US152958A - Improvement in turbine wheels - Google Patents

Description

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE..

SILAS VALTON, OF MOORESTOVN, NEV JERSEY.

IMPROVEMENT IN TURBINE WHEELS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 152,958, dated July 14, 1874; application filed May 20, 1874.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, SILAs VVALTON, of Moorestown, in the county of Burlington and State of New Jersey, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Turbine Wheels; and I do hereby declare the following` to be a full, clear, and exact description thereof, which will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the said improvement, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specication, and in which- Figure l, Sheet l, is a vertical section taken through the axis of the shaft of my improved turbine wheel, and showing` the gates closed; Fig. 2, Sheet 2, a partial plan, broken away so as to show the chutes, the buckets, and crown-plate P of the wheel, and the diaphragm and crown -plate g of the inner gate. Fig. 3, Sheet 3, is a perspective view, partly in section, of a portion of the curb, wheel, and both gates when fully open; Fig. 4, Sheet 3, a similar view of a portion of the wheel, showing the inner gate broken away and partly l open 5 and Fig. 5, Sheet 3, a similar view of a letters in all the figures.

rIhis invention consists, rst, in the construction, as hereinafter described, of the buckets of the wheel; secondly, in the combination, with the casing of the wheel, of a cylinder gate constructed with a flange of such width that the pressure of the water below it shall counterbalance the weight of the gate and its appendages; thirdly, in the combination of the beveled bottom edge of the dome or casing with the curved surface of the adjacent gaterim, whereby, as one approaches the other, obstructions deposited between them are displaced; fourthly, in the combination of a turbine wheel and an outer and inner cylindergate -with the devices, substantially as shown and described, for raising or lowering both gates simultaneously, so as to increase or diminish the capacity of the buckets simultaneously with that of the chutes; iifthly, in the combination of a turbine-wheel, an inner cylinder-gate, which revolves with the wheel, and a stationary outer cylinder-gate, with the sections thereof) may be employed, connected to the hub by radial arms. To this crownplate or annular rim are bolted the upper and lower plates of the wheel D D, as shown in Fig. l, the lower of which has fixed or cast on it a series of partitions, b, which extend to the upper plate, and form the curved channels or bucket-spaces B. The casing of the wheel consists of a dome, Q, supported on a curb, F, whose bottom flange f rests on the foundation, and supports, by means of screw-bolts, the spider 3, which is inclosed within a rib, o, formed on said iange. The adjustable step S rests on the center of the spider, and forms the lower bearing of the main shaft C, the upper part of which turns in a bearing supported by dome Q at its summit. The upper iiange K of curb F is indented, as shown in Fig. 3, and its upper surface, inelinin g downward outwardly, forms the bottom of the chutes. From the edge y to the vertical part of curb F extend a series of slots corresponding in shape to the chute-guides G, as shown in Fig. 2, and through which the said guides move freely in a vertical direction when the gates are elevated or depressed. Between these slots the upper surface of K forlns the lower surface ofl the chutes, which direct the water to the wheel. The dome Q is secured to curb F by-means of pillars r passingthrough the enlarged portions of guides Gr, andv its bottom edge is beveled to an edge inward to repel any obstacles that may collect on the upper side of the gate-.rim J. rIlhe outer gate consists of a vertical ring or cylinder, L, with a narrow outwardly-projectin g flange, d, at its top, and at its bottom an outwardly-projectin g rim, J, indented as shown in Fig. 3, and a very narrow llange or4 lip, i, projecting slightly inward under the inner gate. This flange t', and the edge of the curb underneath it, form the shutting surfaces ot' the outer gate. The width of the upper flange d is proportioned so that the pressure of the water under it may counterbalance the'weight of the gate and its appendages. The ange d slides on the inside vertical surface ot' the dome Q, and is provided with suitable water-tight packing. The lower surface of the indented rim J curves upward outwardly at the mouth of each. chute, and forms the upper surface thereof, as shown in Fig. 3. A series of guides, Gr, are fixed or cast on the under surface of the rim J and gate L, extending from the thickened edge y to the vertical part of curb F, and projectin g down'through the curb-flange K. The enlarged portion of these guides (shown in sectionin Fig. 2) may be made hollow and open, to permit the pillars r to pass through them, and. allow the passage of water and sediment. The `upper surface of rim J curves downward, as shown in Fig. 3, where it meets the guides, so as to direct the water into the chutes, and permit sediment to be carried off. The inner gate consists of an annular trough, whose bottom is designated in the drawing by m, and its sides by n, connected by a perforated crown plate, g, or by radial arms, to the` hub, g', which is feathered, as shown at w, to the main shaft G, so as to revolve with said shaft, while capable of vertical motion thereupon. The bottom' m of this trough is between the plates D D, the upper of which is inclosed by the sides a a, and said bottom m is made with slots corresponding to the partitions b, and not fitting water tight to said partitions, but having clearance enough to admit water above m. A is a hand-wheel, which rotates between fixed bearings '1c zo, supported by the frame T, which is bolted to dome Q, or to other more elevated permanent supports. H is a vertical rod, made with a screw-thread fitting a correspondin g female screw in the hub of the wheel A, and rigidly attached to the spider Hf, from whose arms depend rods Z Z, attached to ilangeJ of the outer gate. To the hub of the spider H are secured the upper and lower bearings c e of the spherical head e ofthe rod R. This rod extends down within the tubular shaft C, and is secured to 'the hub g by a pin, h, passing through a slot in C. The rotation ofthe hand-wheel thus elevates or depresses both gates simultaneously, and the ball-and-socket connection permits the inner gate to rotate with the water-wheel, while the movement of the outer gate is only vertical. The iioats or partitions b, which form the side walls of the buckets B, are shown in plan in Fig. 2. The impact or concave side of each partition is curved inward to a distance somewhat greater than the width of the chutes S, and extends thence in an oblique line to the inner circumference of the annular plate D, forming a smooth continuous surface throughout its whole extent. The opposite or convex side, which at the outer circumference of the plateD forms a thin edge with the concave side, curves inward from said edge, and on a dierent center from the curve of the concave side, extending to a point, the position of which is determined by drawing to said conveX side, from the inner extremity of the adjoining partition, a straight line, 5, at right angles to the oblique part of the concave side thereof. A recess or offset is made at t, and the remainder of thepartition is a single plate, p, tapering to a thin edge. This recess prevents the-discharging current from coming in contact with the curved side of the partition after passing the point t, so that the issuing a ri ght angle to the radius, in order to throwthe waterto the center. The sides of the chutes formed by these guides diverge a little ontwardly and endin curves c c, as shown in Fig. 2. The chutes being bounded by the guides G and surfaces J and K, the elevation or depression of the outer gate increases or diminishes not merely the gate area at the opening and shutting edge, but the entire capacity of the chutes. The inward projection i, with its shutting surface upon the curb F, ena-bles the inner ends of the guides Gr to be brought close to the curb, as shown in Fi 0'. l, when the gate is shut, and near the buckets when it is open, thereby preventing acurrent round the wheel. The bottom m of the inner gate forms a diaphragm in the wheel NV, and the bands or walls au, which inclose the bucketorifices and the upper plate D, fit tightly against and slide vertically upon the edges of said plate, forming a tight chamber in the upper part of the wheel, (except a small orice in the lower corner of the bucket to vent mud or sediment.) Tater is admitted into this chamber through the clearance of the slots in the diaphragm, as heretofore explained. The shallow channels or grooves a., cut in the tops of the partitions b, permit water to pass from one bucket into another over the diaphragm. The admission of water above the diaphragm balances the pressure from below, and keeps it equipoised at any elevation in the bucket. The heads of bolts d' d', by which the upper plate D is fastened toy the crown-plate l, or radial arms, form stops which prevent the diaphragm from coming into contact with said plate, and preserve more or less space and water passage at all times in the upper part of the bucket. The lower surface of m is slightly inclined, as shown in Fig. 1,its lowest part being at the most contracted part 5 of the bucket, from which it tapers slightly upward in both directions, thus forming a wedge-shaped entrance into the bucket between m and the lower plate D, and preventing a vacuum at their surfaces when the Wheel is closed.

What I cla-im as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is-

l. The combinatiomwith the annularplates D D, of the partitions b b, constructed and arranged substantially as shown and described.

2. The combination, with the casing of the Wheel, of the gate L, constructed with a lan ge, d, of such width that the pressure of the water below it shall counter-balance the Weight ot' the gate and its appendages, substantially as shown and described.

3. The combination of abeveled bottom edge of dome Q and the curved upper surface of the gate-rim J operating, as one approaches the other, to displace obstructions deposited between them.

4. The combination of a turbine wheel and an outer and inner cylinder-gate with the devices, substantially as shown and described, by which both gates are raised or lowered 'simultaneousl y, and kthe capacity of the buckets thereby increased or diminished Vsimultaneously with that of the chutes.

5. The combination of a turbine Wheel, an inner cylinder-gate which revolves with the wheel, and a stationary outer cylinder-gate with the devices, substantially as shown and described, by which both gates are raised or lowered simultaneously, whether the lWheel be in motion or at rest.

SILAS WALTON. Witnesses JAMES QUINN,

WILLIAM PARENT.

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