US1712806A - Steam generator - Google Patents

Description

w. E. BAKER STEAM GENERATOR May 14, 1929.

Filed March 28, 1924 3 Sheets-Shea g sk May 14, 1929. w, BAKER 1,712,806

STEAM GENERATOR Filed March 28. 1924 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 May 14, 1929.

w. E. BAKER 1,712,806

STEAM GENERATOR Filed March 28, 1924 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Ewe r:

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Patented May 14, 1929.

UNITED STATES WILLIAM E. BAKER, F ERIE, PENNSYLVANIA.

STEAM GENERATOR.

Application filed. March 28, 1924.

My invention relates to a new and improved steam generator and has for one of its principal Ob]GCtS to provide a frame on V which a plurality of generator units may be mounted as desired.

A further object is to provide a frame which will, in addition to supporting a plurality of generator units, also act as a water separator.

A still further object is to provide such a frame which will support the generator units out of contact with the flame from the fire box.

A further object is to provide a frame which will lead the water separated from the steam from a plurality of points in the frame to a point or points where the impurities therein may be readily blown out.

A further object is to provide generator unit which will give a large surface exposed to heat, thus causing a rapid circulation of water through the unit.

A still further object is to provide a system which will give a rapid circulation of steam, thereby preventing formation of scale.

Another object is to provide a generator unit which will effectively support super heater units in a position where they do not come in direct contact with the flame and in such a way that it is possible to provide a substantial amount of super heater surface.

Another object is to provide a structure wherein. welding of joints is reduced to a 1n inimum.

A still further object is to provide a frame which may support one or a plurality of generator units as may be desired.

Other objects will be in part apparent and in part pointed out in the following description, and in the drawings formlng a part of this specification:

Fig. 1 is an elevation of one embodiment of my invention. 7

Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the embod1- ment shown in Fig. 1, parts being shown in section and some parts omitted for the purpose of clearness.

Fig. 3 is a section taken on the line 3--3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a View corresponding to Fig. 1 but illustrating a preferred form of my invention.

Fig. 5 is a sectional view showing my improved valve.

One of thetroubles experienced in water Serial No. 702,485.

tube steam generator systems has been the formation of scale, commonly termed incrusting, on the inner surface of the tubes. Another trouble experienced has been that of foaming. Incrusting is caused by the deposition of foreign matter, such as, mud, salts or soap forming material which is found in the water used. Foaming may be caused by the deposition of organic matter which found in the Water, which forms scum, or by incomplete separation of steam.

My system avoids these troubles by causing a very rapid circulation of the water through the tubes which causes a granulation of the impurities instead of an incrustation, and also prevents the deposition of the organic matter to cause foaming. Furthermore, I provide means to cause a more nearly complete separation of steam than has been possible heretofore, thus removing one of the possible causes of foaming. In the past, these troubles have been attacked by means independent of-the generator and involving considerable expense, and also by treatment of the water which is also expensive and uncertain in its results.

Referring now to Fig. 1, the fire box occupies the position indicated at A. 1 provide a frame 1 comprising headers 2, 3, l, 5 and 6 and connecting members between said headers which will be referred to as the description progresses. Water enters header 2 at 7, passes through tubes 54 and 8 into header 3 and then through connections 9 to headers 10 of my improved generator units. These units are mounted upon the headers 3 and 4 of the frame 1 by means of the connections 9 and 11 and held together by a connection 10. After passing to headers 10, the water will then enter the members 12 attached to the lower part of the headers, the water line being maintained at the elevation indicated at 13 by any well known regulating means. As shown, the tubes 12 are U-shaped and are arranged to re-cross the space above the fire box and to return to the header 10 at its upper end and rest on support 20. Both legs of each U are inclined upwardly, so as to aid in the proper circulation of steam, as will be more fully described later.

In the water tube type of generators it is not uncommon to have the steam circulate in the wrong direction. This is prevented in my invention by the provision of valves 14 placed as shown in Fig. 1 just above the Water line and there being one valve in each unit of the generator system. This valve will be more fully described later. I After rc-entering the header 1() above the valve 14, steam then circulates through the connections 11 to the header 4. At this point much of the water which the steam has been carrying in suspension will be deposited in the header l and will drain back to the header 3 by means of the pipes 15 forming a portion of the frame 1. The steam will flow through the pipes 16 to the header 5 where separation of more of the suspended water from the steam will take place, the separated water draining back to thebottom of the frame bymeans of the pipes 17 and 18 also forming part of the frame 1. The steam' will continue through the pipes .19 to the header 6 where the final separation takes place; the water from the header 6 returns through pipes 20' and 21 to the bottom portion of the frame, these pipes 20 and 21 also forming part of the frame. It will be evident that the impurities contained in the water separated from the steam will be deposited in the headers 2 and 3 from which they may be easily blown out as at 22.- These headers 2 and 3, it Will be noted, are not directly exposed to the flame from the fire box and there is, therefore, no danger of incrustation from the impurities. After reaching the header 6 the steam passes through the pipe 23 to the super heater units 24 mounted on the lower leg of the U-shaped pipe 12 and thence through the pipe 25 to the second super heater unit 26 disposed beneath the bottom of the lower leg of the 'U-shaped units 26 and. 24 act as baifie plates and a suitable baffle plate 28 and smoke bonnet 29 is provided to direct the heated gases from the'fire box Afaround the tubes 12, as indicated by the arrows B in Fig. 1.

Thus it will be seen that I have provided 3 a most efficient system which will permit of the utilization of any desired number of generator units on a frame, which frame will also serve as a separator for the water carried in suspension by steam. The arrangement of the pipes making up the frame forms in effect a trussed structure of "the necessary strength to support the generator units.

' sion 31.

The valve 1 1 I prefer to use in my system is illustrated in detail in Fig. 5 and comprises a hollow member 30 adapted to fit within a header 10 or other pipe and (erminating in a depending L shaped exten- This L extension 31. is provided at its end with flanges 32 defining a plane inclined at an angle from the vertical so that a plate 33 mounted to slide on supporting members 34 will, by its own weight, restagainst these flanges. It will be seen that any tendency of water or steam to circulate upward in the header 10 will be prevented by the valve, the plate 33 being forced into engagement with the flanges 32 not only by its own weight, but also by the pressure of the steam or water. On the contrary, passage of water in the opposite direction is permitted, the water merely forcing the plate 33 outwardly against the heads 35 of the members 34, it being understood that these heads retain the plate 33 in position and the reduced portions of the members 34 permitting a certain play of the plate thereon.

In Fig. 4 I have illustrated a modification which I have found to be )referable to that shown in Fig. 1, although embodying the same general principles. In this modification, instead of a U-shaped series of tubes joining a header I use a double U or a W- shaped series of tubes 36 joined at their ends with the frame shown in the modification of ,Fig. 1 except that in this modification I have shown the valves located in some members of the frame. I have also omitted from this view the smoke bonnet and bafile plates which may obviously be placed where desired. In this construction it will be seen that I may provide more super-heater units thanv in the modification of Fig. 1 and I have shown, for the purposes of illustration, three groups of units 37, 38 and 39. By thus providing a greater length of super heater units, it will be evident that the steam delivered to the engine will be much drier and that the super heater units may be so placed that they do not come in direct contact with the flame from the fire box, thereby eliminating blistering or burning out, or the formation of scale therein, both of which are well known as serious problems in this art. In this modification, also, I, of course, may employ one or more units in my generator, as may be found desirable, the

frame being capable of supporting a plurality of generator units of either t pe, either the U-shaped type shown in Fig. 1, or the W-shaped type shown in Fig. 4. The W-shaped type is also preferable in that it provides contact for the hot gases from the fire box'with a greater length of water pipe and this contact is made in a more direct manner, as will be evident from a compari- 'to the header 10. The frame 1 is identical each other and above the tubes.

son of Figs. 1 and 4. In actual test I have found, however, that the form of Fig. 1 is very efiicient, In Fig. 4, as in Fig. 1, I have used arrows B to indicate the paths of the hot gases from the fire box, full line arrows to indicate the flow of the water and steam, and dotted line arrows to show the flow of the water separated from the steam.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that I have achieved all the objects set forth regarding my invention and that I have devised a most efiicient and flexible system wherein as many generator units as desired may be used, and are supported on a strong frame which also serves as a separating means to separate the water which is carried in suspension in steam and direct it to a place where the impurities may be easily removed. By making the tubes in the forms shown, wherein both ends of the tubes are joined to a substantially vertical header, and arranging the tubes so that they extend upwardly throughout their entire length, and particularly extend upwardly from their lower end to the water line, I insure that the circulation of steam shall always take place in the proper direc; tion. This action is aided by the location of the check valves in the position shown,

although I have found that these valves are 7 not absolutely necessary. They are, however, preferred. If the tubes are arranged substantially horizontal, then when heat is applied thereto the steam generated from the water has two paths to follow: one is directly up the header and the other is through the tubes. Obviously it is going to take the line of least resistance and if the tubes are arranged as shown, extending upwardly at least as far as the water line and preferably throughout their length, then the steam will follow the tubes and not the header. By providing a plurality of head ers at the top of the generator, the water in the steam may be gradually separated therefrom and led back to the lower part of the generator, thus forming a closed circuit for the surplus water. As plainly shown in the drawings, the headers are spaced from Therefore it will be obvious that the steam passing from one to the other is heated progressively and therefore the water is progressively separated therefrom.

I am aware that changes in the form, con,- struction and arrangement of parts may be made without departing from the spirit and without sacrificing the advantages of the invention and I reserve the right to make all such changes as fairly fall within the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. A steam generating system comprising a pair of upper headers and a pair of lower headers, pipes interconnecting the upper headers with the lower headers, pipes interconnecting the lower headers, generating elements connected between one of the lower headers and one of the upper headers, a third upper header intermediate of and connected with said pair of upper headers, water return pipes connecting said inter mediate upper header with said lower headers, and return pipes from another of the upper headers to the lower headers.

2. A steam generating system in accordance with claim 1 in which said generating elements comprise a plurality of U-shaped tubes extending laterally from said connection between a lower and an upper header.

3. A steam generator system comprising three upper headers spaced apart and interconnected by pipes, two lower headers interconnected by pipes, return pipes connecting the end upper headers with the lower headers, and pipes connecting the intermediate upper header with the connection between the lower headers.

4. A steam generating system in accordance with claim 3 in which U-shaped pipes are disposed laterally between the upper and lower headers and are connected with the connection between one of the upper and lower headers.

5. A steam generating system in accordance with claim 3 in which U shaped pipes are disposed laterally between the upper and lower headers and are connected at their ends with the connection between an upper and a lower header, said pipes being extended upwardly throughout their entire length.

WILLIAM E. BAKER.

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