Improvements in Water-tube Steam Boilers.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 15th Nov., 1898-Accepted, 14th Jan., 1899
Improvements in Water-tube Steam Boilers.
I, RICHARD HUTCHISON, of No. 54, Adams Street, Somerville, in the County
of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, United States of America, Mechanical
Engineer, 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 statoment:-
"
This invention relates to sectional water-tube boilers, and it has for its object to
provide a boiler which may be easily repaired and cleaned, as well as one of in-
expensive and compact construction. The invention consists in the improvements
which 1 shall now proceed to describe and claim.
Of the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification,―
Figure 1 represents a longitudinal sectional view of a boiler constructed in
accordance with my invention.
Figure 2 represents a section on line 2-2, Fig. 1.
Figure 3 represents a section on line 3-3, Fig. 1.
Figure 4 represents a section on line 44, Fig. 2.
Figure 5 represents a detail perspective view, showing the construction of the
side of the furnace.
Figure 6 represents a detail sectional view of one of the top series of manifolds
employed in my boiler.
Figure 7 represents a view similar to Figure 1, showing another embodiment of
my invention.
Figure 8 represents a top plan view, showing still another embodiment.
Figure 9 represents a sectional view, showing a method of arranging the tubes.
The same reference characters indicate the same parts in all the figures.
In carrying out my invention, I construct the heating surface of the boiler, of
a series of manifolds and a series of upright tubes, certain of the manifolds
employed being, if desired, arranged to form a baffle which deflects the products of
combustion in their passage from the furnace.
Referring for the present to Figures 1 to 6, inclusive, of the drawings,―
represents the outer enclosing casing of the boiler, which may be of any pre-
ferred construction. The sides of the casing may be built up as shown in Figure 4,
in which may represent an inner layer of material such as asbestos, a a layer
of magnesia placed outside of the said inner layer, and a thin wall of sheet iron
outside of the layers a¹ a². bb represent the bars composing the grate, e represents
the ashpit, e the ash-pit door, and d the fire-door, which latter covers an opening
formed in a front wall d. e e represent a series of square boxes or manifolds,
placed side by side in the rear of the grate and extending in a longitudinal
direction. Two longer manifolds ele are placed along the side of the boiler at
the base thereof, and are connected with the front ends of the manifolds e, through
two transversely extending manifolds or boxes e which are jointed into the mani-

page_text: folds and e by means of nipples eet. These latter manifolds & do not quite
micet each other in the middle of the boiler, the object of this construction being
to allow for expansion and contraction due to heat. They are raised above the
level of the grate-bars, and serve as an edge for the grate, to prevent injury of the
rear tubes by means of the fire tools. At the rear ends of the manifolds e, and
jointed to the same by means of nipples m³ m', are two mud-drums mm, placed
end to end in the same manner as the manifolds ee. The manifolds and the
manifolds e are preferably formed with hand-holes in their ends for the purpose
of cleaning the manifolds or obtaining access to the tubes, said hand-holes being
covered by hand-hole plates secured in place by means of clamps or bridges e³ and
bolts eº.
hh represent a second or intermediate set of manifolds or square boxes set in
contact, side by side, and extending longitudinally from the front of the boiler
toward the rear thereof, the said manifolds in the present instance being located
directly above the grate and forming the top of the furnace. The rear ends of these
manifolds are connected with the manifolits e by means of upright tubes ff.
99 represent a third series of square boxes or manifolds, arranged side by side
longitudinally of the boiler and forming the top thereof. These manifolds are
connected with the manifolds e and eat the base of the boiler, by means of a
series of upright tubes ff and with the intermediate set of manifolds h by means
of a series of tubes ii and ff. The long tubes ff at the rear and sides of the
boiler are here shown as of a larger size than the short front tubes i i, and either
or both sets of tubes may be staggered in the manifolds, in order to break up and
deflect the hot gases. In the tops of the manifolds g, over each of the tubes, are
formed apertures g g', which are of a size to permit the removal and insertion of
the tubes, and also to allow them to be cleaned. The larger apertures g in the
present instance are shown as covered by inside hand-hole plates secured in
place by means of clamps or bridges g10 and bolts g, and the smaller apertures g
are shown as being screw-threaded and closed by screw-plugs . In the rear end
of each of the manifolds g is formed an oblong aperture g³, through which the
hand-hole plates 98 98 may be inserted and removed. The aperture or hand-hole g
is covered by an inside hand-hole plate ³, held in place by a clamp y' and bolt g³.
In order to permit the ready insertion and removal of the tubes f f connecting
the manifolds and e, I prefer to make said tubes of a diameter considerably less
than that of the tubes af connecting the rear ends of the manifolds h with the
top manifolds g, and locate the former tubes directly in line with the latter tubes,
so that the tubes f¹ may at any time be passed directly through the tubes. It
is also possible, however, to provide for the insertion and removal of these lower
tubes in a convenient manner, by making them only slightly smaller than the
tubes 2, and then after removing one or more of the latter tubes, pass the corre-
sponding tube or tubes f¹ through the apertures in the manifolds, thus exposed.
The preferred manner in which I affix all of the tubes in my improved boiler is
to screw their lower ends into the manifolds and expand their upper ends, but both
ends of the tubes could, if desired, be expanded into their apertures.
j is a steam-and-water drum, connected to the front ends of the top manifolds g
by means of nipples g', and communicating with the manifolds h and e' by means
of downtake tubes. Inside of the drum, in front of the openings for the
manifolds g, is a baffle-plate j. is a steam and safely-valve opening in the top
of the boiler, and ♬ is a dry-pipe connected with said opening. o is an uptake,
located in the present instance in front of the steam-and-water drum i, and designed
to conduct the products of combustion from the tubed space into a flue or stack.
To arrange for cleaning scale and sediment from the intermediate manifolds h,
and to permit access to the ends of the tubes, I provide the front ends of 'the mani-
folds with hand-holes which are covered with inside hand-hole plates secured in
place by means of clumps 3 and bolts h³.
Figures 4 and 5 represent, in detail, a construction suitable for the sides of the
furnace. represent a series of fire-bricks of peculiar shape, arranged along

page_text: the sides of the fire-chamber and built up to a sufficient height to protect the side
tubes from direct contact with the fire. These bricks are of a thickness
slightly less than the spaces between the adjacent tubes, and are superposed in
vertical columus with closely adjoining edges. Each brick is shaped somewhat
like a letter H in which the end recesses are semi-circular so as to fit around the
tubes. The manner of insertion or removal of a brick is illustrated in Figure 5,
the brick being first inserted edgewise between the tubes, and then turned over so
as to lie flat upon the brick below, the adjoining columns of bricks forming a
practically continuous wall, which is held in place by the engagement of the
bricks with the tubes. To replace a single brick in any part of the wall, it is
merely necessary to lift up those bricks above it a sufficient distance, and allow
the said brick to be turned on edge and withdrawn, and a new brick substituted.
This construction may also, if desired, be applied to the roof of the furnace.
It will be seen from the description of the construction and arrangement of the
manifolds and tubes, that the gases and other products of combustion from the fire-
chamber will be deflected around the rear end of the baffle formed by the inter-
mediate manifolds h h, among the rear tubes of the boiler, and will then be con-
ducted in a lateral path among the front tubes and out into the uptake.
The boiler is provided, as will be seen, with an upper chamber or pass for the
gases, and a lower chamber or pass which constitutes the fire-chamber, the two
being connected by a vertical passage. Such a construction is particularly well
suited for marine purposes, because a high-roofed and capacious furnace is obtained,
giving a large combustion-chamber, with a very low center of gravity in the boiler.
The space occupied by the boiler, compared with the heating surface obtained, is
very small. The boiler is easily repaired, since access is obtainable to each
individual tube, and in case of defect, the defective tube or tubes are the only ones
which need to be removed. If one or more of the manifolds burn out or are other-
wise injured, the defective one or ones can be casily and quickly replaced. A
definite and strong circulation is obtained through the straight tubes and mani-
folds, and scale or sediment when deposited can be easily removed.
When two or more boilers of this description are to be placed in batteries or
nests, side by side, it is desirable to extend the manifolds from front to rear, as
shown, in order to give convenient access to their ends; but when a boiler is to
stand singly, with sufficient room at the sides to conduct cleaning and repairing
operations, the manifolds might stand diagonally, or transversely, as shown with
respect to the top series of manifolds in Figure 8, in which latter case two steam-
and-water drums jj are shown, one extending along each side of the boiler. The
position of the steam-drum or drums which may be employed is subject to variation
according to design and to conditions such as the size and shape of the space to be
occupied by the boiler. In Figure 7, I have shown a modification of my invention,
in which the drum is located at the back of the boiler. The said figure illustrates
my invention as embodied in an upright boiler suitable for use ou land. In this
construction, the front and rear tubes f f and ii are elongated, the boiler is
enclosed by a brick casing a, and baffles are provided to deflect the products
of combustion, one extending down from the top of the boiler, toward the inter-
mediate manifolds h, and the other extending up from the rear ends of said mani-
folds toward the top of the boiler. A flue o is provided, near the top of the front
wall of the casing, as an outlet for the products of combustion. In connection
with this form of boiler, I have shown some variations in structure, such as the
addition of a brick arch s beneath the intermediate manifolds h, to form the top of
the furnace; and the division of the manifolds at the top of the boiler into a
front set corresponding to the intermediate manifolds h, and a rear set g's corre-
sponding to the lower manifolds e, the members of the two sets being connected by
nipples In an emergency, where a defect occurs in a manifold, that manifold
and the tubes connected therewith can be entirely removed, the exposed apertures
in the other manifolds stopped by plugs, and the boiler put in use again without
greatly decreasing its efficiency. In Figure 7, the lower manifolds are represented
g

page_text: as provided with hand-holes on them under sides, located beneath each of the
tubes and covered by plates which are held in place by suitable clamping
devices ee. This construction is equally applicable to the manifolds e shown
in Figure 1. In the upright form of boiler, shown in Figure 7, the intermediate
manifolds h do not act directly as a baffle, although the general arrangement of
the tubes and manifolds forming the heating surface of the boiler is the same as
that of the boiler shown in Figures 1 to 4.
An arrangement of tubes for the purpose of deflecting the hot gases is illus-
trated in detail in Figure 9. A single row of tubes ff is here shown in each of
a series of boxes or manifolds e arranged so that the tubes in one row conie opposite
the spaces in the adjoining row. Thus, although unobstructed longitudinal spaces
are left between the different rows of tubes, it will readily appear that the streams
of gases will tend to swing from side to side, and take sinuous paths between the
tubes, as indicated by the undulating lines, the result being that the gases impinge
on practically all sides of the tubes. This effect is not obtained when the tubes
are placed opposite to each other in adjacent rows.
It will be understood that various modifications relating to such structural
details as the cross-sectional shape of the manifolds, the position of the uptake, etc.,
may be made without departing from the spirit of my invention.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:-
1. In a sectional water-tube boiler, a grate, an upper series of manifolds arranged
at the base of the boiler, back of the grate, a back series of tubes connecting the
upper and lower manifolds, an intermediate series of manifolds arranged above
the grate aud terminating forward of the said back tubes, the latter manifolds
being arranged in contact, side by side, and collectively constituting a baffle, a
front series of tubes connecting the intermediate and upper manifolds, and an out-
let for the products of combustion.
2. In a sectional water-tube boiler, a lower series of manifolds arranged at the
base of the boiler, an upper series of manifolds arranged at the top of the boiler,
an intermediate series of manifolds, a back series of relatively long upright tubes
connecting the upper and lower manifolds, a front series of relatively short up-
right tubes connecting the upper and intermediate manifolds, and means in the top
sides of the upper manifolds for permitting the removal, insertion, and cleaning
of the tubes of both serios.
3. A sectional water-tube boiler comprising a grate, a lower series of manifolds
arranged at the base of the boiler and formed with apertures in their ends, means
for closing said apertures, an upper series of manifolds arranged at the top of the
boiler and formed with apertures in their ends, incans for closing said apertures,
a steam-drum connected with the said upper manifolds, a dowutake leading from
said drum, an intermediate series of manifolds formed with apertures in their ends,
means for closing said apertures, a series of upright tubes connecting the upper
and lower manifolds, a second series of upright tubes connecting the upper and
intermediate manifolds, the upper manifolds being formed with apertures above
the several tubes, permitting the removal, insertion, and cleaning thereof, and
means for closing said apertures.
4. A sectional water-tube boiler comprising a grate, a lower series of manifolds
arranged at the base of the boiler, back of the grate, an upper series of manifolds
arranged at the top of the boiler, an intermediate series of manifolds set in contact,
side by side, and constituting a baffle, a series of upright tubes connecting the
upper and lower manifolds, a second series of upright tubes connecting the upper
and intermediate manifolds, and a third series of upright tubes connecting the
lower and intermediate manifolds.
5. In a water-tube boiler, a grate, and a plurality of independent manifolds
arranged end to end across the end thereof, for the purpose specified.

page_text: 6. In a water-tube boiler, two transverse manifolds, and a series of tubes con-
necting the same, one of said manifolds having opposite the tubes provisions for
access thereto, and the other manifold having an imperforate wall opposite the
tubes.
Dated with way of Octob
RICHARD HUTCHISON,
Haseltine, Lake & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C.,
Agents for the Applicant.

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