IMPROVEMENTS IN ENGINES WORKED BY VOLATILE LIQUIDS, AT A LOW TEMPERATURE
Year: 1873

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by William Spence at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 25th June
-
1873. A communication from abroad by Charles Zündel, of Paris,
France; Druggist.
I, WILLIAM SPENCE, of 8, Quality Court, Chancery Lane, in the
County of Middlesex, Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of the
said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN ENGINES WORKED BY VOLATILE LIQUIDS,
AT A LOW TEMPERATURE," (being a communication to me from abroad by
Charles Zündel, of Paris, France, Druggist), to be as follows:-
This Invention consists in an arrangement of apparatus which admits
of the employment for motive power purposes of liquids more volatile
than water, whether they are directly heated by a furnace or by steam.
from an ordinary steam engine after acting on the piston. This arrange-,
ment is applicable to all volatile liquids, such as ether, sulphuret of;
carbon, liquified ammoniacal gas, or liquid carbonic acid.
The engine consists of four generators, in which the volatile liquid is

page_text: reduced to vapour. These generators are arranged two on each side of a
central cylinder containing a piston, the rod of which communicates
motion as in steam engines generally.
Each generator has a coil of pipes through which steam is passed,
which coil should present a greatly extended surface in order to cause a
rapid evaporation of the liquid, and a sudden and complete condensation
of the steam. The coil may be composed of four rows of small flattened
metallic tubes communicating with cross tubes at their ends, which are
connected together, so that steam admitted into the coil may pass
through the whole series of pipes, the water of condensation passing out
of the coil, and being returned to the boiler by a force pump.
There are two condensers (one for each pair of generators), each
provided with a coil through which cold water is caused to circulate, and
also in a jacket surrounding the condenser. With each of these con-
densers is connected a chamber adapted to receive condensed liquid
therefrom and convey it to the generators.
The central cylinder has its piston working through a stuffing box at
the bottom thereof, and is surrounded by a steam jacket to prevent
condensation; it is also in communication at the bottom with two
generators on one side, and at the top with two others on the other side:
by means of pipes furnished with valves, which are alternately opened
and closed by the engine. The same valves serve also to convey the
condensed liquid from the condenser into the chamber, and from the
latter into the generators.
As the generators should be of as small capacity as possible, they, the's
condenser and chamber (on one side of the cylinder) will contain the
quantity of volatile liquid, the vapour of which will fill the cylinder at
the required temperature. Each stroke of the piston will nearly empty
a generator.
The piston is worked by the vapour from one of the generators acting
on one side of the piston, while a partial vacuum is formed on the
opposite side by its being open to one of the condensers; and this
operation is repeated through the series of generators, which are
alternately filled with vapour and emptied, steam being admitted as
required to the generators, and cold water to the condensers.

page_text: The valves employed for the purposes referred to arc, by preference,
worked by means of electro-magnets.
The use of electro-magnetism will give more regularity, and not
expend more power than other modes of acting on the valves, especially
when working at high pressure.