CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM BOILERS
Year: 1856

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Charles Durand Gardissal, of 10, Bedford Street,
Strand, London, and of 29, Boulevart St. Martin, Paris, Patent Agent,
for the Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM BOILERS." A
communication.
Sealed the 15th August 1856, and dated the 29th March 1856.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Charles Durand Gardissal
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
29th March 1856.
I, CHARLES DURAND GARDISSAL, of 10, Bedford Street, Strand, London, and
of 29, Boulevart St. Martin, Paris, Patent Agent, do hereby declare the
ñature of the said Invention for CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM BOILERS, to
be as follows:-
This Invention is chiefly applicable to boilers for locomotives, but it may be
applied to boilers for other uses. The first feature of the Invention consists in
a certain arrangement of a fire chamber and water casing, the upper horizontal
sections of both of which are greater than their lower horizontal sections, in
combination with a series of descending flues, by means of which the products
of combustion are conveyed downwards, to be thence discharged into the
chimney. The object of this feature of the Invention is to give a more intense
heat to the upper part of the interior of the boiler than by previous arrange-

page_text: meats, and by that means to prevent the water in the lower and colder portions
of the water space from circulating with that contained in the upper and
hotter parts of the boiler, but to keep it moving slowly upwards by the action
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Charles Durand Gardissal in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 26th September 1856.
Jes.
***
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, CHARLES
DURAND GARDISSAL, of 10, Bedford Street, Strand, London, and of 29, Boule-
vart St. Martin, Paris, Patent Agent, send greeting.
a WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-ninth day of March, in the year of our Lord
Que thousand eight hundred and fifty-six, in the nineteenth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, .Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Charles Durand Gardissal, Her special licence, that I, the said Charles Durand
Gardissal, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said Charles Durand Gardissal, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all
times thereafter during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might
make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "CERTAIN
IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM BOILERS," a communication, upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said Charles Durand Gardissal, my executors or adminis-
trators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their
hands and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the
said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be performed, and cause
the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar
months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters. Patent.
10
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Charles Durand Gardissal, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement, reference being had to the Sheet of Drawing hereunto annexed,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):-
This Invention is chiefly applicable to boilers for locomotives, but it may be
applied to boilers for other uses. The first feature of the Invention consists
in a certain arrangement of a fire chamber and water casing, the upper

page_text: horizontal sections of both of which are greater than their lower horizontal
sections, in combination with a series of descending flues, by means of which
the products of combustion are conveyed downwards, to be thence discharged
into the chimney. The object of this feature of the Invention is to give a more
intense heat to the upper part of the interior of the boiler than by previous
arrangements, and by that means to prevent the water in the lower and colder
portions of the water space from circulating with that contained in the upper
and hotter parts of the boiler, but at the same time to keep it moving slowly
upwards by the action of the feed alone, which is introduced in the lowest
part of the boiler. This feature of the Invention is illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2
of the accompanying Drawing. Fig. 1 is a central longitudinal vertical
section of a locomotive boiler; and Fig. 2, a transverse vertical section looking
to the right of the line a, a, of Fig. 1. The fire chamber consists of the
fire box proper A, and what may be called a "combustion chamber" B,
which latter part consists of an extension of the upper part of the fire box
horizontally through the body of the boiler, the common form of the lower
part of the fire box being retained. The combustion chamber communicates
through a number of descending flues or tubes I, I, with a lower chamber C,
which may be called a "gas chamber," which is as low down as the bottom
of the fire box, and at the end farthest from the fire box communicates
by an ascending flue D with the smoke box E. The water casing may
be considered as divided into three portions, F, G, and H. The portion F,
which surrounds the fire box, corresponds with a similar portion of the
common locomotive boiler, the upper part forming the steam chamber; the
portion G occupies a position between the combustion chamber B and the gas
chamber C, and has the descending flues or tubes I, I, passing through it,
and has vertical sides; and the portion H, which is above G, extends up' the
sides and over the top of the combustion chamber, occupies a position similar
to that of the cylindrical body of the common locomotive boiler, and is of the
form of a cylinder of larger diameter than the width of the portion G below,
as shown in Fig. 2, thus making the upper horizontal section of the water
casing of greater area than the lower horizontal section thereof; all parts of
the water casing are in free communication with each other. In order to
allow the boiler to be set over the driving axle of the locomotive an open space
J is made between the fire box and the descending flues I, I. The fuel is
supplied to the fire box in the common way at the usual door a, and the flame
and
gases evolved from the fuel riso in the fire box and into the combustion
chamber B, into which numerous small streams of atmospheric air are admitted
by a pipe K, passing through the smoke box E; and the air thus admitted

page_text: not only retards the too rapid escape of the heated inflammable gases and
products of combustion, but is thoroughly mixed with the inflammable gases in
the combustion chamber, and by inflaming them causes all or nearly all the
combustible portion thereof to be consumed in the combustion chamber,
producing a most intense heat in the upper part of the boiler. The flame and
heated products of combustion which descend the flues I, I, into. the gas
chamber C, C, are gradually cooled in their descent, and therefore impart less
heat to the lower part of the boiler than to the upper part; from the gas
chamber or flue C they escape to the smoke box. D, and from thence pass to
chimney U. At the end of the combustion chamber B, nearest to the chimney,
there is a damper P, which serves to close that end of the combustion chamber,
and compel the gases and heated products of combustion to descend the flues
I, I; but this damper may be opened either for the purpose of employing a
direct draft into the smoke box in starting the fire, or for the purpose of
sweeping or blowing the dust or cinders from the tube sheet or plate N. The
gas chamber C is provided with doors R, S, to enable the dust and cinders to
be swept out of the said chamber.
The admission of atmospheric air to the combustion chamber over the
mouths of the descending flues or tubes, to retard the escape of the inflammable
gases and heated products of combustion, and.ignite the combustible portions
thereof, forms an important feature of the Invention. The manner of effecting
this is as follows:-The pipe K, before mentioned, terminates at its upper
end in a box L, which covers the greater portion of the end of the combustion
chamber; from this box L numerous small tubes b, b, of various lengths,
project into the combustion chamber, to introduce the air in small streams at
different points over the descending flues; and one long tube T of a larger
size leads from the said box into a second box M of arched form, which stands.
across the combustion chamber not far from the fire box, and which has its
lower part full of minute perforations c, c, for the issue of the air in jets into
that part of the combustion chamber.
The next feature of the Invention has for its object to overcome the irre-
gularity of the passage of the flame and heated products of combustion through
the flues I, I, which is found to attend all previous arrangements of uprights
"flues which are at gradually increasing distances from a fire box or furnace..
Experiment proves, that the tendency of the flame and. heated products of
combustion is to pass over the first flues of the series next the fire box or
furnace, and not to descend them until checked near the end of the boiler;
this disseminates the heated products unequally through the flues; the first of
tlie series not receiving their equitable proportion of heat, whilst the others

page_text: are receiving too much. To obviate this, the nature of this feature of the
Invention consists in graduating the openings in the tops of the flues or tubes,
which may be done by gradually diminishing the diameters from those nearest
the fire box or furnace to those most remote from it, as shown in Fig. 1 of
the Drawing, so that greater space shall be presented to the flame and heated
products at the points where its greatest tendency is to pass over the tubes
and lesser flue space, where its tendency to descend is greatest; or it may be
done by dropping thimbles with graduated openings in them into the tops,
flues, or tubes, using tubes of uniform diameter throughout. These thimbles
will be made with flanges to prevent them from dropping down into the tubes;
and to support them in their places, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4, the former of
which Figures gives a perspective view of one of the thimbles d, and the
latter gives a section of the upper tube plate N, with the upper parts of the
two tubes having thimbles d, d, of different sizes inserted.. The thimbles are
made of cast iron. Their bodies or stems are all of the same size externally,
to fit easily into the tubes, and the openings only are graduated; and their
flanches e, e, are wide enough to cover the ends of the tubes, and serve as
shields to protect the riveted joints of the tubes and tube plate from the action
of fire. The graduated thimbles d, d, may be applied to the upright tubes of
any boiler already in use. Another method of graduating the entrances to the
flues or tubes consists in gradually diminishing the size of the upper ends of
the tubes themselves, leaving the bodies of the tubes of uniform size.
The least feature of the Invention consists in inclining the descending flues
or tubes I, I, both ways from the centre laterally, and also inclining the flue
plates or sheets in which they are riveted, so as to form a space central between
the tubes in which the sediment may deposit, and from which it may be
removed readily, and for the further purpose of having the flue sheets or plates
square, with the tubes to facilitate their being properly riveted therein. This
feature of my Invention is illustrated in Fig. 2 of the Drawing, where it is
shown that the flue or tube plates N, N, incline 'upwards both ways from the
centre of the boiler, so as to stand at right angles to the tubes I, I, which are
inclined outwards at their lower ends; this it will be understood leaves a space
between the tubes at the centre of the lower tube plates or sheets for the
deposit of sediment, and at the same time provides for the proper riveting of
the tubes into the tube plates or flue sheets, which could not be effected by
inclining the tube plates without inclining the tubes, or by inclining the tubes
without the tube plates, as it is necessary to insure perfect riveting that the
tube plates and tubes should stand at right angles to each other.
Having thus fully described the nature and particulars of the said improve-

page_text: ments in steam boilers, I desire it to be distinctly understood that I do not
confine myself strictly to the precise details herein described, as such may be
varied or modified without departing from the principle of action thereof;
likewise I do not confine myself to the strict figure or form of any apparatus
or portions of apparatus herein described; but I claim as new and of my
Invention,―
First, the arrangement of a fire chamber and water casing, the upper
horizontal sections of which are greater than their lower horizontal sections,
in combination with a series of descending flues substantially as herein
described.
Second, the introduction of atmospheric air into the combustion chamber B,
and over the mouths of the descending flues I, I, substantially as herein
specified, to retard the too rapid escape of the inflammable gases and heated
products of combustion, and to cause the ignition of combustible portions
thereof.
Third, the graduating of the openings in the flues or tubes I, I, in the
manner and for the purpose set forth.
Fourth, the inclination of the flues or tubes, and flue or tube plates or
sheets, for the purpose of preserving space between the tubes for the sediment
to collect in, and from which it can be readily removed, and at the same time
preserving a square connection of the tubes and plates, so that they can be
fairly riveted, as herein set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said Charles Durand Gardissal, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-third day of September, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-six.