IMPROVEMENTS IN OBTAINING MOTIVE POWER FROM STEAM AND RIFORM FLUIDS AND LIQUIDS
Year: 1864

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Matthew Piers Watt Boulton
: at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 4th November 1864.
I, MATTHEW PIERS WATT BOULTON, of Tew Park, Oxfordshire, Esquire,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
OBTAINING MOTIVE POWER FROM STEAM AND RIFORM FLUIDS AND LIQUIDS," to be
as follows:
This Invention relates to improvements in obtaining motive power, from
steam and seriform fluids and from liquids, and. has more particularly for its
object to enable steam and æriform fluids to be used for the production of
motive power at a higher heat than can now be done with advantage.
One method is as follows:-
Steam or vapour is admitted into the upper part of a cylinder in which a
piston works vertically. Attached to this piston on its upper side is a cylin-
drical body nearly fitting the cylinder, but not touching it; and between this
inner cylindrical body and the cylinder is liquid whose boiling point is higher
than that of the vapour employed. This cylindrical.boily is of greater length
than the stroke, so that the piston and the lower part of the liquid never come
in contact with that part of the cylinder with which the heated steam or
vapour comes in contact. The upper part of this liquid is heated by the
vapour which comes in contact with it, and may be heated by other means so
as to be kept somewhat higher in temperature than that vapour, whilst the
lower part is kept cool by conduction from cool liquid, so as to have a.tem-

page_text: perature at which a piston can be worked without difficulty in a cylinder. To
impede circulation of this liquid, liquids of two specific gravities may be
employed, the heavier being at the bottom. The heat abstracted from the
liquid for the purpose of cooling it may be utilized by employing it to heat tho
liquid made use of in the boiler, or to generate inflammable vapour, which may
be used as fuel. Two pistons of this kind may be employed connected with
the same axle or machine, one performing work while the other makes the
return stroke. And any number of such pistons may be. employed to work a
common axle, or give motion to one machine. A piston of this description
may be employed as the rod of a valve.
Another plan is as follows:-
The steam or æriform fluid is injected into a hollow vessel, open at bottom,
immersed in liquid, displacing the liquid and causing the vessel to rise by the
action of gravity. A rod is attached to the vessel, which works machinery
like a piston rod. Any number of such vessels may be employed to give
motion to one machine. Liquid of great specific gravity, such as liquid metals
and metallic compounds, may be employed: The steam or æriform fluid may
be generated at high pressure, wiredrawn, and injected at reduced pressure
into the vessel.
Another mode is as follows:-
Two vessels are employed, open at bottom, containing liquid, each com-
municating with a third vessel in which is a cylinder in which a piston works.
This cylinder may either contain air or liquid. The passage of communication
with it may either contain air or it may contain liquid whose specific gravity
differs from that of the liquid in the vessels, being lighter if the passage is
above, and heavier if it is below. The æriform fluid alternately injected into
the two vessels presses on the liquid, and communicates movement to the
piston in the cylinder, which is kept cool, while the liquid in contact with the
æriform fluid is heated. Any number of pistons may be employed to work one
machine. The heat abstracted from the liquid can be utilized as in the
preceding case.
Another mode is as follows:-
A vessel is provided in which liquid can circulate, ascending on one side
and descending on the other. The shape of this vessel may be greatly varied,
the main point being that it should favour as much as possible the movement
of the liquid. It may contain many channels, chambers, or passages, and one
passage of ascent may be combined with several of descent, and vice versa:
This vessel being charged with liquid, a current of ceriform fluid is injected
into it near its lower part, so as to ascend by one side and escape at or near

page_text: the top. In consequence of this a circulation of the liquid is established in
the vessel, the column of pure liquid on one side always pressing into the
space occupied by the mixed liquid and æriform matter on the other. The
current of liquid thus produced may be utilized by causing it in some part of
its course to work a turbine or any other instrument suitable for being worked
by the movement of water or liquid; if steam or vapour is employed, after
it has ascended through the liquid it may pass into a condenser. Heated
æriform fluids such as products of combustion may be injected into liquid, and
used in the manner described. Supposing water to be the liquid employed,
these will generate steam in their passage through it, which will co-operate in
producing the current. In this case the vessel becomes a boiler, the liquid in
which is performing work. Again steam may be generated in the vessel by
heat communicated by conduction from the outside, and the steam so generated
inay produce or help to produce the current. After the æriform fluid has
reached the top of the apparatus it may be received in a close vessel under
pressure, the pressure in this vessel being less than that of the injected æriform
fluid, according to the height and density: of the column through which it has
passed, from this vessel the æriforin fluid may be conducted to a similar
apparatus, and injected into it at a lower pressure, and so on. And a number
of columns of ascent and descent worked in this manner may be united so as
to form one cireting system, and work one turbine or other instrument.
By such a combination the velocity of the current may be augmented without
increasing the height of the apparatus. Steam or seriform fluid may be raised
to a high-pressure in a boiler or close vessel, and after having been expanded
in bulk aud reduced in pressure the process called wiredrawing may be
utilized in an apparatus such as above described. It may also be so utilized
after having performed work in other ways. The injection of the æriform
fluid into the liquid may be intermittent. The pipe through which it is
injected may be made moveable so that it is injected successively in different
parts of the liquid. Or a valve in the pipe through which it is injected may
alternately permit and close its passage into the liquid. This valve may
worked by the engine, or it may be worked in a manner similar to that by
which the valve in a hydraulic ram is alternately closed and opened. When
a turbine is worked by a current of liquid, produced by either of the modes
above described, there is advantage in employing two currents working a pair
of turbines on a common axis from opposite directions. In this way the
bearings of the turbines are relieved form pressure.
bo
When steam is used in any of the methods above described, it is desirable
that the liquid employed should be at least as hot as the steam injected into

page_text: tit.
Saline solutions, oils, and hydrocarbons, and products obtained from
them, by subjecting them to beat metals and metallic alloys, afford materials
'capable of being used for this purpose. Other vapours besides that of water
'may be employed.
.
As the principal object of using steam or æriform fluids in the manners
above described is to enable them to be used at a high heat, it is important
that the valves used in contact with the æriform fluid should be suited for
'this purpose.
The following construction may be employed.:-
The valve is a slide valve working horizontally: When closed it is sur-
rounded with liquid so that the seriform fluid cannot find its way between the
valve and its seat without forcing liquid through. Before it is opened a piece
descends from above fitting the slide valve on three sides and displacing the
liquid, so that the valve can be moved backwards and the passage opened
without the liquid following it. On the valve being closed, the moving pieco
is drawn up, and the liquid returns encompassing the valve.
Another construction is as follows:-
The valve is a slide valve moving vertically so as to close the passage when
moved down, and open it when moved up. To the upper part of the valve is
attached a chamber containing liquid, which encompasses the valve on that
part, so that no seriform matter can pass between the valve and its seat in
that part without forcing liquid through. When the valve is at its lowest
point the level of this liquid is just above the top of the passage which the
valve closes. Beneath the valve is another vessel containing liquid; and the
valve plunges into this in its descent, raising the level of the liquid and forcing
it to rise to a level higher than that of the liquid in the upper chamber attached
to the valve. Thus the valve is completely surrounded by liquid, and the
steam or æriform fluid cannot pass through the passage except by forcing
liquid between the valve and its seat.
Another mode of construction is as follows:-
The passage to be opened and closed by the valve passes through a conical
piece and a hollow conical cup, closely fitting this conical piece, and filled with
liquid, is worked by a rod up and down, closing the passage when brought in
contact with the conical piece, and opening it when removed from it. The
valves above described may be combined with a ruil of the construction
previously described:
In making valves to stand a high heat, the less oxidisable metals may be
employed, also materials other than metal, such as stones, minerals, and
nineral compositions of various sorts. When a turbine is used in the apparatus

page_text: previously described, it is desirable on some accounts that the flow of water or
liquid on quitting the turbine should be parallel or nearly so to the direction
of its flow as it enters the guide blades. This is the case in the turbine called
the parallel flow turbine, and sometimes also called the turbine of Jouval or
of Fontaine Baron. At the same time it is desirable that the passages of the
turbine should be curves of double curvature, whereas those of the parallel
flow turbine are curves at single curvature:
To effect this the following construction may be employed:-The guide
blades cause the water to whirl in a vortex outside the revolving part of the
turbine in the plane (or nearly so) of its revolution as is done in the ordinary
vortex wheel or inward flow turbine. The passages in the revolving part of
the turbine are also curves of double curvature; they commence (where the
water enters them) in the direction of radii of the wheel or nearly so, and
they gradually curve till they become at right angles or nearly so to the direc-
tion they had at their commencement, while they also change their direction
from the plane of revolution of the wheel to a direction parallel to its axis. In
this way the water or liquid is caused to issue from the turbine in a direction
parallel to that in which it entered the guide blades.
When the expansion of æriform fluids by heat is used as a source of motive
power, it is desirable with a view to economy of power that very high pressure
-should be used. In order that very great pressures may be used with safety,
one vessel containing elastic æriform fluid at a very high pressure may be
enclosed within another containing elastic fluid at a high but lower pressure.
In this case, the force exterted within the interior vessel tending to burst it is
only the difference between the pressures in the two vessels. And many
vessels may be employed one within the other, the pressure in the interior of
each vessel being higher than that in the interior of the vessel next to it and
containing it. The interior vessels may communicate with the atmosphere by
means of pipes which, being of small diameter, may be made of any requisite
strength.
If the inmost vessel is a boiler, heat may be communicated to it by applying
heat to the external vessel, this heat being conducted to the interior vessel by
some substance which is a good conductor of heat, such as molten metal. Or
otherwise an inflammable gaseous mixture may be forced into the vessel next
to the inmost vessel and there burnt. Or heated matter may be introduced
through pipes into the inmost vessel.
When it is desired to confine fluid at a high heat and high pressure, the
following construction may be employed :-The fluid is contained in a vessel,
the inside of which is lined with fire-brick or some substance which obstructs

page_text: ile passage of bent while the outside is metal. Outside this vessel is another
vessel containing air or ceriform fluid at a pressure equal or nearly so to that
of the fluid in tho interior vessel: This vessel may be of metal, or of metal
lined with some substance which obstructs the passage of heat.
If it is desired a greater number of vessels may be employed. In this way!
the exterior metal which resists the interior pressure is kept at a temperature
at which its tenacity is not impaired.