US1809730A - Feed water heater - Google Patents

Description

June 9, 1931. E. 1.. SCHELLENS EIT-AL 0 FEED WATER HEATER s sheet's-sheet 1 Filed July 30, 1927 9" ATTORNEYS June 9, 1931.

E. L. SCHELLENS ET AL 1,809,730

FEED WATER HEATER Filed July 30, 1927 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 0" WVMZ ATTORNEY$ June 9, 1931. E. SCHELLENS ET AL 1,809,730

FEED WATER HEATER Filed July 30, 1927 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 2?,VE TORS .lllll lllllll-TfLluifiIl-n W MI 14 ATTORNEYS Patented June 9, 1931 UNITED STATE s PATENT orrlcs EUGENE L. SCHELLENS, OF MILLIBURNhNE-W JERSEY, AND CHRISTOPHER .A. SGHEL- LENS; or MARBLEHEAD, mssAoH sE'I-rs; ASSIGNOES so as nnGiNnERINe COM- PANY,'0E JERSEY CITY, NEW JERSEY, A coqarom'r' on or DELAWAR I FEED WATER'HEATER Application filed July 30,

This invention relates to feed water heaters, and more particularly to locomotive feed Water heaters of the water tube type. 7

Among the primaryobjects of the inventionare: the increasing of the efficiency of such heaters; the simplification and improve-, ment thereof as to-construction, installation and operation;jthe attainment of greater accessibility to the parts thereof the reduction of the initial cost and of the labor and expense required in their maintenance; the strengthening of the heater by a novel and rugged form of construction, andthe provision" of means for breaking the vacuum created in the heater under certain circumstances and thus preventing the drawing in of .dirt, cinders and the like through the steam pipes from the smoke box; 7

Such a vacuumiis created at times when go the locomotive throttle is closed and thefeed water pump remains in operation. As no steam is being supplied to the heater under the above circumstances the cold water entering the heater condenses the steam remaining in the heater very quickly and creates a vacuum which'is frequently of sufficient force to draw cindersinto the heater through'the exhaust nozzle and the heatersteam connections which usually form branches of the steam chest exhaust pipe. Such conditions, of course, necessitate Veryfrequent cleaning of the steam side of the-heater. H

How we'overcome thisdifliculty and obtain the foregoing objects andadvantages together with others which will occur to those-skilled in the art, will be apparent from thefollowing description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: Z

Fig. 1 is a somewhat diagrammatic side elevation of the front end of alocomotive showing our improved apparatus applied thereto; V Fig. 2 is an-enlarged front elevation of the heater with parts broken away and certain parts shown in section; a p Fig. 3 is an enlarged view taken from the rightof Fig. 2, with certainparts broken away and others shown in section; I I Fig. 4 is'an enlarged sectionalview through 1927. Serial N'o. 209,540.

the heater, taken on the'line of Fig, 2; and 1 I a Fig-45 is an enlarged section on the line 5+5 of .Fig. 2.

Referring now tothe drawings in general casing'formed of the front and back semicircular or arcuate plates 4 and 5 having flanges oat-each side, to which are secured, as bywelded joints 9, the upper and'lower curved :plates 7 and 8. The shell is closed atseach end'by thetube plates 10, 10, therejbeing a bank of arcuate water tubes 11 (shown clearly in F igs. 2, 3 and4) extending from end to end .of theheater and secured in said tube plates. The tube plates are secured, as by welded oints 12;"t0 the four longitudinal casing plates of theshell.v

The tubes 11 are arranged in a plurality of passes 11a, 1172, 110, 11d and 116' (as shown in Figs. 3 and 4), serially from back to front of the heater.

To provide for water circulation in the order indicated, the heater is provided at each end with a header 13, the headers being counterparts of each other but reversed in position. Each header has chambers 13a, 13b and13c, co-operating with the banks or groups of tubes, so that the, Water'e ntering through inlet 14 passes from chamber 13a through tubes 11a to chamber 130 in'the opposite header, .then back through tubes 11?) to chamber 136 of the inlet head er, then through tubes to chamber 136 of the outlet header, from whence it passes through tubes 11d tochamber of the inlet header, and thence through tubes lle to lchamber 13a of the'outlet header, and through the outlet 15., Asuitable pipe 16 brings the water from the pump (not shown) to the inlet 14, and a pipe 17 conveysit to the boiler through: the check-valve 18'.

front plate 4 by studs19, is an arcuate per? In front of the tubes, and spaced fromthe ing from end to end of the heater. Steam, preferably exhaust steam taken from the valve chests 21 of the engine and conducted through valve 22 and pipe 23, is admitted through inlet 24 into the space between plate 4 and the distributing plate 20, which latter directs it, throughout the length of the heater, crosswise of the tubes 11. The hot steam, as it enters, comes first into contact with the bank of tubes 116 which constitutes the last and hottest passof the water, and subsequently, in order, with the other banks of tubes, such counterflow producing the greatest efiiciency due to the fact that there is a minimum of temperature difference as between the steamand each successive group of water tubes among it passes. Exhaust steam from the air pump 25 and from other auxiliaries, such as the stokerengine (not shown) may also be led' to the heater through pipes 26 and 27. The heater is designed to condense all the steam which it uses, and we provide suitable condensate outlets 28, at the bottom of the two legs of the heater, which allow the condensate to pass off through the drain 29 and valve 30, either to the track or to some point of use.

At the top of the heater, at either side, are provided hand-holes 31, for inspection, cleaning and repair of the heater, and beneath each hole is a tube spacing or positioning plate 32 secured by bolts 33 and by engagement with notches 34 in a hand-holeframe or flange 35, which latter is secured by welding 36. Each hole 31 is closed by a removable cover or plate 37 secured to the frame 35 by bolts 38. The hand-hole cover is formed with a bail or eye-member 39 for the insertion of crane hooks when moving, lifting or handling the heater.

At the top of the heater we provide a pipe 40, having an upturned portion 40a adjacent the stack 49'of the engine. This pipe is open to atmospheric pressure and serves to break any vacuum which may be formed in the heater under certain operating conditions, for example, when the heater is receiving very little or no steam and the feed Water pump remains in' operation. Thus drawing in of cinders through the exhaust nozzle a and steam connections from the smoke box is effectively and automatically prevented, as a large amount of air will enter the heater through the pipe40 as soon as any vacuum is created. Furthermore, when the heater is not receiving any steam, (i. e., when the throttle is closed) the blower nozzle 1) is usually open. This nozzle creates a draft in the smoke box which is of sufficient force to draw air into the heater through the pipe 40 and through the connection 23 to the nozzle a. Thus a circulation from the heater to the smoke box is always provided which prevents any waste gases or cinders from entering the heater.

The heater is provided at the back with lugs 41, secured as by welding 42, 43, and is mounted on the front of the smoke box by screw bolts 44 extending from the lugs 41 in through the front cover of the smoke box and held by lock-nuts 45.

Lagging 46 surrounds the heater, fillin the space formed by the flanges 6 on the Front and back of the casing, and the space on the top and bottom formed by the setting-in or spacing of plates 7 and 8 from the flanged edges 6, as shown in Figs. 4 and 5. A suitable metallic retainin cover 47 is supplied for the lagging, such cover being readily secured by bolts or rivets to the flanges 6, and spaced from the casing plates by collars or studs 48.

It should be noted that the front and back casing members 4, 5, with their flanges 6, provide a stiff and solid construction not only for the purpose of mounting the heater by means of the lugs and bolts 41, 44, but also for the mounting of the steam inlet flange 24a, the condensate outlets 28, the vent 40, and the cast steel hand-hole frames 35, providing,in short, a rigid, rugged construction throughout, and this at comparatively slight cost since the two semi-circular flanged or dished pieces 4 and 5 may be cut from a single circular piece of the required dished formation, such material being readily avail able'commercially. A further advantage of this flanged formation is the ease with which the lagging may be secured to the heater, and the protection which it affords it, all the edges and corners of the heater being solid and rugged.

The piping to the heater, particularly the steam admission piping, it will be noticed is so positioned or located as to form with the heater itself practically a forward extension of the smoke-box, so far'as outside dimensions are concerned, so that the enginemans vision is not interfered with, nor the proper exhaust of the smoke from the stack.

We claim 1. A feed water heater having an arcuate casing formed of a pair of dished plates, and a pair of plates secured between them.

2. A feed water heater having an arcuate casing formed of a pair of dished plates, and a pair of plates secured between them and setin from their edges.

3. A feed water heater having an arcuate casing formed of a pair of dished plates, and a pair of plates secured between them, together with mounting studs and bolts secured to one of the dished plates.

4. A multi-tube locomotive feed water heater having a hand-hole frame secured thereto, and a cover for said hole, said frame having engagementmeans for positioning internal parts of the heater.

5. A locomotive feed water heater having a hand-hole frame secured thereto, and a cover for said hole, tubes within the heater,

and a spacer for the tubes located-adjacent the hand-hole and positioned by the frame.

6. In combination with a locomotive and its smoke box and stack, an arcuate heater mounted at the front of the smoke box substantially within its circumferential surface, extended, saidheater having steam conveying means at the front of it, and vacuumbreaking means at its top having an outlet in front of the stack, all so arranged as to permit clear forward vision of the engineman "and proper exhaust of the smoke.

7 An arcuate feed water heater having a casing with arcuate water tubes therein, and

tube plates welded to the casing and forming end closures therefor, said casing being formed of a pair of spaced plates of dished cross section and a pair of plates between them.

8. An arcuate feed water heater having a casing with arcuate water tubes therein, and tube plates welded to the casing and forming end closures therefor, said casing being formed of a pair of spaced plates of dished cross section and a pair of plates welded between them and spaced from their edges.

9. In a heater of the character described, a casing having, when viewed in cross-section, flanges at its edges providing recesses on all sides. 7

10. In a heater of the character described,

a casing having, when viewed in cross seclatter, and means of communication between 'the steamspace of the heater and, the atmos-'; phere, sa d means belng so posltioned, and of suchcapacity as compared with the condensing capaclty of the heater that'air will enter therethrough sufficiently rapidly to break the vacuum caused by steam condensation, upon the shutting'oif of the steam-supply, before any substantial influx of smoke-box gases through the exhaust-steam admission means into the heater can take place.

13. In combinationwith a locomotive and its smoke-box, a feed water heater, having water tubes and a steam chamber, means for by drawing in of undesirable mation of vacuum therein, than the resistance which exists to influx of gases from the smoke-box through the steam admission means into the heater.

14. A locomotive exhaust-steam-heated feed water heater of the closed type, having a casing forming a chamber, 'feed-waterv tubes therein, means for admitting locomotive exhaust-stean into said chamber, means for taking 0d the normal discharge from the steam chamber in the form of condensate, and'a normally substantially nonfunctioning opening in the'casing so located and ofisuch capacity'as to be operative to break vacuum, upon formation of the same in the steam chamber by condensation, wheregases through the steam inlet is avoided.

, 15. The method of operating a locomotive exhaust-steam-heated feed water heater of the steam-chamber water-tube type, which is subject to condensation of steam therein by.

the water int-he tubes when the exhaust steam isshut off, which includes breaking the vacu um formed in the heater by such condensation to avoid drawing 111 of products of combustion.

16. The method of operating a locomotive exhaust-steam-heated feed water heater of the steam-chamber water-tube type, which is subject'to condensation of steam therein by the water in the tubes when the exhaust steam is shut 05, which includes automatically breaking the vacuum in the heater as it is created by such condensation.

17. In a locomotive, a boiler, smoke-box andexhaust outlet, an exhaust-steam-heated closed type. feed water heater havingwater tubesanda steam chamber, means for passlng water throughthe tubes into the boiler, a steam delivery means for passing exhaust steam into the steam chamber, and means for taking off the discharge therefrom, said heater being of such condensing capacity that, upon shutting off of exhaust steam, cold water in theheater tubes wouldnormally create a vacuum effect in the steam chamber overbalancing the'vacuum effect of the smoke- ,box on thesteam delivery line, together with means for obviating such over-balance, to preventfdrawlng of undesirable elements from the smoke-box into the steam cham her.

In testimony whereof we have hereunto signed our names.

EUGENE I L; SCHELLENS.

CHRISTOPHER A. SCHELLENS.

admitting locomotive exhaust-steam to the i V latter, and means of communication between the steam-space of the heater and the atmosphere, said means being so constructed and arranged as to ofier less reslstance to airflow therethrough into the heater, upon forl

Images