Burner and combustion method for heating surfaces susceptible to oxidation or reduction

Abstract

A method of heating a surface provides for a central fuel rich jet having a peripheral shroud of substantially stoichiometric combustion products and one or more fuel lean jets each having a peripheral shroud of substantially stoichiometric combustion products. The fuel lean jets are placed around the periphery of the central fuel rich jet. The fuel lean jet or jets each having shrouds of substantially stoichiometric combustion products and a careful choice of relative velocities for each results in minimizing the mixing of the fuel rich and fuel lean jets until they are at or near the surface of the material to be melted. The placement of the fuel lean jet and fuel rich jets may be reversed in applications where an oxidizing atmosphere is required at the surface to be heated.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.