IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR VAPORIZING LIQUIDS
Year: 1879

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Alfred Vincent Newton at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents on the 20th January 1879. A communication
from abroad by Alfred Nobel, of Paris, in the Republic of France.
ALFRED VINCENT NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the
County of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughtsman. "IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR
VAPORIZING LIQUIDS." [A communication from abroad by Alfred Nobel, of Paris,
"
in the Republic of France.]
This Invention relates to a novel construction of a generator capablo of vaporizing
liquids with great rapidity, and applicable as well for distillery purposes as for
producing steam for motive power.
The chief peculiarity of this generator is that it exposes a small bulk of the liquid
to be vaporized to a large heat communicating surface. In its simplest form it
consists of a coiled tube of copper, iron, steel, or other suitable material, heated out-
side, and through the core of which water (or other liquid) is let in at one end and
escapes as steam (or vapor) at the other. The temperature of such steam (or
vapour) under otherwise similar conditions depends on the quantity of water (or
other liquid) which is permitted to flow through the aforesaid coil-generator, and
can be read off on a thermometer connected therewith.
To avoid superfluous friction of the steam produced the bore of the coiled
tubular generator is tapered outwards towards the exit end of the core. Thus for
the first fifth part of the coil it may have only 3 millimeters inside diameter by 8
or 9 millimeters outside diameter, and increase by 1 millimeter for each following
fifth, so as to have 7 millimeters inside diameter at the outlet.
Whilst friction is thus kept down the small bulk of water (or other liquid), which
the inlet tube can hold, secures a great velocity of flow whereby, as practise has
proved, incrustation from time and other impurities contained in the feed water
is avoided. To prevent incrustation still moro effectually a small steam or air
injector is connected with the pipe letting in the feed water, which latter is thus
violently agitated.
Several of the aforesaid coils may be combined, so as to produce any quantity of
steam needed, and each coil may, without inconvenience, be made 50 and even 100
yards in length.
The aforesaid generator is placed in a suitable furnace and is connected at the one
end with a feeding pump, or other feeding contrivance, and at the other with a
suitable condenser if used for distilling liquids, or with a steam pipe furnished with
a safety valve, thermometer, and manometer if intended to supply the place of a
boiler for a steam engine.

page_text: There being no store of water in a generator of this kind it is necessary, in order
to avoid burning the coil tube, that it should continue to be fed with water for a
certain time after the engine has been set at rest. It is therefore better to make
use of a steam pump independant of the main engine, or what is technically called a
donkey. The aforesaid generator works as follows:-When the fire is ignited below
the coiled tube or tubes the water contained therein at starting becomes heated and
is converted into steam which sets the engine and feeding pump in motion. The
latter by giving a constant supply of water will ensure the maintainance of a supply
of steam.
The thermometer hercinbefore mentioned indicates how far is superheated,
and the manometer shews its pressure. To modify both at will the engineer
has only to regulate the inflow of feed water, the draft valve in the chimney, and
the admissions of waste steam to encrease the draft.
It is evident that the form of the aforesaid generator may be greatly varied
without varying the main feature, which consists in presenting to the feed water (or
feeding liquid) such a large heating surface as to convert it into steam (or vapour)
as fast as it can flow through the generator.
The main advantages of the generator herein described consist in its perfect
immunity from danger of explosion; in the possibility of security utilizing any
amount of steam pressure and expansion; in cheapness of construction, and in being
able to get up steam without waste of time.