Gas burner

Claim 2

A gas burner for operation with a mixture of natural gas and oxygen-enriched combustion air, said burner comprising: a burner block of heat refractory material having an axial tunnel of circular cross section extending therethrough and comprised of a throat section terminating at its downstream end in an abruptly widening flare chamber section flaring out to a diameter appreciably greater than that of said throat section; a gas nozzle tube of cylindrical outer contour extending axially through said tunnel from the inlet end thereof and in spaced relation to the wall thereof to form therebetween an annular combustion air passageway through the said throat section of the tunnel; said gas nozzle tube having a nozzle end set back a slight distance upstream from the downstream end of said throat section; means for supplying gas fuel under a slight positive pressure to the inlet end of said gas nozzle tube; means for supplying oxygen-enriched combustion air under a slight positive pressure to the inlet end of said annular air passageway; respective gas and combustion air spin generator means respectively associated with said gas nozzle tube and with said annular combustion air passageway for imparting spinning motion in complementary directions about the tunnel axis to the gas column discharged endwise from said gas nozzle and to the combustion air discharged endwise from said annular air passageway and enveloping the spinning gas column whereby to cause said gas and air columns to spread laterally outward from the tunnel axis on passage through the said flare chamber section of said tunnel and subsequently to be drawn back inwardly toward the tunnel axis to thereby create a gas and air recirculation and flame stabilization zone located entirely out in space and outwardly removed from the walls of said burner block; and the ratio of the diameter of the downstream end of said tunnel throat section to the outside diameter of said gas nozzle tube is within the approximate range of 1.9 to 2.2.

Claim 3

A gas burner for operation with a mixture of natural gas and oxygen-enriched combustion air, said burner comprising: a burner block of heat refractory material having an axial tunnel of circular cross section extending therethrough and comprised of a throat section terminating at its downstream end in an abruptly widening flare chamber section flaring out to a diameter appreciably greater than that of said throat section; a gas nozzle tube of cylindrical outer contour extending axially through said tunnel from the inlet end thereof and in spaced relation to the wall thereof to form therebetween an annular combustion air passageway through the said throat section of the tunnel; said gas nozzle tube having a nozzle end set back a slight distance upstream from the downstream end of said throat section; means for supplying gas fuel under a slight positive pressure to the inlet end of said gas nozzle tube; means for supplying oxygen-enriched combustion air under a slight positive pressure to the inlet end of said annular air passageway; respective gas and combustion air spin generator means respectively associated with said gas nozzle tube and with said annular combustion air passageway for imparting spinning motion in complementary directions about the tunnel axis to the gas column discharged endwise from said gas nozzle and to the combustion air discharged endwise from said annular air passageway and enveloping the spinning gas column whereby to cause said gas and air columns to spread laterally outward from the tunnel axis on passage through the said flare chamber section of said tunnel and subsequently to be drawn back inwardly toward the tunnel axis to thereby create a gas and air recirculation and flame stabiLization zone located entirely out in space and outwardly removed from the walls of said burner block; and the nozzle end of said gas nozzle tube is set back upstream from the downstream end of said tunnel throat section a distance of at least approximately 1/4 inch.

Claim 4

A gas burner for operation with a mixture of natural gas and oxygen-enriched combustion air, said burner comprising: a burner block of heat refractory material having an axial tunnel of circular cross section extending therethrough and comprised of a throat section terminating at its downstream end in an abruptly widening flare chamber section flaring out to a diameter appreciably greater than that of said throat section; a gas nozzle tube of cylindrical outer contour extending axially through said tunnel from the inlet end thereof and in spaced relation to the wall thereof to form therebetween an annular combustion air passageway through the said throat section of the tunnel; said gas nozzle tube having a nozzle end set back a slight distance upstream from the downstream end of said throat section; means for supplying gas fuel under a slight positive pressure to the inlet end of said gas nozzle tube; means for supplying oxygen-enriched combustion air under a slight positive pressure to the inlet end of said annular air passageway; respective gas and combustion air spin generator means respectively associated with said gas nozzle tube and with said annular combustion air passageway for imparting spinning motion in complementary directions about the tunnel axis to the gas column discharged endwise from said gas nozzle and to the combustion air discharged endwise from said annular air passageway and enveloping the spinning gas column whereby to cause said gas and air columns to spread laterally outward from the tunnel axis on passage through the said flare chamber section of said tunnel and subsequently to be drawn back inwardly toward the tunnel axis to thereby create a gas and air recirculation and flame stabiLization zone located entirely out in space and outwardly removed from the walls of said burner block; and the nozzle end of said gas nozzle tube is set back upstream from the downstream end of said tunnel throat section a distance of at least approximately 1/4 inch.

Claim 5

A gas burner as specified in claim 2 wherein the ratio of the diameter of the downstream end of said tunnel throat section to the outside diameter of said gas nozzle tube is within the range of approximately 1.9to 2.2.

Claim 6

A gas burner as specified in claim 3 wherein the ratio of the diameter of the downstream end of the said flare chamber section of said tunnel to the diameter of the downstream end of the said throat section of said tunnel is within the range of approximately 1.8 to 2.1.

Claim 7

A gas burner as specified in claim 1 wherein the ratio of the diameter of the downstream end of the said flare chamber section of said tunnel to the diameter of the downstream end of the said throat section of said tunnel is within the range of approximately 1.8 to 2.1.

Claim 8

A gas burner for burning a mixture of natural gas with oxygen-enriched air, said burner comprising: a burner block of heat refractory material having an axial tunnel of circular cross section extending therethrough and comprised of a generally cylindrical throat section terminating at its downstream end in an abruptly widening flare chamber section flaring out to a diameter appreciably greater than that of said throat section; a holder supporting said burner block at its rearard end and including a backplate having a circular air supply opening therethrough coaxial with and approximately corresponding in diameter to the inlet end of said tunnel; a combustion air supply housing mounted on said backplate for supplying a mixutre of oxygen and atmospheric air under slight positive pressure to the inlet end of said tunnel; a gas nozzle tube of cylindrical outer contour mounted on said housing and extending therethrough and axially into said tunnel from the inlet end thereof and in spaced relation to the wall therreof to form an annular combustion air supply passageway in said tunnel; said gas nozzle tube being connected to a source of burner gas under slight positive pressure and having its nozzle end set back a slight distance upstream from the downstream end of said throat section, gas spin generator means located within said gas nozzle tube at its nozzle end for imparting to the gas stream discharged therefrom a spinning motion concentrically about the said tunnel axis; and combustion air spin generator means mounted in said housing for discharging the pressurized combustion air therein tangentially into the said annular combustion air passageway to impart thereto a spinning motion complementary in direction to that of said burner gas discharged from said gas nozzle end, said combustion air generator means including a collar mounted on said gas nozzle tube with an air-tight connection therearound and spaced rearwardly from said backplate, and a plurality of spin vanes clamped tightly between said backplate and said collar and positioned around said gas nozzle tube in spaced apart relation to define a plurality of combustion air outlet passageways extending tangentially to said annular combustion air supply passageway whereby to discharge the combustion air from said housing tangentially into said annular passageway to impart spinning motion to the combustion air entering and passing through said passageway.

Claim 9

A gas burner for burning a mixture of natural gas with oxygen-enriched air, said burner comprising: a burner block of heat refractory material having an axial tunnel of circular cross section extending therethrough and comprised of a generally cylindrical throat section terminating at its downstream end in an abruptly widening flare chamber section flaring out to a diameter appreciably greater than that of said throat section; a holder supporting said burner block at its rearard end and including a backplate having a circular air supply opening therethrough coaxial with and approximately corresponding in diameter to the inlet end of said tunnel; a combustion air supply housing mounted on said backplate for supplying a mixutre of oxygen and atmospheric air under slight positive pressure to the inlet end of said tunnel; a gas nozzle tube of cylindrical outer contour mounted on said housing and extending therethrough and axially into said tunnel from the inlet end thereof and in spaced relation to the wall therreof to form an annular combustion air supply passageway in said tunnel; said gas nozzle tube being connected to a source of burner gas under slight positive pressure and having its nozzle end set back a slight distance upstream from the downstream end of said throat section, gas spin generator means located within said gas nozzle tube at its nozzle end for imparting to the gas stream discharged therefrom a spinning motion concentrically about the said tunnel axis; and combustion air spin generator means mounted in said housing for discharging the pressurized combustion air therein tangentially into the said annular combustion air passageway to impart thereto a spinning motion complementary in direction to that of said burner gas discharged from said gas nozzle end, said combustion air generator means including a collar mounted on said gas nozzle tube with an air-tight connection therearound and spaced rearwardly from said backplate, and a plurality of spin vanes clamped tightly between said backplate and said collar and positioned around said gas nozzle tube in spaced apart relation to define a plurality of combustion air outlet passageways extending tangentially to said annular combustion air supply passageway whereby to discharge the combustion air from said housing tangentially into said annular passageway to impart spinning motion to the combustion air entering and passing through said passageway.

Claim 10

A burner for operation with a mixture of gaseous fuel and combustion air comprising: a housing, said housing having a generally cylindrical passage with an open inlet and open outlet end, and an abruptly flaring wall surface adjacent said passage outlet end, said flaring surface opening out into space; a gas tube within said passage having an open outlet end generally adjacent said passage outlet end and concentric therewith; gas supply means associated with said tube for supplying a source of axially moving gaseous fuel to said tube at a predetermined pressure; air supply means for supplying a source of axially moving combustion air to said passage at a predetermined pressure; air spin means associated with said air means and operable to form said combustion air injected into said passage into a plurality of swirling annular streams having a predetermined tangential velocity component; gas spin means associated with said gas supply means and operable to form said gaseous fuel into a plurality of swirling annular gas streams at the outlet end of said tube, said streams having a predetermined tangential velocity component; said air spin means and said gas spin means interacting with one another when said air and gas streams are injected into space to establish stable recirculation and mixing of air and gas streams in a flame stabilization zone to produce combustion located out in space and out of contact with said burner housing; and ignition means including an open passage in said flaring surface for igniting a portion of said gaseous fuel as said air and fuel exit said passage and said tube.

Claim 11

A burner for operation with a mixture of gaseous fuel and combustion air comprising: a housing, said housing having a generally cylindrical passage with an open inlet and open outlet end, and an abruptly flaring wall surface adjacent said passage outlet end, said flaring surface opening out into space; a gas tube within said passage having an open outlet end generally adjacent said passage outlet end and concentric therewith; gas supply means associated with said tube for supplying a source of axially moving gaseous fuel to said tube at a predetermined pressure; air supply means for supplying a source of axially moving combustion air to said passage at a predetermined pressure; air spin means associated with said air means and operable to form said combustion air injected into said passage into a plurality of swirling annular streams having a predetermined tangential velocity component; gas spin means associated with said gas supply means and operable to form said gaseous fuel into a plurality of swirling annular gas streams at the outlet end of said tube, said streams having a predetermined tangential velocity component; said air spin means and said gas spin means interacting with one another when said air and gas streams are injected into space to establish stable recirculation and mixing of air and gas streams in a flame stabilization zone to produce combustion located out in space and out of contact with said burner housing; and ignition means including an open passage in said flaring surface for igniting a portion of said gaseous fuel as said air and fuel exit said passage and said tube.

Claim 12

The burner of claim 7 wherein said tangential velocity components of said gas and air spin means are complementary with one another.

Claim 13

The burner of claim 8 further including muffle means for reducing the noise emitted and controlling the shape of the flame generated in said stabilization zone, said muffling means including said housing further having a generally cylindrical chamber adjacent and concentric with said flaring wall surface, said cylindrical chamber of sufficient length to surround at least a portion of said stabilization zone and appreciably greater in diameter than the outlet of said passage.

Claim 14

The burner of claim 9 wherein said burner further includes means for positioning said outlet end of said tube relative to said outlet end of said passage for positioning said stabilization zone within said cylindrical chamber.

Claim 15

A burner for operation with a mixture of gaseous fuel and combustion air comprising: a housing, said housing having a generally cylindrical passage with an open outlet end, and an abruptly flaring wall surface adjacent said passage outlet end, said flaring surface opening out into space; a gas tube within said passage having an open outlet end generally adjacent said pasage outlet end and concentric therewith; gas supply means associated with said tube for supplying a source of axially moving gaseous fuel to said tube at a predetermined pressure; air supply means for supplying a source of axially moving combustion air to said passage at a predetermined pressure; air spin means associated with said air means and operable to form said combustion air injected into said passage into a plurality of swirling annular streams having a predetermined tangential velocity component; gas spin means associated with said gas supply means and operable to form said gaseous fuel into a plurality of swirling annular gas streams at the outlet end of said tube, said streams having a predetermined tangential velocity component; said air spin means and said gas spin means interacting with one another when said air and gas streams are injected into space to establish stable recirculation and mixing of air and gas streams in a flame stabilization zone to produce combustion located out in space and out of contact with said burner housing; ignition means including an open passage in said flaring surface for igniting a portion of said gaseous fuel as said air and fuel exit said passage and said tube; and said gas means includes a helical gear inserted at said outlet end of said gas tube, said gear optionally including an axially extending opening therethrough.

Claim 16

A burner for operation with a mixture of gaseous fuel and combustion air comprising: a housing, said housing having a generally cylindrical passage with an open outlet end, and an abruptly flaring wall surface adjacent said passage outlet end, said flaring surface opening out into space; a gas tube within said passage having an open outlet end generally adjacent said pasage outlet end and concentric therewith; gas supply means associated with said tube for supplying a source of axially moving gaseous fuel to said tube at a predetermined pressure; air supply means for supplying a source of axially moving combustion air to said passage at a predetermined pressure; air spin means associated with said air means and operable to form said combustion air injected into said passage into a plurality of swirling annular streams having a predetermined tangential velocity component; gas spin means associated with said gas supply means and operable to form said gaseous fuel into a plurality of swirling annular gas streams at the outlet end of said tube, said streams having a predetermined tangential velocity component; said air spin means and said gas spin means interacting with one another when said air and gas streams are injected into space to establish stable recirculation and mixing of air and gas streams in a flame stabilization zone to produce combustion located out in space and out of contact with said burner housing; ignition means including an open passage in said flaring surface for igniting a portion of said gaseous fuel as said air and fuel exit said passage and said tube; and said gas means includes a helical gear inserted at said outlet end of said gas tube, said gear optionally including an axially extending opening therethrough.