Improvements in Refuse Furnaces and Steam Boilers, and Setting Boilers in connection therewith.
Year: 1896

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Refuse Furnaces and Steam Boilers, and Setting
Boilers in connection therewith.
BRIERLEY DENHAM HEALEY of 24 Queen Victoria Street in the City of
London Civil Engineer do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be
as follows:-
This invention relates to the type of furnace and boiler and setting referred to in
the Specification of Patent No. 12179, A.D. 1894.
The arch of the furnace combustion chamber is the same height from the grate
at the back and front end of the furnace when the grate is fixed level or thereabouts
and the arch over the charging entrance at the back is of the same form and springs
at the same height as the said furnace arch.
The ashpit under the furnace grate is by preference about five feet deep supplied
with conveyors of any well known type for taking away the ashes, or a suitable
wagon may be run under the ashpit into which the ashes may fall and which when
required may be raised to the ground level by a hoist or lift."
At the back of the furnace ashpits is a blast flue of sufficient size to be used as
a tunnel for the main shafting which is required for driving the cams and from this
tunnel the blast passes through a valve just below the top end of feeding bars into
each ashpit.
Above the furnace arch there is a main flue with connecting ports or outlets
which are so arranged that by means of dampers the furnace gases are passed either
from the front or the back end of the furnace into the said main fine which is also
used as a distributing flue.
The said main flue runs parallel with the front line of the furnaces and may be
connected with several furnaces directly below it and with one or more steam boilers
set partly above it and partly over the clinkering floor to each of which boilers
are dampers for regulating the flow of the gases to and from the boilers.
The main flue over the furnaces may be extended beyond the first and last
furnace in each range of furnaces and one or more boilers may be set over
the extended part of said flue whether any boilers are set over the furnaces
or not.
The arrangement now described allows of any furnace being stopt by shutting
the dampers over it in the main flue, and also allows any boiler to be put out
of circuit whenever required as the gases only pass to those boilers which have their
dampers open.
The type of boiler most suitable for this work has water tubes which are
expanded into a water drum at each end, and which has a greater number of tubes
in the width than in the height of the setting, as for instance say ten tubes wide
and six tubes high.
Comparing such an arrangement of ten tubes wide and six tubes high with
another boiler which has say six tubes in width and ten tubes in height, the flue
area would be about 24 square feet for the former and 15 square feet for the latter
for a boiler 18 feet long between the headers.
Whatever may be the length of the boiler the flue gases should rise through the
front half of the full length and then pass down through the remaining half or lower

page_text: end of boiler to the chimney flue which is usually 12 to 15 feet lower than the
main flue which runs over the furnaces.
The above system of boiler and boiler setting ensures a slow velocity for the
flue gases and a maximum area of flue space for the gases passing between
the tubes so that the draught is not hindered and the heat has more time for
generating steam.
A blowoff cock is attached to the lower side of the lowest water header aud
another to the bottom of the steam and water drum and in the latter is a mud trap
near to the downflow tubes.
The steam and water drum is connected by tubes to the upper part of the lowest
water header.
Improvements in Refuse Furnaces and Steam Boilers, and Setting
Boilers in connection therewith.
1, BRIERLEY DENHAM HEALEY of 24 Queen Victoria Street, in the City of
London, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in
what manner the saine is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement :-
This invention relates to the type of furnace and boiler referred to in the
Specification of Patent No. 12,179, A.D. 1894.
The arch of the furnace combustion chamber is the same height from the grate
at the back and front end of the furnace when the grate is fixed level or thereabouts
and the arch over the charging entrance at the back is of the same form and springs
at the same height as the said furnace arch.
The ashpit under the furnace grate is by preference about five feet deep and a
wagon or wagons in a tunnel below the furnace catches the ashes which fall from
the firegrate and such wagons are raised by a lift to the ground level when required
to be emptied.
At the back of the furnace ashpits is a blast flue of sufficient size to be used as a
tunnel for the main shafting, which is required for driving the cams when mechanical
grates are used, and from this tunnel the blast passes through flap or other valves
just below the top end of the feeding bars into the ashpits.
Above the furnace arch there is a main flue with connecting ports which are so
arranged that by means of dampers the furnace gases are passed either from the
front or from the back end of the furnaces into the said main flue which is also used
as a distributing flue.
The said main flue runs parallel with the front line of the furnaces, and may be
connected with several furnaces directly below it, and with one or more steam
boilers set partly above it and partly over the clinkering floor, to each of which
boilers are dampers for regulating the flow of the gases to and from the boilers.
The said main flue over the furnaces may be extended beyond the first and last
furnace in each range of furnaces, and one or more boilers may be set over the
extended part of said main flue, whether any boilers are set over the furnaces or
not, the mode of setting being the same in either case as regards upeast and
downcast for gases, and the position of the midfenther or bridge wall over which the
gases pass.
The arrangement now described allows of any furnace being stop by shutting
the dampers over it in the main flue, and also allows any boiler to be put out of

page_text: circuit whenever so required, as the gases only pass to those boilers which have their
dampers open.
The type of boiler most suitable for this work has water tubes which are expanded
into water drums at the ends, and such boiler has a greater number of tubes in the
width than in the height of the setting, as for instance on the drawings appended
hereunto a boiler having six tiers of tubes in height and alternate tiers of seven
and eight tubes in each drum.
Comparing such an arrangement of tubes with another boiler having say five
tubes in width, the available Hue area between the tubes will be nearly as three is
to two, and consequently the velocity of the heated gases passed through the boiler
is reduced in the wider setting and more steam can be raised than with the narrow
setting.
Whatever may be the length of the boiler the flue gases should rise through the
front part, which is made about four-sevenths the total length of the tubes, and then
pass down through the remaining part which is made about three-sevenths the total
length of the tubes, and into the outlets which lead to the main chimney flue.
A blow-off cock is attached to the lowest water drum for use when emptying the
boiler for examination, and another is fixed to the bottom of the steam drum near
to a dam or equivalent for dam, which catches all mud and deposit in the steam
drum near the downflow tubes.
The steam drum is connected by tubes to the water drums at ends of boiler, one
set of tules acting as ascension tubes, and the other set forming the downflow or
syphon limb of circulation.
And in order that this invention may be understood I will now describe it with
reference to the two sheets of drawing which are appended hereunto.
Figure is a longitudinal section along the centre of my improved form of refuse
furnace and steam boiler combined.
Figure 2 is a transverse section at 1, 2, 3, 4, shewing the outlet flues and the
lower water drums.
Figure 3 is a transverse section at 5, 6, shewing the wagon tunnel under the
ashpit in which a wagon is indicated by dotted lines, and
Figure 4 is a transverse section at 7, 8, 9, 10, shewing the upper water drums and
back end of furnace and ashpit.
Where the same references are repeated on the figures of illustration they refer
to the same or similar or corresponding parts.
Several minor details which form as part of this invention have been omitted
from the drawings and for which reference may be made to Patent No. 12,179,
A.D. 1894.
Below the ashpit A of the furnace B, is a tunnel C for wagons D, which receive
the fine ashes from the firegrate E. At the back of the ashpit is the blast flue F
in which is the main shaft with eccentrics G for driving the cams of mechanical
grates when such are used.
The furnace arch has two sets of ports for passing the gases into the flue K which
collects the gases from, several furnaces. Either the dampers of the front ports I
or of the back ports J may be fully open or each may be partly open to suit the
requirements of furnace.
In the arch of the flue K are openinge L through which the heated gases pass to
the water tube boilers which are set over the furnaces and clinkering floor or at the
ends of a rank of furnaces as may be most convenient to users.
The heated gases pass over a bridge M and downwards to the flue outlets N
which are connected to the main chimney flue O and the velocity of the current
passing thereto is regulated by a damper P in each outlet.
The boiler may have one water drum at each end, but I prefer to have sectional
headers which take two tiers of water tubes each, as shewn by T and V on the
drawings appended hereto. The ascension pipes Q pass upwards to about three
inches above the water level of the steam drum W and the downflow or syphon
limb tubes R start about three inches below the water level of the steam druin.

page_text: Instead of making the downflow tubes R as described above a dam may be put
in water space of steam drum W as indicated by dotted lines S to keep back the
mud and deposit, and instead of the ascension pipes Q extending to above the water
level of steam drum another dam may be put to about three inches above the water
level and at such distance from the front end of said steam drum as will allow of
the ascension pipes delivering their water and steam into the separator which is
formed by the latter named dam.
The upper header V has two connecting tubes R for downflow of water from the
steam druin W and the middle and lower headers V have two n connections each
as shewn on Figure 1, or they may have two separate connections each to the steam
drum W arranged in a similar way to those at the front of headers T. All the
tubes connecting the middle and lower headers with water space of the steam drum
are provided with two universal joints for security and handiness in fixing.
The headers are by preference all made of the section indicated on Figure 1 for
front headers T which form a vertical face when set up as shewn, but they may
also be of the rectangular form as indicated for back headers V on Figure 1. The
usual pockets on steam drum W for receiving the tubes which connect with the
headers are not required but in place thereof single or double seats, Y. are attached
to the drum W and the tubes Q and R are expanded into them.
The inclination of the steam generating tubes between the lower headers V and
the upper headers T does not require to be greater than one in eight and should
not be less than one in twelve. The blow-off for ordinary use in clearing away the
mud is attached at X when the dam is put in at S, and is attached between the
tubes R when the dam S is not used.
On reference to the drawings it will be seen that there is a greater number of
tubes in the width of the setting than there is in the height, and this system is
adopted whether the boiler is made larger or smaller than the one illustrated, so
that in every case a maximum area of flue space is obtained and a minimum rate of
velocity of the gases without retarding the induced currents at the furnaces, and
the latter may be worked with or without forced blast or alternately with and
without.
The charging entrance Z of the furnace B springs at the same level as the
furnace roof and the crown of the arching over said entrance and furnace is finished
evenly and level from end to end. The entrances for cleaning out the dust from
the boiler chambers are indicated by H. When a furnace is shut off for repairs
suitable close fitting iron covers are laid over the gap in ashpit bottom.
When the boilers herein shewn and described are used for solid fuel firing the
heated gases pass up and down twice before reaching the outlet flues. In every
case the walls of the boiler setting are provided with the usual dust cleaning slots
and doors for steam jets to operate in.
Having now described and ascertained the nature of my said invention and the
means of carrying the same into effect what I claim is,
1. Constructing refuse furnaces with arches over same having a level line of
springers and with two sets of outlet ports substantially as herein shewn and
described.
2. Constructing such furnaces with a tunnel for ash wagons large blast flue and
a collecting and distributing flue for heated gases substantially as herein shewn and
described.
3. Setting water tube boilers over such furnaces or at the ends of ranks of
furnaces in the manner herein shewn and described or any mere modification
thereof.
4. Building water tube boilers with a greater number of tubes in the width than
in the height of the setting substantially as herein shewn and described.
5. The method of forming the water headers at the ends of the generating tubes
of such boilers substantially as herein shewn and described.

page_text: 6. The method of connecting the ascension and downflow tubes to the steam,
drum and water headers substantially as herein shewn and described.
7. Forming dams in the steam drum or projecting the ascension and downflow-
tubes thereinto as herein shewn and described.
8. The system of catching the mud and deposit by dams or their equivalent
projecting tubes in the steam drum as herein shewn and described.
Dated this Thirtieth day of March 1897.
B. D. HEALEY..