IMPROVEMENTS IN BOILERS
Year: 1885

page_text: STEAM
I, WILLIAM KENT, residing at 20, Highland Avenue Jersey City, in the County
of Hudson, and State of New Jersey, in the United States of America, gentle-
man, do hereby declare the nature of my invention for IMPROVEMENTS IN
BOILERS" and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
My invention relates to that class of steam boilers known as water tube or
sectional boilers and consists of an improved method of constructing certain parts
of these boilers with the object of making certain parts out of wrought iron or steel
which have hitherto been made only of cast iron thus avoiding breakages which are
consequent npon the use of cast iron and also lightening the weight and simplifying
the construction of the boiler.
Referring to the drawings:
Fig. 1 shows a front view.
Fig. 2 a side elevation.
Fig. 3 a rear view.
Fig. 4 a side elevation of a boiler having a modified form of header.
Fig. 5 a front view of the same.
Fig. 6a detail vertical section of a front header.
Fig. 7 an elevation of a modified form of rear header looking from the inside.
Fig. 8 a detail cross section of a header showing the front and rear sides slightly
swelled.
Fig. 9 a detail perspective of the connecting box with the ends removed and
Fig. 10 a detail perspective of the ond piece which fits within the box.
Similar letters denote like parts in all the figures of the drawing.
A represents à steam or water drum. B B¹ front and rear connecting boxes.
C front headers. D rear headers. E water tubes. F and G front and rear
circulating tubes. H mud drum and K mud drum connections. The parts thus
named constitute all the principal working or pressure parts of the boiler, the furnace
brickwork and other settings being omitted in the drawing save in Fig. 5 sinco
the boiler may be adapted to any style of furnace or any method of setting desired.
The fire is placed either under the front end of the setting or inclined tubes E or
under the whole length of the inclined tubes according to the lengths of these tubes
and the flame or heated gases of combustion pass either directly up through these
[Price 8d.]

page_text: tubes and thence out between the circulating tubes G or by means of baffle plates
or flame walls not shown in the drawing they may be made to circulate around or
across these tubes in different directions as is customary in boilers known as
Babcock and Wilcox before making their escape between the circulating tubes G.
The water level is kept at any convenient depth in the steain or water drum A and
while the boiler is being fired it circulates in this drum from front to rear down
through the circulating tubes G and headers D up through the inclined tubes E
headers C and circulating tubes F into the steam or water drum A.
In boilers of the general type herein described it has hitherto been customary to
make the connections between the inclined tubes, E and the steam and water
drum A either by means of water legs or boxes made of wrought iron and
thoroughly stayed or else of staggered cast iron headers as in the Babcock and
Wilcox boiler. The first method is objectionable on account of the bulk of the
wrought iron water leg being so large as to prevent the boiler from having the
advantages of small parts easy of duplication and of transportation which con-
stitute one of the chief advantages of sectional boilers; the latter plan of cast iron
headers had the disadvantage of considerable weight and consequent cost and also
of frequent breakage due to the use of such a' treacherous material as cast iron for
this purpose.
Prior to my invention it has not been found practicable to make these headers
by any other method than by casting them. In my invention an improved form of
header is used which preserves all the advantages of the sectional system and at
the same time has none of the disadvantages entailed by the use of cast iron.
These headers may be made either by bending wrought iron or steel plates to the
required shape and then welding the edges or by bending and riveting the edges
or preferably by taking a lap welded wrought iron or steel tube and pressing it into
the orm of the header or else by special machinery rolling the square tube direct
without first making round tubes.
The ends of these headers I prefer to make by welding in a piece of wrought
iron of proper size. The larger sides are preferably slightly swelled as in Fig. 8 in
order to give the header sufficient strength without the necessity of staying it but
for high pressure they may be stayed if desired as shown at S Fig. 1, the stay S
being preferably a hollow stay. The header is provided with openings A¹ formed
by depressing the stock of the sheet more at the bottom than at the top (see
Figs. 6, 7 and 8) by a suitable die and then piercing.
The openings thus formed will be in a plane parallel with the plane of the ends
of the water tubes, so that tho latter will enter the sheet at right angles and
I prefer to arrange these holes as shown in Figs. 1 and 3 in such a way as to
stagger the tubes. Thus in one header two holes are placed in line with each
other horizontally and on the next horizontal line there is but one hole in the
middle of the header and in the header next adjoining in line with the two holes
in the first header there is one hole occupying the center portion in the header,
and opposite the one hole in the first header there are two holes in the second
header.
By this arrangement all the holes in the headers and consequently all the tubes.
expanded into these headers are staggered so as to compel the heated gases to take
a tortuous course between the tubes on the side of the header opposite the holes
into which the tubes are expanded that is on the front face of the front headers
and on the rear face of the rear headers I either cut or press a number of holes in
alignment with the expanded tubes for the purpose of receiving caps or hand-hole
plates, c, (see Fig. 8).
Instead of these hand hole plates there may be used plugs or any other convenient
method of making these holes steam tight may be adopted.
In Figs. 4 and 5 I have shown a modified arrangement of water tubes. In this
case the header is similar to that shown in Fig. 1 but the outside headers have
two vertical rows of holes and the corresponding holes in the opposite headers are

page_text: in about the same horizontal plane so that it will be readily understood that the
outside vertical row of tubes will be in nearly a horizontál plane as shown in
Fig. 4.
I prefer this arrangement in a battery of boilers since the amount of brickwork
required to set the boiler is thereby diminished also; this feature is especially
valuable in boilers for marine purposes and in thus applying my invention I would
fill the spaces between the tubes embraced by the headers with fire brick or other
refractory material the tubes acting as supports to the brick and the water passing
through the tubes cooling the brick and preventing its burning out.
This arrangement of fire brick and tubes makes a very effective wall for the
boiler setting preventing radiation and at the same time being very strong and
durable.
Another important feature of my improvement is the wrought iron connecting
boxes B B¹ which connect the steam and water drum A with the front and rear
headers by means of the circulating tubes F, G. This box in the form in which
I prefer to make it, is shown in detail in Figs. 9 and 10 and consists of a plate of
wrought iron or steel bent up into the required shape and provided with flanges C
upon which the boiler rests and through which the box is riveted to the boiler.
The ends of the box are also formed by bending from plates of wrought iron or
steel and they are welded or riveted to the body of the box as may be desired.
To facilitate cleaning a hand hole plate D¹ may be placed in one or both ends of
the box as shown in Figs. 1, 2 3 and 4.
It is evident that the wrought iron or steel headers which I have described
above are applicable to other forms of sectional boilers than those which are
provided with steam or water drums as shown in the drawing.
The rectangular header may be made by riveting if desired, instead of welding
or pressing a round tube into shape and the outside head of the rivet may be
countersunk as will be readily understood.
I do not wish to confine myself to a series of vertical headers, since a single tube
strut may be used with equal facility as shown at fig. 7.
It is evident that the connecting box which I have shown is applicable to boilers
having either steam or water drums, but with headers and circulating tubes of
different forms than those shown and I therefore do not wish to be confined to
the simple combination of the connecting boxes with the headers as above
described.
I do not claim broadly, the combination of the steam and water drum with
inclined water tubes and vertical headers and circulating tubes 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. A vertical or water tube steam boiler provided with vertical headers mado
of wrought iron or steel welded or riveted and approximately square or oblong in
cross section, substantially as shown and described.
2. The steam or water drum supported by connecting boxes, in combination
with headers, tubes extending between said headers and uptakes and downtakes
connecting said boxes and headers substantially as set forth.
3. In a water tube steam boiler, the combination of the steam and water drum
supported by connecting boxes, a series of water tubes, headers for the tubes, said
headers being of wrought metal and connected to the water tubes as described,
and circulating tubes, connecting said headers with the connecting boxes substan-
tially as shown and set forth.
4. A header for boilers constructed with inclined water tubes having the tube
holes formed within depressions that are inclined at the same angle with that of the
tubes, whereby the latter may project at right angles from that part of the
|header within which they are expanded substantially as shown and described.

page_text: 5. A connecting box for a water tube boiler having the sides and bottom made
from one piece of metal with flanges projecting laterally from said sides and end
pieces riveted or welded within the sides and to the bottom, the box thus formed
being capable of supporting the boiler and being secured thereto by rivets passed
through said flanges and end pieces substantially as and for the purposes herein-
before set forth.