US1803156A

US1803156A - Air-cooled condenser for steam-driven vehicles

Info

Publication number: US1803156A
Application number: US438609A
Authority: US
Inventors: Wagner Rudolf
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1930-03-24
Filing date: 1930-03-24
Publication date: 1931-04-28
Anticipated expiration: 1948-04-28

Description

R. WAGNER April 28, 1931.

AIR COOLED CONDENSER FOR STEAM. DRIVEN VEHICLES Filed March 24, 19

: 4 I \L El) Patented Apr. 28, 1931 PATENT! OFFICE BUDOLI WAGNER, OF HAMBURG, GERMANY .AIB-COOLED CONDENSER FOR STEAM-DRIVEN VEHICLES Application filed March 24, 1980. Serial No. 438,609.

Various cooler arrangements are known with motor driven air craft, in which the cooler is built within a canal, which diverges in a nozzle-like manner from its most restrict- 5, ed point at the'air intake up to the point where the cooler is situated, and from there to the point where the air leaves the canal, it converges in a nozzle like manner. The purpose of such an arrangement. is to assure a minimum amount of resistance to the cooling air in its passage through the cooler. Such arrangements however have the disadvantage, that the suction at the exhaust or discharge end of the canal, caused by the air which rushes past the vehicle with great rapidity, is used only to a minimum degreii for causing flow of the air through the coo er.

In accordance with the arrangement of.

the present invention, which is designed primarily, for use with steam driven air craft, and comprises building in of the air cooled condenser for ,the steam by direct heat exchange tothe air or of an air cooled cooler for the recooling of the cooling water of a water condenser for indirect heat exchange with the air, the above mentioned disadvantages are overcome. The condenser or cooler is, in accordance with this invention, also built into a canal which diverges from the air intake up to the point where the condenser'or cooler is located, but which, from this point on, up to the exhaust end of the canal does not more contract. This exhaust end of greatest cross section merges directly into the outermost contour of the air craft so that the suction which arises through the rapidity of motion of-the craft can operate over a large cross sectional area. The outermost side of the condenser, for the purpose of this invention, can be placed in the vicinity of the outermost lines of the aircraft configuration, or can even coincide with the same,

whereby the heat exchange to the air is by radiation still further augmented. Furthermore, the intake and exhaust of the canal respectively, can advantageously be arranged at the points at which the greatest difference of pressure prevails, as, for example, the intake at the under side, and the exhaust at the rear upper side, of the supporting wing of an air lane.

In t e accompanying drawing are shown, merely by way of example, two embodiments of the invention.

Fig. 1 is a side view of a gondola of a steam driven airship embodying the inven-, tion.

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the gondola.

Fig. 3 is a detail fragmentary view show- 6 ing an arrangement for the canal exhaust parts in the form of Figs. 1 and 2.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view on line 44 of Fig. 5, of a second example of the invention, an

Fig. 5 is a top plan view of Fig. .4,

The form shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 refers to a' gondola of a steam driven airship, while that according to Figs. 4 and 5 refers to a steam driven giant airplane. In both forms there is provided an air cooled condenser for a direct heat exchange from the exhaust steam to the cooling air, since this manner of condensation is the simplest in this case. However, the examples also obviously apply, with but slight changes, for indirect condensation or other types of condensers, as designed.

In Figs. 1, 2 and 3, 1 designates the wall of the gondola, 2 a water tube boiler, 3 a steam- 8 superheater, 4 a pro-heater for the combustion air, 5 the exhaust for the waste gases, 6 the combustion chamber of the boiler and 7 a blower, which receives the fresh air through the canal 8 leading from the condenser canal. The pipe 9 leads the steam from the superheater 3 to a highpressure turbine 10. 11 designates a low pressure turbine, 12 a common reduction gearing for both turbines and 13 the propeller. At 14 are designated the exhaust passages from the low pressure turbine 11 to two air cooled surface condens- These condensers, in accordance with the inventionare built into a canal 16 having exhaust ports in the sides of the gondola, and the canal diverges from its point 17, of smallest cross section which is the air intake and is positioned at the foremost end ofthe gondola, up to its largest section 18, at the constructiomsimilar to side exhaust ports. At the last mentioned point the condensers 15 are built into the canal as shown in Fig. 2. a

The condensers can be constructed in any desired manner, as for example, of rows of pipes in which the steam enters, and between which pipes the air passes in the direction of the arrows 19. An auxiliary propeller 20 is placed in the air intake opening for starting or for increasing the cooling effect during flight and is driven by an engine 21.

In the arrangement shown, the air which streams past the outer surface of the aircraft operates in a sucking manner overa large cross section of the outward flowing cooling air entering from the front at 17, and thereby produces a very good cooling effect of the condenser, with a minimum additional resistance to the movement of the aircraft.

In order to still further increase this suction effect, one ormore suitable formed blades 22, 23 can be arranged, as shown in Fig. 3, in the exhaust ports 18 of the condenser canal 16. These blades 22, produce a more turbulent free intermingling of the cooling air coming from the inside, with the air rushing past outside of the craft, and thereby an increased suction action.

In the embodiment according to Figs. 4 and 5, concerning an installation using also steam turbines as power engine, the same parts are designated with the same numerals but primed, as in the foregoing example. The designation of the various parts is only partly indicated, as an understanding of the same readily follows from the form of Figs. 1 to 3 discussed above.

In Figs. 4 and 5, 24 indicates the wings of a giant airplane in which the entire power lant is built into the wings. Water tube oilers 2', 2 are, as regards their general the boiler 2 of Fig. 1 and 2 and to these the combustion air passes through a conduit 25 leading from a forward point of the wings. A high pressure turbine'lO and two parallel working low pressure turbines 11', 11'- are shown, andthese three turbines operate through a common reduction earing 12' for driving the propeller 13'. ondense'r canals are indicated at 16 in which the intake ports 17 of least cross I section of the canals, are formed as slits located on the under side of the as is well known, there exists an excess pressure. The exhaust ports 18' section of the canals,are located at the rear upper side of the wings, where a depression exists. At the point 18, of the canals 16', are disposed the condenser-s15" (in the illustrated embodiment two condensers have been shown) the ofiter limits of which approximately coincide with the contour of the wings. Each condenser canin a manner similar to that of Figs. 1 and 2, be built of rows of pipes, lying transversely of the wings, as

wings, where,

of greatest cross the cooling air passes in thermore, the arrangement affords favorable conditions for carrying the water of condensation from the high sltuated rear end of the condensers to a condenser pum 26.

Blades 22, similar to those 0 Fig. 3, shown in Fig. 4 only of this second embodlment, can

be used for the purpose described above, for increasing the suction at the exhaust ports of the canals 16.

In order to obtain a certain amount of regulation of the cooling action, an adjustable blade or flap 27 (shown only in Fig. 4) can be provided in the intake port 17' of the canal 16, which blade, through a to and fro motion in the direction of the arrows 28, can decrease or increase the section of the intake ort. p The invention, of course, is obviously not restricted to the two illustrated embodiments, or forms of the car body, to the described power plant, or to the condensers or the form of the condenser canals and so forth, but other arrangements can alsobe used without departin from the limits of the invention. Preferab y, however, the sitions of the intake and exhaust ports oi the canals are so selected that, the pressure conditions resulting through the motion of the air-craft produce an air movement through the condensers in the direction from the smallest to the largest sectional .area of the canals, and through the condensers positioned and built in at such largest sectional areas.

Furthermore, the invention is obviously not'limited onl to airships or airplanes, but can be utilize I for other steam driven vehicles with air cooled condensers. Likewise other forms of steam engines can be used in place of the steam turbines of the illustrated embodiments.

Having now described my invention I cla1m:

1.. An arrangement of air cooled condensers or coolers for steam driven vehicles, comprising, a vehicle, a condenser or cooler, a canal in the vehicle having increasing cr'os section from its smallest section at its intake port to its largest section at its exhaust port which coincides with the outer contour of the vehicle, the condenser or cooler being built into the canal at itslargest section. 2. An arrangement according to claim 1,the canal being positioned so that the motion of flight of the vehicle produces a movement of air through the canal from its smallest section towards its largest section.

the canal being in a gondola or car body of an airship, the Smallest section of the canal being to the front of the gondola or car body and the largest section of the canal being at the side of the gondola or car body.

4. An arrangement according to claim 1, the smallest section of the'canal being positioned at the superpressure side of the craft, and its largest section being at the subpressure side of the craft.

5'. An arrangement according to clai-m l, the outer contour of the condenser or cooler coincides approximately with the outside contour of thevehicle.

6. An arrangement according to claim 1, and uide vanes at the exhaust port for augmenting the suction at such point.

7. An arrangement according to claim 1, and means positioned at the intake port of the canal for regulating the cooling effect of the condenser or cooler,

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

' RUDQLF WAGNER.