IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM BOILERS
Year: 1882

page_text: 61
IMPROVEMENTS
LETTERS PATENT to John Imray of No 28 Southampton Buildings Chancery
Lane in the County of Middlesex for an invention of
IN STEAM BOILERS" A communication from abroad by Joseph Philippe
Bordone of Paris in the Republic of France.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Imray at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents on the 18th April 1882.
JOHN IMRAY of No 28 Southampton Buildings Chancery Lane in the County of
Middlesex "IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM BOILERS " [A communication from abroad
by Joseph Philippe Bordone of Paris in the Republic of France.]
A steam boiler according to this invention consists of three parts, the fire box,
the body of the boiler and the heater which are separate but connected by tubes.
These parts are so arranged that the water circulates from the coolest to the
hottest part in a direction opposite to that taken by the products of combustion.
The water rests for a time in the heater which is the coolest part and there
deposits matters suspended or dissolved in it, whilst in the other parts of the boiler
the circulation is rapid and vaporisation is active. There is no firegrate, the fuel
being burnt in thick layers and fuel such as anthracite and the like that will only
burn in large masses can be used. The air required for combustion enters through
passages formed in the lower and back surfaces and in a portion of the side walls
of the fire box. All the walls being surrounded with water as with most boilers
having internal furnaces, these air passages are formed by tubes passing from the
outer to the inner wall and secured in a watertight manner. The surface of fuel
under combustion can be very variable according to the thickness of the layer, the
width of the surface in combustion being equal to the chord formed by the inter-
section of this surface with the circular transverse section of the fireplace. If the
layer is of slight thickness the surface is almost nil, it is at its maximum when the
thickness at the back wall attains about the middle of the height of the fire box.
The various thicknesses of fuel are provided for by closing the air passages which
are not covered with fuel by external plugs, a number of which for each horizontal

page_text: row of passages may be fixed on one bar. Such fire boxes having hollow cross
stays may be worked with forced draught, air being blown through the interiors
of the hollow stays; and such fire boxes may be used for porcelain and other kilns
or ovens.
As the gases have a triple circulation in the generator, they are completely
consumed without producing smoke, and in consequence of its construction the
boiler is not liable to explosion. It may be arranged as a vertical or horizontal
boiler, and existing boilers may be altered so as to work according to the invention
without fire grates. The heater which is usually in front of the cylindrical body
of a horizontal boiler is preferably arranged to serve as the chamber whence the
Hame returns, From near the lower part of the heater there is a pipe with
branches extending into the body of the boiler whence other tubes return to the
upper part of the heater, a cock or valve being provided for admitting water from
the heater to the boiler. The interior flue tube of the boiler is provided with a
Jarge number of radiating tubes which form communications between the different
parts of the hoiler and present a large heating surface for the action of the products
of combustion. When these gases, have passed through the body of the boiler to
the chamber containing the heater they return towards the front through a
cylindrical fluo also provided with radiating tubes, and by a third flue provided
with tubes they are led back to the chimney. At the base of the chimney is a
smoke box containing a superheater for the steam, the metal of which is not
injured by the gases which at that point have only moderate heat.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent and
of an Order of the Lord Chancellor filed by the said John Imray in the Great
Seal Patent Office on the 3rd November 1882.
JOHN IMRAY, of No. 28 Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, in the County of
Middlesex "IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM BOILERS A communication from abroad
by Joseph Phillippe Bordone of Paris in the Republic of France.
A steam boiler according to this invention consists of three parts, the fire box,
the body of the boiler and the heater which are separate but connected by tubes.
These parts are so arranged that the water circulates from the coolest to the
hottest part in a direction opposite to that taken by the products of combustion.
The water rests for a time in the heater, which is the coolest part and there
deposits matters suspended or dissolved in it, whilst in the other parts of the
boiler the circulation is rapid and vaporisation is active. There is no firegrate,
the fuel being burnt in thick layers, and fuel such as anthracite and the like that
will only burn in large masses can be used. The air required for combustion
enters through passages formed in the lower and back surfacos and in a portion of
the side walls of the fire box. All the walls being surrounded with water as with
most boilers having internal furnaces, these air passages are formed by tubes
passing from the outer to the inner wall, and secured in a watertight manner.
The construction of the improved steam boiler will be readily understood on
reference to the accompanying drawings in which Fig: 1 shews a longitudinal
section, Fig: 2 a part plan and part horizontal section on line A. B. Fig: 3 a part
front view and part section on line C. D., Fig: 4 a part section on line E F, and
part section on line G. H. A is the fire box, B the boiler or generator and C, the
henter; the water is made to circulate from the coolest to the hottest part, in the
contrary direction to that in which the gaseous products of combustion flow.
The feed water enters the heater C through the feed opening a, and there
deposits any matter which it holds in suspension or in solution. In the other
parts of the boiler the circulation and evaporation of the water take place very
rapidly. The water passes from the heater through the pipe b while the pipe c
establishes a communication between tho vaporiser and the casing of the firebox.
The fire-box has no grate, the fuel being burnt in a thick layer; thus there may
be used as fuel for this boiler anthracite or other material that can only be burnt
in comparatively large masses
The air required for combustion enters through the openings d. d. formed in the
lower part, the ond surface and part of the side of the fire-box. These surfaces
being all water-jacketted, as in most boilers with internal fireplace, the said
openings are formed by means of tubes d d passing from the outer to the inner skin,
in which they are fixed in a water-tight manner. The surface of the fuel in a
state of combustion can be very variable, according to the thickness of the layer,
as the area of such surface will be in proportion to the chord formed by its inter-
section with the circular section of the fire-box; if the layer is thin the surface is
very small, while it attains a maximum when the layer attains the height of the
middle of the fire-box. On the other hand it is necessary to adjust the openings d
according to the thickness of the layer by closing those that are not covered with
the fuel, which is effected by means of plugs inserted from the outside. These
plugs are fixed in rows on bars, so as to be inserted simultaneously into all the
openings of one row.
These fire-boxes with double sides having tubular strutts or ties, can if desired
be worked by means of an air supply under pressure, the air being forced in
through the tubes d; in this case the fire box can also be used for furnaces for
ceramic and other manufactures

page_text: The gascous products of combustion are caused to pass consecutively through the
separate cylindrical flues E. F. C. H, beforo escaping into the chimney, these flues
being connected with each other by means of branch tubes I. I; by this means a
perfect combustion of the gases is effected and the production of smoke is
provented. By the peculiar construction of the flues, stayed across by means of
transverse water-tubes K K, explosions are rendered practically impossible.
When the gaseous products from the fire-box have passed through the principal
flue E they are led to the front again in the two flues F. H, also provided with
transverse tubes, and thence they pass through the flue G to the chimney.
The boiler may be arranged either horizontally, as aliewn, or vertically; and
the improvements, more particularly the construction of the fireplace without
grating, may be applied to existing boilers.
Having thus describod, the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed as communicated to me by my foreign correspondent,
I claim :-
The herein described improved construction of steam boiler, wherein are
combined three parts, namely a fire box, a steam generator and a feed-water heater,
separate from, but communicating with each other by means of tubes or pipes.
In witness whereof I, the said John Imray, have hereunto set my hand and
seal this thirtieth day of October in the year of our Lord, one thousand
eight hundred and