A tuyere is a device used in metallurgy to supply oxygen or air to a furnace, hearth, or forge to melt or smelt metal. It is usually a tube or nozzle made of copper or cast iron, and can be attached to a set of bellows or an internal combustion engine. The word tuyere comes from the old Germanic word tuyau, meaning pipe. Bloomeries were the first type of foundry capable of melting iron, while blast furnaces replaced them and are used to smelt iron ore. Tuyeres may also be used to insert devices for measuring temperature or adding materials to the molten metal.
Tuyere is a metallurgical term referring to an opening through which oxygen or air is supplied within a furnace, hearth or forge, helping to raise the temperature to melt or smelt various types of metal . This device is often in the form of a tube or nozzle that attaches to the furnace from the outside and is usually made of copper or cast iron. Commonly a set of bellows or an internal combustion engine is attached to the nozzle, forcing air or oxygen through it and into the melter. Older types of kilns often had only one tube, while modern industrial kilns can have more than 40, helping to make higher temperatures possible. The word tuyere ultimately comes from the old Germanic word tuyau, meaning pipe, and this device may also be called a tu-iron, twyer, or twire-pipe.
The smelting of iron and other metals such as tin and copper has been practiced by man for thousands of years. The first type of foundry capable of melting iron was the so-called bloomery. A bloomery usually consisted of a pit or chimney-like structure, with a metal or clay flue ducting air through a side wall. These foundries produced a so-called bloom, i.e. a mass consisting of slag and iron that could be forged into wrought iron.
Bloomery-style furnaces were eventually replaced by blast furnaces, which are usually used to smelt iron ore. The ability to produce better furnace fittings, such as cast iron tubers, was a factor in the development of blast furnaces. A blast furnace usually has several small tubes located at the bottom of the structure. Each tube blows air or oxygen into the furnace, while ore and fuel, such as coal, is fed into the furnace from above. A blast furnace is capable of reaching higher temperatures than a bloomery and is usually used to produce pig iron which can then be processed into other types of iron or used for the production of steel.
Most of the tubes that carry air or oxygen into the ovens are water cooled to withstand the high temperatures. In some cases, tuyeres may be used to insert devices for measuring temperature inside the furnace, or to add various materials to the molten metal. A blacksmith’s hearth can also be equipped with a chimney. In this case, the tuyere is often attached to a hand or foot-operated bellows which supplies the air while keeping the hearth hot enough for the smith to work the metal.
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