Several processes, such as metallurgical iron smelting and welding, require so much heat that they could only be developed after the invention, in antiquity, of the bellows. The bellows are used to deliver additional air to the fuel, raising the rate of combustion and therefore the heat output.

A bloomery is a type of metallurgical furnace once used widely for smelting iron from its oxides. The bloomery was the earliest form of smelter capable of smelting iron. Bloomeries produce a porous mass of iron and slag called a bloom.

2009年8月1日 · Combustion was pivotal in the heat-mediated process of indigenous metalworking in precolonial Africa. For such combustion to be initiated, a consistent supply of air was essential and because...

In the smelting of ores and the melting of metals during antiquity, the oxygen necessary for the combustion of the charcoal fuel was supplied by human breath through blowpipes; by ambient air via bellows; or, less frequently, by ambient air by natural draft.

2023年12月14日 · The smelting process results in a mixture of slag pieces with copper prills, partially melted ore, and unmelted ore (Golden, 2014b). The copper prills were mechanically extracted from the slag and subsequently either melted in crucibles into a larger copper piece or directly cast to objects in open moulds (Ackerfeld et al., 2020 ; Shugar, 2003 ).

2018年12月12日 · Since the 8th century BC, China has established the tall shaft furnace, which uses the large bellows to powerfully inflate the air and intensify the smelting process. The highest furnace temperature is stabilized at 1300–1400 °C.

2013年7月18日 · In the smelting of ores and the melting of metals during antiquity, the oxygen necessary for the combustion of the charcoal fuel was supplied by human breath through blowpipes; by ambient air via bellows; or, less frequently, by ambient air by natural draft.

2022年7月27日 · Box Bellows The suspended fanbellows developed into the double-acting piston blower with the rectangular and cylindrical boxes, called box bellows, which can be dated back to the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644).

2009年8月12日 · Combustion was pivotal in the heat-mediated process of indigenous metalworking in precolonial Africa. For such combustion to be initiated, a consistent supply of air was essential and because bellows generated the air that precipitated the chemical reactions integral to smelting and forging, they were thus critical apparatus in these pursuits.

During the medieval period mechanised bellows were introduced to blow air into the furnace, thus increasing the speed and efficiency of the smelting process. The power to operate these bellows was provided by water wheels and buildings were constructed to house the apparatus.