Improvements in the Construction of Metal Water Tanks for Gasometers.
Year: 1887

page_text: ✓ Date of Application, 31st May, 1887 - -
Complete Left, 29th Feb., 1888
. Complete Accepted, 27th Apr., 1888
Improvements in the Construction of Metal Water Tanks for
Gasometers.
I ALBRECHT EDWARD BARTHEL of No. 50 Parliament Street in the City of West-
minster Mechanical Engineer do hereby declare the nature of this Invention to be as
follows:-
Of late years it has been found advantageous to make the water tanks of gasometers
in iron or steel instead of constructing them of brickwork as was usual formerly and
hitherto the bottoms of the said metal watertanks were made flat and rested upon a
perfectly flat and regular surface of brickwork or gravel or upon the ground. This
mode of construction is defective as any leakages in the bottom of the tank cannot be
detected nor repaired nor can the under surface of the tank be kept in order nor regularly
painted when required.
The object of this invention is to obviate these disadvantages by rendering the
under surface of the tank easily accessible and at the same time reducing as much as
possible the quantity of water contained in the tank and by a combination of concave
spherial and conical surfaces of which the bottom of the tank is formed only vertical
forces are caused to bear upon one or more annular concentric walls or supporting.
surfaces carrying the tank.
The bottom or lower surface of the tank is formed either hemispherical or cup
shaped with an annular inclined plate projecting upwards and outwards and joining the
vertical sides of the tank or with a central portion of hemispherical or curved concave
shape the outer surface of the said tank bottom being formed of an annular conical
surface the form in section somewhat resembling that of the letter V inverted or a flat
surface may be formed round the hemispherical or curved central portion and extending
from the said central portion to the sides of the tank.
The tank is supported by a circular wall or circular walls.
When the bottom surface
of the said tank is formed hemispherical or cup shaped its outer edges rest on one
circular or annular wall and when it is formed of a central hemispherical or cup
shaped concave surface with an outside annular conical or flat surface the edge of the
17

page_text: central concave portion rests on a circular wall or surface and the outer annular portion
overhangs the said wall or may be supported by an outer annular wall.
By constructing the tank bottoms and supporting the tanks as hereinbefore described
ready access to the under surfaces of the tank bottoms may be obtained when necessary
for repairing them and for applying heat to them in order to prevent the water
contained in them from freezing and for other purposes.
The invention hereinbefore described is applicable to the construction of other tanks
or vessels.
Dated this Thirty first day of May 1887.

page_text: Improvements in the Construction of Metal Water Tanks for
Gasometers.
I.ALBRECHT EDWARD BARTHEL of No. 50 Parliament Street in the City of West-
minster Mechanical 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 :-
Of late years it has been found advantageous to make the water tanks of gasometers
in iron or steel instead of constructing them of brickwork as was usual formerly and
hitherto the bottoms of the said metal water tanks were made flat and rested upon a
perfectly flat and regular surface of brickwork or gravel or upon the ground. This
mode of construction is defective as any leakages in the bottom of the tank cannot be
detected nor repaired nor can the under surface of the tank be kept in order nor
regularly painted when required.
The object of this invention is to obviate these disadvantages by rendering the under
surface of the tank easily accessible and at the same time reducing as much as possible
the quantity of water contained in the tank and by a combination of concave part-
spherical and conical surfaces of which the bottom of the tank is formed only vertical
forces are caused to bear upon one or more annular concentric walls or supporting
surfaces carrying the tank.
According to this invention the bottom or lower surface of the tank is formed either.
hemispherical or cup shaped with an annular inclined plate projecting upwards and
outwards and joining the vertical sides of the tank or with a central portion of hemi-
spherical or curved concave shape the outer surface of the said tank bottom being
formed of an annular conical surface the form in section somewhat resembling that of
the letter V inverted or a flat surface may be formed round the hemispherical or
curved central portion and extending from the said central portion to the sides of the
tank.
The tank is supported by a circular wall or circular walls. When the bottom
surface of the said tank is formed hemispherical or cup shaped its outer edges rest on
one circular or annular wall and when it is formed of a central hemispherical or cup
shaped concave surface with an outside annular conical or flat surface the edge of the
central concave portion rests on a circular wall or surface and the outer annular
portion overhangs the said wall or may be supported by an outer annular wall.
The accompanying drawings represents central vertical sections of gasometers having
metal water tanks constructed according to this invention. In the following
description the several Figures of the drawings are referred to by the letters
marked thereon.
In all the said Figures the vessel into which the gas passes is marked a and the
water tank in which the said vessel works is marked b. The arrangement by which
the said vessel a is supported and which is not shown in the drawing may be of the
ordinary well known form or of any suitable form.

page_text: The bottom of the tank represented in Figure 1 is of the form of a portion of a
sphere and is connected to the vertical sides of the tank by means of an annular
inclined plate projecting upwards and outwards c being the part spherical portion of
the bottom and d the said inclined plate by which the portion c is connected to the
vertical sides. e is the circular supporting wall on which the tank rests. f is a pit in
which steps gg are formed and is an archway in a portion of the wall e which admit
of access to the underside of the portion c of the tank bottom.
The middle portion i of the bottom of the tank represented in Figure 2 is of hemi-
spherical form and the outer portion j is of an annular conical form and is connected
'to the vertical sides of the tank by an annular inclined plate k. I m are the annular
walls which support the tank.
The tank represented in Figure 3 has a bottom formed substantially as shown in
Figure 2 but is supported by one circular wall n the outer annular conical portion of
the tank bottom overhanging the said wall.
The bottom of the tank represented in Figure 4 has a hemispherical middle portion o
and an outer annular flat portion p. and the said tank is supported by two annular
walls ron which the said flat portion of the bottom bears.
I do not consider it necessary to describe the method of constructing or building
up the tanks as the methods ordinarily practised in constructing or building ordinary
tanks and other vessels from metal plates are applicable in the construction of gasometer
tanks of the forms herein before described.
By constructing the tank bottoms and supporting the tanks as hereinbefore
described ready access to the under surfaces of the tank bottoms may be obtained
when necessary for repairing them and for applying heat to them in order to prevent
the water contained in them from freezing and for other purposes.
The invention herein before described is applicable to the construction of other tanks
or vessels.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is
.
First Constructing the bottoms of the water tanks of gasometers of a combination
of part-spherical or cup-shaped and conical or inclined or Hat surfaces substantially as
and for the purposes hereinbefore described.
Secondly Constructing the bottoms of the water tanks of gasometers of the form
represented in Figure 1 of the accompanying drawing..
Thirdly Constructing the bottoms of the water tanks of gasometers of the form
represented in Figure 2 of the accompanying drawing.
Fourthly Constructing the bottoms of the water tanks of gasometers of the form
represented in Figure 3 of the accompanying drawing...
Fifthly Constructing the bottoms of the water tanks of gasometers of the form
represented in Figure 4 of the accompanying drawing.
.
Dated this 28th dow of Fohrer 1000
W. T. WHITEMAN,
Agent for the Applicant.