US1357259A - Ash-conveying system - Google Patents

Description

Patented Nov. 2', 1920;

UNITED STATES PATENT orricn.

ARTHUR P. STRONG, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A SS'IGNOR TO GREEN ENGINEERING COMPANY, OF EAST CHICAGO, INDIANA, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

ASH-CONVEYING SYSTEM.

Application filed March 21, 1918. Serial No. 223,691.

To all to 7mm it may concern Be it known that I, ARTHUR P. STRONG, a citizen of the United States, residin at Chicago, in the county of Cook and @tate of Illinois, have invented new and useful Improvements in Ash-Conveying Systems, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to conveying sys tems for abrasive materials such as ashes and the like.

Conveying systems of the kind mentioned comprise a pipe line built of a plurality of metal pipes joined end to end and forming a conduit through which the ashes or like abrasive materials are moved pneumatically, as for instance by means of a current produced by jets of steam being discharged into the pipe line at several places in its length. Such systems when installed usually comprise connected vertical and horizontal and even oblique lengths of pipe, thereby making it necessary to use elbow or like fittings at the sharp bends or turns in the pipe line. The elbows in particular are subjected to an excessive or unequal de gree of wear, resulting from the increased. abrasive action of the material which must necessarily occur where the direction of flow of the material is abruptly altered. To relieve that portion of the inner surface of the elbow of such excessive abrasive action, it is now the general practice to cover such surface with a removable wearing back which is usually made of a metal of such hardness capable of withstanding such excessive abrasive action longer than could the relatively softer material of which the elbow is made. Up to the present time it has not been possible to make wearing backs which will withstand such excessive abrasive action for any protracted length of time, nor has it been possible to make wearing backs which will wear to the same degree even under the same conditions, thereby making the maintenance cost of the system vary considerably from time to time. Wearing backs as now made wear out very quickly in the operation of the system, and after some service the ash concentrates more or less on one spot on the inner surface of the wearing back, with the result that the back is worn through in that spot before any other portion of the back is worn through. As soon as this happens, the por- Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 2, 1920.

tion of the elbow casing directly over the wearing back is subjected to an abrasive action of the material flowing thereagainst through the hole worn in the back, and as the elbow casing is made of relatively soft metal, it follows that a hole is worn very quickly in the elbow casing, causing the ash to be blown out of the pipe line through said hole. From this it follows that it is necessary to replace both the worn back and either the entire elbow or only the damaged part thereof, which in either case is an item of expense. Laborers emploved about ash conveying systems of this kind are as a general rule unskilled and possessing a low intelligence they never thlnk of inspect ing the wearing backs until there is some sign given from the. outside of the pipe line and this by the outer casing of an elbow being blown through, and then it is too late to prevent damage being done to the latter.

It is among the objects of my invention to overcome the difficulties noted, and to accomplish this I provide a construction of such a nature adapted to hold a packing of ash in place over the outside of and in contact with a wearing back, so that when a hole is worn through the wearing back such hole will be covered on the outside thereof by an ash pack, which will prevent the ash current from flowing through such hole and cause the ash in the current to pack in the hole and fill it up so as to prevent further aggravated wear of the back in such hole.

Manifestly with my invention the outer casing of the pipe fitting or elbow will not be damaged when. a hole is worn through the wearing back, so that only the wearing back need be replaced when worn, and not at the same time the pipe fitting. In filling up such hole and preventing further immediate wear therein, the life of the wearing back is prolonged, as is apparent. Then again, said ash packing serves as a cushion to the shock to which the back is usually subjected in the contact of the ash therewith during the operation of the system.

The invention consists further in the matters hereinafter described and more par-.

ticularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings I Figure 1 is a. vertical sectional view of a pipe fitting constructed in accordance with 60 v the flow of the ash through the pipe line is my invention and being taken on line 11 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view taken on the indirect line 2-2 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view illustrating how the ash in the ash current packs in and fills up the hole when first worn in the wearing back when backed by an ash packing in accordance with my invention.

In the drawings, I have shown that part of an ash conveying or like system wherein one of the pipes 10 of the horizontal run of the pipe line is connected with the adjacent pipe 11 of a vertical or upright run of said pipe line by means of an elbow 12 interposed between said pipes and connected therewith by suitable clamping means,such as in the form of clamping bolts 13, 13, as shown. Located within said elbow 12 is a removable wearing back '14: of the type shown and forming substantially one-half of the conduit through the elbow and constituting that portion thereof which is subjected to the excessive abrasive action of the material flowing through the elbow; Said elbow 12 is cut away to receive the wearing back 141, as shown, and secured to the elbow over the wearing back is a hollow casing 15 preferably comprising upright side and end walls 16, 17, respectively, and a top wall or cover 18 removably connected with the side walls of the casing by suitable clamping means, preferably in the form of clamp, bolts 19, 19 inserted through the margin of the cover and an outwardly extending marginal flange 20 provided on the upright walls of the casing for that purpose. The lower edges of said side walls 16 rest on side flanges 21 provided on the elbow 12. Each side wall 16 is provided adjacent its lower edge with an outwardly extending flange 22, located above the flange 21 so that clamp bolts 23 may be inserted through said flange for securing the casing 15 to the pipe section 12, as shown in Fig. 2. In the construction illustrated, the end walls 17, 17 bear against suitable portions 24 provided on the pipe section 12 for that purpose. It will be noted that the wearing backlet forms the inner or bottom wall of the casing 15. When said casing is applied to the pipe section 12 in the manner described and shown, the cover 18 is removed and the casing filled with ashes or like abrasive material 25 of the same kind which flows through the pipe line, and after that has been done the cover is re placed and clamped in closed position.

lVhen the parts are in the positions shown in the drawings and the system operating,

in the direction shown by the arrow in Fig.

1, and in passing through the" elbow 12 it 7 naturally follows that the ash flows around and over the inner curved surface of the wearing back 14, with the result that the same is subjected to an excessive and unequal degree of wear due to the increased abrasiveaction of the material thereon. The main impingement of the ash is more or less concentrated on one spot in the curvature of the inner surface of the wearing back, and it has been found in practice that this spot is within a circle of three to four' inches in diameter. The result is that the boring action of the material on such spot tends to wear through that portion of the wearing back before any other portion of the same is worn through. Manifestly, such spot wears through first, and when it does the ash passing through the hole thus formed encounters the packing of ash 25 in the easing 15. The result is that there is a resistance to further passage of the ash through the hole, and the ash therefore tends to pack in the same, the degree or density of packing tending to be increased as the ash packsinto said hole. The ash passing through the system is more or less moistened by the steamused to create the flow, and it follow that the ash packs in the hole until the hole is completely filled, as shown in Fig. 3, wherein such hole is indicated by 26 and the ash packed therein by 27 It follows, therefore, that the ash builds up on the surface of the ash already packed in the hole 26 until the same is completely filled. In the event such packing process continues to pack more ash than the hole will accommodate so that the pack extends inward beyond the inner surface of the wearing back, such excess amount of'ash, by the abrasive action of the material passing thereover, will be worn off so as to bring the packing in the hole 26 substantially flush with the inner surface of the wearing back. On the other hand, should it happen at any time during the operation of the system that the ash packed in the hole should be less than required to fill the hole, an accumulation of ash will immediately develop to completely fill the opening. Consequently, the inner surface of the wearing back is maintained in effect continuous and-unbroken for an appreciable length of time and the ash current prevented from quickly wearing out the back after a hole has been once started, with the result that the life of the wearing necessar Then a ain b orovidiiwas ace between the outer surface of the wearing back and the outer casing of the pipe section and packing such space with an ash pack, it follows that the outer casing ofthe pipe section is not worn through when a hole has been worn-in the wearing back, with the re- .sult the the casing is notdamaged and thus eliminates replacing or repairing the pipe section when a hole is worn in the wearing back. Manifestly, with myinvention in use the maintenance cost of the pipe line is kept down.

By providing an ash pack 25 behind or on the outside of the wearing back 14 in the manner set forth, the wearing back is cushioned against impingement or contact of the ash thereagainst in its passage through the pipe section 12. This advantage will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art to which my invention relates.

Although I have shown and described in detail herein my invention as being applied to an elbow fitting of a pipe line of the kind mentioned, yet it is to be of course under stood that my invention may be applied to any otherpart of the pipe line found desirable. Furthermore, while I have shown and described herein a construction embody ing the features of my invention, yet it is to be of course understood that the details of construction and arrangement of parts illustrated may be variously changed and modified without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention, and I do not wish to be limited to the exact details of construction and arrangement of parts shown, except as pointed out in the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. In an ash conveying or like system, a pipe section, a relatively deep body of ash on the outside of the pipe section against that portion of the same subjected to the greatest degree of wear for covering a hole when worn through said portion from the inside thereof and for preventing the material conveyed through the pipe section from being blown through said hole, and means secured to the pipe section on the outside thereof for holding said body of ash against said portion.

2. In an ash conveying or like system, a

'' wear resisting liner therein, a relatively deep body of ash against said liner on the outside thereof for covering a hole when worn through said liner from the inside thereof and for preventing the material conveyed through said pipe section from being blown through said hole, and means secured to the pipe section on the outside thereof about said liner for holding said body of ash against the same.

3. In an ash conveying or like system, an elbow, a removable wearing back therein, a relatively deep body of ash against said wearing back on the outside thereof for covering a hole when worn through the same from the inside thereof and for preventing the material conveyed through said elbow from being blown through said hole, and means secured to said elbow on the outside thereof about said wearing back for holding said body of ash against the same.

4:. In an ash conveying or like system, a pipe section, a relatively deep body of ash on the outside of the pipe section against that portion of the same subjected to the greatest degree of wear for covering a hole when worn through said portion from the inside thereof and for preventing the material conveyed through said pipe section from being blown through said hole, and a hollow casing secured to said pipe section on the out side thereof about said portion for holding said body of ash against the same. y

5. In an ash conveying or like system, an elbow, a removable wearing back therein, a relatively deep body of ash against said wearing back on the outside thereof for covering a hole when worn through said wearing back from the inside of the same and for preventing the material conveyed through said elbow from being blown through said hole, and a hollow casing secured to said elbow on the outside thereof about said wearing back for holding said body of ash against the same.

6. In an ash conveying or like system, an elbow, a removable wearing back therein, a relatively deep body of ash against said wearing back on the outside thereof for covering a hole when worn through said wearing back from the inside thereof, and for preventing the material conveyed through the elbow from being blown through said hole, and a hollow casing for bold ing said body of ash against said wearing back, said casing having marginal walls secured to said elbow about said wearing back and projecting outward from the same, and a removable cover closing the outer end of the casing.

'7. In an ash conveying or like system, an elbow having an opening in the outer wall thereof, a removable wearing back seated in said opening and closing the same, a relatively deep body of ash against said wearing back on the outside thereof and supported by the same for covering a hole when worn through said wearing back from the inside thereof, and for preventing the material conveyed through said elbow from being blown through said hole, and a hollow casing for holding said body of ash against said wearing back, said casing having marginal walls secured to said elbow about said opening and extending outward therefrom, and a removable cover closing the outer end of said casing.

8. In an ash conveying or like system, a pipe section, a relatively deep body of ash on the outside of the pipe section against that portion of the same subjected to the greatest degree of wear for covering a hole when worn through said portion from the inside thereof and for allowing the hole to pack and substantially fill with the material conveyed through the elbow to prevent said material from being blown through said hole, and means for holding said body of ash against said portion. 1

9. In an ash conveying or like system, an elbow, a removable wearing back therein, a relatively deep body of ash against said wearing back on the outside thereof for covering a hole when worn through said wearing back from the inside thereof, and for allowing the hole to pack and substantially fill with the material conveyed through the elbow to prevent said material from being blown through said hole, and

ARTHUR R STRONG.

Witnesses HRMAN TOWNHAM,

H. R. W LsoN.

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