Year: 1889

page_text: We, CHARLES FREDERICK DIXON, of The Cleveland Bridge and Engineering
Company of Darlington, in the County of Durham, Engineer, and WILLIAM NATHAN
DACK of 10 Byron Street Patricroft in the County of Lancaster Engineer do hereby
declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
Our invention relates to improvements in steam boilers and more particularly to
steam boilers of the Babcock and Wilcox Water Tube Safety Boiler type such as that
shown and described in the Specification to Letters Patent No. 1154 A.D. 1873 in
which the water is heated in a number of obliquely set or inclined tubes and the chief
objects of our improvements are to insure an active circulation of water through the
tubes and also to separate and remove mud and other impurities from river and other
impure water when such is used.
In the Babcock and Wilcox boiler aforesaid a pipe is employed connected at one
end to the steam or separating vessel at the top of the boiler and at the other end to
the upper end of the chamber or chambers in which the lower ends of the inclined
tubes are fixed. We now propose according to our improvements to connect this
pipe to a vessel placed at or near the bottom of the boiler and in communication with
the lower end of the said chamber whereby the lower inclined tubes are fed first and
perfect circulation of thewater is insured. The feedwater pipe is preferably connected
to this pipe and when advantageous or desirable we propose to employ a scum plate
or trough fixed at or about the water level in the steam vessel and to place within the
larger pipe above named a smaller pipe in communication with this scum plate; this
inner pipe terminates a convenient distance above the vessel at the bottom of the
boiler so that the flow of water circulating through the larger pipe will draw down
through the inner pipe the scum collected by the plate or trough and carry it to the
vessel at the bottom of the boiler. This vessel acts as a mud drum and is provided
with a blow off cock and when impure water is used we propose to fill or partially fill
the vessel with suitable filtering material.
For the purpose of connecting the end chambers of the inclined tubes to the upper
and lower vessels we propose to employ for each vessel a forging or casting rivetted
circumferentially to one end of its vessel and which is formed to receive the pipes
from the chambers. A convenient method of securing these pipes to each forging or
casting is to leave the connection side of the latter open and to fit in this opening a
trough of metal in the bottom of which holes are formed to receive the ends of the
pipes the trough piece being secured by rivetting or otherwise to the forging or
casting.
The pipes for connecting the forgings to the chambers may be fixed in any
convenient manner but we prefer to employ a nut and screw to enable the parts to
be readily disconnected and connected together.

page_text: Improvements in Steam Boilers.
We, CHARLES FREDERICK DIXON, of The Cleveland Bridge and Engineering
Company of Darlington, in the County of Durham, Engineer, and WILLIAM NATHAN
DACK, of 10 Byron Street, Patricroft in the County of Lancaster, Engineer, 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:-
Our invention relates to improvements in steam boilers and more particularly to
steam boilers of the Babcock and Wilcox Water Tube Safety Boiler type such as that
shown and described in the Specification to Letters Patent No. 1154 A.D. 1873 in
which the water is heated in a number of obliquely set or inclined tubes and the
chief objects of our improvements are to insure an active circulation of water through
the tubes and also to separate and remove mud and other impurities from river and
other impure water when such is used.
In the Babcock and Wilcox boiler aforesaid a pipe is employed connected at one
end to the steam or separating vessel at the top of the boiler and at the other end to
the upper end of the chamber or chambers in which the lower ends of the inclined
tubes are fixed. We now propose according to our improvements to connect this pipe
to a vessel placed at or near the bottom of the boiler and in communication with the
lower end of the said chamber whereby the lower inclined tubes are fed first and
perfect circulation of the water is insured. The feed water pipe is preperably connected
to this pipe and when advantageous or desirable we propose to employ a scum plate
or trough fixed at or about the water level in the steam vessel and to place within the
larger pipe above named a smaller pipe in communication with this scum plate; this
inner pipe terminates a convenient distance above the vessel at the bottom of the
boiler so that the flow of water circulating through the larger pipe will draw down
through the inner pipe the scum collected by the plate or trough and carry it to the
vessel at the bottom of the boiler. This vessel acts as a mud drum and is provided
with a blow off cock and when impure water is used we propose to fill or partially fill
the vessel with suitable filtering material.
And in order that our invention may be fully understood and readily carried into
effect we will describe the accompanying Sheet of Drawings reference being had to
the figures and letters marked thereon.
Figure is a side sectional elevation, Fig. 2 an end sectional elevation, Fig. 3
an end elevation and Fig. 4 is a sectional plan of a water tube steam generator to
which our improvements have been applied.
In these views-a designates the inclined water tubes, b the front and c the back
headers or chambers, d the steam and water drum or separating vessel and e the fire
grate is the larger pipe at one end connected to the rear end of the steam and water
drum d and at the other end connected to the lower vessel or mud drum g which is
connected to the lower end of the back-headers or chamber c. The mud drum g is
provided with a blow off cock h and has fixed in it a perforated plate or equivalent
partition upon which is placed a layer or layers of filtering materials which may if
necessary be retained in position by a superposed perforated plate or by a layer of
heavy materials or other suitable means.
At the lower end of the large pipe is fitted a wing valve which is kept normally
open but is closed when the inclined tubes v are to be blown through for the purpose
of cleansing the filtering materials of any solid matter they may have retained."
In the steam and water drum d and above the large pipe is fixed the trough or
scum plate to which is connected the small pipe m which is supported inside the
large pipe and terminates at any convenient distance above the drum g.
The feed water pipe o may be connected at any suitable and convenient point but
we prefer to connect it to the pipe f as shown at a point slightly above the lower end
of the small pipe m.

page_text: In operation if the boiler be filled with cold water to its working level i.e. about the
centre of the steam and water drum d and a fire be lighted in the grate e the water
in the tubes a immediately above the grate e will first become heated and consequently
as soon as evaporation begins the steam rises in the inclined tubes a through the front
headers or chamber b and is separated from the water in the drum d. The circulation
having thus commenced water will flow from the steam and water drum d down the
pipe to the bottom of the mud drum g where the heavy impurities are deposited and
the water rising passes thence to the filtering materials through the back headers or
chamber c thus reaching the lower end of the inclined tubes a in a pure state.
The scum and lighter impurities are collected from the surface of the water in the
drum d by the trough and drawn to the mud drum g through the small pipe m by
the current of water flowing downward through the large pipe. The impurities
deposited in the drum g may be blown through the cock h at any time.
In cases where the feed water is comparatively pure the filter may be dispensed
with and the vessel g used as a mud drum only.
For the purpose of connecting the headers or end chambers b, c of the inclined
tubes a to the upper and lower vessels i.e. the steam and water drum d and mud
drum we propose to employ for each vessel a forging or casting p p rivetted
circumferentially to one end of its respective vessel d or g which is formed to receive
the pipes or nipples s s' from the headers or chambers b, c. A convenient method of
securing these pipes or nipples s s' to each forging or casting p p is to leave the
connection side of the latter open and to fit in this opening a trough of metal p² in
the bottom of which holes are formed to receive the ends of the pipes or nipples s s'
the trough piece being secured by rivetting or otherwise to the forging or casting.
The pipes or nipples s for connecting the forgings p p to the headers or
chambers b, c may be expanded or fixed in any convenient manner but we prefer
to employ a nut and screwto enable the parts to be readily disconnected and connected
together.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what we
claim is :--
1. In a water tube steam generator the combination with the inclined water tubes.
of a combined mud drum and filter connected to the lower end of the rear headers
or chamber and also to the steam and water drum substantially as and for the purposes
specified.
2. In a water tube steam generator the combination with the inclined water tubes.
of the vessel g, the large pipe f the trough or scum plate and the small pipe m all
substantially as herein set forth for the purposes specified.
3. The improved mode of connecting the front headers or chamber to the steam and
water drum and the rear headers or chambers to the vessel g substantially as herein
described and shown.