Improvements in the Methods of Heating Liquids and Generating and Utilizing Vapour for Motive Power and the like purposes, and in Apparatus and Appliances connected therewith.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 14th Mar., 1891
Complete Specification Left, 14th Dec., 1891-Accepted, 6th Feb., 1892
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Methods of Heating Liquids and Generating
and Utilizing Vapour for Motive Power and the like purposes,
and in Apparatus and Appliances connected therewith.
1. WILLIAM HENRY WATKINSON, of 37 Albany Road, Sharrow, Sheffield, in
the County of York M.I.M.E, M.I.E. E. Lecturer in Engineering at the Central
School Sheffield, do hereby declare the nature of my said invention for
IMPROVEMENTS IN THE METHODS OF HEATING LIQUIDS AND GENERATING
AND UTILIZING VAPOUR FOR MOTIVE POWER AND THE LIKE PURPOSES, AND
IN APPARATUS AND APPLIANCES CONNECTED THEREWITH to be as follows:-
"
The object of my said invention is to produce motive power for various purposes
herein-after described by improved methods and novel arrangements and combina-
tions of parts and appliances as follows:-
Firstly, to an improved form of vessel or vessels for heating liquids or for
converting liquids into vapour.
This vessel I shall hereafter refer to as my
improved heater, whether I am speaking of it in connection with the vapourising
of liquids or merely the heating of them as liquids.
Secondly, to improved methods of converting superheated liquids into vapours
for motive power and the like purposes.
Thirdly, to improved means of utilizing heated fluids in connection with rotary
or turbine engines, by ballasting the vapour with more or less liquid or other
substance or substances so as to reduce its velocity to a more convenient amount,
and thus enable it to be more easily applied in connection with turbine engines or
other suitable motors for the production of motive power.
Fourthly, to an improved method of returning the condensed vapour to the
heater when the motor is of the rotary or turbine type.
Fifthly, to an improved method of preventing leakage past the piston, and of
preventing damage to the piston or its packing when used in connection with fluids
at a high temperature.
Sixthly, to improved methods of producing and maintaining fluid currents, for the
production of motive power by means of turbines or other suitable motors.
Seventhly, to improved arrangements and combinations, comprising parts
described under the above heads, for the production of motive power.
1. My improved form of heater is so arranged that the liquid flows over the
heating surfaces in thin sheets. so that every part of the liquid is brought very
near to, if not actually into contact with, the heated surfaces independently of
convection currents. This may be accomplished in various ways, two of which I
will now describe.
In the first of these two arrangements the heater is built up of a series of plane,
rectangular plates, separated from each other, and the spaces between them
rendered steam tight by packing which may be in the form of metallic wire.
In this case the cell or cells between each pair of plates is of a thin rectangular
form. These cells may be joined together in series by holes near the end of each
of the plates, so that assuming the planes of the plates to be horizontal and the
liquid to enter at the top left hand end, it will flow to the other end through the top
cell, down through the hole or holes into the cell below, through which cell it will
How to the other end again, then pass through holes in the lower plate of that cell
into the cell below, and so on through any suitable number of cells. The whole
pile of cells which constitutes the heater is bound together by bolts passing through
the whole series of plates, or by suitable clamps.

page_text: Instead of the plates being separated and the cells made steam tight by packing
as described above, each plate may be male thicker round the edges, this thicker
projecting part being then planed or milled, so that when the plates are put
together, the thin rectangular cell formed between each pair of plates will be
rendered steam tight with very little or no packing at all. The heater thus
formed is surrounded by the furnace or by the hot gases from the furnace. The
plates of the heater being sufficiently thick, the heat is conducted from the
surfaces in contact with the furnace gases and given up to the liquid sheets. The
different cells in which the fluid is heated may be connected together in parallel,
instead of being connected together in series as above, and a number of heaters
cach with cells connected together in series or parallel, may be connected together
either in series or in parallel. In some cases I divide the spaces between the
plates each into several cells, so that the space between any pair of plates is
divided into several rectangular cells, and these I connect together so that the
cells in each tier are connected together in series, and all the tiers are connected
together in series. In this way the heat of the furnace gases can be better utilized,
as one end of the heater will require to be hotter than the other, and the liquid
will be sent in at the cooler end, and with drawn at the hotter end.
In another modification instead of the liquid flowing in plane sheets, it is caused
to flow in cylindrical sheets by being passed between concentric tubes. The
proportions of these concentric tubes may be arranged so that the cylindrical
sheets between them are alternately thick and thin. The fluid to be heated being
passed through the thin spaces, and the hot furnace gases through the thick
spaces. All the liquid spaces may be connected together either in series or in
parallel and all the spaces for the hot gases may also be connected together, either
in series or parallel.
In applying either of these forms of heaters I may do so simply to raise the
temperature of the liquid to the required amount or I may arrange to completely
vapourise it and even to superheat the vapour. When the liquid is vapourised
the vapour may pass into a reservoir when used for reciprocating engines, or the
feed pump may force liquid through the heater at the proper instant, the heater
having been accumulating heat in the interval between the strokes. When used
in connection with engines of the rotary or turbine type, the vapour will pass
continuously from the heater to the engine.
The quantity of liquid heated or of steam generated may be regulated by auto-
matic movement of the furnace damper in connection with automatic arrangements
for varying the feed and rearranging the grouping of the cells so that some which
were in parallel may be connected in series or vice-versa, their respective flues may
at the same time have their grouping rearranged. In most cases I prefer to have
the heater arranged with its axis coincident with the axis of the flue, so that the
furnace gases flow between the heater and the walls of the flue along their
length.
2. In my improved method of converting superheated liquid into vapour for
motive power purposes I arrange that the superheated liquid is withdrawn from the
heater and sent into the engine cylinder in the liquid form, being admitted thereto
during a portion of the stroke. After communication has been cut off between the
heater and the engine cylinder, and as the piston continues its stroke, part of the
liquid is converted into vapour due to reduction of pressure. The remaining liquid
is pumped back into the heater and the vapour is further expanded in one or more
other cylinders, after which it may be either condensed and returned to the heater
or discharged into the atmosphere; or, sufficient liquid may be withdrawn from
the heater into an intermediate receiver where a portion of it will be vapourised
after communication has been established between the sail receiver and the cylinder
of the motor. The liquid remaining is then ejected by the incoming water from the
receiver and returned to the heater. The vapour atter having done work in the
first eyler may pass into an intermediate reservoir, from which it may be sent
into other cylinders or wherever it may be required. In this form of engine I may

page_text: arrange for all the expansion to take place in the first cylinder, instead of its being
continued in two or more cylinders as indicated above.
In a medification of this arrangement instead of the fluid leaving the heater in a
liquid state. I take advantage of the discovery of M. Caguiard de la Tour namely,
that if a liquid he heated in a confined space up to a certain point, known as
"Andrews critical point (see Doctor Andrew's Bakerian lecture in the
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society for 1569, the whole of it
becomes homogeneous, and if the pressure he then reduced the whole will pass into
vapour. In applying this discovery arrange that the liquid shall have its tem-
perature continuously increased as it passes through the heater so that just before
It leaves the heater its comperature will have risen up to or above the critical
point, or the liquid may be withdrawn into a receiver, in this homogeneons.com-
dition and from this receiver sent into the engine cylinder in the form of vapour.
By adopting either of these methods the heating surface is rendered much more
efficient than when vapour is generated in the ordinary way, for then a large pro-
portion of the heating surfaces is always covered with bubbles, the vapour of which
offers much greater resistance to the passage of heat than the liquid does.
I know that it has previously been proposed to raise water to a high temperature,
and after withdrawal from the heater to allow a portion to flash into steam by
reduction of pressure in an intermediate vessel, but this method is much less efficient
than the method described above, where the pressure is only reduced as work is
done. When this method is adopted in connection with an engine of the turbine
type, may arrange for a continuous flow of superheated liquid from the
heater into a steam separator from which the steam passes through the
turbine, and the water is pumped back into the heater but I prefer in some
cases to arrange that the steam shall be ballasted by a portion of the accompanying
liquid, as hereinafter described for the purpose of reducing the velocity of
the steam. In using this method of generating vapour the liquid may be
superheated in a heater of the type described above, or in a tube or series of tubes,
or in a boiler of the ordinary type. In any of these cases, in order to avoid shocks
and to render the action more continuous, I place an air vessel both on the feed side
and on the delivery side of the heater. In order to prevent the air in these air
vessels being dissolved and carried away by the water, I arrange a layer of oil
between the water and the air in the air vessels. Instead of using an air vessel on
the delivery side I may arrange a vessel similar to an air vessel in which the water
is maintained at a sufficiently high temperature to partially fill this vessel with
vapour.
3. In my improved means of utilizing heated fluids in connection with rotary or
turbine engines I arrange that the vapour shall be caused to carry a considerable
amount of liquid along with it so that the velocity of the combined stream will be
considerably less than the velocity of unballasted vapour issuing under the same
pressure. This liquid may be communicated to the vapour either before it leaves
the heater or at any time prior to its action on the turbine. By doing
this amenabled to run the turbine at a much less velocity than if it
were driven by the vapour alone. The same object may be attained by injecting a
spray of water into oil heated to a high temperature, the particles of water become
vapourised but the vapour remains enclosed by films of oil. These films being
carried along with the vapour reduce its velocity. I may also attain the same
object by ballasting the steam with the furnace gases, or a portion of them, the
steam in this case as it flows from the heater will act as a steam blast in accelerating
the draught of the furnace. In all these cases I may arrange to discharge the
vapour from the turbine into the chimney to assist the draught, the liquid being
previously separated from it.
4. My improved method of returning the condensed vapour to the heater, when
the motor is of the rotary or turbine type, depends on the fact that the kinetic
energy of the vapour as it enters the condenser, is greater than the kinetic energy
of the same weight of liquid flowing from the heater, through a suitably form d

page_text: pipe, into the condenser. When applying this method in connection with a turbine
engine and a surface condenser, no valves, except stop valves are required in con-
nection with the system.
5. When the temperature of the working fluid is very high I protect the piston
by means of a large body of liquid on which the working fluid acts and thus
transmits its energy to the piston. By making part of the vessel containing the
liquid of a larger area than the piston, I can arrange that the hot fluid shall only
come in contact with a small portion of the sides of the vessel, without reducing
the length of the piston's stroke, for example if the diameter of the vessel containing
the oil is twice the diameter of the piston the distance through which the surface
of the oil is displaced will be only of the piston's stroke. This oil vessel may be
an enlarged part of the cylinder in some cases. The oil itself may be protected in
the latter case by a screen of nonconducting material arranged to float on its
surface. When this method is used in connection with a single acting engine I
employ a small pump to pump back the oil which leaks past the piston.
6. In order to produce and maintain a continuous flow of liquid for the
production of motive power by means of turbines or other suitable motors,
I employ (a), a pump and an accumulator as follows. The pump consists simply
of a vessel which is alternately put into communication with a steam generator and
a condenser. When it is in connection with the condenser the liquid flows into it
through an automatic valve and when it is in communication with the steam
generator this liquid is forced into an accumulator from which it flows to the
turbine. By suitably proportioning the parts I may arrange for the steam to be
worked expansively, the energy given to the liquid by the steam being sufficient to
enable it to enter the accumulator, although the pressure of the steam may have
fallen considerably below the pressure in the accumulator. The liquid after
passing through the turbine may How into a reservoir from which it is again with-
drawn by the pump. This reservoir may be arranged to act as an accumulator or
air vessel, the surplus energy in the liquid after it leaves the turbine being sufficient
to force it into the accumulator. In this way the efficiency of the system will be
increased.
In another method (b) I employ a jet of steam to maintain a flow of liquid
through the turbine. The steam in this case may have been previously ballasted
as herein before described, so that on striking the liquid less eddy currents will be
produced owing to the velocity of the steam having previously been greatly
reduced. The heater is replenished from the circulatory system by a pump, an
injector or other suitable means.
Another method (c) is obtained by combining the two methods already described
under thirdly and fourthly. In this method the vapour flowing from the heater is
ballasted by liquid flowing from an accumulator, from which the heater is also fed.
It then passes through the turbine, from thence through the condenser from which
it is forced into the accumulator, from the accumulator a portion of it is forced into
the heater and another portion flows into the steam pipe to ballast the steam.
this case the condenser is arranged to act as a separator, so that the water, which
has been used to ballast the steam, may fall through it without coming in contact
with the cool surfaces.
In
In another method (d) I employ a pulsometer to maintain a circulation of the
liquid, a portion of the liquid being withdrawn from the eduction pipe and returned
to the henter, either directly or through an air vessel, the rest of it passing through
the turbine and back to the pulsometer either directly or through an air vessel. In
all these methods I have the pipes and other parts lagged with non-conducting
material to reduce waste of heat.
7. One of my improved combinations for the production of motive power consists
of the heater herein before described, a turbine propelled by means of ballasted
steam or by means of a liquid propelled as herein described together with my method
of returning the condensed vapour to the heater.
In most of the herein described modifications for the production of motive power

page_text: and for other purposes, I may use as the fluid, water, aqua ammonia, ether,
petroleum, spirit or any other suitable fluid.
Dated this 12th day of March 1891.
K. HEBER KADFORD,
Agent for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Methods of Heating Liquids and Generating
and Utilizing Vapour for Motive Power and the like purposes.
and in Apparatus and Appliances connected therewith.
1, WILLIAM HENRY WATKINSON, of 37 Albany Road, Sharrow Sheffield, in
the County of York, M.L.M.E., M.I.E.E. Lecturer in Engineering at the Central
School, Sheffield, do hereby declare the nature of my said invention for
IMPROVEMENTS IN THE METHODS OF HEATING LIQUIDS AND GENERATING
AND UTILIZING VAPOR FOR MOTIVE POWER AND THE LIKE PURPOSES, AND
IN APPARATUS AND APPLIANCES CONNECTED THEREWITH and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement:-
17
The object of my said invention is to produce motive power for various purposes
herein-after described by improved methods and novel arrangements and com-
binations of parts and appliances as follows:-
-
Firstly, to an improved form of vessel or vessels for heating liquids or for
converting liquids into vapor. This vessel shall hereafter refer to as my
improved heater, whether I am speaking of it in connection with the vaporising of
liquids or merely the heating of them as liquids.
Secondly, to improved methods of converting superheated liquids into vapors for
motive power and the like purposes,
Thirdly, to improved means of utilizing heated fluids in connection with rotary
or turbine engines, by ballasting the vapor with more or less liquid or other
substance or substances so as to reduce its velocity to a more convenient amount,
and thus enable it to be more easily applied in connection with turbine engines or
other suitable motors for the production of motive power.
Fourthly, to an improved method of returning the condensed vapor to the heater,
when the motor is of the rotary or turbine type.
Fifthly, to an improved method of preventing damage to the piston or its
packing when used in connection with fluids at a high temperature.
Sixthly, to improved methods of producing and maintaining fluid currents for the
production of motive power by means of turbines or other suitable motors.
Seventhly, to improved arrangements and combinations, comprising, parts
described under the above heads, for the production of motive power.
1. My improved form of heater is so arranged that the liquid flows over the
heating surfaces in thin sheets, so that every part of the liquid is brought very
near to, if not actually into contact with the heated surfaces independently of
convection currents. This may be accomplished in various ways, two of which I
will now describe.
In the first of these two arrangements the heater is built up of a series of plane,
rectangular plates, separated from each other, and the spaces between them
rendered steam tight by packing which may be in the form of metallic wire.
In this case the cell or cells between each pair of plates is of a thin rectangular
form. These cells may be joined together in series by holes near the end of each
of the plates, so that assuming the planes of the plates to be horizontal and the
liquid to enter at the top left hand end, it will flow to the other end through the
top cell down through the hole or holes into the cell below, through which cell it
will flow to the other end again, then pass through holes in the lower plate of that
cell into the cell below, and so on through any suitable number of cells. The

page_text: whole pile of cells which constitutes the heater is bound together by bolts passing
through the whole series of plates, or by suitable clamps.
Instead of the plates being separated and the cells made steam tight by packing
as described above, each plate may be made thicker round the edges, this thicker
projecting part being then planed or milled, so that when the plates are put
together, the thin rectangular cell formed between each pair of plates will be
rendered steam tight with very little or no packing at all. The heater thus formed
is surrounded by the furnace or by the hot gases from the furnace. The plates of
the heater being sufficiently thick, the heat is conducted from the surfaces in
contact with the furnace gases and given up to the liquid sheets. The different.
cells in which the fluid is heated may be connected together in parallels, instead of
being connected together in series as above, and a number of heaters each with
cells connected together in series or parallels, may be connected together either in
series or in parallels. In some cases I divide the spaces between the plates each
into several cells, so that the space between any pair of plates is divided into
several rectangular cells, and these I connect together so that the cells in each tier
are connected together in series, and all the tiers are connected together in series.
In this way the heat of the furnace gases can be better utilized, as one end of the
heater will require to be hotter than the other, and the liquid will be sent in at the
cooler end, and withdrawn at the hotter end.
In another modification instead of the liquid flowing in plane sheets, it is caused
to flow in cylindrical sheets by being passed between concentric tubes. The
proportions of these concentric tubes may be arranged so that the cylindrical sheets
between them are alternately thick and thin. The fluid to be heated being passed
through the thin spaces, and the hot furnace gases through the thick spaces.
the liquid spaces may be connected together either in series or in parallel and all
the spaces for the hot gases may also be connected together, either in series or
parallel.
All
In applying either of these forms of heaters I may do so simply to raise the
temperature of the liquid to the required amount or I may arrange to completely
vaporise it and even to superheat the vapor. When the liquid vaporised the
vapor may pass into a reservoir when used for reciprocating engines, or the feed
pump may force liquid through the heater at the proper instant, the heater having
been accumulating heat in the interval between the strokes. When used in
connection with engines of the rotary or turbine type, the vapor will pass
continuously from the heater to the engine.
The quantity of liquid heated or of steam generated may be regulated by
automatic movement of the furnace damper in connection with automatic
arrangements for varying the feed and re-arranging the grouping of the cells so
that some which were in parallel may be connected in series or vice-versa, their
respective flues may at the same time have their grouping re-arranged. In most
cases I prefer to have the heater arranged with its axis coincident with the axis of
the flue, so that the furnace gases flow between the heater and the walls of the flue
along their length.
2. In my improved method of converting superheated liquid into vapor for
motive power purposes I arrange that the superheated liquid is withdrawn from
the heater and sent into the engine cylinder in the liquid form, being admitted
thereto during a portion of the stroke. After communication has been cut off
between the heater and the engine cylinder, and as the piston continues its stroke,
part of the liquid is converted into vaj
Theat
due to reduction of pressure. The
remaining liquid is pumped back into the heater and the vapor is further expanded
in one or more other cylinders, after which it may be either condensed and returned
to the heater or discharged into the atmosphere; or, sufficient liquid may be with-
drawn from the heater into an intermediate receiver where a portion of it will be
vaporised after communication has been established between the said receiver and
the cylinder of the motor. The liquid remaining is then withdrawn from the
receiver and returned to the heater by means of a pop. The vapor after having

page_text: done work in the first cylinder may pass into an intermediate reservoir, from which
it may be sent into other cylinders or wherever it may be required. In this form
of engine I may arrange for all the expansion to take place in the first cylinder.
instead of its being continued in two or more cylinders as indicated above.
"
In a molification of this arrangement instead of the fluid leaving the heater in
a vaporisel state. I take advantage of the discovery of M. Cagniand-de-la Tour
namely, that if a liquid be heated in a confined space up to a certain point know
これら Andrews critical point (see Doctor Andrew's Bakerian lecture in the
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society for 1869, the whole of it
becomes homogeneous, and if the pressure be then reduced the whole will
into
pass
vapor. In applying this discovery I arrange that the liquil shall have its
temperature continuously increased as it passes through the heater so that just
before it leaves the heater for the engine cylinder its temperature will have risen
up to or above the critical point, or the liquid may be withdrawn into a receiver,
in this homogeneous condition and from this receiver sent into the engine cylinder
in the form of vapor. By adopting either of these methods the heating surface is
rendered much more efficient than when vapor is generated in the ordinary way,
for then a large proportion of the heating surfaces is always covered with bubbles,
the vapor of which offers much greater resistance to the passage of heat than the
liquid does.
I know that it has previously been proposed to raise water to a high temperature,
and after withdrawal from the heater to allow a portion to flash into steam by
reduction of pressure in an intermediate vessel, but this method is much less efficient
than the method described above, where the pressure is only reduced as work is
done. When this method is adopted in connection with an engine of the turbine
type, I may arrange for a continuous flow of superheated liquid from the heater
into a steam separator from which the steam passes through the turbine, and the
water is pumped back into the heater but I prefer in some cases to arrange that
the steam shall be ballasted by a portion of the accompanying liquid, as hereinafter
described for the purpose of reducing the velocity of the steam. In using this
method of generating vapor the liquid may be superheated in a heater of the type
described above, or in a tube or series of tubes, or in a boiler of the ordinary type.
In any of these cases, in order to avoid shocks and to render the action more
continuous, I place an air vessel both on the feed side and on the delivery side of
the heater.
In order to prevent the air in these air vessels being dissolved and carried away
by the water,
arrange a layer of oil between the water and the air in the air
vessels. Instead of using an air vessel on the delivery side I may arrange a vessel
similar to an air vessel in which the water is maintained at a sufficiently high
temperature to partially fill this vessel with vapor.
3. In my improved means of utilizing heated fluids in connection with rotary
or turbine engines I arrange that the vapor shall be caused to carry a considerable
amount of liquid along with it so that the velocity of the combined stream will be
considerably less than the velocity of unballasted vapor issuing under the same
pressure. This liquid may be communicated to the vapor either before it leaves
the heater or at any time prior to its action on the turbine.
By doing this I am enabled to run the turbine at a much less velocity than if it
were driven by the vapor alone. The same object may be attained by injecting a
spray of water into oil heated to a high temperature, the particles of water become
vaporised but the vapor remains enclosed by films of oil. These films being carried
along with the vapor reduce its velocity. I may also attain the same object by
ballasting the steam with the furnace gases: or a portion of them, the steam in
this case as it flows from the heater will act as a steam blast in accelerating the
draught of the furnace. In all these cases I may arrange to discharge the vapor
from the turbine into the chimney to assist the draught, the liquid being previously
separated from it.
4. My improved method of returning the condensed vapor to the beater, when

page_text: the motor is of the rotary or turbine type, depends on the fact, that the kinetic
energy of the vapor as it enters the condenser, is greater than the kinetic energy
of the same weight of liquid flowing from the heater, through a suitably formed
pipe, into the condenser.
5. When the temperature of the working fluid is very high I protect the piston
by means of a large body of liquid on which the working fluid acts and thus
transmits its energy to the piston. By making part of the vessel or cylinder
containing the liquid of a larger area than the piston, I can arrange that the hot
fluid shall only come in contact with a small portion of the sides of the vessel,
without reducing the length of the piston's stroke, for example if the diameter of
the vessel containing the oil is twice the diameter of the piston the distance
though which the surface of the oil is displaced will be only of the piston's
stroke. This oil vessel may be an enlarged part of the cylinder in some cases.
The oil itself may be protected in the latter case by a screen of nonconducting
material arranged to float on its surface. When this method is used in connection
with a single acting engine I employ a small pump to pump back the oil which
leaks past the piston.
6. In order to produce and maintain a continuous flow of liquid for the production
of motive power by means of turbines or other suitable motors, I employ (a) a
pump and an accumulator as follows. The pump consists simply of a vessel which
is alternately put into communication with a steam generator and a condenser.
When it is in connection with the condenser the liquid flows into it through an
automatic valve and when it is in communication with the steam generator this
liquid is forced into an accumulator from which it flows to the turbine. By suitably
proportioning the parts I may arrange for the steam to be worked expansively, the
energy given to the liquid by the steam being sufficient to enable it to enter the
accumulator, although the pressure of the steam may have fallen considerably
below the pressure in the accumulator. The liquid after passing through the
turbine may flow into a reservoir from which it is again withdrawn by the pump.
This reservoir may be arranged to act as an accumulator or air vessel, the surplus
energy in the liquid after it leaves the turbine being sufficient to force it into the
accumulator. In this way the efficiency of the system will be increased.
In another method (6) I employ a jet of steam to maintain a flow of liquid
through the turbine. The steam in this case may have been previously ballasted
as herein before described, so that on striking the liquid less eddy currents will be
produced owing to the velocity of the steam having previously been greatly reduced.
The heater is replenished from the circulatory system by a pump, an injector or
other suitable means.
Another method (c) is obtained by combining the two methods already described
under thirdly and fourthly. In this method the vapor flowing from the heater is
ballasted by liquid flowing from an accumulator, from which the heater is also fed.
It then passes through the turbine, from thence through the condenser from which
it is forced into the accumulator, from the accumulator a portion of it is forced into
the heater and another portion flows into the steam pipe to ballast the steam.
this case the condenser is arranged to act as a separator, so that the water, which
has been used to ballast the steam, may fall through it without coming in contact
with the cool surfaces.
In
In another method (d) employ a pulsometer to maintain a circulation of the
liquid, a portion of the liquid being withdrawn from the eduction pipe and returned
to the heater, either directly or through an air vessel, the rest of it passing
through the turbine and back to the pulsometer either directly or through an
air vessel. In all these methods I have the pipes and other parts lagged with
non-conducting material to reduce waste of heat.
7. One of my improved combinations for the production of motive power consists
of the heater herein-before described, a turbine propelled by means of ballasted
steam or by means of a liquid propelled as herein described together with my
method of returning the condensul vapor to the heater.

page_text: In most of the herein described modifications for the production of motive power
d for other purposes, I may use as the fluid, water, aqua ammonia, ether,
etroleum, spirit or any other suitable fluid.
The nature of my invention will be better understood on reference to the accom-
anying sheets of drawings in which the same letters refer to similar parts
roughout the several views.
The four figures un Sheet 1. represents the rectangular form of my improved
Fig. Ha longitudinal section and
Fig. 4. a transverse section.
The bolts which bind the plates together, have been omitted, except in Fig. 4.
The nuts and bolt ends are protected from the direct action of the furnace gases
by caps of suitable material. In the heater represented, the different plates arc
cast or rolled to the section shewn, and the joint surfaces are planed or milled.
The liquid enters by the pipe p, passes along the thin rectangular cell a. to the
other end of the pile, then up through the channel . to the cell above and
backwards and forwards through the successive cells, as indicated by the arrows,
until it reaches the top of the pile, and ultimately leaves the heater, through
the pipe, either in the liquid or the gaseous form. The heater is placed in
a suitable flue, lined with non-conducting material, through which the furnace
ga-es pass.
Fig. 5. Sheet 2. represents a section of one modification of the concentric
cylinder type of heater." The liquid enters by the pipe p', passes along the con-
centric spaces to the other end of the compound tube, and emerges by the pipe p
either in the liquid or gaseous form. The furnace gases pass through the inner tube /
and about the outer tube . These two tubes are fastened together and the space
between them, rendered steam-tight, by one being screwed into the other as shewn.
The ends of the tubes are protected from the direct action of the furnace gases
by the asbestos lined caps C. The inner tube 'may have internal ribs of the
Serve type.
"
Fig. 6. Sheet 3. is a section of a modified form of the concentric tubular type of
heater as arranged for driving a steam turbine. The water enters by the pipe p',
passes along the concentric spaces, and emerges from this space as indicated by
the arrow at b. The furnace gases within the fine tube pass through the inner
tube, and around the outer tube 2, giving up a portion of their heat to the
tubes and and then combining as indicated by the arrows a. b. c. with the steam
emerging from the heater as indicated at b. The combined stream of steam and
furnace gases then flows along to the turbine shewn, after which the gases are
discharged into the atmosphere either directly or into the chimney so as to further
accelerate the draught. By ballasting the steam with the products of combustion
in this way, its velocity is greatly reduced and I am thus enabled to run the
turbine at a more reasonable speed than has hitherto been possible with an efficient
steam turbine. The steam may be further ballasted by forcing the water through
the henter at such a rate as to cause a portion of it to be carried along with the
steam in the form of spray.
The heaters as shewn in Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5, may be used for superheating
liquids for the purposes described under secondly above-the superheated liquid
being utilized as herein-after described.
By uniting the concentric tubes as shewn, they may be easily taken apart for
the removal of solid matter which may have been deposited by the liquid being
heated. The small space between the concentric tubes may however be kept
comparatively free from deposit by arranging that the water shall be heated
to near its boiling point before it reaches the small space between the concentric
tubes.
This will cause the bulk of the deposit to take place prior to its entering the

page_text: contracted spaces. This preliminary heating may be done in a feed-water heater of
the usual type. A number of compound tubes similar to the one shewn may be
combined to form a heater on a large scale. When thus combined the furnace
gases may be caused to flow across the outside of the external tubes transversely
and then caused to pass through the inner tubes on their way to the chimney.
Fig. 7. Sheet 3. represents an outline of my improved combination for returning
the condensed vapor to the heater. The two circuits in which the circulation takes
place are indicated by arrows and an inspection of the figure will render the
arrangement easily understood.
As muy be seen in this diagram the steam passes from the heater through the
turbine and into the injector where it is condensed by contact with the water drawn
from the cooling reservoir.
By suitably adjusting the injector it will keep a constant quantity overflowing
into the cooling reservoir to be used over and over again.
The injector is automatically regulated according to the amount of work being
done by the turbine.
Figures 8, 9, 10 and 11, Sheet 4. represent a front elevation, longitudinal
section, end elevation and plan respectively of my improved means of maintaining
and utilizing a fluid current for the production of motive power as indicated in
sixthly (a) above. . is the main foundation of the engine and in it are two com-
partments which serve as reservoirs for compressed air and the circulating liquid,
which may be dense mineral oil. c. is the cylinder in which the steam acts on a
column of oil instead of on a piston of the ordinary type, forcing a portion of the
oil at each stroke through the automatic valves into the high pressure
reservoir. From this reservoir the oil under pressure of the air above it flows
continuously up the pipe p', then through the turbine t, and down the pipe p², as
indicated by the arrows, into the low-pressure reservoir From the low-pressure
reservoir the oil, under pressure of the air above it, flows through the automatic
valves up the pipe p³, back into the cylinder c, during the time the steam is
being exhausted from c. , is the steam pipe, and, p, the exhaust pipe. The
admission of the steam to the cylinder c. and its exhaust therefrom are controlled
by the piston valves contained in the valve chambers a, these valves are actuated
from a counter shaft ² as shown.
The steam valve is opened by means of an eccentric cone e', which acts through
the valve rod; the eccentric cone e', whilst rotating with the counter-shaft is free
to slide along it and a centrifugal governor, is caused to vary the position of the
eccentric cone so that more or less of it is caused to act on the valve rod r³, and in
this way the point of cut off, of the steam is varied automatically according to the
work being done by the engine. The exhaust valve is actuated by a came,
operating through the valve rod. The steam and exhaust valves are
automatically closed by the unbalanced pressures on the two ends of the piston
valves, owing to the reduction in area on one side due to the valve rods, or, the
valves may be closed automatically by means of springs. The governor may also
be caused to operate a valve, regulating the flow of oil through the turbine. The
counter shaft 2 is driven from the main shaft by means of the worm w. and a
worm wheel.
By varying the length of the cylinder c, this system may be used for almost any
pressure of steam as the inertia of the column of oil in c. will enable the steam to
he worked expansively, the oil continuing to flow from c. into the high-pressure
reservoir after the pressure in c. has fallen considerably below the pressure
in r¹.
In applying my improved method of using superheated water for motive power
purposes as described in secondly above-1 prefer to use an engine of the type just
described on Sheet 4. In this case the superheated water will be admitted by the
pipe and its corresponding piston valve into the cylinder . A portion of the
Superheated water will be converted into steam which will act on the column of oil
before described. The unevaporated water will collect in the bottom of the

page_text: high pressure reservoir and from thence it will be pumped back to the heater to
be reheated.
My method of maintaining a circulation of liquid as described in sixthly (b) may
be applied in connection with my heater as shewn in Figure 6. Sheet 3. In this
case the circulating liquid will be admitted to the inner double cone by the pipe
represented by the dotted circle m. From this inner cone the liquid passes through
holes or spaces as indicated by the dotted arrows into the space'n. surrounding the
upper part of the cone where it is acted upon by the current of steam and furnace
gases, the latter giving up a portion of their energy to maintain the liquid current.
The furnace gases on separating from the combined stream are discharged into the
atmosphere.
In the accompanying drawings, I have represented the circulating liquid as
acting on a turbine but I may use any convenient form of water motor instead, and
in some cases I prefer to use a wheel of the "Pelton" type.
In the drawings on Sheet 4. I have represented the steam as acting in one
cylinder only, but I may use two or more cylinders each discharging oil into the
same high pressure reservoir and each being charged from the same low pressure
reservoir.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my inven
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is
1. In a vessel or vessels for heating liquids or for converting liquids into vapor
the arrangement and combination of parts comprising a series of plain rectangular
plates or a series of concentric tubes so constructed and formed that the liquid
Hows over the heated surfaces in thin sheets such parts being built up and secured
together in such a manner that they may be readily taken asunder for the cleansing
of the internal passages or other purposes in the manner and for the purposes
substantially as herein described and illustrated.
2. in converting superheated liquid into vapor for motive power and the like
purposes the arrangement and combination of parts and appliances by means of
which the super-heated liquid is passed from the heater either into an intermediate
reservoir placed near the motor or by which it is conveyed direct to the motor as
for example, into the cylinder of an engine and there converted into vapor, likewise
the arrangement and combination of parts and appliances by which the remaining
or surplus liquid is pumped back into the heater, also the modifications of the fore-
going arrangements by means of which the liquid is raised up to or above its
critical point in the heater and passed from the heater direct to the motor in the
manner and for the purposes substantially as herein described and illustrated.
3. In utilizing heated fluids or vapor for propelling rotary or turbine engines the
methods of ballasting the vapor with more or less liquid or gaseous substance in
order to reduce its velocity in the manner and for the purposes substantially as
herein described and illustrated.
4. In utilizing heated fluids or vapor for propelling rotary or turbine engines
the method of returning the condensed vapor to the heater continuously and
automatically in the manner and for the purposes substantially as herein described
and illustrated.
5. In utilizing heated fluids or vapor in cylinder engines, the method of pro-
tecting the pistons of such engines by the interposition of a large body of liquid
on which the working fluid acts, in the manner and for the purposes substantially
as herein described and illustrated.
6. In utilizing heated fluids or vapor in cylinder engines, the arrangement and
combination of parts by means of which the working fluid is caused to act on the
surface of a body of oil, the area of which is greater than that of the piston, and
by means of which the walls of the cylinder may be protected and loss of heat
prevented, in the manner and for the purposes substantially as herein described
and illustrated.

page_text: 7. In utilizing and maintaining fluid currents for the production of motive power
the particular arrangement and combination of parts and appliances as described
in the foregoing Specification under the head sixthly, A, and more particularly
described and illustrated in Figs. 8, 9, 10 and 11 on the accompanying fourth sheet
of drawings and references connected therewith, in the manner and for the purposes
substantially as herein described and illustratel.
8. In utilizing and maintaining fluid currents for the production of motive power
the particular arrangement and combination of parts and appliances as described
in the foregoing Specification, under the head sixthly, B. and Fig. 6. on the accom-
panying third sheet of drawings and references connected therewith in the manner
and for the purposes substantially as herein described and illustrated.
9. In utilizing and maintaining fluid currents for the production of motive power
the particular arrangement and combination of parts and appliances as described in
the foregoing Specification under the head sixthly, C. in the manner and for the
purposes substantially as herein described and illustrated.
10. In utilizing and maintaining fluid currents for the production of motive power
the particular arrangement and combination of parts and appliances as described in
the foregoing Specification under the head sixthly, D. in the manner and for the
purposes substantially as herein described and illustrated.
11. In utilizing and maintaining fluid currents for the production of motive power
the combined arrangement of parts and appliances comprising the heater or heaters
herein before described under firstly and illustrated on Sheets 1, 2 and 3 of the
accompanying drawings. The turbine propelled by means of ballasted steam as
described under the head thirdly and more particularly described and illustrated in
Fig. 6, Sheet 3, of the accompanying drawings and the references thereto, together
with the method of returning the condensed vapor to the heater as described under
the head fourthly, and illustrated in Fig. 7. Sheet 3. of the accompanying
drawings and references thereto, in the manner and for the purposes substantially
as herein described and illustrated.
12. In utilizing and maintaining fluid currents for the production of motive
power the combined arrangement of parts and appliances comprising the heater or
heaters herein-before described under firstly and illustrated on Sheets 1, 2 and 3
of the accompanying drawings. The turbine propelled by means of a liquid
propelled as herein-before described under sixthly A. B. C and D and illustrated in
Figs. 8, 9, 10 and 11 Sheet 4. and Fig. 6. Sheet 3. of the accompanying drawings
and references thereto, in the manner and for the purposes substantially as herein
described and illustrated.
Dated this 10th day
Danom 1001
R. HEBER RADFORD,
Agent for the Applicant.