Sealed rotary hearth furnace with central bearing support

摘要

The furnace has a hearth which rotates inside a stationary closed chamber and is supported therein on vertical cylindrical conduit which extends through the furnace floor and is supported by a single center bearing. The charge is deposited through the furnace roof on the rim of the hearth as it rotates and is moved toward the center of the hearth by rabbles. Externally generated hot gases are introduced into the furnace chamber below the hearth and rise through perforations in the hearth and up through the charge. Exhaust gases are withdrawn through the furnace roof. Treated charge drops from a center outlet on the hearth into the vertical cylindrical conduit which extends downwardly through the furnace floor to which it is also sealed.