Improvements in Apparatus for Condensing and Cooling Water from Steam.
Year: 1896

page_text: Da'e of Application, 1st June, 1896-Accepted, 4th July, 1896
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus for Condensing and Cooling Water
from Steam.
I, WILLIAM WEIR, of Holm Foundry, Cathcart, in the County of Renfrew,
North Britain, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in
what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement, that is to say :-
My said invention relates to the well known type of condenser in which the
condensing and cooling surfaces consist of vertical tubes fixed in plates at both
ends; and it comprises improved constructive details hereinafter described and
embodied in an example delineated on an accompanying sheet of explanatory
drawings.
Figure, 1, of the drawings is a vertical section, and Figure, 2, is a partial
horizontal section. In these drawings the same reference letters are used to mark
the same or like parts wherever they are repeated.
The cooling or circulating water is passed through vertical tubes, A, fixed in
upper and lower tube plates, B, C, and arranged in an annular group as seen in
horizontal section. The lower tube plate, C, is supported on legs, D, and is made
with a tubular neck, E, extending downwards, whilst a space is enclosed beneath
the tube plate by a curved bottom plate, F, the outer upper edge of which fits a
circular rib formed on the tube plate. The central part of the bottom plate, F,
fits on the neck, E, and is adjusted thereon and fixed by an internally screwed ring
or nut, G. The bottom plate, F, is made with a flanged inlet, H, to which is to be
fixed the pipe supplying the cooling water. To the bottom tube plate, C, is fixed
a cylindrical shell, J, forming the sides of the apparatus; and this shell has fixed
at its upper end a ring, K, shaped internally partly to fit the edge of the top tube
plate, B, and partly as a stuffing box to receive packing and a gland, L, for the
purpose of making the joint with the tube plate, B, tight whilst allowing that
plate a slight movement under the influence of varying temperatures. The top
tube plate, B, is made with a tubular neck, M, extending upwards and also to a
short distance downwards or inwards. A curved cover, N, encloses a space above
the top tube plate, B, and is fixed in the same manner as the bottom plate, F,
and is made with a flanged outlet, P, for the attachment of pipe for leading
the cooling or circulating water away from the apparatus.
The steam supply pipe is to be fixed to the top tubular neck, M, and is distributed
amongst the upper parts of the tubes, A, by the inwardly projecting part of the
neck which is closed at the bottom but has a number of slots formed round its
sides. The water condensed from the steam passes off through the bottom neck, E,
and thence through a passage in a casting, Q, fixed to the neck, to an upwardly
extending stand pipe, R. The top of this stand pipe, R, is within and near the top
of a box or enlargement, S, fixed to the pipe, and having fixed to its lower part a
pipe, T, leading to a pump, which is to be used to draw the condensed and cooled
water from the apparatus. An overflow pipe, U, is connected to the top of the
box, S. The stand pipe, R, causes the condensed water to stand at a corresponding
height within the condenser, below which it cannot be lowered by the withdrawing
pump, so that the water remains, after its formation by condensation, in contact
with the lower parts of the tubes, A, and becomes cooled down to a temperature
corresponding to that of the cooling water passing through the tubes, A, which it
enters at their lower ends.

page_text: In order to provide against the accumulation of air in the condenser, a cylindrical
shell or curtain, V, is fixed at its upper end to the ring, K, at the top of the
condenser, a narrow space, which is open at the bottom being left between the
curtain and the condenser shell, J. The upper part of this space communicates with
an air escape, W, which has a few holes made in it. The curtain, V, has one or more
holes, X, formed in it to admit air into the space between the curtain, V, and the
condenser shell, J; and the position vertically of these holes is determined
according to the temperatures of the cooling or circulating and of the condensed
water delivered.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. The combination of parts constituting the improved apparatus for condensing
and cooling water from steam, substantially as hereinbefore described and as shown
in the accompanying drawings.
2. The providing of the apparatus with a curtain such as, V, and an outlet for
the separation and escape of air, substantially as hereinbefore described.
3. The fixing of the top and bottom covers (N, F) substantially in the manner
shown in the accompanying drawings and herein before described.
Dated this Thirtieth day of May 1896.
EDMUND HUNT,
Applicant's Agent.