US1080734A

US1080734A - Condensing apparatus.

Info

Publication number: US1080734A
Application number: US41876308A
Authority: US
Inventors: Elihu Thomson
Original assignee: General Electric Co
Current assignee: General Electric Co
Priority date: 1908-03-02
Filing date: 1908-03-02
Publication date: 1913-12-09
Anticipated expiration: 1930-12-09

Description

E. THOMSON. GONDENSING APPARATUS. APPLIOATION FILED MARZ, 190s.

Patented Dec. 9, 1913.

lmventor; Ele'hu Thmmson uaurnn erairns raran'r ELIHU THOMSON, OF SWAMPSCOTT, MASSAQHUSETTS, ASSIGHQR TO GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPAFY, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

GONDENSING APPARATUS;

Specificationof Letters Eatcnt.

PatentedDe c. 9, 19113.

Application filed March 2, 1908. Serial No. 418,763.

To aZZ whom it may concern:

3e it lrnonn that I. iIIU Trronson, a citizen of the United States, residing at Swampscott, in the county of Essex, State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Condensing" Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to condens- 5 ing systems for steam turbines or other prime movers and has for its object to improve and simplify their constructlon and mode of operation.

In carrying out my invention, a turbineor other prime mover is provided, which re- 1 ceives steam from a suitable boiler and eX-j hausts into a surface condenser.

This condenser may be cooled by salt Water or that from any suitablesource; and the Water need not be particularly clean since it does not; mix with the water of condensation. The rej ciprocatmg air pump such as'is commonly.

used to extract air from the condenser system, forms, in most installations, a large portion of the plant. I dispense Wlllll such a pump and substitute therefor 21 barometric column of about thirty-four or thirty-five feet in height. The upper end of the col umn is usually provided with a nozzle having a throat which hasan anterior converging portion and a posterior diverging portion. larg'cd to form a chamber, and connecting this chamber with the exhaust steam space.

pump, and. means to control-the discharge of water, such as an automatic float actuated water valve. The air subsequent to entertritugal pump. Under some conditions it may be impossible or undesirable to have a long vertical column owing to the lack of head room or for some other reason. In such cases I may make the column shorter and connect a suitable air pump to the air chamber in the trap at the lower end of the tall column. Owing to the fact that the air bythe time it reaches the trap and is liberated from the water is'much more dense than that in the condenser itself, no trouble will be experienced in pumping it out with f a comparatively small and simple high speed pump.

in order that the water of condensation may work to the best advantage in the column, a cooling means is employed therefor which means may with advantage, be acted upon by the circulatingwater before it enters the condenser. A centrifugal pump draws water of condensation through the cooling means, and discharges it through a nozzle located in the chamber in the top of the column. As the water descends it Withraws air from the condenser and usually a small amount of uncondensed vapor. The amp should be either located below the evel of the hot well and cooling means or else arrangements must be made for priming The anterior portion is further en ing the trap with the water separates therei from and enters a chamber at the top from which it escapes from time to time .when' the pressure is grcatenough to open the ecliclosin'g valve. When the waterlevel reaches a certain height it opens the float valve and permits water to escape from the trap; The waternecessary. to operate the barometric column is taken from the hot Well of the condenser and raised by a high-speed cenit with a check valve to ar'event back flow from the pump toward the cooling means. The pump may be driven by a turbine, or an electric motor and the latter may with advantage receive its energy from the generator driven by the main prime mover.

. Since it is necessary to supply the boiler with water, I utilize the same pump-for this purpose that supplies the barometric column; In the case ofthe column the pressure necessary to raise the'water is comparatively small while that necessary to force water into the boiler must necessarily be considerably greater. To carry-out this part ofn y vention, I provide a centrifugal pump cornr prising a suitable casing with inlets and out;

lets and an impeller having portions of different idian'ieter; that drawing the smaller diameter being used to supply water to the column and that having the larger diameter being used to supply the boiler. It will thus be seen that the water of condensation is kept entirely separate from the .coolin or, circulating water, and that it is returne ,to

the boiler to maintain its level and is ,sup-

plied to the column to extract air'from the condenser. In such a system it Wlll be found necessary to add a certain amount of makeup water from time to time on account of leakage, and this may be done in the usual manner.

In the accompanying drawing which illustrates one of the ways of carrying out my invention, Figure 1 shows diagrammatically a condensing system receiving the exhaust from a steam turbine; Fig. i is an axial section of the centrifugal pump taken on line 22 ofFig. 1, and Fig. 3 is a cross section showing the lower'end of the barometric column and taken on the line 33 of Fig. 1.

1 indicates a steam turbine or other prime mover which is directly connected to the electric generator 2. Steam for the prime mover is supplied by the boiler 3, and the exhaust of the turbine is conveyed by the conduit 4 to the surface condenser 5. The latter may be of any suitable construction. In the present instance, it comprises tube sheets (3 located at opposite ends for supporting the tubes 7. These tubesare in communication with chambers 8 in opposite ends which are filled with cooling or circulating water. Thiswater is supplied by the conduit 9 and is discharged by the conduit 10. The former is connected with a suitable water supply in any convenient manner.

In order to extract the air from the vapor space of the condenser a Torricellian or barometric column 11 is provided. This column is thirty-four or thirty-five feet high and at the upper end is provided with a nozzle 12 which first converges and then diverges. The water of condensation from the hot well is discharged into the downwardly opening nozzle 1-3. Surrounding the discharge n02:- zle 18 is a chamber 14 which is connected by the conduit 15wvith the vapor space of the co-ndenser. As the water descendsthrough the column .11 it carries With it'the air and some uncondensed vapor from the con denser.

The lower end of the column extends into 'a trap 16 provided with a suitable casing having a chamber 17 for air and a chamber 18 for water, the two' being in constant communication. through orifices .19. The lower end of the column is provided with a cross piece 20 of the shape shown in Fig. 3. The object of this is to impart to the water issuing from the column a rotary motion, which will permit the air to separate from the Water at a point or points near the column and pass into the. chamber 17. hen the pressure accumulates to a certain point it will open'the valve 21 and be discharged, after which the small weight 22 or other means closesthe valve. Inside of the water chamber 18' is a valve 24 that controls the outlet to the'pipe 25 and is actuated by the float 26, When the'water Within the chamber rises to a predetermined level, it opens the valve and permits water to escape until the level has decreased to a certain amount when-the valve automatically-closes. The pipe 25 is in direct communication with the hot well 27 of the condenser, and the latter is connected with the suction side of the centrifugal pump 2-8. Included in the connection between the hot well and the pump is a cooling means 29 which may be made in a variety of ways. In the present instance it is shown as being composed of a coil of pipe bent back and forth on itself. This coil. is inclosed in a casing 30 which forms a part of the conduit conveying cooling water to the condenser. The water from the hot well iselevated by the centrifugal pump and after passing through the conduit 31 is dis charged by the nozzle 13.' The same pump also conveys water by the pipe 32 to the .boiler 3. This pump is driven by a motor,

such as a steam turbine or an electric motor located on the side away from the observer. The construction of the pump'is best shown in Fig. 2, wherein 33 indicatesthe driving" shaft and 34- the impeller mounted thereon. This impeller comprises two portions, 35 and 36, which differ in diameter. The portion 35 having the smaller diameter will impart less pressureto the water than the portion having the larger diameter, and for this reason the former is employed to supply water to the barometric column, and the latter to The impeller supply water 'to the boiler. is located in a suitable casing having supply chambers 37 on opposite sides thereof, and low pressure out-lets 38 and a high pressure outlet 39. It is to be noted that the cooling water piping or system has no connection with that of the-water of condensation. the two being entirely distinct, and that the water-0f condensation is employed for extracting air from the condenser.

l/Vhen the column 11 has to be madeshorter for one reason or another a suction air pump 40 is provided. which driven by an electric niotor,'or other suitable agency, and is connected on the suction side to'tlie air'chamber 17 at the lower endof the fall column 11. As the density of the air in this chamber is relatively high the labor of pumping" will be comparatively light, and

the pump need only be of a comparatively small size.

By reason of my invention, I have avoided all the complications made necessary by the use of reciprocating pumps, and substituted therefor apparatus that OCOLlDlGS a.

minimum amount of room, and which is very simple and of a relatively cheap construction.

For the barometric column spoken of. may

be substituted a jet impelled by suilicient force to carry the air forward with it and deliver the same through the water seal into the chamber from which it afterward es capes. Such a jet arrangement I would con sider a substitute for that part of my invention com-pr ising the barometric column,

since the force of the water jet supplies the necessary difference of pressure instead of the height of the column.

In accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes, I have described the principle of operation of my invention together with. the apparatus which. I now consider to represent the best embodiment thereof; but I desire to have it understood that the apparatus shown is only illustrative, and that the invention can be carried out by other means.

\Vhat I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is

1. In combination, a prime mover, a surface condenser that receives all of the exhaust vapor from the prime mover and condenses it, means for sui 'iplying cooling water to the condenser and imiintaining it separate from the water of condensation, a means separate from the condenser and connected to its vapor space that acts solely to.

extract air and uncondenscd from the condenser and comprises a fall column, and a pump which receives water of condensation only from the condenser and discharges it into the upper end of said column, the' cooling water and the water of condensation being separately maintained.

In combination, a prime mover, a surface condenser that receives all of the exhaust vapor from the prime mover and condenses it, means for supplying cooling water to the condenser and maintaining it separate from the water of condensation, a means which acts solely to extract air and uucordensed gases from the condenser that comprises a fall column, a connection from the top thereof to the vapor space at the top of the said condenser, a centrifugal pump that receives Water of condensation only from the condenser and discharges it into the upper end of said column, and an air trap located at the bottom of the column in which the water'and vapors separate.

3. In combination, a prime mover, a surface condenser that receives all of the exhaust vapor from the prime mover and condenses it, means for supplying cooling water to the condenser and maintaining it separate from the water of condensation, a means which acts solely to extract air and uncondense'd gases from the condenser that comprises a fall column, a connection from the top of the column to the vapor space at the top of said COHClCDSGI HIId an automatically acting trap with which the lower end of the column communicates, which trap discharges air when the pressure therein reaches a certain predetermined value ,and discharges the water of condensation when the level thereof exceeds a certain predetermined point.

4. In combination, a prime mover, a survapor space of said condenser, an automatic trap into which the lower end of the column extends, said trap being constructed and arranged to release the air contained therein when the pressure exceeds a predetermined value and to discharge water of condensation when the level thereof exceeds a certain point, a cooler for the Water of condensation, a connection between the trap and the lower part of the condenser and the cooler,

and a centrifugal pump which receives water of condensation unmixed with the cooling water from the cooler and discharges it into the upper end of the column.

5. In combination, a prime mover, aboiler for supplying vapor thereto, a surface condenser that receives all of the vapor exhausted from the prime mover and condenses it, means for supplying cooling water to the condenser, said cooling Water being maintained entirely separate from the water of condensation, a means separate from the condenser that acts solely to extract air from the condenser and comprises a fall column, a connection between the vapor space at the upper part of the condenser and the top of the column, and a trap connected to and receiving the water of condensation from the column, said trap acting to control the escape of air from the water, and a centrifugal pump connected to and receiving water from the lower part of the condenser and from the trap after air has been separated therefrom which pump discharges water of condensation at different pressures to the upper end of the column and to the boiler respectively.

6. In combination, a prime mover, a boiler for supplying vapor thereto, a surface condenser that receives all of the vapor exhausted from the prime mover and con denses it, means for supplying cooling water to the condenser, said cooling water being maintained entirely separate from the water of condensation, a means separate from the condenser that, acts solelyto extract air from the condenser and comprises a fall column, a connection between the vapor space of the condenser and the topof the column, and a trap connected to and re1, l'

ceiving the Water of condensation from the eolumn,'sa1d trap acting to control the escape of air from the water, and a centrifugal pump connected to and receiving water of the pump, and means for conveying the cooling Water over the surfaces of the cooler on its way to the condenser.

7. In comlolnation, boiler, a prime mover supplied with vapor therefrom, acondenser I that receives all of the exhaust vapor from the prime mover, means for circulating a cooling liquid through the condenser and keeping it out of contact witlrthe liquid caused by condensation of the exhaust vapor, fall column, a connection. between the column and the upper end of the condenser to remove air from said condenser, an automaticall acting trap at the bottonr of the column, a centrifugal pump that is located below the level of the condenser and receives liquid due to condensatlon therefrom unmixed with the cooling water and from the trap and supplies it to the column, and a means for reducing the temperature of the liquid prior 'to its discharge into the upper end of the column.

8. In combination, a prime mover, a surface condenser for condensing all the exhaust vapor therefrom, conduits delivering circulating Water to and receiving it from the condenser, a fall column, a connection from its upper end to the vapor space of the condenser, a pump which receives the Water of condensation unmixed with the circulating water from the condenser and discharges it into the top of column where by its fall it. creates a. suction in said connection thereby extracting air from the condenser, and

means cooperating with thelower end of the column to control the discharge of air and the water of condensation.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto setmy hand this twenty sixth day of F ebruary, 190%.

ELIHU THOMSON. W itnesses JOHNCA. Molvinxus, J12,

(JHARLES A. Barnum.-