An Improved Method of and Apparatus for Obtaining Motive Power.
Year: 1888

page_text: Date of Application, 11th Oct., 1888
Specification Accepted, 16th Nov.. 1888
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Method of and Apparatus for Obtaining Motive Power.
I, PAUL DE SUSINI, Doctor, of Rue François I, Paris, in the Republic of France,
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, and accompanying drawings, that is to say :-
If it were possible in motive power engines to use instead of steam the vapour of
sulphuric ether which has a temperature of 35 degrees Centigrade, or chlorhydric
ether or chloride of ethyl at 11 degrees Centigrade, or chloride of Methyl or methylic
ether at 20 degrees below zero Centigrade, or ammonia and carbonic acid gas, or
sulphurous acid and the like without regard to their commercial value, it is certain
that an economy of fuel would ensue which would result in a saving of 65 per cent. :
if sulphuric ether is used, or 89 per cent. if chlorhydric ether, the saving being
indeed always proportioned to the boiling point and the force of volatilization of the
liquids or gases employed; this saving being reduced only by the small necessary cost
of the condensation of the vapours or of redissolving the gases.
:
The present invention has for its object methods of solving this problem, for which
purpose means must be found for :-
1st. Preventing any loss whatever of the liquid, vapour, or gas used.
2nd. Preventing by simple and certain means the possibility of any escape of
vapour or liquid.
3rd. The conversion of the force of tension into a continuous motive power easy to
manage and free from any danger or loss.
4th. The prevention of those vapours or gases which easily condense and which
have the property of dissolving oils or greases, from cooling or from coming in contact
with such substances.
5th. The indefinite utilization of the liquids, vapours, or gases without altering them,
and then making them pass in succession and without intermission from a liquid state
to that of vapour and vice versa.
6th. The construction of a cheaper and simpler engine than the ordinary steau
engine.

page_text: 7th. The possibility of completely substituting the new system for all kinds of steam
engines from the smallest to the largest.
The following is a description of the novel system and apparatus which I use for
this purpose, and which may be applied to all kinds of engines whether stationary,
locomotive, marine, and for balloons, or other purposes. The accompanying drawings
which are given however solely by way of illustration show three different types of
machine.
My invention consists essentially in the conversion of the forces of tension into
hydraulic force by applying them to saturated solutions of chloride of sodium, to
glycerine, to mercury, and the like, all the applications of which system I desire
to claim.
Figure 1 shews a hydro pneumatic ether motive power engine, Figure 2 a press,
and figure 3 a pump upon the same system.
The apparatus consists of the following principal parts,-a generator, two hydraulic
cylinders, an engine proper, a receiver and heating apparatus.
The generator A consists of a steel cylinder or pipe of such dimensions that its
capacity is one-tenth part of the hydraulic cylinders B between which it is placed.
The thickness of the cylinders is proportioned to the pressure which they will have
to bear.
The generator A is surrounded by a casing filled with ice or with compressed cold
air in order to keep it constantly cool.
The part e forms a receiver containing the liquid to be evaporated and it
communicates by the tubes and cocks and valves f, f, f, f", with the hydraulic
receivers B B¹.
Each of the tubes is provided with a small chamber separated from the cylinders B B'
and from the reservoir e by the cocks or valves.
The generator A also communicates with the cylinders B B1 by the tubes a each of
which is provided with a cock a¹.
The tubes a unite and then form a serpentine coil the lower end communicating
with the reservoir e.
The hydraulic cylinders B may have any desired shape and size according to the
position in which they are placed and the motive power required.
They communicate by means of the pipes with the turbine wheel c to which they
communicate the required pressure and movement. The pipes are provided with
valves by which each cylinder alternately is put in communication with the
turbine and the passage of the water is regulated or shut off. The pipes i have
their lower open ends a short distance from the bottom of the hydraulic cylinders,
through the domed tops of which they pass, then uniting as shewn into a single pipe
which passes to the turbine.
The hydraulic cylinders B B communicate with the receiver D by means of pipes /
which enter the lower part of the receiver and pass through the domed tops of the
cylinders B.
The pipes are provided with cocks or valves m so that the hydraulic cylinders can
be filled alternately. These cylinders have four water guages n situated at their
upper and lower ends so that the level of the water can be ascertained in order to
properly regulate the passage of the water to and from the turbine.
The cylinders B B and the receiver D are also fitted with pressure guages o and
thermometers by which the pressure and temperature of their interior can at any
time be observed.
S
The cylinders B are filled with a saturated solution of chloride of sodium (sea salt),
concentrated solution of glycerine, or liquid mercury, in which the vapours, chloride
of ethyl, of methyl, or sulphuric ether etc. are absolutely insoluble at a temperature
of +25 degrees Centigrade. This liquid receives constantly the pressure of the
vapours with which it is in contact and which cannot become altered and transmits
to the turbine the said pressure of the vapours obtained in the generator. After
having operated the turbine the liquid passes from the discharge pipe of the latter,

page_text: into the receiver D whence it returns by the tube 7 into the hydraulic cylinder B
when a vacuum is obtained in the latter after the opening of the cock a' has allowed
the vapour to become condensed in the serpentine pipe by the cold in the generator A
and to flow into the reservoir e.
As shewn in the figure the turbine or motive power engine is entirely closed in by
a metal case of sufficient strength and perfectly tight, the driving shaft of the
turbine q passing out through a stuffing box in the side of the case.
The casing is connected by the discharge openings with the receiver D, the turbine
being in communication through the tubes with the hydraulic cylinders. These
tubes unite into one common one before reaching the casing and this pipe is
somewhat contracted at the turbine and ends in a suitable nozzle j with a conical
opening provided with a regulator by which the quantity of water delivered to the
turbine can be increased or diminished so as to regulate the speed of the machine in
the usual way.
The receiver D may be square or cylindrical. Like the metallic casing it has no
pressure to support so that it may be made of much thinner material than the
hydraulic cylinders. Its upper part communicates with the discharge from the
turbine and through the tube i with the hydraulic cylinders.
The receiver Dis of larger capacity than the bydraulic cylinders.
The whole is kept at the same temperature by the coil pipe w in the receiver D and
the hydraulic cylinders can be filled from it at any time..
The coil pipe having a sufficient number of coils is heated by means of a small
steam boiler or by hot water circulating through it under high pressure.
By this means the water in the receiver can be always maintained at the required
temperature which in practice should not exceed + 50 or 80 degrees Centigrade, the
extreme limit corresponding with a pressure of 39 atmospheres.
The operation of the apparatus is as follows:-
The receiver e of the generator A is supposed to be filled with chloride of ethyl.
By opening the cocks the liquid fills the chambers in the pipes. I then close
these cocks and open one of the cocks when the liquid contained in the chamber
runs into the hydraulic reservoir B which is filled with a solution of chloride of
sodium, heated to 60 degrees in the vessel D which still contains a quantity of the
solution equal to half a cylinder full.
The turbine is at rest, when the chloride of ethyl becoming heated by the contact
with the water almost instantly attains an increasing pressure and when the
thermometer marks + 53 degrees the pressure guage will indicate a pressure of
12 atmospheres.
I then open the cock which opens a communication between the hydraulic
cylinder and the turbine. The saturated solution of chloride of sodium is forced up
the tube to the nozzle and operating upon the turbine sets the latter in motion.
The water then falls through the discharge pipe into the vessel D, where it almost
immediately regains whatever heat it has lost in its passage. The speed and amount
of power produced are proportioned first, to the pressure which may be increased or
diminished at will by increasing or diminishing the temperature of the receiver D,
secondly to the size of the opening in the nozzle which may also be increased or
diminished as required by means of a regulator and handle.
When most of the solution has passed from the hydraulic cylinder to the motor, as
shewn by the level of the water in the lower guage, 1 stop the flow of the liquid by
shutting the valve k taking care to open the valve of the cylinder B where
pressure is produced in the same way, and I then open the cock and the motion of
the turbine continues regularly.
In the meantime about 20 centimêtres deep of salt water remains in the first
cylinder B which has ceased to operate, and into this salt water the lower end of the
tube dips. The remainder of the cylinder is filled with the vapour of the chloride
of ethyl above the saline solution, which. vapour can neither escape nor become
altered by contact with any greasy body. The liquid will also last an indefinite time,
any escape or alteration being impossible.

page_text: I now open the cock a¹ in the tube a from the cylinder B and at the same time the
cock m in the tube which communicates with the vessel D. The water contained
in D runs therefore into the cylinder and drives out the vapour through the tube a
into the coil A where by reason of the low temperature it again becomes liquid and
returns to the receiver or tank e.
Although this series of operations takes long to explain I have found no difficulty
in carrying them out for long periods in a model of the apparatus.
I wish it to be understood that the drawings are merely illustrations of my
improved system and that all the movements of the cocks or valves may be rendered
automatic either by means of floats rising and falling upon the surface of the water,
excentrics and rods, or other equivalent mechanical means, so that no superintendence
would be necessary, and the loss of any vapour by inadvertently emptying the
hydraulic cylinders entirely would be rendered quite impossible.
Figure 2 illustrates the application of my novel system to a press. It consists of a
generator A, a receiver B, and a hydraulic press cylinder C with its plunger D.
The generator is exactly the same as in figure 1. and operates in the same manner,
with the receiver B. The latter communicates with the press cylinder C by means of
the tube which is provided with a cock or valve m. It is filled with a solution of
chloride of sodium.
In order to operate the press I commence as in the last apparatus by heating by
means of the coil the solution contained in the receiver B. I then, in the manner
above described allow the chloride of ethyl to pass into the heated water in the
vessel B and when the guage o indicates the required pressure I open the cock m.
The solution passes into the press cylinder C and actuates the plunger D. An
enormous pressure may thus be obtained whilst the tube i may be extremely small.
In figure 3 my invention is shewn in its simplest form for the purpose of pumping
or raising water.
In this arrangement it will be seen that the generator is not constructed in the same
manner, whilst it operates with water not heated. It is enclosed in an open casing
which enables it to be heated or cooled to the required extent. The hydraulic
receiver B may like the receiver D he of a square or cylindrical form, and it
communicates with the generator by the tube a and with the vessel by the tube g.
The upper vessel D also communicates with B by means of the tube d. At the
bottom of the receiver B is a suction pipe j and a delivery pipe for the water
which is to be pumped or raised.
To operate the apparatus, supposing the upper surrounding temperature to
be 11 degrees Centigrade and that of the water contained in B a like temperature,
1 open the cock in the tube a and the vapour of chloride of ethyl immediately passes
into the vessel B and forces the water contained therein to rise up the tube d into
the receiving vessel D which is of similar capacity and becomes filled. I then close
the tube d by means of the cock e and I cool the generator by a suitable cooling
mixture. The vapour of chloride of ethyl immediately returns from the vessel B to
the generator A where it again becomes liquified.
When the pressure guage o points to zero I close the cock 6 and I open the pipe k
in the suction pipe and the water immediately rises by atmospheric pressure into
the vacuum in B. When the latter is full I close the cock and I open the tube m
from which the water escapes and is then drawn up by another similar pump at a
level sufficiently above the first. By this means and at scarcely any cost any
quantity of water can be raised to any height by a succession of pumps raised one
above the other.
By the illustrations which I have given it will be seen that my invention may be
applied to all possible kinds of machines and that the power being provided the methods
of its application are purely mechanical.
In the drawings I have not thought it necessary to show safety valves, manholes, or
supply pipes.
Any ordinary mechanical means and devices may be used for automatically opening
and closing all the cocks or valves.

page_text: I do not confine myself to the precise details or method of construction and arrange-
ment of my improved apparatus which may be varied or modified more or less as may
be found advisable but, 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. The method of utilizing the pressure of the vapours of liquids boiling at a low
temperature and of gases having the property of dissolving in certain liquids by means
of the hydraulic force transmitted by them to water saturated with chloride of sodium,
to glycerine, to mercury, or to other suitable liquids, substantially in the manner herein
described.
2. The method of using sulphuric ether, hydrochloric ether, methylic ether, ammonia,
sulphurous acid. carbonic acid, and other bodies, capable of converting elastic pressure,
into hydraulic force and of being condensed or redissolved as often as desired, substan-
tially in the manner and for the purpose described.
3. The method of volatilizing such bodies by heat and condensing them by cold or
dissolving them in a cold liquid, substantially as and for the purpose described.
4. The use of a saturated solution of chloride of sodium, of glycerine, or of methylic
mercury, in which sulphurous acid gas or ammonia if used can be dissolved and can
be restored to their gaseous form by an increase of temperature substantially as and
for the purpose described.
5. The use and combination of the generators, hydraulic cylinders, receiving vessels,
coils, turbines, and refrigerating tubes, substantially in the manner and for the purposes
described and shewn in the drawings.
6. The method of constructing and using hermetically closed vessels, substantially
in the manner and for the purposes described and shewn, so that any loss of the liquids
gases or vapours is impossible, but they can be used for any length of time without
other change than that of passing constantly from a liquid to a gaseous state and vice
versa.
7. The use in the apparatus described, of methylic mercury which by its superior
density as compared with water, allows a great reduction in the size of the vessels
with increased economy of the fuel used resulting from the reduction of the surface to
be heated and of the volume of the liquid.