Improvements in Headers for Steam Boilers.
Year: 1892

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
[Communicated from abroad by EDWIN H. BENNETT, of The Babcock & Wilcox
Company, New York, in the United States of America, Steam Boiler
Manufacturers.]
Improvements in Headers for Steam Boilers.
I, WALLACE FAIRWEATHER C.E. of 62 Saint Vincent Street in the City of
Glasgow, Chartered Patent Agent do hereby declare the nature of this invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to me to be
particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
This invention relates generally to sectional steam boilers as for instance of the
well known Babcock and Wilcox type, it however relates more particularly to the
method of forming and constructing the tube-boxes or headers of such boilers,
the invention being also applicable to like forms of metal boxes or headers adapted
to other uses.
In the approved form of this type of sectional steam boilers, the series of tubes
are arranged together forming a rectangular pile of tubes which, with respect to
each other, are arranged in quincunx order, and the tubes, as for instance_each
vertical series of tubes of the pile, are united in a single header or box. These
headers in the preferred form, owing to the said order in which the tubes are
arranged, are of serpentine form or crooked form so far as two of their opposite
sides are concerned made of wrought iron and having openings to receive the tube
ends and for hand hole plates in line with the tube openings to enable the latter to
be cleaned and inspected from time to time.
In view of the serpentine form of the headers it has been necessary heretofore to
form them by a series of steps, each step employing different discs and requiring a
re-heating of the partially formed header and to employ a sectional or collapsible
mandrel so that it could be withdrawn from the header after being formed
around it.
It is the object of the present invention to obviate the necessity for the reheating
of the header during its manufacture, to dispense with the use of such a mandrel,
and to enable the same shaped headers to be readily made by the simple operation
of suitable dics and each portion at a single operation; and to this end the inven-
tion consists in the novel method and construction hereinafter set forth, reference
being had to the accompanying drawings, in which :-
Figure 1 is an end elevation of a header which so far as outward appearances
are concerned is of the usual serpentine form.
Figure 2, is a side elevation of the same.
Figure 3, is an enlarged elevation of a portion or one half of the improved header
foreshortened for economy of space.
Figure 4, is a cross section of the two halves of the header before they are placed
together and united.
Figure 5, is an end elevation of the complete header.
Figure 6, is a longitudinal section taken on the line of Figure 5.
Figure 7, is a similar view of a modified form, illustrating an independent end
piece in position to be welded to the header; and
Figure 8, is an elevation of the end piece looking at the inner side.
The improved header A consists essentially of two portions a, b, of similar shape
and dimensions, and also of such shape that when placed together and united they
will form a complete header as indicated in Figures 1, 2 and 5.
Each of the portions a, b, is formed of a single piece of metal, shaped by suitable
dies to form a preferably curved or serpentine side 2, a flat side 3, extending at
right angles to the other side, the outer longitudinal edge of which flat side of each
portion is curved to correspond with the curve of the serpentine side of the other

page_text: portion and opposite ends 4. In order to prepare the contiguous meeting o
abutting edges of the two portions a, b, so that they may be readily and speedily
assembled and united, the edge of each of the ends 4 is preferably inclined on the
line and the longitudinal edges of the sides 2 and 3 are also inclined in alignment
therewith so that said edges and the edge cf each of the ends may be dressed in a
single operation. Thus cach portion a, b, is substantially one half of the header
which thus only require to be assembled and united by welding upon the four con-
tiguous edges to complete the formation of the header.
At the same time the metal is shaped to provide the two sides and the ends of
each portion a, . The dies may be constructed to provide in the side 3 of the
portion b, the tube openings 5, and in the side 3 of the portion a, the hand hole
seats and openings 6, which, when the two portions are assembled and united
together as in Figures 5 and 6 will extend opposite one another.
From the foregoing it will be understood that each portion a, b, with their
respective tube and hand hole openings, is completely formed at a single operation
of the dies, and that after the meeting edges of said two portions have been dressed
to form a mitre or other joint it simply requires that they shall be united by
welding upon said meeting or mitred edges to complete the header. A convenient
mode of welding said two portions together is by the use of the now well known
electric welding process, which need not be described here.
At one end of the header it is necessary to provide an end opening 7, indicated
by dotted lines in Figures 5 and and in full lines in Figure 7. This may be
provided by punching a piece of metal of the required size out from the end of the
header after the two portions have been welded together or by entirely omitting
one of the ends of the header and providing a separate end piece 8 (see Figures 7
and 8) having the end opening 7 and provided with a stepped portion 9 adapted to
fit within the four sides of the header and thus form a convenient mode of centreing
the separate end on to the end of the header so that the parts will be properly
assembled in alignment with one another ready to be welded together as by the
process heretofore described.
No specific form of dies capacitated to the formation of the portions a, b, with
their respective tube and hand hole openings, has been deemed necessary to either
show or describe as they do not form any part of the present invention.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed as communicated to me
I declare that what I claim is :-
1. The method of forming a header in two longitudinal parts as described,
consisting in forming each part of the desired shape in cross-section and producing
the respective hand hole and tube openings at the same operation and subsequently
welding the parts together as set forth.
2. A wrought header composed of separate longitudinal parts joined together on
a line inclined to the axis of the header as described.
3. A wrought header composed of separate parts joined together each part
including two sides and a portion of one or both ends as described.
4. A wrought header composed of separate parts, each part having two sides
provided with welded end plates as described.
Dated this Twenty-first day of October 1892
CRUIKSHANK & FAIRWEATHER,
62, St. Vincent Street, Glasgow, Agents.