The Mastery and Uses of Fire in Antiquity: A Sourcebook on Ancient Pyrotechnology

236 Pages·2000·4.83 MB·English

by  J.E. Rehder

S_21387.book Page i Wednesday, July 5, 2000 10:22 AM
The Mastery and Uses of Fire in Antiquity
S_21387.book Page ii Wednesday, July 5, 2000 10:22 AM
S_21387.book Page iii Wednesday, July 5, 2000 10:22 AM
The Mastery
and Uses of Fire
in Antiquity
j.e. rehder
McGill-Queen’s University Press
Montreal & Kingston London Ithaca
• •
S_21387.book Page iv Wednesday, July 5, 2000 10:22 AM
© McGill-Queen’s University Press 2000
isbn 0-7735-2067-8
Legal deposit quarter 2000
Bibliothèque nationale du Québec
Printed in Canada on acid-free paper
This book has been published with the help of a grant from the Humanities
and Social Sciences Federation of Canada, using funds provided by the
Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.
McGill-Queen’s University Press acknowledges the financial support of the
Government of Canada through the Book Publishing Industry
Development Program (bpidp) for its activities. We also acknowledge the
support of the Canada Council for the Arts for our publishing program.
Canadian Cataloguing in Publication Data
Rehder, J.E.
The mastery and uses of fire in antiquity
Includes bibliographical references and index.
isbn 0-7735-2067-8
1. Pyrometallurgy – History. 2. Ceramics – History. 3. Metallurgical
furnaces – History. I. Title.
tn688.5.r44 2000 660′.29687 c00-900176-x
All figures were drawn by the author.
This book was typeset by Typo Litho Composition Inc.
in 10/12 Sabon.
S_21387.book Page v Wednesday, July 5, 2000 10:22 AM
To Nonnie, wife and best friend
S_21387.book Page vi Wednesday, July 5, 2000 10:22 AM
S_21387.book Page vii Wednesday, July 5, 2000 10:22 AM
Contents
Acknowledgments xi
Foreword xiii
Preface xvii
Introduction 3
1 The Nature of Heat and the Management of Its
Temperature 9
2 How Furnaces Work 13
3 The Properties and Combustion of Biomass 25
4 Furnace Configurations for Biomass Fuel 38
5 Products Made in Antiquity in Biomass Fuelled
Furnaces 46
6 The Manufacture and Properties of Charcoal 55
7 Combustion in Beds of Lump Charcoal 63
8 Combustion Air Supply for Charcoal 74
9 Furnace Configurations for Charcoal Fuel 84
10 The Reduction of Metals and the Functions of Slags 101
11 The Smelting of Copper 113
12 The Smelting, Forging, and Properties of Iron 122
S_21387.book Page viii Wednesday, July 5, 2000 10:22 AM
viii Contents
13 Fuel Consumption by Pyrotechnology in Antiquity 145
14 Fuel Supply and Deforestation 153
15 Artifacts from the Operation of Furnaces 160
Appendices
1 Combustion in Fuel Beds of Charcoal 167
2 Pressure Drop in Tuyeres and Fuel Beds and Power
Required 175
3 Natural Draft in Fuel Beds 180
4 A Furnace to Reliably Make a Bloom of Iron 189
Glossary 195
References 199
S_21387.book Page ix Wednesday, July 5, 2000 10:22 AM
Tables and Figures
tables
1 Pro-Forma Heat Balance 20
2 Proximate Analyses, Carbon Contents, and Heat Contents
of Selected Biomass Fuels on Oven-Dry Basis 29
3 Biomass Fuel Consumption by Furnace Product 152
4 Effects of Air Supply Rate on Temperature and on Its Extent
in a Coke Fuel Bed 171
figures
1 Effect of Furnace Size on Space Velocity Necessary to
Maintain Temperature 16
2 Effects of Space Velocity and Fuel Reactivity on the Height
of the High Temperature Zone 18
3 Heat Loss Rate as a Function of Wall Thickness and Inner
Face Temperature 23
4 Effects of Moisture Content and Excess Air on Flame
Temperature of Biomass Fuel 28
5 Reverberatory or Air Furnace 43
6 Gas Composition and Temperature in a Charcoal Fuel
Bed 65
S_21387.book Page x Wednesday, July 5, 2000 10:22 AM
x Tables and Figures
7 Approximate Plumes from Tuyeres in Fuel Beds 68
8 Temperature Distribution in a Fuel Bed with Single
Tuyere 86
9 Iron Ore Reduction in a Small Bowl Furnace 87
10 Carbon Content of Iron Blooms versus FeO Content of
Associated Slag 126
11 General Arrangement of Experimental Bloomery
Furnace 191