IMPROVEMENTS IN PROPELLING FLUIDS AND VESSELS
Year: 1841

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, PIERRE
PELLETAN, of Paris, and now residing at Saint Paul's Churchyard, in the City
of London, Professor of Medicine of the Faculty at Paris, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at West-
minster, the Sixth day of September, in the Fifth year of Her reign, did, for
Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said Pierre
Pelletan, Her especial license, that I, the said Pierre Pelletan, my exors,
adiñors, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Pierre Pelletan, my exors,
adniors, or assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time
to time and at all times during the term of years therein expressed, should
and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales,
and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN PROPELLING FLUIDS AND VESSELS;" in which said Letters Patent is contained
a proviso obliging me, the said Pierre Pelletan, by an instrument in writing
under my hand and seal, particularly to describe and ascertain the nature of
my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, and to
cause the same to be inrolled in Her said Majesty's High Court of Chancery
within six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said in
part recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same, reference being thereunto
had, will more fully and at large appear.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, IJ, the said
Pierre Pelletan, do hereby declare the nature of my said Invention to consist,
as regards propelling vessels,-
First, in doing away with the ordinary vertical smoke funnel rising above
the deck, and presenting a serious impediment in certain conditions of the
wind to the progress of the vessel; and, in order to effect this, in conducting
the gasses from the boiler furnace and other matters usually escaping up the
funnel, together with the steam from the boiler, into one tube or channel
placed out of the way of the wind, and in such manner as to bring the
combined forces of the said steam and gasses to act upon the water in which
the vessel floats, and to propel her forwards.
And, secondly, in an apparatus for driving her backwards, when required,
by the same combined forces.
And as regards propelling fluids, I hereby declare my said Invention to
consist,―
First, in the application of the before-named combined forces to the raising
of water or other fluids. either for the purpose of emptying docks or
reservoirs, or extinguishing fires, or the ordinary uses for which powerful
pumps are applied.
And, secondly, in an apparatus for economising steam and fuel.
And in further compliance with the said proviso, 1, the said Pierre Pelletan,
do hereby describe the manner in which my said Invention is to be performed
by the following statement thereof, reference being had to the Drawing
hereunto annexed, and to the figures and letters marked thereon, that is
to say: -
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING.
Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of a vessel fitted with an apparatus for
carrying my said improvements into effect, the vessel being propelled by a
column of water driven out at the stern, and fitted also with an apparatus to
propel or force water over the deck to extinguish fire, or on to an enemy's
fighting deck to deluge the guns and men when in action. A, A, A, is a long

page_text: opens; H, a steam pipe from the boiler, passing through the box or chamber
G, conical at the end farthest from the boiler, and opening into the pipe I,
which pipe also opens into the box or chamber G, so that the pipe I in fact
becomes the substitute for the ordinary funnel. And in order more fully to
understand this part of my Invention, I have given a separato Figure for it,
which I will now describe. Figure 7 shows the top of the flue F, the box or
chamber G, the conical end of the pipe H opening into the pipe I. The curved
arrows show the direction in which the smoke and gasses pass into the pipe
I from the flue F, and the straight arrows the direction of the steam from the
boiler. Steam of at least four atmospheres, being obtained from the boiler, is
discharged through the conical end H' of the steam pipe H, the diameter of
which end His regulated according to the quantity of steam to be employed.
For instance, an orifice of three sixteenths of an inch in diameter, equal to
0.1875 of an inch in diameter, will allow about 66 lbs. avoirdupois weight of
steam of four atmospheres to escape, or in volume about 1800 cubic feet per
hour. The steam escaping from this conical end, the orifice of which is
calculated in manner aforesaid to determine a given expenditure of steam,
rushes into the pipe I, absorbing the air contained in the box G, and causing
a suction or draught through the flue pipe F, at the same time that it produces
a pressure in the pipe I. The quantity of air drawn after the blast of steam,
and the pressure obtained at the same time in the pipe I, vary according to
the force of the steam, and the proportion which exists between the diameter
of the orifice of the steam pipe before alluded to and the diameter of the pipe I.
If the pressure of the steam is equal to four atmospheres, the diameter of
the orifice H' of the steam pipe being one, and that of the pipe I being four,
then the quantity of air drawn through the flue pipe F will be equal to three
times the volume of the steam discharged through the orifice of the steam pipe,
the volume of the steam being taken when reduced to atmospheric pressure.
The pressure of the mixture of air and steam in the pipe I will be equal to a
column of water of about six feet in height. Therefore this mixture would
expel from a vessel of any kind four volumes of water for every volume of
steam taken from the steam boiler, exercising at the same time upon the water
a pressure equal to about one fifth of an atmosphere, thus producing four fifths
of the entire force of the steam employed. To obtain the above-men-
tioned effect, the steam employed must not be condensed by its contact
with the water of floatation; and the simple mixture of three parts of air
with one of steam, even if cold air is employed, is sufficient to prevent
condensation. Instead of taking in cold air, the flue pipe F is connected with

page_text: the furnace of the steam boiler, so as to absorb all the hot air and smoke
which escapes from the furnace, and which being at a very high temperature
becomes a fresh security, if any was required, against the condensation of any
portion of the steam. This absorption produces a very powerful draught, render-
ing a funnel quite unnecessary, except a small one, for the purpose of first
lighting the fire of the boiler, as will be hereafter explained. The absorbent
property of the blast of high steam is much more than requisite for the
draught of the fire, because every pound of coal consumes about one hundred
and sixty cubic feet of air, and produces abont (supposing only five pounds of
water evaporated per pound of coal) one hundred and forty cubic feet of steam,
which will carry after it four hundred and twenty cubic feet of air; whereas
the quantity required for the combustion of the fuel is only one hundred and
sixty cubic feet; so that it will be requisite to admit a certain quantity of
external air, and the quantity taken through the flucs is regulated by the
ordinary damper, as the fire may require.
I will now proceed to shew the means of employing the principle before set
forth to the propelling of a vessel. In every system of propelling by the
reaction of water hitherto applied, the water is admitted into a receptacle of
some kind, where it accumulates until expelled from the stern of the vessel.
By this method there is a great loss of power, because it is first of all requisite
to give to the mass then accummulated the same speed as the boat itself. I
avoid this inconvenience, by acting alternately on two columns of water, one of
which loses its speed while the other is being forced out; and this is why I
use two pipes, one on each side of the keelson, as before described. The forward
end of these pipes are furnished each with two vertical branches, J and K.
The upper parts of the branches J, Figures 1 and 2, are furnished with a box
fitted with two sliding valves L, L, which open alternately and shut alternately,
thus admitting the high-pressure contents of the pipe I alternately into the
starboard and larboard main channels A, A, A. The part coloured brown, and
marked V, V, is to represent a stout canvas sack or tube of equal diameter
with the main channel A, A, A, but open at each end, and fastened so as
to form a lining to the channel by the flanges O and P, one at each end of the
vertical branch pipes J and K, and which flanges are made to screw together
and to unscrew at pleasure, in order to renew the sack at pleasure, or to take
it out to clean it. U is a small steam engine supplied with steam from the
small steam pipe R, and which works the slide valves L, L, and the said
valves N, N. It will be observed that in the main channel forward of the sack
is a valve, the use of which will be hereafter explained, while at the top of the

page_text: vertical branch K is another valve, worked by the handle S, to let off the contents
of the sack after inflation, as will be hereafter explained, and which is to be
worked by hand whenever it may be requisite to blow through the sack V, V.
Having now described the various parts of this portion of my said Invention,
I will proceed to describe its modus operandi. The fire being lighted, and the
valve a of the vertical flue being temporarily opened to make a draft, in the
first instance the steam is got up in the boiler in the usual way; and when at
a pressure of four atmospheres, and a good fire going, the flue valve a may be
closed, and the steam cocks turned, so as to let the steam into the pipe I. The
small steam engine U, having previously set to work the slide valves L, a
violent rush of steam and gas, &c. will instantly rush through the slide valve
(say of the larboard channel), inflate the bag therein, the valve C closing by the
action of the water caused by the inflation and displacing a quantity of water
which will be forced out at the stern of the vessel to drive her forwards. The
slide valve of the larboard channel will then close, and the slide valve of
the starboard channel will open; and while the inflation of the starboard sack
is taking place, the water, rushing again into the larboard main channel, will
open the valves C and T, and cause the sack to collapse again, expelling the
air and steam it contained at the valve N, which will open at that moment
the steam engine u, for that purpose, and allow it to escape through the valve
at the upper part of the vertical branch J. Thus is a jet of water driven out
of the stern alternately from each main channel, and the vessel propelled
forwards; which leads me to my next improvement, which relates to forcing
the vessel backwards, and consists in an apparatus entirely under the control
of the steersman, and by means of which he can give the vessel sternway at
pleasure, without being dependent upon or in any way communicating with the
engineer. W is a jointed rod worked from the deck by a rack and pinion, as
here shewn, through a metal tube placed between the two main channels.
This rod is attached to a crank on the shaft or axis of the two valves
marked M, and placed one at the end of each main channel. When
the vessel is to be propelled forwards these valves lie horizontally; but
when it is required to give the vessel sternway the rod W is depressed
by the steersman, or some one under his orders, which shuts the valves M,
when the water which is expelled through the main channels, as before
described, follows the course pointed out by the curved arrow, and drives
the vessel backwards. Figure 2 is a plan of Figure 1; Figure 3 a transverse
section of the vessel, through the slide valves L, L; Figure 4 a similar section,
through the vertical branch K; Figure 5 a transverse section at midships, or
nearly so, through the boilers; and Figure 6 a similar section just forward of

page_text: the stern post, through the backing apparatus. And similar letters being used to
denote similar parts in all the Figures, they will assist materially in explaining
Figure 1, and sufficiently so without any more detailed description of their
several parts, if the Specification be put into the hands of any engineer of
ordinary skill to carry into effect.
My next improvement relates to the propelling of fluids, and consists in an
apparatus attached to one or both of the main channels of such an apparatus
as hercin-before first described, and through which any fluid may be expelled
which the said apparatus may be conveniently placed in for the purpose. In
Figure 1 I have shown this last-mentioned improvement as employed to throw
water on the deck of the vessel, for washing it, or to extinguish a fire. Y is a
rising main, and Z is a slide valve, which, when pushed close down, compels
the water which is driven through the main channel beneath it to rise through
the rising main, and flow over a deck; or, if a hose be applied to the top of the
rising main, it may be directed to any part of the vessel, to extinguish a fire, or
to drench the men, and deluge the fighting deck of an enemy. And inasmuch
as on such last-mentioned applications of my said last-mentioned improvement
it becomes desirable to economise fuel as much as possible, I add to the appa-
ratus herein-before described a second boiler, as shewn at Figure 8, where it
will be seen, that, instead of leading the pipe I at once into the slide valve-
box, it is led into a second boiler, to expend its heat in heating the water in
this second boiler, in which it will be scen a perforated plate is placed at r,
and the steam from which second boiler passes off at the steam pipe t, which
steam pipe is led round the furnace flue of the first boiler, getting additional
heat, until it enters the valve box of the apparatus herein-before first described,
to inflate the bags as before mentioned. Figure 9 is a section of the first
boiler, shewing how the pipes from the second boiler pass through the furnace
flue of the first boiler.
Now whereas I claim as my Invention the following improvements (that is
to say):-
As regards propelling vessels, first, the apparatus as a whole herein-before
described for propelling vessels ahead, thereby doing away with the ordinary
vertical funnel rising above the deck, doing away with paddle boxes and
paddle wheels, greatly increasing the speed of the vessel, and diminishing the
agitation of the water as she is driven through it;
And, secondly, the apparatus herein-before described for forcing vessels
astern, thereby placing the sternway of the vessel under the control of the
steersman, without reference to or communication with the engineer.
And as regards propelling fluids, I claim, first, the application of a rising

page_text: main and slide or other stop valve to what I have called the main channels of
such an apparatus as herein-before described, when used for propelling fluids
either with a hose attached to such rising main or not, and for the purposes
aforesaid, whereby I am enabled to drain on a large scale, or to raise water
or other fluids, as herein-before described;
And, secondly, the application of a second boiler, as herein-before described,
to the said first-described boiler, when, as in action with an enemy, a supply
of steam and fuel may be required for a long time, and few hands can be
spared to look after the engine, and by which application of the said second
boiler as aforesaid I effect a great economy of fuel and steam for that purpose.
And such my Invention being, to the best of my knowledge and belief,
entirely new, and never before used within that part of Her said Majesty's
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland called England, Her said
dominion of Wales, and Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, I do hereby declare
this to be my Specification of the same, and that I do verily believe this my
said Specification doth comply in all respects, fully and without reserve or
disguise, with the proviso in the said herein-before in part recited Letters
Patent contained; wherefore I hereby claim to maintain exclusive right and
privilege to my said Invention.
In witness whereof, 1, the said Pierre Pelletan, have hereunto set my
hand and scal, this Fifth day of March, in the year of our Lord One