Improvements in Condensing Motors.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 24th Jan., 1899-Accepted, 25th Feb., 1899
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Condensing Motors.
I, LEWIS BOYD WHITE, Mechanical Engineer, of 1123, Broadway, in the City of
New York, Borough of Manhattan, County of New York, State of New York, in
the United States of America, 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 certain new and useful improvements in condensing
motors, and especially to that class of motors that are operated by means of liquified
carbonic acid gas.
For many years attempts have been made to operate motors by means of liquified
carbonic acid gas or liquified carbon dioxide, but the cost of the liquid carbon
dioxide is too great to render the use of such motors economical under all circum-
stances, and for that reason numerous attempts have been made to regain and
liquify the spent or exhaust carbon dioxide, but such attempts were not successful
commercially, as the cost of condensing or liquifying such spent gases was too
great.
The object of my invention is to provide a new and improved motor to be operated
by means of liquid carbon dioxide and in which the liquid carbon dioxide is heated
for the purpose of increasing its tension and after the high tension gas has worked
the motor, the spent gases are condensed and liquified and then pumped into the
heater to be again increased in tension, and so on.
In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, and in
which like letters of reference indicate like parts in all the figures:
Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view through my improved condenser motor.
Figure 2 is a horizontal sectional view through the condenser, on the line 2-2
of Figure 1.
Figure 3 is a detail vertical sectional view on the line 3-3 of Figure 1.
The engine A is of any well known construction adapted for operation with car-
bon dioxide and its valve chamber A is connected by means of the pipe P with the
coiled or serpentine pipe B which constitutes a heater and is enclosed in a casing B¹
in the bottom of which a suitable source of heat is placed, as for example, a gas
burner or an oil flame C.
I prefer to make the heater in the form of a serpentine pipe, but it is evident
that it can be made in the form of a coiled pipe or a zigzag pipe or some analogous
shape or any other suitable construction, as well, as the only object in view is to
obtain a large heating surface.
By means of the pipe 1 the heater is connected with a small pump E operated
by the engine A, and this pump is likewise connected by the pipe F with the
condenser G, composed of a strong outer chamber H with the bottom part of which
the pipe F is connected and a series of telescopic sections J of gradually decreasing
size and of which the lower one is secured to the bottom of the chamber H and of
which the upper one is closed at the top.
All the sections J with the exception of the uppermost one are provided along
the upper edge with an inwardly extending knife edge beveled flange N and all

page_text: the sections J with the exception of the bottom one arc provided along the bottom
edge with an outwardly extending beveled knife edge flange 0.
The exhaust valves A¹ of the engine A are connected by the pipe K with the
bottom of the telescopic sections in such a manner that the exhaust gases can pass
into the telescopic chambers or sections and as this exhaust gas is under a pres-
sure of about 250 pounds per square inch, more or less, the several telescopic
sections J are forced upward until the edge of the upper flange N of each section J
rests against the upper beveled surface of the bottom flange 0 of the section next
above it.
While these parts form close contact they still leave an extremely fine slit or
annular aperture M between them through which the carbonic dioxide gas can
pass from within the telescopic sections into the chamber H in extremely fine jets
or sprays.
The edges or faces of the flanges are only held in contact mechanically and are
not connected and in all cases the gas under pressure in the telescopic chamber
can force its way between said edges and surfaces into the chamber H. L is a
gauge glass for showing the height of liquified carbon dioxide in the chamber H and
to show whether the condenser is operating properly or not.
The number of telescopic sections J may be increased or decreased and the size
of the chamber H may be increased or decreased according to the requirements of
the motor.
The operation is as follows: The liquid carbon dioxide is heated in the heater B
and its tension is raised to a pressure of from 2500 to 3000 pounds per square inch,
that is to say, by the action of the heat, it is converted into a gas of such high
pressure and this high pressure gas acting on the piston or pistons of the engine A
operates the latter and the spent carbon dioxide gas, which escapes at a pressure
of about 250 pounds per square inch, passes or is forced from the valve chamber
of the engine through the pipe K into the inner or telescopic chamber of the con-
denser G, and as it is still under this comparatively high pressure, it has an ex-
tremely great tendency to escape from the telescopic sections or chamber. Its
only way of escape is through the fine annular apertures or slots M, and in escap-
ing through these fine apertures or slots, the gas expands to an extremely great
extent in the chamber H in which there is no pressure, and in so expanding intense
cold is produced and the carbon dioxide at once congeals into flakes resembling
snow flakes or hail, which flakes collect in the bottom of the chamber H and
there melt as the bottom and sides of the chamber H are in contact with the outer
air which is much warmer than the interior of the vessel H.
The liquified carbon dioxide flows from the chamber H through the pipe F, and
is pumped by the small pump E from the pipe F into the heater B, and is again
brought to a high tension, operates the engine A, escapes into the condenser. etc.
I am well aware that the only source of power in my improved motor is fuel
consumed in the burner, in the heater, and that the carbon dioxide only serves as
a medium for utilizing this power in the most economical manner and to the
greatest advantage. Of the heat units in the flame at the burner, a certain amount
are used for operating the engine and a certain amount are consumed in the expansion
of the carbon dioxide in the condenser, and the reason that my improved motor is
so effective and economical is that the proportion of heat units lost in the heater is
exceedingly small, as the carbon dioxide has an extraordinarily great affinity
for heat and takes up almost all the heat units, and further, the proportion of heat
units consumed in the expansion of the gas for congealing it, is very small in
proportion to the heat units consumed in producing the power in the engine; or,
in other words, of all the heat units representing power, taken up by the liquid
carbon dioxide from the heater flame, the greater proportion is consumed in
operating the engine and the small balance is consumed in congealing the liquid
carbon dioxide, which is thus brought into its original condition ready for taking
up new heat units in the heater.

page_text: From the effective power of the engine, the power for operating the pump must
be deducted in the same manner that the power for operating the pumps of a con-
densing steam engine must be deducted from the effective power of such engine.
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. In a carbon dioxide motor, the combination with an engine, of a heater for
heating the carbon dioxide, a pipe connecting the heater with the engine, a con-
denser for condensing and liquifying the carbon dioxide, and a pump connected
with said condenser and with the heater, substantially as herein shown and
described.
2. In a carbon dioxide motor, the combination with an engine, of a condenser
composed of an inner and outer chamber, the inner chamber having numerous fine
apertures leading to the outer chamber, and means for conducting the exhaust car-
bon dioxide gases into one chamber and means for conducting the liquified carbon
dioxide from the other chamber, substantially as herein shown and described.
3. In a carbon dioxide motor, the combination with an engine, of a condenser
composed of an outer chamber, a telescopic chamber within said outer chamber,
means for conducting the exhaust carbon dioxide gases from the engine into the
telescopic chamber, and means for conducting the liquified carbon dioxide from the
outer condenser chamber to the engine, substantially as herein shown and described.
4. In a carbon dioxide condenser, the combination with an outer chamber, of a
telescopic chamber within the outer chamber, the telescopic sections having outer
and inner flanges which are held in contact under the pressure of gas in said
telescopic chamber, substantially as herein shown and described.
5. In a carbon dioxide motor, the combination with an engine, of a condenser,
composed of an outer section, a telescopic chamber within said outer chamber, the
telescopic sections having beveled knife edge flanges, substantially as herein
shown and described.
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London,
Agents for the Applicant.