Apparatus for Ventilating and Cooling the Stoke-holes of Steam- ships.
Year: 1898

page_text: Apparatus for Ventilating and Cooling the Stoke-holes of Steam-
ships.
We, MAX ROBITSCHEK, of 58, Liechtensteinstrasse, Engineer, and Dr. LEO
RITTER VON HERZ, of 6, Anhofstrasse, Ministerial Officer, both of Vienna, in the
Empire of Austria, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
This invention relates to means for ventilating and cooling the stoke-holes of
steam-ships, where temperatures of from 40° to 60° C. prevail. The attempts
heretofore made for reducing such temperatures to a healthy degree have failed,
for the reason that they were based on mere ventilation which gave rise to an
unbearable draught of air.
According to this invention we cool and moisten the air used for ventilation
and to this end water atomizers are so arranged in the upper parts of the usual
ventilation shafts as to produce a downwardly directed jet of spray, which sucks
in the air from without and at the same time cools and moistens it by its partial
evaporation.
The lower ends of the ventilation shafts open into water separators having
inclined bottoms and baffle plates against which the current of air and spray
impinges, and these separators communicate with chambers arranged in the ceiling
of the stoke-hole and provided with a number of outlets for the cooled air which
descends in consequence of its greater weight.
A pump driven by the engine or fed with steam from the boiler supplies the
atomizers with the necessary water and a filter is advantageously fitted to the
suction pipe of the pump..
Apparatus for Ventilating and Cooling the Stoke-holes of Steam-
ships.
We, MAX ROBITSCHEK, of 58, Liechtensteinstrasse, Engineer, and Dr. LEO
RITTER VON HERZ, of 6, Anhofstrasse, Ministerial Officer, both of Vienna, in the
Empire of Austria, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what
[Price 8d.]

page_text: manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement:―
This invention relates to means for ventilating and cooling the stoke-holes of
steam-ships, where temperatures of from 40° to 60° C. prevail. The attempts
heretofore made for reducing such temperatures to a healthy degree have failed
for the reason that they are based on mere ventilation which gave rise to an
unbearable draught of air.
According to this invention, we cool and moisten the air used for ventilation,
and to this end water atomizers are so arranged in the upper parts of the usual
ventilation shafts as to produce a downwardly directed jet of spray, which sucks
in the air from without and at the same time cools and moistens it by its partial
evaporation.
The lower ends of the ventilation shafts open into water separators having
inclined bottoms and baffle plates, against which the current of air and spray
impinges, and these separators communicate with chambers arranged in the ceiling
of the stoke-hole and provided with a number of outlets for the cooled air which
descends in consequence of its greater weight..
A pump driven by the engine or fed with steam from the boiler supplies the
atomizers with the 'necessary water under pressure, and a filter is advantageously
fitted to the suction pipe of the pump.
'
In order to enable our invention to be fully understood, we will describe the
same in detail with reference to the. accompanying drawings, in which:-
Figure 1.is a.sectional, end elevation of the stoke-hole of a steam-ship provided
with our improved ventilating apparatus;
Figure 2 is a sectional side elevation (the section being taken on line 2-2,
Figure 3) of a ventilation shaft, having an atomizer arranged within its top portion,
and a water separator connected with its bottom end according to, our invention.
Figure 3 is a front elevation of the said ventilation shaft, water separator and
air chamber, and
Figure 4 is a sectional top view (the section being taken on lines 44 Figures 2
and 3) of the said parts.
Figure 5 is a front elevation, drawn to a larger scale,, and partly in section, of
the atomizer which we use by preference, and
Figure 6 is a top view of the said atomizer;
Figure 7 is a cross section of the nozzle of the atomizer on line 77, Figure 5.
Figures 8 and 9 are a sectional side elevation and a top view respectively, of the
filter interposed in the suction pipe, of the pump feeding the atomizers.
"
.
Referring to Figure 1 of the drawings, a is a steam pump fed with steam from
the adjacent ship's boiler and drawing in water through the pipe, which opens
into the river or sea. Through the pipe a², the water under pressure delivered by
the pump a is supplied to the atomizers b, 'arranged-in the usual' top portions.
It is obvious that effective atomizers of any known construction can be used, the
one shewn in Figures 5 to 7 is preferred as having given good results in practice.
It consists of a globular body or water receptacle 6', from which branch two or
three radial elbow tubes 2. On the lower ends of the said elbow tubes 62 are
screwed caps 63 in the bottom of which are bored a number of inclined holes 6+,
in directions which may be defined as tangents to helices. Over the said cap 63
is screwed a second cap b, in which a hollow space or chamber 66 is formed having
a central outlet passage 67. The water under pressure entering the chamber 66
through the inclined holes assumes within the said chamber a rapid rotary
movement, in consequence whereof the jet forced out through the passage 7 is
atomized into a conical jet of spray.
The downwardly directed jets of spray, having a certain velocity, draw a certain
quantity of air in through the cowl cl of the ventilation shaft c and as, by, the
atomizing of the water, its vaporization is greatly facilitated, a considerable por-
tion of the spray passes into a state of vapour, thereby absorbing heat, which is
abstracted from the ambient air. Consequently, the air drawn in by the jets of

page_text: pray is cooled and moistened; besides which, it is thoroughly washed, that is to
y, freed from dust.
In order to separate the currents of cooled, moistened and washed air, streaming
ownward within the ventilation shafts c, from the particles of water they carry
long, the said currents are caused to pass through the water-separators d. These
ater-separators consist of sheet metal receptacles provided with an inclined
ottom d', a baffle plate d² and an outlet at their lowest point, from which a
lischarge pipe d is run through the sides of the vessel. The water flowing down-
vard along the sides of the ventilation shafts c is prevented from getting in the
way of the current of air by a gutter arranged along the inside of the lower
edge of the shaft; it will be seen that the said gutter discharges the water upon
the highest portion of the inclined bottom d', while the current of air flows toward
the lowest portion, as indicated by the curved arrow in Figure 2. By impinging
against the baffle plate 2, the particles of water carried along are eliminated from
the air, and the retained water is allowed to pass downward through the hole d
formed in the lower marginal portion of the plate . A further elimination of
water takes place on the outer surface of the sides of the cylindrical air chamber f
as the ends of the said chamber, which is arranged on the ceiling of the stoke-hole,
project into the water-separators d and extend nearly to the opposite side. Thus,
the current of air is compelled again to change its direction before it gets into
the air chamber f, and consequently to impinge against the sides of this latter.
The air chamber ƒ is provided with a number of outlets f¹, through which the
cool moist air descends by its own weight without causing any draught of air.
This filter may
At y a filter is interposed in the suction pipe al of the pump a.
consist of a box g¹ having perforated partitions g² between which porous material g³,
such as loofah (vegetable sponge) for instance, is placed. The cover of the box g
is tightened on the top flange of the box by means of cross bars and screws g.
The branch pipe h connects the delivery pipe a² of the pump a with the outlet
pipe of the water separator d and is fitted with a valve h¹. By adjusting the
pressure of the spring, with which the said valve is weighted, the quantity of
water fed into the atomizers, and consequently the quantity of air drawn in by the
jets of spray can be controlled.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
we claim is:--
1. In apparatus for ventilating and cooling the stoke-holes of steam-ships, the
combination with the stoke-hole and its ventilation shafts of water-atomizers
arranged in the top portions of the shafts and adapted to produce downwardly
directed jets of spray, means for supplying water under pressure to the said
atomizers, chambers with inclined bottoms and baffle-plates connected with the
bottom ends of the said shafts and an air chamber communicating with the said
chambers, extending along the ceiling of the stoke-hole and having a number of
outlets, substantially as described.
2. In apparatus for ventilating and cooling the stoke-holes of steam-ships, the
5 combination with the stoke-hole, its ventilation shafts and the steam boiler of
water-atomizers arranged in the top portions of the shafts and adapted to produce
downwardly directed jets of spray, a steam pump adapted to be fed with steam
from the boiler and having its delivery pipe connected with the atomizers, chambers
with inclined bottoms, baffle-plates and water-outlets, into which chambers the
50 shafts open, and an air chamber communicating with the aforesaid chambers, the
said air chamber extending across the ceiling of the stoke-hole and having a
number of outlets, substantially as described.
3. In apparatus for ventilating and cooling the stoke-holes of steam ships, the
combination with the stoke-hole, its ventilation shafts and the steam boiler of
55 water-atomizers arranged in the top portions of the shafts and adapted to produce
downwardly directed jets of spray, a steam pump adapted to be fed

page_text: with steam from the boiler and having its delivery pipe connected with the
atomizers, chambers with inclined bottoms, baffle plates and water outlets, into
which chambers the bottom ends of the shafts open, an air chamber communicating
with the aforesaid chambers, extending across the ceiling of the stoke-hole and
having a number of outlets, and an automatic overflow valve with adjustable load,
the said valve tapping the delivery pipe of the pump, substantially as, and for
purposes set forth.
Dated the 13th day of September 1899.