Evening star., 1940-02-04

/ WeGfS tftC SO"OPCTutSOt W OUtSSu
1Dere invited by The Star to r.
contained in the accompanying
called to the La Mont boiler, and
that he had gone to the Philadelphia
Navy Yard.
Preliminary Design Offered.
TT was a little thing, what we
call a breadboard model, demon
strating a principle rather than be-
ing boiler he told newspaper
men.
Mr.. Edison said he had satisfied
himself that the La Mont people
were getting every attention from
the engineers" and were being af-
forded every facility to make their
demonstrations.
After completion of the tests Mr..
La Mont submitted to the Navy De-
partment a preliminary design of a
destroyer size boiler, which he pro-
posed to build, and which he pro-
posed the Government should pur-
chase under a special arrangement,
the Bureau of Engineering reported.
There were no available funds, how
ever, for further development of the
boiler by the Navy, and Mr.. La
Mont was told that If further de-
velopment were accomplished COM
mercially, and if the Navy's expert
ments with the high pressure, high
temperature, forced circulation type
boiler should indicate it's suitability
for naval use, "the bureau would
then be interested in a test of a
full-size La Mont boiler and would
welcome the boiler into the COM
petitive field"
In view of the rapid developments
which were taking place in this
country and abroad in the use of
high pressures and temperatures in
both commercial and naval fields
the Navy Bureau of Engineering
carefully followed these develop
ments, having in mind the possible
naval application of machinery in
stallations employing higher pres
sures and temperatures.
British Making Tests.
Referring to the claims that the
La Mont type boiler is being used
abroad while being ignored by the
United States Navy, the Bureau of
Engineering reported that "the gen.
eral situation in the German Navy
in regard to boilers, temperatures
and pressures is known to the Bu-
reau Of Engineering.
THE troubles and delays which
the developments in German naval
engineering have given rise to have
also come to the attention of the
bureau" it was stated. In connec-
ton with the use of the La Mont
boiler abroad it should be noted
that the designs now being en-
ployed are an outgrowth of the
original La Mont design, which the
bureau believes did not prove salts
factory. From information available
to the bureau it Is apparent that the
development of the La Mont boiler
abroad has resulted in boiler which
does not have the attractive features
of extreme low weight and low space
factors which the original La Mont
design contemplated. It is also
known that an experimental La
Mont boiler has been installed in q
British destroyer. The working
pressure of this boiler is 200 pounds
and the efficiency II per cent at an
evaporation of 121 500 pounds of
steam per hour. At approximately
the same evaporation thea modern
600-pound natural circulation boilers
being installed in our destroyers
have by actual test shown an ef-
flciency of 84.5 per cent. Since
boiler efficiency is very important
factor in the overall efficiency of a
machinery installation, a vessel fit
ted with our modern naval boilers
would show very appreciable fuel
saving with resulting increase in
cruising radius over vessel fitted
with boilers similar to the La Mont
boiler installed in the British de-
stroyer, all other conditions being
equal.
Complete Boiler Never Delivered.
I'm connection with the use of
forced circulation boilers it is the
opinion of the Naval Boiler Labora-
tory that it is quite possible by
judicious changes in design to so
raise the capacity of natural circu-
lation boilers that they can sue
cessfully compete with forced circu-
lation boilers in weight, space and
cost, still retaining other desirable
characteristics inherent in the nat
ural circulation boiler"
AS regards the so-called water
wall'' structure which is prominent
feature of the La Mont design, Mr.
Edison stated that this type of boiler
was developed as early as 1850 and
is not confined, to the La Mont
boiler. The Navy Department frl
1929 authorized test of the original
La Mont inventions" as applied te
water walls in boilers, he said These
tests did not demonstrate that the
La Mont water walls were suitable
for naval use, he said.
La Mont never delivered a com.
plete boiler with necessary auxiliary
equipment of a size suitable for in.
stallation in a naval vessel to the
Navy for test, Secretary Edison said
Nor has there been a profitable ex.
ploitation of the La Mont boiler fo1
commercial use, he indicated.
Secretary Edison said he had beer
told by Mr.. La Mont at the time
his boiler was under test at Phila.
delphia that this represented 9
new" design, which was in many
respects an evasion of his previou!
patents, to which rights had beer
} obtained abroad.
Another Design Used Abroad.
$50 the design of boiler that 1.
talked about in this article (the Jay
Franklin series) is not the La Mon
boiler that Is being exploited II
Germany" Mr.. Edison commented