Improvements in Separators for Steam Boilers or Generators.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 17th June, 1891-Accepted, 18th July, 1891
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Separators for Steam Boilers or Generators.
I, CHARLES DELL MOSHER, of 19 Whitehall Street, New York, County and
State of New York, United States of America, Gentleman, do hereby declare the
nature of my invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be
particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
This invention has for its object to provide efficient and practical-means for
separating all particles of water from the steam generated in a boiler or steam drum,
so that the steam will pass from said boiler or 'drum to the engine in a perfectly dry
condition and without carrying any water with it. The invention consists in the
improvements which I will now proceed to describe and claim.
Of the accompanying drawings forming a part of this Specification, Figure 1
represents a longitudinal section of a boiler or steam drum provided with a
separator embodying my invention. Fig. 2 represents a section on line-2,-2,-Fig.-1,
on a larger scale. Figs. 3 and 4 represent views of modifications.
The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in both of the-figures.
In the drawings-
i
.
a represents a steam drum or boiler which may be one of the drums shown 'in
United States Letters Patent No. 432,76", granted to me July 22, 1890,-or-a-drum
or boiler of any other suitable construction. b represents a hood or casing-located
in the upper portion of the drum or boiler a, said casing being above-the water line
of said boiler. The upper portion of the casing b is provided with-a-large number of
orifices b¹ which serve to admit steam from the steam space of the boiler to the interior
of the casing b. The perforated portion of the casing includes only the extreme
upper part of the same, the lower portion being imperforate, as shown-in-Fig. 2, and
provided with downwardly projecting flanges 62 which are separated by a conduit
or passage for the downward passage of water from the interior of the casing, the
lower edges of said flanges being contained in a horizontal trough e, which when filled
with water co-operates with the flanges 62 in forming a seal, preventing the passage
of steam from the steam space of the boiler upwardly through said conduit into the
casing, the object of said conduit being simply tol permit the downward passage of
water from the casing into the main body of water in the drum or boiler a, the
water flowing downwardly through said conduit displacing the surrounding water
in the trough c and causing the same to overflow.
.
'Within' the casing b is a tube or flue d'which is closed at its' upper portion and is
open at the end d', its other end extending through the exterior of the drum ör
boiler and being connected outside of the same with a pipe or conduit which
conveys-steam from the boiler to the engine. The lower portion of the tube or
flued is provided with a longitudinal slot or opening d, Fig. 2, which is preferably
formed by making the tube of a sheet of metal curved into tubular form-but having
one edge overlapping the other, the two edges being separated by the slot d³. *Said
slot is located directly over the conduit between the flanges 62-6 so that any water
that may find its way into the tube or flue d, as hereinafter described, will pass out
of the said tube or flue through the 'slot d² into the conduit between the flanges 26.
Within the tube or flue d and extending preferably the entire length thereof is a
spiral blade or diaphragm d³ which is a strip of sheet metal bent into a spiral form
like an auger blade. Said diaphragm causes the steam that enters the end of
he flued to pass spirally through said flue, the spiral motion of the steam causing
any particles of water that may be carried by it to be thrown outward centrifugally
against the inner surface of the tube or flue d and thus find its way inevitably to
the slot or outlet d².

page_text: :
The operation of the described separator is as follows-
Steam generated in the drum or boiler a enters the upper portion of the casing b
through the perforations in the top thereof and passes to the end d¹ of the
flue or tube d, said end d¹ being the only opening through which the steam can pass
from the casing b. The steam entering the end passes with great rapidity along
the tube or flue d and is caused by the spiral diaphragm to gyrate or move in a
spiral course and thus throw any particles of water that may be carried with it
outwardly against the walls of the tube or flue, said water escaping through the
slot d², as already described. In this way the steam is entirely freed from water
during its passage through the tube or flue d, so that it passes in a dry condition to
the engine.
My invention is not limited to the precise details of construction here shown and
may be modified in various respects without departing from the spirit of the
invention, the essential feature of which is the longitudinal passage or flue arranged
to conduct the steam longitudinally through the upper portion of the boiler and
provided with means for imparting a gyrating er spiral movement to the steam, and
an outlet for the water thrown outwardly by the described motion.
If desired the casing and the trap or check accompanying the same may
be dispensed with, and the flue or tube d with its spiral diaphragm used without
a casing.
It will be observed that the flue or tube d is of spiral form in cross section, the
outer edge being farther from the centre of the tube than the inner. I consider
this form highly advantageous, the inner edge being arranged to arrest or deflect
the water that is being carried around the tube by the gyrating steam, and thus
· ensuring the escape of said water through the slot d².
Fig. 3 shows a slightly modified form of check or trap in which the trough that
contains the accumulation of water that seals the water outlet against the entrance
of steam therethrough is formed as a part of the casing b.
Fig. 4 shows a longitudinal section of a portion of the boiler showing the trough c
-made shorter than in Fig. 1, said trough being located at about the middle of the
length of the separator. In this case the conduit through which the steam passes
from the separator to the trough is contracted at its delivering end or mouth 6³ so
that the steam can escape only into the trough. The object of thus shortening the
'trough and the mouth of the conduit is to confine the water escaping from the
separator in a compact body so that when the boiler is used on a vessel at sea there
will be no liability of the trough being emptied at one end or the other by the
pitching of the vessel.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
--
1. The combination with a steam drum or boiler, of a cylindrical steam conduit
located within the steam space and provided with a continuous strip of metal bent
into a spiral form extending its entire length, said spiral being of a width equal to
the internal diameter of the conduit, whereby two spiral passages are formed in said
conduit.
2. The combination of a steam drum or boiler, a flue or conduit extending through
the steam space of the boiler and provided with an internal spiral diaphragm or
· partition and with a water outlet, and a hood or casing containing said flue and
perforated at its upper portion, said casing having in its lower portion a water outlet
and a seal or check adapted to permit the escape of water from said outlet into
the boiler and prevent the entrance of steam into said outlet, as set forth.
3. The combination of the boiler or drum, the casing having the perforated top
or crown and the downwardly projecting flanges forming a water outlet, a trough
receiving said flanges and sealing the water outlet against the admission of steam,
and the steam flue within said casing and communicating at one end therewith, said
7.

page_text: flue having a spiral diaphragm or partition and an outlet slot or opening communi-
cating with the outlet of the casing, as set forth.
4. The steam flue made of spiral form in cross section, one edge overlapping the
other, said edges being separated by a slot or outlet opening, combined with a spiral
diaphragm or partition in said flue, as set forth.
Dated this 19th day of Mov AD 1801
CHARLES DELL MOSHER.
Haseltine, Lake & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, Agents for the Applicant.