Improvements in or connected with Means for Insulating Hot or Cold Chambers or Vessels.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 19th Sept., 1894
Complete Specification Left, 23rd Oct., 1894-Accepted, 24th Nov., 1894
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or connected with Means for Insulating Hot or
Cold Chambers or Vessels.
I, MAUNSEL CASWELL BANNISTER of Central Buildings, North John
Street, Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster, Consulting Engineer do hereby
declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to means for insulating pipes, vessels or chambers
containing hot or cold gases, liquids or solids such as steam pipes, hot or cold water
pipes, boilers, tanks, ice safes, refrigerating apparatus, cold storage chambers, and
similar vessels or chambers, for the purpose of preventing the conduction of heat
from or to said vessels or chambers and their contents, and has for its object such
insulation in a better or cheaper manner than by the means for non-conduction
hitherto employed.
The substances hitherto generally used have the defects of becoming deteriorated
and inoperative through moisture as is the case for instance with slag wool,
charcoal, sawdust etc., and of being costly, and in some cases of causing dry rot
when in contact with timber. I obviate these defects by employing a material
hitherto not used for insulating purposes, which may be used either by itself or
mixed or combined with other non-conductive substances and appliances. This
material has among other advantages those of being lighter and much less costly
than the best flake charcoal and other non-conductive substances hitherto used
besides being indestructible, non-combustible in confined spaces, impermeable by
water or damp and capable of being readily mixed with asbestos pulp.
The material I propose to use for insulating vessels is that known as shude or
paddy-husk which is a vegetable silica and consists almost entirely of silica and a
small percentage of carbon and possesses the non-conductive properties of this
substance combined with porosity and is not affected by moisture.
In employing the same I may form a jacket round the vessel or chamber to be
insulated, either of metal or preferably of a non-conductor such as wood, asphalte,
boards or asbestos-board or Willesden paper, and fill the space between the jacket
and vessel or chamber with the paddy-husk. In some cases I may use the paddy-
husk enclosed between two wood walls or boards or I may enclose the paddy-husk
between sheets of canvas sewn together through said husk, or in tubular canvas
hose, using the same to lap or coil round the pipes or vessels to be protected.
I may also use the paddy-husk mixed with other non-conductive substances,
asbestos for instance, in any of the ways herein before described or I may mix the
paddy-husk with a suitable binding material such as Portland cement or asphalte,
and coat the vessel to be insulated therewith or form slabs or semi-cylinders
therefrom to be tied by wire or otherwise.
Dated this 18th day of Santember 1801
R. J. URQUHART,
57, Barton Arcade, Manchester, and 5, Clayton Square, Liverpool,
Consulting Engineer and Patent Agent.

page_text: Improvements in or connected with Means for Insulating Hot or
Cold Chambers or Vessels.
I, MAUNSEL CASWELL BANNISTER of Central Buildings, North John
Street, Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster Consulting 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:—
This invention relates to means for insulating pipes vessels or chambers
containing hot or cold gases, liquids or solids, such as steam pipes, hot or cold water
pipes, boilers, tanks, ice safes, refrigerating apparatus, cold storage chambers and
similar vessels or chambers, for the purpose of preventing the conduction of heat
from or to such vessels or chambers and their contents, and has for its object to
effect such insulation in a better or cheaper manner than by the means for non-
conduction hitherto employed.
The substances hitherto generally used have, owing to various causes, the defects
of becoming deteriorated and inoperative. Some such as slag wool or silicate
cotton cause decomposition of material in contact under the action of moisture, and
sulphuric acid is produced, which is most injurious to metal; others, such as charcoal
and saw dust are liable to spontaneous ignition, also they contain pyroligucous acid,
which destroys the timber walls; again, it often happens that felt sweats and
decomposes. Owing to defects in the nature of the substances hitherto used such
as those just mentioned, it was necessary to enclose the substance between timber
walls.
I obviate these defects by employing a material hitherto not used for such insulating
purposes, which I use unmixed or mixed or combined with other non-conductive
substances, especially asbestos, in combination with means for containing, supporting
or binding the material. The properties which I have ascertained to be possessed
by my new insulating material are very valuable and have not been known to be
applicable in the manner in which I apply them.
In carrying out my invention I use mainly a material or substance known as
shude or paddy-husk which consists almost entirely of silica and a small percentage
of carbon and possesses the non-conductive properties of this substance combined
with porosity, and is not injuriously affected by moisture or exposure to the
atmosphere. In some cases I mix this substance with asbestos pulp, and it may
be mixed with other suitable non-conducting substance.
I have found in practice that paddy-husk makes a very much improved insulating
medium as compared with any substances previously in use; it is not liable to
disintegration, it is highly elastic; indestructible by contact with water or damp;
it is non-absorbent of gases or water; the same husk may be repeatedly used with
the same efficiency each time; it is light and does not readily sustain combustion.
By treating the paddy-husk which I employ as an insulating material with a
solution of alum, its efficiency as regards resistance to combustion is largely
increased.
When I employ my improved insulating material for insulating cold chambers
such as ice safes and other chambers, I form a jacket enveloping or partly
enveloping such chamber having a space or cavity between the wall of the chamber
and the jacket, or the jacket may itself be formed hollow. The walls of the jacket
are preferably formed of some non-conducting material such as wood, asbestos
board, Willesden paper, millboard, asphalte, or of some fibrous material but in
some cases may be made of metal and faced or lagged with the non-conductive
material. I then fill up the cavity in the jacket with the shude or husk or combined
substances herein before mentioned.

page_text: In some cases I form pads of some textile or other flexible non-conducting
material, by packing the shude or husk between two surfaces of the fabric or
material, and stitching the pad so formed through. In other cases I use canvas-
hose stuffed with the shude, or with a mixture of the same and other such substance
as is hereinbefore mentioned. These pads may then be coiled or folded round the
vessel or pipe to be insulated having a medium such as asbestos between to prevent
the fabric or skin being burned, and are specially applicable to steam pipes, boilers
and vessels containing hot liquids and gases.
I also use the shude or husk mixed with asbestos pulp, asphalte, silicate cotton,
Portland cement, or other non-conductive substance or substances now in use, and.
form slabs or cylindrical sections thereof which may be connected with the vessel
or pipe by means of wire or otherwise.
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 novel use of paddy-husk contained between two walls enclosing or partly
enclosing a chamber or vessel in which are contained substances which require to
be insulated from a higher or lower temperature of air, substantially as and for the
purposes herein set forth.
2. The novel mixture and use as an insulating material of paddy-husk alone or
combined with other non-conducting substance or substances hereinbefore described
substantially as and for the purposes herein set forth.
3. The use of a jacket for insulating a closed or partly closed chamber and
maintaining a given temperature therein consisting of a hollow sheath or case of
wood, metal or other substance filled with shude or paddy-husk or a mixture of
the same with other non-conductive substance or substances substantially as
hereinbefore described and for the purposes indicated.
4. The use of the non-conductive substance or substances herein set forth when
enclosed in flexible pockets or tubes, substantially as hereinbefore described and for
the purposes indicated.
5. The manufacture and use of slabs or blocks of shude and non-conductive
substances herein before mentioned substantially as described and for the purpose
indicated.
Dated this 20th day of October 1894.
R. J. URQUHART,
57, Barton Arcade, Manchester, and 5, Clayton Square, Liverpool,
Consulting Engineer and Patent Agent.
R. J. URQUHART,
57, Barton Arcade, Manchester, and 5, Clayton Square, Liverpool,
Consulting Engineer and Patent Agent.