A NEW OR IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR REMOVING Water or other LIQUIDS FROM MINES, TUNNELS, AND SIMILAR PLACES
Year: 1880

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Clark, of 104, Bramley Road, Kensington, in the
County of Middlesex, Engineer, for an Invention of "A NEW OR IMPROVED
APPARATUS FOR REMOVING Water or other LIQUIDS FROM MINES, TUNNELS,
AND SIMILAR PLACES."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Clark at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents on the 7th January 1880.
JOHN CLARK, of 104, Bramley Road, Kensington, in the County of Middlesex,
Engineer. A NEW OR IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR REMOVING WATER OR OTHER
LIQUIDS FROM MINES, TUNNELS, AND SIMILAR PLACES."
The object of my said Invention is to provide and fix apparatus to be worked by
compressed air for removing water or other liquids from mines, tunnels, and the like
places, and discharging the same without pumping, such apparatus being in a great
measure self-acting.
I will describe its action as used for tunnels which are constructed or being con-
structed under a river or arm of the sea. Such tunnels have generally a downward
incline towards the middle of the stream, and when water floods the workings,
or when large quantities of water leak therein while constructing, great difficulty
is experienced and expense incurred in removing such water.
My present Invention is specially applicable to such cases, and is also applicable
to discharging water from tunnels generally by modifying the apparatus to suit
párticular cases. It can also be used with advantage in mines, either to raise the
water therein up to the surface of the earth or to a place where pumping by the
ordinary method can more conveniently reach the water to be removed.
I fit an air-tight cover or chamber at one or both ends of the tunnel and pack it
all around its junction with the tunnel mouth with clay or other plastic material
to make the joints as nearly air-tight as possible. I fit a discharge pipe at or near.
the bottom of the said cover or covers, and conduct the discharging end thereof
into a suitable reservoir or water-course near to such tunnel. I fit the said discharge
pipe with a stop-valve to regulate or stop the flow of water as required. I fit
an outer and inner door in the said cover or covers, to be used as hereinafter
explained.
When the tunnel has been so prepared I then force compressed air by any con-
venient means into the tunnel above the flood water, and I then open the valve of

page_text: the said discharge pipes, so that for every cubic foot of compressed air charged into
the tunnel one cubic foot, or thereabouts, of water will be discharged therefrom.
So long as flood water percolates into the tunnel if the inlet end of the discharge
pipe is laid into a pool or collecting tank therein the water will continue to be
expelled by the discharge pipe, owing to the pressure of air on the surface of the
water, thereby avoiding constant pumping to remove flood-water in the usual
manner. The pressure of the compressed air will correspond with the height of
the discharge pipe, and is approximately one pound (1 lb.) per square inch for every
two feet of vertical height of the discharge pipe.
To avoid extreme pressure above what workmen could endure for completing the
necessary work of the tunnel I prefer to discharge the water from the tunnel into
a tank at any convenient height above the lowest level of the tunnel, and by a
force-pump or other ordinary means to raise it to the required elevation.
The discharging pipe is laid down the incline of the tunnel and terminates in a
pool or collecting tank, which I prefer to make near the middle or lowest level of
the tunnel.
I fit the said cover or chamber with an outer and an inner door to enable persons
to pass into or out of the tunnel without allowing much of the compressed air to
escape, in doing which the person passing closes one door before he opens the other;
and I fit suitable valves to the said doors to regulate the air in such a proceeding.
Larger doors or gates may be fitted to enable engines and wagons with materials
to pass in a similar manner.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said John Clark in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 7th July 1880.
JOHN CLARK, of 104, Bramley Road, Kensington, in the County of Middlesex,
Engineer. "A NEW OR IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR REMOVING WATER OR OTHER
LIQUIDS FROM MINES, TUNNELS, AND SIMILAR PLACES."
The object of my said Invention is to provide and fix apparatus to be worked by
compressed air for removing water or other liquids from mines, tunnels, and the
like places and discharging the same without pumping, such apparatus being in
part self-acting.
I will now describe my said Invention with the aid of the accompanying
Drawing. The same index letter refers to the same part in each Fig. of the said
Drawing. Fig. 1 represents a section of a tunnel under a river or arm of the sea,
the tunnel or drift a being cut on an incline.
The shaft c is sunk to such a depth as to reach the lowest point of the workings.
I will assume, for illustration, that the tunnel and shaft get flooded with water,
and proceed to describe the application of my said Invention for removing such
water, and for discharging by self-acting apparatus the water that may enter after-
wards until the leak in the tunnel can be repaired.
If the tunnel has been opened at one or both ends I fit an air-tight cover thereto,
formed of metal plates or of piles of wood, or of both, as may be convenient or
requisite, and pack such cover or covers all around their junction with the tunnel
mouth with clay or other plastic material to make the joints as nearly air-tight as
possible so as to resist the internal pressure of compressed air. I also fit a similar
cover to the mouth of the shaft or other opening into the tunnel for the saine
purpose to that just described.
I fit a discharge-pipe d for the water to be expelled through; or I utilize existing
pump pipes for that purpose. I fit and fix an engine or other suitable apparatus
for compressing air, and connect it to the shaft c by a pipe to discharge such com-
pressed air into the said shaft.
Let be the level of the water in the flooded shaft. When I charge the shaft c
with compressed air of greater pressure than that of the head of water measured
from to the mouth of the discharge pipe at d the water in the shaft c will be
expelled thereby, and by continuing the process the whole of the flood-water in the
tunnel or mine will be discharged.
It will be understood that because the pressure of air on the surface of the flood-
water is at all times greater than that of the head of water in the discharge pipe d
the water which in the case of ordinary pumping would leak into the tunnel while
the original volume of flood-water is being discharged will by this improved method
be greatly checked if not entirely stopped.
It will also be understood that after the original volume of flood-water has been
discharged any water which may subsequently leak into the tunnel against the force
of the compressed air will by its gravity flow down the inclines a to the bottom of
the shaft c, and be expelled automatically through the pipe d. This action is due
to the pressure of air in the shaft c being greater than that of the head of water in
the pipe d, and has no relation to the quantity of water discharged.
In order to more effectually prevent the compressed air from escaping into the
soil forming the sides of the tunnel I reduce the temperature of the air below the
freezing point of water. For this purpose I compress it by the said engine to a
much greater density than is required to expel the water in the manner described.
In this state it will give out a larger quantity of sensible heat, which I remove by

page_text: '
passing the pipe containing the compressed air through a coil or course of pipes
surrounded by water or other suitable means to remove such heat therefrom, and
afterwards allow such compressed air to expand to the requisite pressure to eject
the water as described. Or I use a tubular boiler for the same object and compress
the air into such boiler and cause a current of cold water to flow through the tubes.
By this method I deprive the air in such boiler of its sensible heat due to such
compression, so that when the air is partially expanded on its admission to the
shaft c its temperature falls below the freezing point of water for the purpose
described.
In order to keep the pressure of air moderate when the tunnel or mine is deep,
so that men may be able to work therein, I divide the shaft c into two or more
sections or lifts for the water. I make a discharging chamber or tank e for each
section, and cause a section of the pipe d to discharge the water therein. In Fig. 1
I show the shaft divided into two sections, and by alternately filling and emptying
the chamber e of compressed air the water is raised into and expelled from the said
chamber to the surface by a pressure of air equal to half what would be required if
the water was lifted the whole height of the shaft at once.
Fig. 2 is an enlarged section, of the chamber e. The pipe d is fitted with an
upper valve v and a lower valve v'; it is also fitted with a two-way air-cock o,
having a branch o' opening into the shaft c to receive compressed air from the said
shaft to fill the chamber e when required. The cock o has also a branch o³, con-
nected by a pipe to the mouth of the shaft c or to the inlet valve of the air-
compressing engine previously described. The cock o may be operated by a float
in the chamber e, or by a line worked by hand from the mouth of the shaft c.
When the cock o is set as shown the compressed air enteers by the branch o¹ and
fills the chamber e, and expels the water by the pipe & through the outlet d'.
When the cock o is set open to the branch of the communication with the shaft c is
closed, and the compressed air in the chamber e escapes to the mouth of the shaft c
and is compressed again by the engine. By this method the pressure of air in the
chamber e is reduced to the same as the atmosphere; the compressed air in the
shaft c acting on the water at the bottom of the pipe d forces up the water to
the chamber e and fills it; the cock o is then changed, which again charges the
chamber e with compressed air and expels the water as before, and the process is
repeated as previously described.
Fig. 3 shows the application of my said Invention for raising water from mines
of greater depth than that shown in Fig. 1. I prefer to divide the shaft into three
or six sections, but any other number may be used. I fit one or more pipes d for
conveying the water, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2.
I fit an air-pipe for conveying compressed air from the engine previously described
to each of the chambers e into which the shaft c is divided; such pipe is connected
to the branch o¹ (see Fig. 2) in each chamber. I also fit an air-pipe o² for conveying
the compressed air from the said chambers to the said engine after the said chambers
have been emptied of water, so that the air used may be again compressed by such
engine for further use in another chamber. It will be understood that the com-
pressed air after having expelled the water from one of the chambers has a highly
expansive power remaining in it, and it is consequently more economical to
compress such air over again for further use than to allow it to escape into the
atmosphere.
I prefer to use three or a multiple of three chambers as giving a more uniform
discharge of water. The method of working such chambers is as follows:-Assume,
as in Fig. 3, that the upper chamber e' is filled with compressed air which has just
discharged the water contained therein to the surface, that the middle chamber e
is filled with atmospheric air ready to receive a supply of water from below, that
the lower chamber es is filled with water by water from the mine running therein,
the two-way cock in each chamber, previously described under Fig. 2, is then
changed, and the compressed air in the upper chamber e² is conveyed by the air-

page_text: pipe o² to the engine previously described, and the air is again compressed and
conveyed by the pipe o¹ previously described into the lower chamber es containing
water, which is thereby raised to the middle chamber e².
The contents of the said three chambers at this stage will be as follows:-The
upper one e¹ now contains atmospheric air; the middle one e² contains water; and
the lower one e contains compressed air.
The two-way cock on each chamber (see Fig. 2) is again changed, when a similar
action takes place to that just described with the following result:-The upper
chamber e¹ nows contains water; the middle chamber e³ contains compressed air;
and the lower chamber contains atmospheric air. The said two-way cock on
each chamber is again changed and the several chambers are filled as first described,
and so on in constant rotation.
In certain cases I arrange and place the three chambers e¹, e², e, at the bottom
of the shaft c and operate them in rotation, as described.
It will be understood however that any other arrangement of the several chambers
may be adopted, and that the chamber filled with atmospheric air may be exhausted
so as to be below the pressure of the atmosphere, if required. A suitable valve
may be used instead of the two-way cock described.
.
I fit the cover on the mouth of the shaft c (Fig. 1) with a chamber having an
outer and inner door or gate, fitting the said chamber air-tight, to enable persons
to pass into or out of the said shaft without permitting much of the compressed air
to escape, in doing which the person passing closes one door before he opens the
other. I fit suitable valves to the said doors to regulate the air in such a proceeding.
Large doors or gates may in like manner be fitted to enable wagons to pass in
and out.
When a tunnel or drift passes under or near the bed of a river, as shown at m,
Fig. 1, I adopt precautionary means to prevent the crown of such tunnel or drift
falling in, or if it should fall in to facilitate the work being carried on until that
part of the tunnel or drift is made good.
The method I adopt in such cases is as follows:-I construct a raft of baulks or
beams of timber, sufficiently large to cover such portion of tunnel, and I float such
raft over the place intended to be covered and load it with iron rails or other heavy
materials to sink it thereupon like a patch, as shown in section at n. I prefer to
lay the beams of timber crosswise over the track of the tunnel or drift, and to have
them long enough to overlay the width of the tunnel considerably. The upper side
of the raft I prefer to cover with water-proof material in any convenient manner
to prevent as far as possible water leaking into the tunnel.
Having thus fully described and ascertained the nature of my said Invention,
and the method of performing the same, I further declare that I do not restrict
myself to the precise details now described by way of illustration, because from the
nature of my said Invention these may be considerably modified in practice without
departing from the main characteristics of the Invention; but what I claim as
novel and desire to secure by the herein before-mentioned in part recited Letters
Patent is,
Firstly. The method of raising water from flooded tunnels or mines by forcing
compressed air therein, substantially as described.
Secondly. The method of dividing the shaft into sections or lifts for the water
so as to reduce the pressure of air therein to enable men to work in such shafts.
Thirdly. The method of raising water from tunnels or mines by compressed
air wherein the air used is partially expanded and again compressed for further
use.
Fourthly. The method of rendering the soil of tunnels or drifts impervious to
the compressed air by reducing the temperature of such air below that of freezing
water.
L

page_text: Fifthly. The method of preventing the falling in of the crown of tunnels or
drifts when near the bed of a river or stream by sinking a loaded raft thereupon.
Each and all substantially as and for the purpose described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Clark, have hereunto set my hand and
seal, this Sixth day of July, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight
hundred and eighty.