IMPROVEMENTS IN MEANS AND APPARATUS FOR UTILIZING STEAM AND HEATED AIR AS MOTIVE POWERS
Year: 1882

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Jules Marie Xavier Terlinden
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 12th September 1882.
JULES, MARIE, XAVIER TERLINDEN of Brussels in the Kingdom of Belgium,
Gentleman "IMPROVEMENTS IN MEANS AND APPARATUS FOR UTILIZING STEAM
AND HEATED AIR AS MOTIVE POWERS "
My invention relates to means and apparatus for utilizing steam and heated air
as motive powers with a view to effecting a considerable saving of fuel.
My said invention is based upon the following principles of physics.
It is well known that latent heat is the heat which is absorbed by bodies in
passing from one state to another, but it does not manifest itself by producing an
increase of temperature, thus to convert water at 212 degrees Fahrenheit into steam
requires 5 times as much heat as is necessary to raise the same water from 32
degrees to 212 degrees or 990 degrees and to convert water at 32 degrees Fahrenheit
into steam takes 6 times as much fuel as would be required to boil the same water.
The great consumption of fuel in steam boilers is cause by the amount of latent heat
in the steam.
In non condensing engines, the steam after producing its effect is generally
allowed to escape into the atmosphere or in some cases it is used to heat the feed
water or to promote the combustion of the fuel in the furnace. The steam thus
allowed to escape imparts to the atmosphere or to the bodies with which it comes
in contact the large amount of latent heat it contains and which only manifests
itself when it is condensed. In high pressure engines the exhaust steam is often
discharged at a considerable pressure without being turned to any account.
On the other hand steam when subjected to the action of heat in a closed vessel
increases in temperature and in pressure, each degree of temperature corresponding
[Price 6d1

page_text: with a maximum of pressure. It follows that if steam which has produced its
action in a steam engine be subjected to the action of heat in a closed vessel, a
relatively small quantity of fuel is required (as the said steam still retains its latent
heat) to raise it to a temperature corresponding with the required pressure that is
to say its initial pressure.
Theoretically it would be sufficient to consume once only the quantity of fuel
necessary to produe the required quantity of steam for when the said steam is
recovered and heated over again so as to give it again its required pressure, it still
retains its latent heat.
Practically, through condensation and the escape of the steam a portion of the
steam will always be lost and it must be replaced by a fresh supply of steam.
My invention consists firstly of the means or apparatus hereinafter described for
utilizing steam which has already acted in a steam cylinder and which I call "waste
steam" applicable to existing engines and boilers. I cause the waste steam to re-enter
the boiler which generated it.
For this purpose from the steam dome or upper part of the steam space of the
boiler I cause a certain quantity of steam to pass through a suitable curved pipe
from the top of the boiler back into the body of the same boiler either a little below
or above the level of the water the said curved pipe is provided with suitable valves
or devices for regulating the passage of the steam and is formed so as to enter the
boiler as nearly as possible in a vertical direction. The section of the said pipe at
its upper part being larger than where it enters the boiler.
When the valve or valves of the said pipe is or are opened, a current of steam
from the top of the boiler will pass down the pipe and will re-enter the said boiler
through the lower end of the said pipe.
To the bend of the said pipe near the inlet of steam to the boiler I connect the
exhaust of the steam engine by one or more branch pipes or by a series of pipes
the sections of which are together of equal or less area than that of the exhaust
pipe.
The steam from the top of the boiler circulating freely between the said branch
pipes and passing over their mouths draws in and carries with it into the boiler the
exhaust steam from the engine. Or the exhaust steam from the engine may be
made to pass into a vessel or reservoir of suitable size and in which a vacuum is
created and maintained and from which the exhaust steam is drawn off and made
to enter the boiler by the action of the steam from the top of the boiler re-entering
the said boiler as hereinbefore described.
The exhaust steam of the engine may be drawn or forced into the boiler by a
suitable injector.
By the improvements bereinbefore described the back pressure in steam cylinders
may be considerably reduced.
I will now proceed to describe other means pursued by me in carrying out my
invention. In this I make use of two boilers. The principal boiler of which
generates steam at the pressure required for the engine. The second boiler which
is of great strength and may be much smaller than the first, produces, steam at a
greater pressure.
The said boilers are placed side by side and are heated by the same furnace,
though the fire is made to act principally upon the second boiler.
We will suppose that the engine is worked at a pressure of five atmospheres, the
larger boiler will be made to supply steam at that pressure, but the smaller boiler
will be made to produce steam at a pressure of six, seven, eight atmospheres or a
higher pressure. The two boilers are connected together at the top by means of a
suitable pipe provided with a valve and the said pipe near or close to the larger
boiler is connected with the exhaust of the engine (or with a receptacle into which
the exhaust from the engine is discharged) either directly or by means of a pipe or
tube or pipes or tubes or of a series of tubes as hereinbefore described. When the
valve is opened the superheated steam from the smaller boiler rushes into the
larger boiler more or less violently according to the difference of pressure in the

page_text: two boilers and the steam draws in with it the exhaust steam from the engine
producing at the same time a vacuum behind the piston of the said engine.
As the second boiler is comparatively small it must be frequently supplied with
water for which purpose I mount above the said boiler a receptacle of similar nature
the said receptacle being connected to the larger boiler by a pipe which extends
down into the water contained in the said boiler and nearly to the bottom of it
and the said receptacle is connected to the smaller boiler by a pipe opening into the
top of the said boiler. By the action of two cocks or valves situated one above and
the other below the said receptacle water is caused to pass from the larger boiler
into the smaller one.
In many work shops it often happens that some of the tools actuated by the
steam engine remain temporarily inactive the engine then continuing to work
causes a useless expenditure of steam. This may be obviated by suitably pro-
portioning the size of each of the boilers herein before described Supposing that
when all the tools are at work the engine requires to work at a pressure of
five atmospheres and if one half of the tools be stopped a pressure of 21 atmospheres
would be sufficient to actuate the others.
In one of my boilers I work at a minimum pressure of 2 atmospheres
and I feed into the said boiler a certain quantity of steam from the second
boiler which is made to work at a higher pressure so that the steam from the
second boiler mixing with that in the first boiler gives an average pressure of
5 atmospheres which may be maintained if the feed be properly attended to.
When some of the tools cease working, I diminish the supply of steam fed into the
first boiler from the second and thus reduce the pressure in the first boiler as
required.
I thus regulate the expenditure of steam in proportion to the power required.
Steam boilers made for the purposes of my invention may be made of smaller
size than those in use generally, and I prefer to adopt the form of boiler I am about
to describe, that is to say a double boiler composed of two parts one above the other
the lower one being acted upon directly by the flames and products of combustion
from the furnace, the upper part which forms the steam space is traversed by
large tubes.
Before passing off to the chimney the products of .combustion are caused to pass
through the said tubes where they act to heat the steam and give it its required
pressure.
My invention also relates to caloric or hot air engines.
To obtain motive power, air or a gas or a gaseous mixture may be substituted for
steain. The same effects and the same amount of work may be produced by hot
air as by steam or other vapour with this advantage that air requires less fuel to
heat it as it does not contain latent heat. The air is heated in a sort of calorifere
or closed vessel made of iron or suitable metal of the required thickness and
provided with suitable valves and other appurtenances. The heated air after
actuating the engine as steam actuates a steam engine and after losing a portion of
its heat and pressure, is recovered and is caused to return into the calorifere or
heater to be reheated therein as hereinbefore described in reference to steam, and
when it has recovered its heat and pressure it is ready for further use.
A certain quantity of air from the exterior must be fed into the calorifere
or heater to compensate the air which must inevitably escape from the engine and
pipes.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Jules Marie Xavier Terlinden in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 5th March 1883.
JULES MARIE XAVIER TERLINDEN of Brussels in the Kingdom of Belgium
Gentleman "IMPROVEMENTS IN MEANS AND APPARATUS FOR UTILIZING STEAM
AND HEATED AIR AS MOTIVE POWERS
"
My invention relates to means and apparatus for utilizing steam and heated air
as motive powers with a view to effecting a considerable saving of fuel.
My said invention is based upon the following principles of physics.
It is well known that latent heat is the heat which is absorbed by bodies in
passing from one state to another but it does not manifest itself by producing an
increase of temperature thus to convert water at 212 degrees Fahrenheit into steam
requires 5 times as much heat as is necessary to raise the same water from
32 degrees to 212 degrees or 990 degrees and to convert water at 32 degrees
Fahrenheit in steam takes 6 times as much fuel as would be required to boil the
same water. The great consumption of fuel in steam boilers is caused by the
amount of latent heat in the steam.
In non condensing engines the steam after producing its effect is generally
allowed to escape into the atmosphere or in some cases it is used to heat the feed
water or to promote the combustion of the fuel in the furnace. The steam thus
allowed to escape imparts to the atmosphere or to the bodies with which it comes
in contact the large amount of latent heat it contains and which only manifests
itself when it is condensed. In high pressure engines the exhaust steam is often
discharged at a considerable pressure without being turned to any account.
On the other hand steam when subjected to the action of heat in a closed vessel
increases in temperature and in pressure each degree of temperature corresponding
with a maximum of pressure. It follows that if steam which has produced its
action in a steam engine be subjected to the action of heat in a closed vessel
a relatively small quantity of fuel is required (as the said steam still retains its
latent heat) to raise it to a temperature corresponding with the required pressure
that is to say its initial pressure.
Theoretically it would be sufficient to consume once only the quantity of fuel
necessary to produce the required quantity of steam for when the said steam is
recovered and heated over again so as to give it again its required pressure it still
retains its latent heat.
Practically through condensation and the escape of the steam a portion of the
steam will always be lost and it must be replaced by a fresh supply of steam.
My invention consists firstly of the means or apparatus herein after described
for utilizing steam which has already acted in a steam cylinder and which I call
"waste steam" applicable to existing engines and boilers.
I cause the waste steam to reenter the boiler which generated it.
For this purpose from the steam dome or upper part of the steam space of the
boiler I cause a certain quantity of steam to pass through a suitable curved pipe
from the top of the boiler back into the body of the same boiler either a little
below or above the level of the water the said curved pipe is provided with suitable
valves or devices for regulating the passage of the steam and is formed so as to
enter the boiler as nearly as possible in a vertical direction, the section of the said
pipe at its upper part being larger than where it enters the boiler.
When the valve or valves of the said pipe is or are opened a current of steam
from the top of the boiler will pass down the pipe and will reenter the said boiler
through the lower end of the said pipe.

page_text: To the bend of the said pipe near the inlet of steam to the boiler I connect the
exhaust of the steam engine by one or more branch pipes or by a series of pipes
the sections of which are together of equal or less area than that of the exhaust
pipe.
The steam from the top of the boiler circulating freely between the said branch
pipes and passing over their mouths draws in and carries with it into the boiler
the exhaust steam from the engine. Or the exhaust steam from the engine may be
made to pass into a vessel or reservoir of suitable size and in which a vacuum is
created and maintained and from which the exhaust steam is drawn off and made
to enter the boiler by the action of the steam from the top of the boiler reentering
the said boiler as herein before described.
The exhaust steam of the engine may be drawn or forced into the boiler by a
suitable injector.
By the improvements hereinbefore described the back pressure in steam cylinders
may be considerably reduced.
I will now proceed to describe other means pursued by me in carrying out my
invention. In this I make use of two boilers-The principal boiler of which
generates steam at the pressure required for the engine. The second boiler which
is of great strength and may be much smaller than the first produces steam at a
greater pressure.
The said boilers are placed side by side and are heated by the same furnace
though the fire is made to act principally upon the second boiler.
We will suppose that the engine is worked at a pressure of five atmospheres the
larger boiler will be made to supply steam at that pressure but the smaller boiler
will be made to produce steam at a pressure of 6, 7, 8 atmospheres or a higher
pressure. The two boilers are connected together at the top by means of a suitable
pipe provided with a valve and the said pipe near or close to the larger boiler is
connected with the exhaust of the engine (or with a receptacle into which the
exhaust from the engine is discharged) either directly or by means of a pipe or
tube or pipes or tubes or of a series of tubes as herein before described. When the
valve is opened the superheated steam from the smaller boiler rushes into the
larger boiler more or less violently according to the difference of pressure in the
two boilers and the steam draws in with it the exhaust steam from the engine pro-
ducing at the same time a vacuum behind the piston of the said engine.
As the second boiler is comparatively small it must be frequently supplied with
water for which purpose I mount above the said boiler a receptacle of similar
nature the said receptacle being connected to the larger boiler by a pipe which
extends down into the water contained in the said boiler and nearly to the bottom
of it and the said receptacle is connected to the smaller boiler by a pipe opening
into the top of the said boiler. By the action of two cocks or valves situated one
above and the other below the said receptacle water is caused to pass from the
larger boiler into the smaller one
In many work shops it often happens that some of the tools actuated by the
steam engine remain temporarily inactive the engine then continuing to work
causes a useless expenditure of steam. This may be obviated by suitably
proportioning the size of each of the boilers herein before described.
Supposing that when all the tools are at work the engine requires to work at a
pressure of five atmospheres and if one half of the tools be stopped a pressure of
2 atmospheres would be sufficient to actuate the others.
In one of my boilers I work at a minimum pressure of 21 atmospheres and I
feed into the said boiler a certain quantity of steam from the second boiler which
is made to work at a higher pressure so that the steam from the second boiler
mixing with that in the first boiler gives an average pressure of 5 atmospheres
which may be maintained if the feed be properly attended to. When some of the
tools cease working I diminish the supply of steam fed into the first boiler from
the second and thus reduce the pressure in the first boiler as required.
I thus regulate the expenditure of steam in proportion to the power required.

page_text: Steam boilers made for the purposes of my invention may be made of smaller
size than those in use generally and I prefer to adopt the form of boiler I am
about to describe that is to say a double boiler composed of two parts one above
the other the lower one being acted upon directly by the flames and products of
combustion from the furnace The upper part which forms the steam space is
traversed by large tubes. Before passing off to the chimney the products of
combustion are caused to pass through the said tubes where they act to heat the
steam and give it its required pressure.
My invention also relates to caloric or hot air engines.
To obtain motive power air or a gas or a gaseous mixture may be substituted
for steam. The same effects and the same amount of work may be produced by
hot air as by steam or other vapour with this advantage that air requires
less fuel to heat it as it does not contain latent heat. The air is beated in a sort
of calorifere or closed vessel made of iron or suitable metal of the required
thickness and provided with suitable valves and other appurtenances. The heated
air after actuating the engine as steam actuates a steam engine and after losing a
portion of its beat and pressure is recovered and is caused to return into the
calorifere or heater to be reheated therein as hereinbefore described in reference to
steam and when it has recovered its heat and pressure it is ready for further use.
A certain quantity of air from the exterior must be fed into the calorifere or
heater to compensate the air which must inevitably escape from the engine and
pipes.
Having explained the nature of my invention I will proceed to describe with
reference to the accompanying drawings the manner in which the same is to be
performed.
Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 of the drawings show an application of the first
part of my invention that is to say when steam taken from the top or dome of the
boiler and reentering the same boiler at a lower level carries with it the exhaust
steam of a steam engine.
Figure 1 shows an arrangement in which the steam taken at the top or dome of
a boiler reenters the front part or end of the same boiler below the level of the
water.
Figure 2 is a section of the tube box o injector through the line A B
Figure 1 and Figure 3 is a section of the same through the line C D Figure 1.
Figure 4 shows an arrangement similar to that represented in Figure 1 the
steam taken at the top of the boiler reentering the same above the level of the
water.
Figures 5 and 6 show sections of Figure 4 through the lines A B and C D
respectively.
Figure 7 shows an arrangement in which the steam taken at the top of the
boiler reenters the same at the side and below the level of the water.
The same letters of reference indicate like parts where they exist in Figures 1,
2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 a represents a portion of the boiler to the top of which is
connected a steam pipe 6 provided with a valve chest d by which the outflow of
steam from the boiler may be regulated or closed.
The pipe 6 at 6' extends downwards to the required level where it is attached
to the injector or tube chest c. The said injector c (for which any other suitable
injector may be substituted) consists of a conical box or chest containing a series of
tubes ee which tubes traverse the tube plate e¹ and extend to the front part e³ of
the box or chest where they open into the valve box f which valve box is attached
to the boiler a or connected thereto by a branch pipe 63. the rear ends of the tubes e
open into a chest or chamber g connected with the exhaust of a steam engine by
means of a pipe g¹ which may be provided or not with a valve chest g² as shown at
Figure 4.
The action of the apparatus is as follows:-
On opening the valve of the valve chest d steam from the top of the boiler flows
dann thunuch the wine & 11 the

page_text: and the valve chest f reenters the boiler. In its passage through the injector the
steam draws in and carries along with it the exhaust steam from a steam engine.
From the pipe g¹ the said exhaust steam passes through the tubes e of the injector
c and becoming mixed with the steam from the pipe b¹ passes into the boiler
with it.
Figure 8 represents an application of the second process herein before described
wherein two boilers are used one of the said boilers working at a higher pressure
than the other.
a and a¹ are the two boilers. In the boiler a steam is generated at a higher
pressure than in the boiler a' (For the boilers a, a¹ any other suitable form of boiler
may be substituted provided that in one of the boilers steam is generated at a
higher pressure than in the other) b b are pipes for conducting steam from the
boiler a into the boiler a-c is the injector or tube chest and g¹ is a pipe connected
with the exhaust steam from a steam engine d and g² are two valve chests to
regulate the flow of the steam. f is the furnace of the boilers and f¹ are the flues.
On opening the valves d and g² steam from the boiler a passing through the
pipes bb and tube chest or injector c flows into the boiler a¹ drawing along with
it the exhaust steam from a steam engine which exhaust steam passes through the
pipe g¹ and tubes of the injector c and becoming mixed with the steam from the
boiler a is injected thereby into the boiler a¹.
One or any suitable number of the said apparatus may be used according to
the quantity of exhaust steam to be injected or forced into the boiler.
Having now described the nature of my said invention and the manner of
performing the same I wish it to be well understood that I do not confine myself
to the precise details herein before described and illustrated in the accompanying
drawings as the same may be varied without departing from the nature of my said
invention.
But I claim as my said Invention:―
Firstly The process of returning to the boiler the exhaust steam of steam
engines in order to restore to the said exhaust steam its initial pressure and to
render it fit for further use substantially as hereinbefore described Also the appli-
cation of the said process to apparatus for heating air and caloric or hot air
engines.
Secondly-The combination of two boilers working at different pressures and of
the parts connected therewith substantially as hereinbefore described and for the
purposes set forth.
In witness whereof I the said Jules Marie Xavier Terlinden have hereunto
set my hand and seal this Second day of March in the year of our Lord
one thousand eight hundred and eighty three.
JULES MARIE XAVIER TERLINDEN (L.S.)