Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 6th Dec., 1897-Accepted, 12th Mar., 1898
(A communication by PAUL IRGENS and GERDT MEYER BRUNN, both of Bergen, in
the Kingdom of Norway, Mechanical Engineer and Manufacturer, respectively,)
I, WILLIAM PHILLIPS THOMPSON, F.C.S., M.I.M.E., of the Agency for Foreign
Patent Solicitors, 6, Lord Street, Liverpool, and 6, Bank Street, Manchester, both
in the County of Lancaster: 118, New Street, Birmingham, in the County of
Warwick, and 322, High Holborn, in the County of Middlesex, Civil 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 that class of motors which are usually called turbines
and it involves a method and means for utilizing a gas or vaporized liquid fuel as
motive medium in a turbine. More especially the invention relates to a turbine
in which a hydrocarbon oil, such as petroleum, is evaporated through the heat
created by the burning flames of the evaporated petroleum, these flames being
maintained within the stationary channels or nozzles of said turbine by means of
a strong draft of air forced through the said stationary channels, so that air and
gases of combustion are together conducted to the moving vanes of the turbine.
The invention consists also in details of construction which are considered
especially useful for this kind of motor, but is not limited to any special form
or construction of the turbine wheel or to the said preferable details.
In annexed drawing is shown one form of construction of the improved motor,
the same being intended for petroleum or other liquid fuel.
Figure 1 shows an elevation of the motor,
Figure 2 is a central vertical section through the motor wheels on an enlarged
scale,
Figure 4 shows an elevation of the vaporizer, and
Figure 3 an elevation of the working wheel proper.
1 is the frame of the motor and 2 a casing composed of several castings bolted
together and enclosing the turbine wheels. The casing 2 may be extended at 3 to
form a chimney for the gases of combustion. 4 are radial arms belonging to the
frame and serving as bearing or support for the motor, there being fitted a screw
bushing 6 in the centre 5 uniting the said arms, which bushing forms a journal
for the motor shaft 20. On the bush 6 is also fitted the lower end of the vapor-
izer 7, so that the latter is carried thereby. The vaporizer 7 contains the
channels 8 (of which there are shown 5) for leading the gases of combustion to
the vanes of the turbine wheel, the burners 9 and channels for leading the liquid
fuel to the burners. The fuel is fed through a pipe 10 to the annular channel 11
leading up through the vaporizer; at the top of the latter the channel follows
its upper surfaces and then branches off downwards having one branch 12 between
each of the nozzles or channels 8. At 18 these branches are united by an annular
channel into which latter the burners 9 are extended. The object of carrying the

page_text: fuel channels around the vaporizer is that the fuel shall be heated so as to be
vaporized. The burners 9 may be of any suitable construction, and are shown
merely consisting of a perforated screw plug. They are situated in small niches 14
(see Fig. 4) from the top of which the nozzles or channels 8 extend. The latter
are curved so as to lead the gases of combustion to the turbine wheel under a
certain angle.
The turbine wheel, which is mounted on top of the motor shaft 20, consists of
the wheel proper 21, on the circumference of which are blades or vanes 22, which
form between them the working passage, and of an auxiliary wheel 23, the object
of which is to force air to the burners 9.
The auxiliary wheel or. compression wheel consists of a casing or shell 23, the
upper end of which is screwed or otherwise secured to the working vanes 22, and
the lower end of which is flared out so as to leave a space 15 between itself and the
vaporizer 7, carrying at the bottom a set of vanes 24 which may be cast in one
piece with the ring 25, which passes loosely around the vaporizer.
The motor shaft 20 rests at its lower end in a suitable bearing 26 and is shown
provided with a worm 27 for transmitting motion to the worm wheel 28, from the
shaft 29 of which power may be taken for various purposes.
30 is a cup or plate screwed or otherwise fixed to the vaporizer and 31 is a plug
in the casing of the machine. 32 is a pipe for lubricating purposes. 10 are thin
flexible needles extending up through the burners and connected at the lower end
with one end of a lever 17, the other end of which may be provided with a handle,
or as shown in Figure 1, it may be extended into a curved slot 18 in a ring 19
mounted on the outside of the frame or casing of the machine. By turning this
ring to and fro the needles will receive an up and down motion and thereby clean
out the burners.
When the motor is to be started, the plug 31 is taken out and some spirits filled
in the cup 30 and ignited. Through the heat thereby developed the oil in the
vaporizer-channels will become hot and be evaporated, and the gas, which passes
out through the burners, will take fire. The stream of air and gases of combustion
will exert a pressure on the vanes of the motor wheel and the latter will be set in
rotation.
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The compression wheel or vanes 23 which are moved together with the motor
wheel, will force a strong draft of air up towards the burners, so that a complete
combustion is secured; a large amount of the heat thereby produced will be
taken up by this air and transformed into mechanical power by the increased
pressure and velocity of the air. 'On account of the large volume of air, which is
in this way mingled with the gases of combustion, the temperature of the body of
the motor is kept comparatively low, and the loss of energy due to radiation or
conduction will be but little. In order to cool the moving parts there is provided
an air space between the rotating wheel and the casing of the machine, through
which space a stream of cold air will pass continually. I may also arrange 'this
passage in such a way that this air is drawn in the wheel instead of the air from
below, in order to utilize the heat taken up by the said air.
The oil is fed to the vaporizer under considerable pressure, and the motor may
be regulated simply by means of a throttle valve in the oil pipe, connected with
a centrifugal regulator.
The motor may be run with gas without any material changes in the con-
struction.
As will be understood the invention is not limited to the special form of
the motor shown in the drawing for the sake of illustrating the principle of the
invention. There has been shown a single row of working vanes constituting the
motor wheel, but the latter may be composed of several rows of such vanes with
interposed stationary channels, in order to obtain a turbine on the compound
principle. Turbine wheels of the axial type have been shown, but the motor may
also be constructed on the radial scheme. Or one of the wheels may be of the
radial and one of the axial type.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to
me by my foreign correspondents, I declare that what I claim is:
1. In a motor, the combination with the movable vanes of a turbine wheel and
one or more stationary channels for conducting gases of combustion to the same,
of a gas burner situated within the said channel, means for feeding gas under high
pressure to the said burner and means for forcing a draft of air through the said
channel.
2. In a rotary motor, the combination with the movable vanes of a turbine
wheel, one or more stationary channels for conducting gases of combustion to the
same and a gas burner situated within the said channels, of passages or spaces
placed in the neighbourhood of said channels and means for pressing a liquid fuel
through these passages whereby the liquid fuel is evaporated, and passages con-
necting the vaporizing passages with the gas burners.
3. The method of converting heat produced by a burning flame into mechanical
power, which consists in conducting gas or a liquid fuel under high pressure to
a burner situated within a channel, which forms or is connected with the nozzle
of a turbine wheel, and forcing compressed air through the said channel.
4. A turbine for combustion gases consisting substantially of a movable turbine
wheel, a stationary turbine wheel, in the passages of which are placed burners,
a vaporizer for liquid fuel contained within the stationary wheel, and a compres-
sion turbine wheel, connected with the motor wheel and placed at the inlet end of
the stationary wheel serving to force compressed air through the passages of the
same.
5. A petroleum turbine substantially as shown and described.