Improvements in Turbines and other Rotary Apparatus Deriving Motion from or Imparting Motion to Water or other Fluid.
Year: 1884

page_text: Improvements in Turbines and other Rotary Apparatus Deriving
Motion from or Imparting Motion to Water or other Fluid.
I WILLIAM EDMUND RICH of 3 Whitehall Place in the City of Westminster
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of my invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
TURBINES AND OTHER ROTARY APPARATUS DERIVING MOTION FROM OR IMPARTING
MOTION TO WATER OR OTHER FLUID to be as follows:-
"
This invention has for its object improvements in turbines and other rotary
apparatus deriving motion from or imparting motion to water or other fluid.
I will describe the invention first as applied to an outward flow turbine. In
these machines as is well known the water is caused to flow outwards from the
axis of the machine, between stationary directing blades and these directing blades
direct it on to other blades fixed upon a wheel which is caused to revolve.
It is frequently desirable from the point of view of economy that a turbino shall
be capable of working at powers less than its maximum power without materially
increasing the quantity of water used per unit of power and it is also often
desirable to vary the power without altering the speed of rotation.
To attain these objects both the orifices by which the water passes from the
stationary directing channels into the moving channels upon the wheel and the
orifices by which it escapes from the wheel should be simultaneously and similarly
contracted.
I effect this either by providing an annular cavity or two concentric rings in or
attached to the casting on which the stationary directing blades are formed. This
cavity is capable of receiving into it the moveable blades upon the wheel leaving
them more or less uncovered as may be required the wheel I support in such a
manner that it can at will be moved into or out of the cavity or space between
the rings.
Or in place of moving the wheel in the direction of its axis for the purpose of
reducing the area of water passages as described the casting containing the
directing blades and the annular cavity receiving the moving blades upon the
wheel may be moved in the direction of the axis.
Or leaving both the guide blades and revolving wheel fixed longitudinally two
concentric rings or an annular trough capable of motion longitudinally to the axis
may serve the purpose of the cavity or rings referred to above. By these ineans
the passages through the wheel can be partly closed on the exit and entrance side
and the angles at which the water leaves the edges of the guide blades and turbine
blades remain unaltered.

page_text: The passages between the stationary directing blades are closed to a like extent
to those in the wheel by the rim of the wheel covering them more or less.
To inward flow turbines a like arrangement applies so also to centrifugal
pumps and fans of a like type; circumferential apertures by which the fluid issues
from the wheel being covered more or less when it is desired to reduce the delivery
of fluid whilst maintaining the speed of rotation and lessening the power requisite
to keep the apparatus in movement or to increase the pressure against which the
fluid is discharged.
CARPMAEL & Co.,
Agents for the Applicant.
"
Improvements in Turbines and other Rotary Apparatus Deriving
Motion from or Imparting Motion to Water or other Fluid.
I WILLIAM EDMUND RICH of 3 Whitehall Place in the City of Westminster
Engineer do hereby declare the nature of my invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
TURBINES AND OTHER ROTARY APPARATUS DERIVING MOTION FROM OR IMPARTING
MOTION TO WATER OR OTHER FLUID" and in what manner the same is to be
performed to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:
This invention has for its object improvements in turbines and other rotary
apparatus deriving motion from or imparting motion to water or other fluid.
I will describe the invention first as applied to an outward flow turbine. In
these machines as is well known the water is caused to flow outwards from the
axis of the machine between stationary directing blades and these directing blades
direct it on to other blades fixed upon a wheel which is caused to revolve.
It is frequently desirable from the point of view of economy that a turbine shall
be capable of working at powers less than its maximum power without materially
increasing the quantity of water used for unit of power and it is also often
desirable to vary the power without altering the speed of rotation.
To attain these objects both the orifices by which the water passes from the
stationary directing channels into the moving channels upon the wheel and the
orifices by which it escapes from the wheel should be simultaneously and similarly
contracted.
I effect this either by providing an annular cavity or two concentric rings in or
attached to the casting on, which the stationary directing blades are formed. This
cavity is capable of receiving into it the moveable blades upon the wheel leaving
them more or less uncovered as may be required. The wheel I support in such a

page_text: f is the casing leading the water to the turbine wheel. g. g. are the fixed
directing blades and h h are the blades forming part of the turbine wheel. i. i. is
the annular trough or cavity into which the wheel when it is lowered more or less
descends. The passages through the turbine wheel between the blades h. h. are as
before when the wheel is lowered simultaneously and similarly contracted at the
inlet to and the outlet from the wheel.
'
Figure 5 is a vertical section illustrating the application of this invention to a
centrifugal pump. k is the pump wheel fixed upon the axis which is driven in
any convenient manner. m is the upper end or mouth of the suction pipe, it has
the annular trough or cavity n formed around it. o is the delivery passage.
The wheel is so formed that it can be lowered more or less into the cavity n and
so as in the former case the inlet passages by which the water enters upon the
wheel and the outlet passages by which it passes away therefrom are simultaneously
and similarly decreased.
This arrangement enables a centrifugal pump to discharge large quantities of
water on low lifts and small quantities on high lifts without materially affecting
the efficiency of the pump or the engine power required per pump revolution.
A fan for blowing air is so similar to a centrifugal pump that a separate
illustration is not required. The fan is adjusted in the same manner as the pump.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is
(1.) My improvement in turbines and other rotary apparatus deriving motion
from or imparting motion to water or other fluid which consists in regulating the
same by simultaneously varying the effective dimensions of the inlet to and outlet
from the wheel or rotary part substantially as described.
• (2.) My improvements in turbines and rotary pumps and fans consisting in
regulating the same by covering more or less the inlet and outlet passages of the
wheel by means of two concentric rings connected and forming an annular cavity
or otherwise substantially as described.
(3.) My improved turbines rotary pumps and fans substantially as described.
CARPMAEL & Co.,
Agents for the Applicant.