustrate, built} table without using the counter-shaft by the Niles Tool Works, of Hamil-|shipper. The driving-pulleys and gearing ton, Ohio, planes 72 inches wide and|/are placed on one side of the machine 72 inches high. The driving-shaft is | opposite the operator, being entirely out of placed in line with the bed, with the/ the way, but still completely under his con- view of setting the machine lengthwise ' trol when standing at his usual position. with the shop, parallel with the line-shaft. | The loose pulleys are bushed with brass. Power is transmitted through tangent! The feeds are automatic in all directions. gearing running in oil and perfectly noise- | They are positive, and take place ina very less in action. This method of driving short distance of the travel of the table affords a steady, uniform motion; the and before the commencement of the cut. Seventy-Two-Inch Planing-Machine. proportion. The counter-shaft pulleys are 22 inches in diameter and 6 inches face. The speed of the counter-shaft is 250 revolutions per minute. nancial The blocks are being prepared at Ports- mouth Dock-yard for laying the keel of the first-class battle-ship Royal Sovereign. She is to be a barbette ship, 380 feet long by 75 feet beam, and will displace about 14,150 tons. Her machinery will indicate 13,000 horse-power under forced draft and 9000 horse-pewer under natural draft, HAT TENE t TAL TTS HL ts i Mt i Hil si i iG ii Ni SEVENTY-TWO-INCH PLANING-MACHINE, BUILT BY THE NILES TOOL WORKS. table reverses accurately and without |The machine may be provided with two shock or jar. All the gearing and rack | heads on the cross-rail and with side heads teeth are accurately cut from the solid. | on the uprights when desired. The shafts are steel forgings of large di- | heads have independent feeds. ameter, with large and long bearings. | heads are used the rail is extended so that The driving-shaft runs in bearings of the | one head can be run over entirely out of the The two | When two | which, it is expected, will drive her 17.5 knots an hour under forced draft and 16 knots an hour under natural draft. Her draft of water will be 27 feet 6 inches— the same as that of the Trafalgar. Her armament will be 4 67-ton guns, 10 6-inch best wearing composition of copper and| way, and the other head have sufficient | breech-loading guns, 24 6-pounders and tin. The driving-pulleys are of large di-| traverse to plane off the entire width of ameter and run at a speed to give the belts | the machine. The amounr of metal in the a velocity of 80 to 1 of the tab.e, exercis- | machine is ample, and is so distributed as to ing great power and allowing the table to| give rigidity and durability under severe be reversed in a very short distance. The | service. belts are shifted by a patent automatic|by box-girders throughout its entire belt-shifter, which transfers but one belt| length. Between the housings the bed is at a time, thereby preventing two belts | tied together in box form, making it par- running in opposite directions from | ticularly stiff at the point of greatest strain. being on the tight pulley at the same| The housings extend well back and are time, so that there is no slipping of|strongly braced. The cross-rail is cored belts to cause shrieking and jar of the/| out in the form of a box-girder and is very machine. It is entirely disconnected from | stiff. It is raised and lowered by power. the feeding apparatus, therefore works! The table is thick and the bed long in The bed is thoroughly braced | 3-pounder quick-firing guns, 5 torpedo- tubes above water and 2 submerged tubes. A belt of 18-inch armor 8} feet deep will extend over two-thirds of her length. At the ends of the belt are traverse armored bulkheads, and a 3-inch steel deck is fitted _above it, while a protective under-water | bow and stern. deck extends from the armor belt to the The battery above the armor is protected by 5-inch armor and screen bulkheads. The freeboard at the end of the vessel is to be 18 feet and the hight of the heavy guns above the water is to be 23 feet. “ Ss pveyi BD, SEE. 5 - -*. : ‘ i 2 3 = , al a ) se LS ms A nw 554 THE IRON AGE. October 10, 1889 THE MINING ENGINEERS. MEETING AT OTTAWA. Considering the very large membership of the American Institute of Mining En- gineers, approaching as it does 2500, a very small number were registered when the first session was called to order Tues- day evening, October 1, in the Railway Committee room of the House of Com- mons, Ottawa. There was not a single member present then for whom it might be claimed that he represented great iron and steel manufacturing interests. We do not believe that their absence indi- cates a lack of interest in the work of the institute. We are inclined to attribute it to the fortunate circumstance that the revival in the iron trade has made our manufacturers and their engineers so busy that they are unable to leave their furnaces and their mills, even with the temptations which institute gatherings offer. On the other hand, however, the Canadian mem- bers were present in goodly numbers, so that when Dr. John sweetland, chairman of the local committee, called the meeting to order the rooms of the Railway Com- mittee were comfortably filled. B.T. A. Bell, secretary of the committee and editor of the Canadian Mining Review, of Ot- tawa, read letters of reyret from Mayor Erratt, from Sir Hector Langevin, Minis- ter of Public Works, and the Hon, A. 8, Hardy, Commissioner of Public Lands of Ottawa. Dr. Sweetland in a few well- chosen words bid the engineers wel- come, and then introduced the Right Hon. Sir John A. Macdonald. Can- ada’s great statesman is a tall, vigor- ous map, whose advanced years—he is over seventy—are not betrayed except by a slight stoop, which, however, is char- acteristic of so many who tower above their fellows. His smooth-shaven face is strong, while his blue eyes often light with a merry twinkle. He is known to be a man who appreciates and knows how to tell a good story—a gift which he dis- played in his brief address of welcome. He alluded to the fact that at one time the citizens on the other side of the border had widely shared the opinion of Voltaire that Canada is nothing but a region of ice and snow. A reaction has taken place, and now there are many Canadians who incline to the belief that their neighbors are growing altogther too appreciative and affectionate. He illustrated the changes which have taken place in the views of those across the border by relating the ex- perience of two Americans who were traveling from Windsor, Ont., eastward, on their first visit. After a few miles of travel the one remarked to the other that after all Canada was not so bad a coun- try, to which a reluctant assent was given. A few miles of additional jour- neying elicited the remark that it was a good country. After a long pause came more emphatically the judgment: ‘‘It is a very fine country ; we must have it,” to which the other replied: ‘‘I have no objection to take the country, only for the people in it.”’ The Premier expressed the belief that on the other side of the line they are quickly approaching the point where they are willing to take the coun- try even with the incubus of its popula- tion. Extending to the institute a hearty welcome, he quoted the response to a toast attributed to Sheridan, who was invited to participate in the festivities commemorative of the successful completion of a great in- dustrial enterprise at Manchester : *‘ Dam your rivers, sink your canals and blast your mines.” The Hon. Mr. Ross ex- tended an invitation to visit Quebec in be- half of the authorities and citizens of that province, and was followed by Alderman Henderson, of Ottawa, who spoke in be- half of its citizens. After a few words by the United States Consul, Col. Richard Lay, John M. Garland, President of the Board of Trade of Ottawa, presented an address from that body. Prof. T. Egleston, in the absence of the president, Richard Pearce, of Argo, Col., briefly acknowledged the courtesies ex- ended, and called upon Dr. R. W. Ray- mond, the secretary, to respond. The latter spoke in his happiest vein. The regular business was then taken up, Professor Smock reading «a biographical sketch of the late Dr. George H. Cook, State Geologist of New Jersey. He was followed by Dr. R.W. Raymond, who pre- sented a similar notice of the late W. H. Scranton, of Oxford, N. J. With the aid of a few hastily gathered notes C. A. Ash- burner, of Pittsburgh, paid a tribute to the late Capt. Wm. R. Jones, of the Edgar Thomson Works. Among the 50 new members elected at the close of the session were the following who are well known as connected with the iron and steel trades: David A. Ben- nett, of Bessemer, Mich.; E. M. Butz, H. P. Butz and Frederick A. Yeager, of the Columbia Iron and Steel Company, Uniontown, Pa.; Ralph A. Jones, of Newberry, Mich.; Wilbur A. Langdon, Allentown, Pa.; William A. Leonard, of West Wareham, Mass.; Samuel D. Mills, St. Ignace, Mich. ; Charles McCrery, Troy, N. Y.; Enrique Fouceda, Troy, N. Y.; Frank D, Gurney, Scranton,’ Pa. Wednesday. Wednesday brought an additional num. ber of members, among them N. M. Langdon, of Port Henry; James E. Jop- ling, of Marquette, Mich.; F. Prince, of Slatington, Pa.; J. 8. Lane, of Chicago, and John Birkinbine, of Philadelphia. Among the other prominent members present were J. H. Branwell, who is con- nected with the famous Flat Top coal and coking interests of Virginia and West Virginia; W. B, Cogswell, of the Solvay Process Company, Syracuse, N. Y.; C. A. DeCamp, of Boonton, N. J.; Jos. C. Platt, of Waterford, N. Y.; A. C. Rand, of the Rand Drill Company, New York; J. C. Smock, of Albany, N. Y.; E. D. Peters, Jr., of Sudbury, Ont., and N. R. Leckie, of Sherbrooke, who is largely in- terested in the coal and iron develop-vents of Nova Scotia. The morning was given over to a drive to the famous Chaudiere Falls and the great lumbering establishments to which they give life. A number of the mills and factories were inspected, includiag a match factory in which some ingenious special machinery was at work. After driving to the Central Experimental Farm the party returned to Ottawa. Afternoon Session was opened with a paper by Dr. Robert W. Ells, of Ottawa, who is connected with the Geological Survey of Canada, with a paper on the ‘‘ Mining Industries of East- ern Quebec,” in which he dealt principally with the copper, asbestos and gold mining industry of that section of Canada. The copper, or rather the pyrites, mining is contined to two concerns in the vicinity of Capelton—the Nichols and the Eustis mines. The bulk of the ore 1s shipped to sulphuric acid concerns in this country, although smelting for matte on the spot was rendered very profitable during the Secrétan boom. A part of the product of the Nichols Mine is used on the spot for the manufacture of acid, a portion of which is consumed in the manufacture locally of superphosphate. The greater part of the asbestos mining is done in two districts—the Thetford, where four companies are working, and the Black Lake, where an equal number|to the Orford Copper are mining. The latter district produces a fiber which is harsher. The percentage of the different grades of asbestos pro- duced varies widely, the majority of the mines making fiber of from 2 to 8 inches. Firsts range in value from $80 to $100 per ton, seconds from $50 to $75 and thirds from $15 to $40. At the conclusion of the paper, which alluded also to the slate quarries and the gold mines, Robert G. Leckie, of Sherbrooke Ont., exhibited a bottle fullot gold nuggets from a little stream near Tilton, valued at $2600. C. A. Ashburner, of Pittsburgh, fol- lowed with a paper on *‘ Natural Gas Ex- plorations on the Ontario Peninsula,” in which he made the broad statement that in his opinion gas would not be found on the Ontario Peninsula or in the St. Law- rence Valley in sufficient quantities to allow of its being piped for a distance of ten miles. In the course of the discussion a member noted as an exception to this sweeping rule a 9,000,000-foot well at Kingsville, which inspired sutlicient con- fidence with one of the staff of the Cana- dian Geological Survey to resign and take charge of the property. In the evening a reception was tendered to the visiting engineers at the Russell House, a very large representation of Ottawa’s citizens and officials being pres- ent. Thursday. Thursday morning was given over to visits to the Museum of the Geological Survey of Canada, the Parliamentary Library, the Senate and House of Com- mons and the Canadian Granite Company’s Works. The afternoon session was taken up by the reading of papers and their discussion, on subjects of comparatively little interest to the readers of 7'he Iron Age They in- cluded a contribution by E. Gilpin, Jr., of Halifax, N. 8., on the ‘ Geological Relations of the Nova Scotia Minerals; ” ‘*Notes on the Port Arthur Silver De- posits,” by E. D. Ingall, of Ottawa; ‘*Gold Mining in Nova Scotia,” by John E. Hardman, of Oldham, N. 8., and ‘* Notes on the Collection of Float Gold,” by T. Egleston, of New York. The evening session opened with a paper on the ‘‘ Phosphate Deposits of the Ottawa Valley,” by Dr. Bell, which was discussec by a number of gentlemen connected with that local industry. This was followed by the most important paper of the meet- ing, by Dr. E. D. Peters, Jr., of Sudbury, Ont., on THE COPPER-NICKEL DEPOSITS OF SUDBURY. Some years since the metal trade was startled by the announcement that mount- ains of copper ore had been discovered in the vicinity of Sudbury, Ont., and that additional pressure would be exerted on the then greatly depressed copper mar- ket. The copper trade has well-nigh for- otten those discouraging predictions, but in another branch of the metal business the predictions of a much increased sup- ly, coupled with greatly lowered prices, Save been fulfilled to some degree. It may be broadly stated that for some time to come nickel, the metal alluded to, is bound to show constantly declining values. How cheap nickel will become will depend upon the policy »sdopted by the owners of the Sudbury mines and works, the Canadian Copper Company, with which such men as Senator Payne, of Cleveland, are identi- fied. From all accounts the Sudbury deposits are very large in extent, rich in nickel, and are characterized by some features which render cheap man- ufacture under skilled management possi- ble. When the Sudbury mines were first opened the presence of nickel in the ore was not suspected. A shipment was made orks, near New York, and was smelted in the usual way. During the final process of refining the October 10, 1889 color of the refinery slag attracted atten- tion. It was analyzed and then its nickel contents were revealed. It 1s stated that the lot of slag from the shipment alluded to realized about $17,000 at the Wharton Works. Dr. Peters divides the deposits at Sudbury into three groups, of which each one of the three mines of the Ca- nadian Copper Company is typical. We may note parenthetically that the company in question control all the deposits of any moment thus far discovered in the district with the exception of one—that recently opened by the Dominion Mineral Com- any. The Stobie Mine, four miles north of | Sudbury, is typical of that class of depos- | its which consists of massive nickelifer- ous pyrrhotite, monosulphide of iron, with occasional pockets of chalcopyrite, or cop- | It occurs in bodies known to | per pyrites. be 100 feet thick in some places, although the limits have not yet been ascertained. The ore is extracted by open cast work, large masses being thrown down at one blast. Recently 560 tons were obtained at one blast. Until now the ore has been broken and loaded by hand, but at an) early date the arrangement for substitut- ing mechanical appliances will be com- plete. day can be produced at a cost for mining of between 30 and 35 cents a ton. The ore obtained from this mine is particularly welcome for the sake of its high percent- age of iron, which after roasting is an excellent flux for the rocky ores of the other mines. The ‘Copper Cliff Mine is typical of the second class of deposits. The ore is pyrrhotite and chalcopyrite, but is not so massive as the ore of the Stobie Mine, be- ing much mixed with the diorite. ore occurs in irregular masses, but is very rich in nickel, large bodies being exposed which carry from 6 to § percent. of nickel. The mine is now down to a depth of 500| feet, the incline having been driven down to that point. The active level, however, is the third, A somewhat peculiar method of mining has been adopted which, it is stated, lowers the cost of extraction by about 30 per cent. as compared with the cost of the methods usually in vogue. In- stead of starting a level as usual and stoping upward from it, they sink a winze | as near the shaft as it is compatible with the safety of the latter, connecting it with a short drift at the lower level from the shaft. Underhand stoping then pro- gresses frum the upper level downward, beginning from the winze, which acts as an ore chute. The third important mine of the Canadian Copper Company is the Evans, which carries a large body of pyrrhotite which differs from that of the Stobie Mine in being more highly nickeliferous. It produces about 60 tons of first-class ore per day. After being broken and screened the ore is roasted. Special pains have been taken at Sudbury to prepare the roast-yard properly by thorough leveling. It is 100 feet wide and nearly half amile long, with a broad-gauge track on atrestle commanding it, while a second track sunk 4 feet below its level is used to remove the roasted ore. One special ‘*kink” has been introduced in the pile- roasting, the simplicity and efficiency of which will commend itself to copper- smelters. The sides of and the floor be- tween the adjacent piles are covered with a layer of wood, and then the entire space between them is filled with ore, which is roasted in the usual manner. This aids the complete roasting of the outer layers of the adjacent ore piles, which usually need such aid. At Sudbury each ore pile contains about 800 tons of ore, which requires about 30 cords of wood, so that the fuel cost is about 4 cents per ton, while the total cost is within 20 cents aton. The piles burn about 60 days, the The | | THE IRON AGE. 555 ore being so well roasted that it con- tains only about 7 to 8 per cent. of sul- phur, and as much as 30 per cent of green, unroasted ore can be used with it in the subsequent smelting operstion. The Canadian Copper Company have two smelting-furnaces, the second having been recently started. These furnaces are steel, water-jacketed, of the Herreschoff type, 34 x 6 feet 3 inches in section at the tuyeres, the corners being rounded and the sides slightly concave, so that the section approximates the oval. They are blown througb 11 24-inch tuyeres, five at each side aaa one at one end. They have the usual drop bottom and are 6 feet high from the tuyere line to the charging- door, the 2-inch water-jacket extending to that level. They are provided with dust-chambers and a 60-foot stack. The smelted material flows directly through a water-jacketed neck into a water-jacketed removable well, from which the accumu- lated matte is frequently tapped. The roasted ore is charged without any | flux whatever, a proper mixture of the three classes of ore rendering it unneces- sary. Dr. Peters mixes the ore before roasting and attaches much importance to that system, holding that it contributes It is believed that then 80 tons a} largely to smoothness of work in the fur- naces. The latter have been achieving an exceptional record, smelting as the aver- age of months of work 125 tons of ore per day, and going as high as 156 tons in one day. The fuel consumption, counting the actual quantity used for months, based on the deliveries paid for, is only 1 ton of coke for 8 tons of smelting mixture—cer- tainly a very low figure. The cokeis Con- nellsville, which costs, delivered, includ- ing duty of 60 cents per ton, about $7.25, so that the cost of fuel in smelting is less than $1 per ton. The product is a matte | carrying about 27 per cent. of copper and 15 to 18 per cent. of nickel, the quantity made being a little under 40 tons daily. This matte is shipped to the Vivians, in Swansea, Wales, to the associated German smelting-works via Hamburg and to the Wharton Nickel Works, at Camden, N. J., a sale of 500 tons tothe latter having been made lately. We discuss editorially the questions arising from this enormous ad- dition to the annual product of nickel. Suffice it to say that while the total pro- duction of the world until Sudbury began work was estimated at about 1000 tons annually, the Canadian Copper Company are capable of producing over 2000 tons annually. An increase over that through enlarged facilities is even talked of. The hour being too far advanced, the remaining papers were read by title. During the progress of the meeting the visiting members were presented with an exceedingly handsome souvenir in the form of an album of photographs of excep- tional merit, by Topley, of Ottawa. They include a portrait group of the staff of the Geological and Natural History Survey, photographs of the Houses of Parliament, the canal locks from the Dufferin Bridge, the Chaudiere Falls in summer and in winter, the Rideav Falls, a scene on a lumber raft, a view of a jam of saw-logs, the High Falls above Buckingham, the open cast of a phosphate mine at Lievres, Quebec, a toboganning scene at the Gov- ernment House and the Canadian Falls of the Niagara. Not content with the hospitalities and courtesies shown to the institute during their stay at Ottawa, the Canadians had laid out a series of excur- sions, which unfortunately your corres- pondent could not participate in. Since none of those returned who joined in the trips, which will take the greater part of | the present week, your correspondent can | only give a summary of the programme Friday and Saturday. carried by train, via the Canadian Pacific Railway, to the village of Buckingham. | Taking a special steamer, they proceeded | to Little Rapids Landing, where luncheon | was served. They returned to Bucking- ham to participate in an informal recep- tion at the Crystal Rink, and were brought back to Ottawa in the evening. Saturday the greater number of the vis- iting engineers and their ladies started on the excursion through the eastern town- ships. They were to goto Montreal early in in the morning and spend Saturday and Sunday there as the guests of the Canadians. On Monday the excursion was to be re- sumed, the party going first to Sherbrooke, thence via the Quebec Central Railway to Blake Lake and Thetford, the two prin- cipal asbestos mining districts. The quar- ries of the Dudswell Lime and Marble Company, at Marbleton, were to be visited on Tuesday, and the remainder of the day was to be passed at Sherbrooke, where the Mayor and corporation were to tender a pub- lic reception. Leaving Sherbrooke on Wed- nesday the party was to go to Richmond, where the New Rockland slate quarries are to be inspected. The original pro- gramme was to return then to Montreal, but an urgent invitation was received to visit Quebec and spend some time there as the guests of the municipality, an invita- tion which will probably be accepted. Another excursion contemplated was to visit the Port Arthur silver mines, on the north shore of Lake Superior, but an in- sufficient number of members signified their intention to join it, so that that part of the programme was abandoned. Some of the citizens of Port Arthur had also tendered an invitation to two or three of the members to take a day’s canoe trip into the interior to examine some iron mines. A third excursion, which started on Saturday, went to Sudbury to visit the mines and works of the Canadian Copper Company and the property of the Domin- ion Mineral Company and other mines. I The Louisville fall celebration was suc- cessfully begun on Tuesday, ist inst., by a fine industrial parade. The procession was two hours in passing a given point, and was enlivened by citizen-soldiery, the fire department and brass bands. Some of the floats representing the different trades and industries were very handsome and comprehensive. Most prominent in the pro- cession was the display of B. F. Avery & Sons, who had four large floats, each drawn by four horses, showing to great advantage their different makes of plows. The celebration was continued on Wednes- day night by a flambeau parade, the effect being enhanced by arches of colored lights over the intersection of cross streets. Thursday afternoon the city again put on holiday attire and turned out in multi- tudes to welcome King Mercury, the god of commerce, his queen and courtiers, who arrived by water on a profusely de- corated steamer. On Friday night the climax was reached by the procession of the satellites of Mercury, including hun- dreds of allegorical floats, forming a pageant said to have outdone the Mardi Gras of New Orleans. The festivities were completed by a ball. The railroads entering the city were very liberal in both subscriptions and reduced rates, aiding the fall celebration to be the complete success that it was in advertising Louis- ville’s resources and bringing here thou- sands of visitors. A — President A. C. Cheney, of the National |Board of Steam Navigation, is appre- |hensive of disaster as a consequenee of running ocean steamers at full speed On Friday the party was wakened early|in a fog, which he says should be con- by the strains of a brass band, and was! demned. a7 a am) | DB) | i a DB Pe) ' te res Zeiar —S ee © Ores, = S2 2 a=aec 2 Sew = 7 Se se ees ee 4 Rae Bei se eee ee) ee oe = mt wee En eis Y Biaeewes seEnia eeI2 556 THE IRON AGE. October 10, 1889 THE NEW SIEMENS FURNACE. BY JOHN HEAD AND P. POUFF.* In considering the details of construc- tion it occurred to E. Biedermann and E, W. Harvey, who are on Frederick Sie- mens’ technical staff (the former having entered the service of the late Sir William Siemens about 34 years ago), that possibly further economy in fuel might be realized by a re-arrangement of some of the parts of the regenerative gas furnace. Their attention was directed to the conversion of solid fuel into gas in the producer and to the relatively high temperature at which the -o-<-4 a with the development of heat; whereas | regenerative gas-furnace first suggested by the conversion of carbonic acid into car-| R. Laming in 1847, where conduction air- bonic oxide in the upper portion is carried | regenerators alone areemployed. The lat- on at the expense of heat. In the new /| ter form of furnace is necessarily wasteful Siemens furnace the gaseous products of | in working, inasmuch as in theory it can combustion from the heating-chamber of only utilize about one-half of the total the furnace are delivered under the grate heat contained in the gases leaving tie of the producer, these gases consisting furnsce chamber, this being the ratio of of intensely-hot carbonic acid, water in| the air for combustion to the amount of the gaseous state and nitrogen. The gases made from coal entering the fur- production of carbonic acid in the pro-| nace, and in practice it would fall short of ducer may be dispensed with, but in this | this saving, owing to the class of regenator case the heat attending the production of | employed, in which the heat from one cur- carbonic acid in the producer has also to| rent to another had to be transmitted be dispensed with. It had therefore to be | through brick-work. In the new Siemens ascertained whether the products of com-! furnace, on the contrary, the waste gases bustion from the heating-chamber would are directed partly through an air-regener- contain a sufficient amount of heat for in-| ator and partly under the grate of the rl i oS Sa THE products of combustion passed from the fur- nace into the regenerators, as also to the chemical composition of these products, which temperature and gases they thought might be utilized in the gas-producer. In an ordinary gas-producer the produc- tion of carbonic oxide is effected in two operations; on the grate carbonic acid is formed in the ordinary course of combus- tion, and this carbonic acid is afterward converted into carbonic oxide by taking up another equivalent of carbon while passing through the incandescent fuel in the upper portion of the producer, and in this condition it flows on to the furnace with the other gases distilled from the coal during the process of gasification. It should be remembered, however, that the production of carbonic acid on the grate | of the ordinary gas producer is attended | "5 Geman ce i - | The furnace about to be described must | be clearly distinguished from that class of * From a paper read at the Paris meeting of the Lron and Steel Institute. SSMS SLAF HHT 3 ° ; * - ete e *. uP ; ’ “e te ~ yy Fa BAe Nag are NEW SIEMENS REGENERATIVE FURNACE. suring their conversion into combustible gases. This has been found to be the case in practice with furnaces working regu- larly for the past six months—a satisfac- tory result that is probably due to the presence of a large quantity of heated nitrogen in the products of combustion, which, passing through the producer with- out undergoing chemical alteration, main- tains the heat of the fuel. Assuming that the producer contains only coke in the in- candescent state, this eoke if fed with oxygen will produce carbonic acid in the lower zone, which will be converted into carbonic oxide in the upper zone; but if fed with hot carbonic acid, instead of oxygen, one-half the fuel, comprising the lower zone, may be dispensed with, and an economy in weight of fuel to the same extent will be realized. producer, there to be reconverted into combustion gases and to do the work of distilling hydrocarbons from the coal; in fact, the gas-producer in this case ab- sorbs or utilizes the heat formerly de- posited in the gas-regenerators of furnaces; and in doing this trans- forms —_ gases into combustible gases. It is held as an axiom, and the construc- tion of the new furnace is based upon this consideration, that, besides air-regenera- tors, gas-regenerators or their equiv- alent in the form of a converter-producer must be provided for absorbing all the heat contained in the gases leaving the furnace-chamber. In the converter the | fuel absorbs the waste heat from a portion of the products of combustion leaving the \furnace, and at the same time carbonic ‘acid and water-vapor are converted into | carbonic oxide and hydrogen. Disregard- ing the small proportion of water-vapor eaNETe Aare penny er ee October 10, 1889 THE IRON AGE. 557 they contain, the products of combustion from a furnace may be taken as consisting of COs, 17 per cent.; O, 2 per cent.; N, 81 per cent. The 17 per cent. of CO,, also the 2 per cent. of O, are converted into CO, while | the nitrogen simply passes through the fuel without change, and serves the use- ful purpose of maintaining its heat for the conversion of the other gases. For the propulsion of the gases through the converter a steam-blast isemployed. This | steam is superheated by the waste gases | from the furnace, and, mixing with them forms a very hot blast indeed under the grate. This furnace may be constructed in various forms, the one shown in the ac- companying diagrams (Figs. 1 to 4) hav- ing been used with success for heating and welding i iron, It is a radiation furn: Ace, heated “by means of a horseshoe flame. This form of flame offers advantages in this as in ordinary regenerative gas-fur- naces, but its adoption i is not obligators, as the flame may be made to traverse the heat- ing-chamber from end to end in the usual raanner. The same letters indicate the same parts in all the figures. A A’ are reversible regenerators for air, on the top of which is built the gas producer or con- | verter B, of which F F’ are the charging hoppers ‘and N N’ the grates The heating- chamber E adjoins the producer, resting on the ground, or in some cases a pit may flame sweeps round the heating-chamber E, the products of combustion passing away by the second combustion-chamber h g and going partly through the regener- ator A and reversing valve J into the chimney-fiue and partly down the flue G, whence they are drawn by means of the steam jet I through the capped inlet under the grates N N’ of the producer B, there to be converted into combustible gases. From time to time the direction of the flame in the furnace is reversed by manipulating the rocking beam, carrying the valves D D and the reversing valve J in the usual manner of working regenerative gas-fur- naces. An auxiliary steam-jet is provided for the purpose of supplying atmospheric air to start the producer when the furnace is first heated up. The new form of regenerative gas-fur- nace has been applied in this country to the heating and welding of iron, to which uses its application is being extended in England and abroad, while furnaces are in course of construction to apply it for puddling iron and for copper and steel melting. Altogether ten furnaces for these purposes are in course of construc- tion, in addition to two furnaces already at work for heating iron. The first fur- nace of this kind was constructed at the Pather Iron and Steel Company’s Works, at Wishaw, for welding iron, and much credit is due to the proprietors for having to Pa BS Coal. ~& oo ot Weight of —~— Sinica 2 bo . Stas rolled - Date. 2s Time. *=55) billets ike Coal ES & S29) 24 inche Weight used p r st 555 2) 24 inches | of coq) “SCG Pe Quality. a >EOF| square. user ton of ’ < billets. | i Min- 1889. utes. ‘Tons. Cwt.| Cwt. Cwt. | _ Friday, Sept.13.... 11 5.45a.m.to5.25p.m. 21 8 6 | 1% | 10 |4 ee | 8 s 5 ‘ § Newcastle aturday, Sept. It, 6 (5.30 a.m. to 11.45 p.m. 20 4 16 & 1.7 1 . cobbles. I | [= Newcas- . | ‘ ' 7 || tle small J Sept. 16.. f .m. 2 % 2. : . Monday, Sept. 16. ; (5 .45 a.m. to 5.30 p.m 1 8 16 1734 ! O |} 146London | | | |}. sereenings | (London Tuesday, Sept. 17.) 11 , .45 a.m. to 5.30 p.m. 6 | 8 16 1844 2.08 (|< screenings | | | - be provided below it. CC’ are the flues leading the combustible gas to the fur nace-chamber E, the passage of the gas in these flues being controlled by the valves D D’ at the two ends of a rocking- beam, so that the outlets are opened and shut alternately to convey the gas to one or other of the ports G G’ of the heating- chamber E. H H’ are the air-ports of the heating-chamber, communicating through the flues K K’ with the regenerators A A’. Il’ are steam-jets plated! in the return flues for directing a portion of the waste products of combustion to the grates of the converter. J is the valve for re- versing the direction of the air flowing into the furnace and of the products of combustion through the regenerators to the chimney flue. O O’ are hinged caps for alternately admitting and shutting off the products of combustion from the heating-chamber to the converter. These caps are worked automatically by means of connections attached to the rocking- beam, the same movement which closes D opening O’, and that which closes D’ opening O. Qq are doors for giving access to the grates of the converter for clearing them.. The modus operandi of the furnace is as follows: Gas from the converter B passes through the flue C’ and the valve D’ to the gas-port G’, and into the combustion-cham- berf’g’. Air forcombustion passes through the regenerator A’, the air-flue K’ and the air-port H’ into the combustion-chamber, where it meets the gas from the converter, and combustion ensues. The horseshoe | \¢ mix i | had the enterprise and public spirit to make the first application of this improved regenerative gas-furnace. The working has been eminently satisfactory from the commencement. The success of this first application of the furnace proves the cor- rectness of the principle upon which it 1s constructed and the means adopted for carrying it out. The results of working during the past six months have shown an average saving of 5 per cent. in waste on the weight of the iron heated and a saving of upward of two-thirds of the weight of coal used and a greater money saving owing to the inferior quality of the fuel employed as compared with that used in their other furnaces fired with solid fuel. From the total saving thus realized should, however, be deducted the cost of raising steam, for which purpose the waste heat of the old furnaces is utilized. Allowing for separate boilers, the saving effected by the use of the new system in a furnace heating 8 tons of iron per shift is nearly 18 tons of coal per week, and the money saving in iron and coal exceeds £1000 per annum. This new furnace has also been recently applied for heating billets by the United Horse Shoe Company, of London, and in this case the results are quite as satisfact- ory or even better than those just given, as is shown by the table given above. It will be noticed from these results that in this furnace 12 charges were made in less than 12 hours (11 hours 40 min- utes), each weighing about 16 bhundred- oe ss weight and yielding in the tinished state as D horseshoe iron 15 hundred-weight per charge, or9 tons in the day. The amount of small coal used was rather less than 24 hundred-weight. This is equivalent to *¢ = 23 hundred-w eight per ton of finished rolled iron, which, it will be admitted, is a most satisfac tory result, Later on the consumption of coal was reduced to 2 hundred-weight per ton, each billet com- ing out ata full welding heat and roll- ing into a sound bar. The coal used was screenings, which can be obtained at the lowest price. The following are the analyses of gas made in the converters at Pather and in London respectiv ely: Pather Company, from United Hor se- ‘Shoe Com- Wishaw Coal (Nuts). pany, Newcastle Cob- bles. MRSS Ua - nataeees 4.6 CO, 4.5 Mii xeensrekeceanes ibe asada seer nil GP tephidvcewsesens 23.0 | CO...... Senaeeees 22.5 i Sara eee 16.3 Oy WOO cc icdecwcs ue | Came. «se 2.6 Devas bse ckaees a eer eee 54.1 Total..... - 100.0 | Total. Bins Senet 100.0 the proportion of co, in the gas “made in the converters is not greater than that made in the ordinary Siemens producer. Besides the advantages in the saving of fuel and metal, it is desirable to call attention to the simplicity of design of the new fur- nace, owning to which its cost of con- struction is not much greater than that of a solid-fuel furnace, while its cost of main- tenance is very much less. The cost of construction of the new furnace is found to be about two-fiftns of that of the old form of regenerative gas-furnace of the same productive capacity, with separate gas-producers and gas-regenerators, and the space occupied below ground is also considerably reduced. A saving of labor attends the employment of the new furnace, as owing to the producer being connected with the furnace the same men can attend to both, and the labor of firing is reduced in proportion to the reduced consumption of fuel. In conclusion, the following advantages may be claimed for the new furnaces as compared with solid-fuel furnaces used for heating and welding iron, viz.: A saving in fuel amounting to, say, two- thirds in weight, after allowing for rais- ing steam in separate boilers, this saving being fully equal to 5 hundred-weight of coal per ton-of iron heated. A reduction in the waste of iron equal to 5 per cent. upon the weight of metal heated. A saving in labor and repairs which will probably compensate for the extra cost of the new furnace. Taking a furnace to heat 10 tons of iron per shift, or 110 tons per week, the following calculation gives the money saving realized by the adoption of the new furnace: 110 tons iron at 5 hundred-weight per ton = 2744 coal saved at 6/............ £8. 5/ “— at 5 per cent. = 5% tons iron at Ns eer daacas <vae5 ae per week, or, say, £1500 per annum. It may be added that the authors had hoped that the application of this furnace to the attainment of high temperatures, such as are required for steel melting, might have been included in the paper, but the furnaces building for this pur are pot yet completed. Should they, however, be working when the paper is read information with regard to them will be given in the discussion. aes For steel ‘plates for the battle ship Texas there were but two bids opened at the Navy Department last week. The lowest was from the Linden Steel Com- pany, who bid $43,532 for 256 tons of protective-deck plates, and $73,438 for 415 tons of similar plate for middle layers and redoubts. The other bidder was Carnegie, Phipps & Co. rd 7 eA | S530 a soe mae SY oe —_ # fo ssc ee THE IRON AGE. Pumps tor Boiler-Feeding. October 10, 1889 occasionally, as for instance when the temperature of the boiler-feed is changed, that some of the air in Sis absorbed or dis- Our illustrations this month, says the | golyed by the water, so that in time (say Locomotive, to whose courtesy we are in- debted for the accompanying engravings, show two arrangements of pumps that were designed for boiler-feeding by this com- pany, and have now been in successful operation for a considerable time by the Boston Duck Company, Bondsville, Mass., and the Otis Company, Ware, Mass., respectively. The particular difficulties that the systems were designed to over- come were ax follows: In each case a large | amount of water is used, and in order to run economically it was desired to return the drip from the various mills to the boiler- room, This was attended with consider- able dfficulty, as the boilers are higher than the points where the traps must be | placed. A survey of the yards showed | that certain points could be selected, though at considerable distances from the boiler-houses, to which the drips could easily be returned; and it was resolved to place the receiving-tanks at these points. In order that the pumps might be flooded it was necessary to place them in the same pits with the tank, several hundred feet from the boilers; and after some consider- ation it was decided to do this, and tv ar- range the pumps so that they might govern themselves automatically and not need the personal attention of the firemen. Fig. 1 shows how this was accomplished at Bondsville. Into the tank A all the drips from the} mills are discharged by means of traps of our own design. The exhaust from the pump also discharges into the same tank. The water in tank A is maintained at a constant level by means of a governor, J, which controls a valve, H, in the feed-pipe G in the usual way. This governor communicates with the tank by means of the pipes shown, which are provided with cocks, L and K, so that the governor may be shut off from the tank when desired. Within the tank the feed-pipe is perforated, as shown at V, so that the incoming water may condense any steam it may come in contact with and be itself heated thereby. A blow-off is provided at N and a 3-inch overflow- pipe at P, which discharges surplus water into the blow-off through R and allows any uncondensed steam to escape through Q. The pump B draws its supply from the tank through pipe D - discharges through pipe M, which passes to the boiler-room. Steam to operate the pump enters through the pipe C, which is pro- vided with a reducing-valve as shown, which serves to maintain the pressure on the steam end of the pump constantly at 35 pounds, which is indicated by the gauge once 1n two or three months) pipe S_be- comes filled with water and ceases to act as an air-chamber. In this case it is only necessary to stop the pump for a few moments and open the small cocks T and U. Water then runs out at U and air bubbles up through T into the chamber overhead. When sufficient air has entered the small cocks are closed and the system is ready for operation once more, The plant at the Otis Company’s mills is similar in principle, but somewh st more complicated in its details owing to the fact that a power-pump is there used in addi- tion to a steam-pump. The operation of this plant will be understood from Figs. 2 and 3, which are respectively an eleva- tion and plan of the whole system. In these figures A is the tank for receiving the drips, X is the governor and U the valve that regulates the flow of water from the river into the tank through the per- forated pipe V. The power-pump B has two fly-wheels, C and D, one of which hae ce Lal is impossible for it to start while the de - mand for water does not exceed the capac- ity of the power-pump. , To follow the action of the pumps, let us first suppose that all the valves in the boiler-room are closed. Then the pressure \in the main K L rises at once. As soon as it reaches 115 pounds the relief-valve J opens, and after that the entire delivery of the power-pump passes up through J and W and back into the tank A. Now, | let us suppose that the belt on the power- pump breaks. Immediately the delivery of this pump ceases and the valve J closes. The pressure in the main K L is now 115 | pounds, and both pumps are motionless. Now, suppose an attendant in the boiler- room opens a feed-valve there, the press- ure in the boiler being only 80 pounds, water begins to flow from the main into the boiler; but this reduces the pressure in the main K L, which pressure, at the | time of opening the valve into the boiler- room, was 115 pounds, The moment that this pressure falls below 105 pounds, how- lever, the steam-pump P ceases to be bal- anced, the steam-pressure preponderates over the water-pressure and the pump ffs G Fig. 1.—Arrangement of Pumps for Boiler-Feeding, in Use at the Boston Duck Company’s Works, Bondsville, Mass, runs the driving-belt. It draws water from the tank through pipe E and de- livers through G K L to the boilers. The steam-puimp P is provided with a reducing- E. The water-pressure in pipe M is indi- | valve, Q, as in the plants previously de- cated at F. The operation of this system is very simple. If the attendant im the boiler- room shuts off all his valves, the pressure in the water-pipe M immediately runs up to from 100 to 105 pounds, the steam and water cylinders of the pump being so pro- portioned that when this pressure is at- tained the water in M just balances the re- duced steam-pressure in C, and the pump can no longer run. It therefore remains motionless until a valve is opened some- where on the pipe M. Then, the pressure in M being relieved, the pump is no longer balanced; the steam pressure preponder- ates and the pump starts. This adjustment is so fine that if the attendant opens his valve a single spoke the pump responds immediately and moves so slowly that its motion can hardly be seen; while if he opens all his valves wide the pump in- stantly starts at full speed. To prevent unpleasant rattling and pounding in the boiler-room a stand-pipe, 8, is provided near the boilers, which acts as an air-chamber and causes the whole to work smoothly and noiselessly. It happens scribed; it draws its water from the tank through M and delivers it to the boilers through RR'L. At T a pipe is shown which runs through the mills and supplies water in case of fire or other emergencies. Valves are provided at S and N that allow the steam-pump to be shut off entirely if desired, and similar valves, H and F, are provided for the power-pump. The action of these combined pumps is as follows: The power-pump B runs con- tinuously while the machinery is in mo- tion, and it is ample in size to supply all the ordinary wants of the boilers. In case the demand for water is less than the sup- ply that this pump affords (which is fre- quently the case), the surplus passes back to the tank A through a relief-valve, J, which is set to open at 115 pounds water- pressure. Under these circums'ances the steam-pump P remains motionless; forthe | steam-pressure in it is kept constantly at from 24 to 25 pounds by means of Q, which corresponds to a pressure in the water end of 105 pounds, so that it 1s impossible for this pump to start unless the pressure in K L falls to 105 pounds or less—that is, it starts with a velocity proportional to the demand for water, the working of this pump from this moment on being exactly the same as the working of the pump shown in Fig. 1. Now let us look back to the beginning once more, and suppose that the belt on the power pump does not break, but that the demand for water, owing to a fire breaking out or to any other cause, sud- denly increases, so that pump B can no longer supply it. The pressure in K L then decreases as before, the relief-valve J closes, the steam-pump P starts up the moment the pressure in K L falls to 105 pounds, and both pumps run together, the power-pump ata uniform speed and the steam-pump at a variable 1 ay: depend- ing on the amount of water that is wanted. When night comes on the power-pump, of course, stops at 6 o’clock and the steam-pump at once starts automatically _and takes its place, and at 7 o’clock ‘in the morning the power-pump starts once more and the steam-pump stops. In both of these plants pressure-gauges are attached to the steam and water pipes, so that an occasional visit to the pump-room shows at once whether everything is work- ing properly or not. Both systems also have an air-chamber in the boiler-room, as \shown at S in Fig. 1, and it seems proper October 10, 1889 THE IRON AGE. entire satisfaction of every one. In order that the advantage-in econorny | that comes from returning the drips from | the various pipes may be: appreciated, we | would call atten