US26731A - Self and l - Google Patents

Description

S. N. GARVALHO. APPARATUS FOR SUPERHEATING STEAM.

Patented Jan. 3, 1860.

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UNITED- STATES PATENT OFFICE.

SOLOMON N. (,IARVALHO,- OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND, ASSIGNOR TO HIM- SELF AND L. BOWEN.

APPARATUS SUPERHEATING STEAM.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 26,781, dated January 3, 1860.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, SOLOMON N. CARVALHO, of the city of Baltimore, in the State of Maryland, have invented certain Improvements for Increasing the Power of Steam; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full; clear, and exact description of the same, ref- .erence being bad to the accompanying drawings and to the letters and marks thereon.

Various eiforts have been made to increase the power of steam by superheating it. The great obstacle'to the permanency of all arrangements of means for superheating arises from the rapid ox'idization of the metal exposed to the high degree of heat on its one surface and to the gases of the decomposed steam on the other surface, as the steam under the necessary degree of heat will part with its oxygen to the metal and with its hydrogen to the medium aboutit, whatever that medium or element may be. The metal constituting the heating tubes or chambers is rapidly destroyed by its exposure to the heat and oxygen.

My inventionhas for its object the removal of the obstacle named, and also the increasing of the power of steam economically; and my invention consists in passinga continuous supply of ordinary steam from the boiler through a cast-iron retort containing equal parts of the black protoxide of iron and ircn turnings, the retort being placed either in the furnace of the boiler or a separate furnace.

The drawings forming part of this specification show one arrangement of means for carrying out my invention; but, as is evident, other arrangements may be substituted for that shown without departing from the nature and character of my invention.

Figure l of the drawings represents a longitudinal section of a horizontal tubular boiler; Fig. 2, a front view of a like boiler, and Fig. 3 a longitudinal sectional View of aretort or superheating-chamber with the ends of the egress and ingress pipes attached.

In Figs. 2 and 3 the retort or superheatingchamber is represented as charged with the metal heretofore named.

In each of the several figures where like parts are indicated the like letters are used.

0. marks the waterspace of the boiler; b, fire-space; c, steam-space; (Z, steam-dome; e,

fire-chamber; f, grate-surface; g, the retort or supe'rheating chamber; h h steam-conductin g pipes; ii, check-valves in the steam-pipes, and j j controlling-valves.

If the superheating chamber or retort be charged with about equal parts of iron tumings and the protoxide of iron, and the steam being generated in the boiler be allowed to pass into the retort, as it will by the means herein set out, as the steam comes in contact with the metal it will be, necessarily, distributed gpon 'an extensive heating-surface much greater than the retort would afford by itself, or withoutthe fragments and turnings of metaL At an ordinary degree of temperature the steam would pass through the retort and receive a limited increase of heat,

and without materially affecting the metal of the retort; but upon such an increase of heat as would constitute superheating fully the steam coming in contact with the iron becomes decomposed, and is resolved into oxygen and hydrogen gases, and the retort would be rapidly destroyed. When, however, the retort has been charged with the metal turnings and pro-toxide of iron, here named, it has been ascertained that these actions follow: the metallic iron absorbs the oxygen, setting the dydrogen free, while the hydrogen at the same temperature passing over the protoxide' of iron convertsit again into its metallic state, setting free pure steam. As the process of passing in the steam and decomposing it continues, the metallic iron parts, with the oxygen it had absorbed or combined with, and in its turn takes the place of the protoxide, while the protoxide takes the place of the metallic 'ron, and this compensating action continu for an indefinite period of time, or

' for such period of time as the use of the material and the circumstances attending itcontrol or govern. Under these actions the metal of the retort is not materially aifected, the exposure of the turnings and oxide of iron to the gases being so much greater relieves in a great measure the interior surface of the retort from corrosion. In the changes which thus take place it is believed that the latent heat of the steam is liberated and becomes sensible heat. Under the arrangement shown by the drawings the steam is conveyed by its own pressure into the retort through the pipe h, placed outside of the furnace, uniting with the top of the boiler and with the bottom of the retort, the pipe being supplied with a check-valve, 1', which allows the steam to pass freely into the retort, but which prevents the steam from returning from the retort by the way it entered. "A secondpipe, h, one-third or more larger in diameter than the first, is connected with the top of the retort-and the steam-dome of the boiler. This pipe is also furnished with a check-valve, 'i', which will admit the steam after it has'been passed through the heated retort into the steam-dome, but will prevent the steam from passing into theretort from the dome. Both of these pipes are furnished with stop-cocks jj', to shut ofi all connection with the boiler at a moments notice. Try-cocks can also be placed in these pipes. The use of the material contained in the retort insures the return of real steam in its exact chemical combinations from the retort into the steam-dome, and not hydrogen gas, which would be the case if the retort alone be used.

The retort or superheating-chamber i s' shown as being connected by flanges to the ends of the pipes, which manner of connecting allows of the ready removal and replacing of the retort; but, as is evident, the connection may be made by any other convenient means. It is also shown as being placed in the back part of the furnace, while it may be placed at the .sides, top, or in other parts; or it may be placed in a furnace exterior to the boiler, and it may be so constructed as to be of any desirable shape or form or a series of forms. Insteadof conveying the steam from the superheating-chamber to the steam-dome, it may in some instances he more desirable or convenient to convey it from the chamber to the cylinder of the engine.

It will benoticed that perforated plates are placed at each end of the retort or chamber to keep the pieces of metal and turnings in position; but in many cases these may bedispensed with. T The pieces of metal and turnings I prefer to place in alternating layers; but they may be put in the chamber irregularly, or the one may occupy the one half of the chamber and the other the other half.

In addition to the great security which this invention offers from explosion of boilers and connections where superheating of steam is resorted to, and where in many instances the explosion may be attributed to the existence of the hydrogen gas, the saving of fuel makes the invention very valuable, as it is estimated on the results of experiments made that the economy of fuel is about from forty to fifty per cent.

What I claim as my invention is- 1. subjecting steam While undergoing the superheat-ing process to the action of the metals herein named, as and for the purposes set forth. 1

2. The arrangement of the pipes, the valves, and the retort or its equivalent for conveying from, heating, and returning to the boiler or its connecting steam-dome the steam, sub stantially as described.

This specification signed this 9th day of December, 1859.

i S. N. CARVALHQ. Witnesses:

MARCUS P. NORTON, T. T. EVERETT.

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