IMPROVEMENTS IN MOTIVE POWER ENGINES
Year: 1883

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry Edward Newton of the Office for Patents
66 Chancery Lane in the County of Middlesex Civil Engineer for an
Invention of IMPROVEMENTS IN MOTIVE POWER ENGINES communicated to
him from abroad by George Sweanor of the City of Montreal, Canada.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Henry Edward Newton at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 19th July 1883.
HENRY EDWARD NEWTON of the Office for Patents 66 Chancery Lane in the
County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, "IMPROVEMENTS IN MOTIVE POWER
ENGINES" [communicated to him from abroad by George Sweanor of the City of
Montreal, Canada.]
This invention has reference to that class of engines, whatever may be the type
of their construction, in which gas, or vapour generated from ammonia or other
liquid of low boiling point serves as the motive force.
It consists in means by which; the perfect liquefaction of such gas when passing
off from the exhaust is attained, and also in devices for preventing the escape of
the gas from the stuffing boxes of the cylinder and elsewhere.
In carrying out this invention two vessels which may be termed respectively the
cooler and the absorber are used in connection with the engine and boiler.
The cooler is so arranged as to offer a cooling surface to the gas led into it from
the exhaust of the engine and thereby lower its temperature. The absorber is
charged with liquid ammonia kept cool by the circulation of water or otherwise
and connected with the cooler by an inclined pipe down which the cooled gas
passes. This gas is met on its passage through the inclined pipe by a column of
liquid ammonia drawn from the absorber by a pump and forced up into the pipe,
by which both it and the steam which it holds in suspension are liquefied and fall
back into the absorber. Liquid ammonia is fed into the boiler from the absorber
by means of a pump worked from any convenient part of the mechanism.
The stuffing boxes of the engine are in each case made with, an expansion
chamber connected by a pipe with the main exhaust..
3'

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Henry Edward-Newton in the Patent Office on the 18th January
1884,
HENRY EDWARD NEWTON of The Office for Patents, 66 Chancery Lane in the
County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer "IMPROVEMENTS IN MOTIVE POWER
ENGINES a communication to me from abroad by George Sweanor of the City of
Montreal Canada.
د"
My Invention relates to that class of Engines in which the Gas or vapour
generated from ammonia or other liquid of low boiling point is substituted for
steam as the Motive force and consists in means by which I secure the perfect
liquefaction of the Gas, and its return in liquid form to the boiler. It is adapted
for use in connection with all classes of Engines as in no case is any alteration. of
the main features of construction required, and may be thus described
The Boiler which may be of any desired kind is charged with liquid ammonia
and the Gas generated from this by heat is taken to the Cylinder, works the
piston and passes off by the exhaust in the usual way.
In addition to these ordinary features of construction a vessel or reservoir
containing liquid ammonia of the same strength.as that in the boiler and which is
kept cool by the circulation of water is placed in any suitable position relatively
to the Boiler and Engine This vessel is called the "absorber" and from it is
taken a feed or supply pipe connected with the boiler into which a pump worked
by the piston cross-head, or in any other suitable manner, forces the liquid in the
usual way.
The Gas which in passing off from the exhaust holds a proportion of steam is
taken to a Vessel which is called the "cooler," and is there reduced in temperature
by contact, with surfaces cooled by the circulation of water. It is then taken off
by a pipe from the cooler to the "absorber," and is met on its way by a column
of liquid ammonia drawn from the "absorber " and forced into the pipe by a
pump by which it is re-liquefied and passes along a downwardly inclined pipe to
the "absorber" which is thus always kept replenished with liquid ammonia.
In the accompanying drawing Fig 1. is a plan view of a horizontal stationary
engine constructed according to this Invention Fig 2 is an end view of same,
Fig 3 a sectional view on line X X Fig 1-Fig: 4 a similar view on. line Z Z
Fig 1, and Fig 5 a detail, enlarged, of the stuffing Box.
Similar letters of reference indicate like parts.
It will be understood that the usual and well known construction of a horizontal
Engine is only shown here sufficiently to ensure the comprehension of the
Invention and that parts of the mechanism which do not relate thereto may be
'omitted:
A is the Boiler A¹ the steam dome, and a the feed pipe to the steam Chest, B¹,
of the Cylinder B, with piston actuating the main driving shaft with fly wheel
and any means of transmitting motion, all these being of any usual construction
and therefore not material to the Invention
C is the Vessel or reservoir termed the "absorber" which is made of some such
size and proportion as that shown, and having internal perforated diaphragms C
and pipes C² so as to allow of the circulation through it of water to keep cool the
liquid ammonia contained in the body of the Vessel which is provided with a
gauge c
D is the supply pipe provided with stop cock D¹ leading from the absorber C to
the pump E which is of any ordinary type and placed where shown and is
operated by the cross-head in the usual way.

page_text: By this pump the liquid is forced by the pipe finto the feed heater F and
thence through the pipe G into the boiler. The feed heater may in some cases if
desired be omitted and the pipe G be simply a continuation of D.
H is the exhaust pipe taken from B¹ to the Vessel K termed "the cooler," the gas
and steam'held in suspension passing through pipes K₁¹ over surfaces cooled by the
circulation of water and carried off by the pipe L communicating with the
absorber C: M is a pipe connecting the lower part of the ammonia chamber in
the absorber C with the pipe L, and a pump M' in this case worked by the crank is
provided by which liquid ammonia is drawn off from the absorber and forced into
the pipe L where it comes into contact with the Gas from the cooler K and liquefies
it, the gas thus liquefied falling down through the pipe L which is set at any
desired angle of inclination into the "absorber" C.
The construction of these two Vessels the absorber C and cooler K may be varied
from that shewn in the drawing as for instance by substituting a coil or worm for
the pipes, so long as a cooling surface is presented in the latter to the gas passing
through and in the former to the liquid contents of the Vessel. As the absorber C
is on a lower level than K the water is by preference let first into the cooler
through which it circulates and then passes off by the pipe k to the absorber C
from which after circulation it is let off.
The operation according to this Invention resembles so closely that of an ordinary
steam Engine that it is sufficient to say that the boiler A and absorber C are both
supplied with liquid ammonia of equal strength and that the Gas evolved in the
Boiler works the Engine and passing from the exhaust to the cooler is there
reduced in temperature and on its passage through the pipe L to the absorber is
liquefied by the contact with the liquid ammonia pumped up from the absorber
through the pipe M as above described. The liquefied gas, then falls back into the
absorber from which the expenditure of ammonia in the Boiler is supplied, the
pump E when the stop cock D¹ is opened acting in the usual way.
In order to prevent what has usually been found the most serious defect in
ammoniacal gas engines viz: the difficulty of preventing the escape of the volatile
gas from the joints, a difficulty which has been but imperfectly remedied by the
use of petroleum as packing, the stuffing Box shown in Fig: 5 is employed-In
this figure N is the stuffing box, O the gland and P the packing which may be of
hemp or any substance in ordinary use for the purpose.
The stuffing Box is however formed with a Gas chamber N¹ from which a pipe Q
communicates with the exhaust H thus drawing off any Gas entering the
Chamber N¹ which might otherwise escape through the packing-This arrangement
of stuffing Box is applied to the piston and pump rods and in all cases in which
lubricated packing joints exist, and (as shewn in Fig 1) these pipes Q may be so
arranged as to have but one junction with the main exhaust H. I propose in
addition to these auxiliary exhausts to connect the safety valve on the Boiler with
pipe H by a pipe Q' so that an extra pressure of gas will instead of being blown off
be taken to the cooler to be reliquefied thus avoiding waste.
It must be clearly understood that although this Invention is in the present case
shown and described as applied to one type of horizontal Engine it can be used
equally well with all kinds of Engines without altering their construction or the
nature of the Invention itself.
As brass and copper are affected by the ammonia liquid and gas, the valve seats
and stems, joints, junctions & must be made of iron or white metal.
Having now described this Invention of Improvements in Motive power Engines
as communicated to me from abroad and explained the manner of carrying the
same into effect I would here remark that it is well known that ammoniacal gas
Engines have been in use before this Invention but in most of these the condensation
is effected by liquid drawn from the Boiler and artificially cooled, thus accomplishing
the purpose at the cost of the energy generated in the Boiler. It is also well
known that the Gas from the exhaust of an ammonia Engine has been brought
into contact with a solution of ammonia drawn from a reservoir, but in one

page_text: instance the result claimed is not the liquefaction of the Gas, and in none does the
reservoir serve to supply the Boiler I do not therefore intend to claim any such
methods and apparatus but what I do claim is.
First. The method of liquefying the Gas or vapour generated from ammonia or
other liquid of low boiling point and used as the motive force in an Engine, by
bringing it after being cooled in contact with a column of ammonia or like fluid
forced up from a separate reservoir into which such Gas when liquefied falls
substantially as herein set forth.
Second. The combination with an Engine of any type in which liquid ammonia or
other low boiling liquid is substituted for water, of a Vessel through which the
Vapour from the exhaust passes and is cooled and a reservoir or absorber into
which the Gas when liquefied falls, and from which the boiler supply is replenished
all substantially as herein set forth
:
In witness whereof I the said Henry Edward Newton have hereunto set my
hand and seal the fourteenth day of January in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and eighty four.