US767671A - Elastic-fluid turbine. - Google Patents

Description

No. 767,671. l PATENTED AUG. 16, 1904. H. WIESNER.

ELASTIG FLUID TURBINE.

APPLIGATION FILED APR. .11, 1904.

N0 MODEL. 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

No. 767,671.- l PATENTED AUG. 16, 1904. H. WIESNER.-

BLASTIG FLUID TURBINE.

APLICATION FILED APR.11, 1904.

N0 MODEL. 2 SHEETS-SHEET Z.

No. 767,671.L

UNITED STATES Patented August 16, 1904.

HENRY IVIESNER, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

ELASTlC-FLUID TU RBINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 767,671, dated August 16, 1904.

` Application filed April Il, 1904-.. Serial No. 202,520. (No model To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY IVIESNER, of Chicago, in the county of' Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Elastic-Fluid Turbines; and I hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had tothe accompanying' drawings, which form part of this specification.

In elastic-fluid turbines it has heretofore been the practice to utilize the energy of the elastic fluid-usually steamwunder pressure in one of two ways*iirst, by converting the liquid-pressure into velocity by permitting the complete expansion of the fluid in an "expansion-nozzle and directing the fluid at its high velocity directly against the vanes of the rotor or turbine-wheel, or, second, by permitting the partial expansion of the fluid in the rotor-chamber and employing a rotor whose diameter increases from its intake to its discharge end to accommodate such expansion, usually in conjunction with a condenser at the discharge end of the rotor-chamber, tending to create a partial vacuum on the discharge side of the turbine. Turbines of either type are open to objection, the first class, among other reasons, on account of the too high speed necessarily imparted to the rotor and its low torque and the second class, among other reasons, on account of its structural disadvantages and complexity, and, further, on account of its unavoidable losses through leakage of the motive fluid in the clearancespaces around the blades and its imperfect utilization of the kinetic energy acquired by the liquid in each step of its expansion.

As steam is the fluid most commonly employed, I Will hereinafter for brevity use the term steam as typifying such fluids, it being understood that I do not limit myself to the employment of steam.

My invention has for its object to provide a turbine and a method of operation therefor l wherebythe energy of the steam is utilized to the highest practical degree in such a manner as tov produce relatively low speed and high torque in a machine of simple structure free from the objections inherent in turbines of the type above described.

To these ends my invention contemplates a method of operating turbines which consists in permitting the expansion of an elastic fluid in an expansion-nozzle, thereby converting its expansive energy into velocity and directing said fluid at high velocity against a body of non elastic fluid arranged to circulate through the rotor-chamber and act as a translating medium to impart motion to the rotor, and it provides a turbine adapted for the practice of such method of operation.

4In the drawings I have illustrated in simple form constructions adapted for the practice of my invention.

Figure l is a longitudinal vertical section of such a turbine. Fig. 2 is a fragmentary section on line 2 2 of Fig. l. Fig. 3 is a fragmentary section on line 3 3 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a detail of a valve illustrated in Fig. I, and Figs. 5 and 6 are respectively front elevations and side elevations of an improved expansion-nozzle of my invention. Fig. 7 is a view, partly in section, of a modified embodiment of my invention. Fig. 8 is a section therethrough on line 8 8 of Fig. 7. Fig. 9 is adetail of a modified nozzle arrangement, and Fig. lO is a section on lines 10 10 of Fig. 9.

rThroughout the drawings like numerals of reference refer always to like parts.

Referring now to the drawings, 15 indicates a bed-plate carrying standards i6, in which are journaled for rotation a turbineshaft 17, carrying a turbine-wheel or rotor 18, preferably in the form of a cylindrical hollow body having tapering ends 18l and provided upon its periphery with rows of suitable vanes or blades 19. The blades may be of any suitable construction, but are preferably so shaped that the turbine may be run in either direction, and for simplicity such blades are herein shown as flat plates inclined at a suitable angle relative to the axis of the shaft 17, though in practice other shapes are well known to be advantageous.

2O indicates a wall surrounding the turbine member and inclosing what I will term the turbine-chamber.

21 21 indicate vanes carried by the stationary wall 20 of the chamber and arranged for coaction with the vanes 19 oi' the rotor in the usual manner.

22 indicates the inlet-opening to the turbine-chamber, and 23 the outlet when the machine is working as illustrated in Fig. l.

24 indicates a conduit wherein a suitable liquid may f'low, arranged with one endin communication with the inlet end 22 ot' the turbine-chamber and with its other end in communication with the outlet 23, so that the Wall of the turbine-chamber, together with the conduit, forms an endless casing, inclosing a passage through which a suitable liquid may circulate. The complete endless casing I will for brevity call the turbine-casing.

25 indicates a pipe for conducting the elastic fluid entering the conduit 24 and provided with an orifice for escape or' the fiuid.

26 indicates generally an expansion-nozzle, a specific form whereofl will be hereinafter described.

The steam-pipe 25 extends without the conduit 24 and is in communication with a fiuidsupply pipe 27.

In use the turbine-casing is completely filled with a body of non-elastic liquid or' some suitable character-such, for instance, as water, or, ii' eiiciency is sought regardless oi' cost, mercury. Other liquids may obviously be employed; but these are merely suggested as illustrative; but as water is the easiest liquid to obtain I will hereinafter refer to that liquid as the one employed and steam as the elastic fiuid employed.

Steam under proper pressure passes through pipe 25 into the expansion-nozzle 26, where it expands to a proper degree,lthereby converting its pressure into velocity, and by said nozzle it is directed while at its highest velocity into the body oi' water inclosed in the casing structure to impel the water in the same direction as the injected steam. Coni tinuous injection of the steam increases the velocity of the water and forces it in a circular path through the turbine-casing, said water in its travel overcoming the resistance of the rotor and starting the latter in rotation. Owing to the continuous injection of steam, the water will become heated, and will therei'ore expand somewhat, and the original body of water will also be increased by the condensation of the steam. ThereforeI provide means for relieving the casing of its surplus water. To this end I provide a tank 28, connected with the casing structure by a pipe 29, preferably provided with a valve adapted to yield in either direction. Such a strucl i l l ture is illustrated in detail in Fig. i and comprises two valve members 3l and 32, the larger valve member 3l being normally seated by spring-pressure against the valvecasing and the small valve 32 being seated in spring-pressure in the large valve, but arranged to open in a direction opposite to that of the larger valve 31. Other means may obviously be employed for keeping constant the quantity of water in the turbine-casing structure by permitting the escape of surplus Water as the latter becomes heated and augmented by the steam condensation and supplying additional Water when the turbine is stopped and the water-body shrunk in cooling. The water finally attains a high temperature, approximating that of the steam, the closest approximation between the temperatures of the steam and Water consistent with maintaining the Water in its liquid state being desirable. Obviously at first, if the water bein a cooled condition. considerable lost energy results from the rapid condensation of the steam; but once the water is heated but little loss results from this cause.

It Will be obvious that, if required, the body of water might be extraneously heated for a suitable period of time to the more quickly bring it to its proper temperature; but the point upon which I lay stress is that to secure the most successful operation of the machine the water should be at a temperature as near that ot' the steam as is consistent with its continuing in its liquid state.

It is further my intention to employ steam at the highest degree of superheat practically possible, as the higher its superheat the slower its condensation, and consequently the longer the time of its action upon the Water.

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Furthermore,` it will be observed that I may I construct my casing and rotor in such a way that the cross-sectional area of the passage afforded the liquid shall be equal at all points.

This being the case, it Willl be apparent that the Velocity of the moving body of liquid will be substantially the same at all points within the casing and that when once its proper velocity is acquired the kinetic energy of the steam is utilized merely in maintaining it at such velocity. If desired, however, I may make the cross-sectional area oi' the turbine-chamber greater than that of the conduit24, so that the water fiow through the conduit is faster than through the casing. In either arrangement the steam acts upon water moving at relatively high velocity. VThis is important, as it is a well-known physical law that the greater the difference of velocities between the two bodies the greater will be the loss oi' energy due to the impact. Thus in my present invention, the Water being at all times maintained under high velocity,

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but little loss is occasioned by the impact of the steam.

The primarybeneiicial result following my method of operation is due to the fact that the water traveling at a slower speed than the steam which impels it into motion and being vastly more ponderable than steam acts upon the vanes of the rotor to turn the said rotor at a slower speed, but with geater torque than is possible with the use of steam or other elastic fluid as a direct impact agent. Furthermore, it will 'be apparent that the water, having greater persistence of motion than steam, will not leak through the clearance-space of the blades to the extent to which the steam leaks, and the loss is consequently reduced. l

For regulating and maintaining constant the speed of the turbine-engine shown I provide a simple means comprising a flat blade 33, arranged within the conduit 24,in advance of the steam-nozzle 26 and mounted on a rock-shaft 34, extending through the conduitwall and provided cn its outer end with a lever-arm 35, provided with a counterbalanceweight 36. The shaft 34 is also connected with a suitable valve mechanism for controlling the steam-supply, said mechanism being herein illustrated as a crank-arm 37, connected to a stem 38 of a valve 39, arranged within the steam-pipe 27. Vhen the water in the casing is at rest, the blade hangs directly downward; but as the water acquires velocity the blade swings more or less toward horizontal position, and any increase or decrease in velocity of the water in the conduit serves to proportionally elevate the blade 33 or permit it to drop and accordingly diminish or increase the opening ofthe valve 39. The steamsupply which compels the motion of the translating liquid is therefore diminished or increased and the speed of rotation of the turbinewheel accordingly controlled.- Movement of the counterweight of course governs the steam-supply at a given speed. Other suitable governing or regulating devices, however, may obviously be employed with my construction.

I'also prefer to arrange the devices for introducing steam into the conduit 24 in such way that they may be reversed in position to drive the translating liquid in either direction, and to this end I prefer to arrange the steam-pipe 25 for rotation about its longitudinal axis and provide it with a hand-wheel 40, arranged exteriorly to the conduit 24. I have herein shown a single nozzle and have ldescribed the device as embodying only a single nozzle; but this is merely for simplicity, as it will be apparent that any suitable'number of nozzles disposed at any suitable positions in the turbine-casing might be employed.

Although the steam-nozzles employed may be of any desired form, I prefer to forni them in the manner illustrated in Figs. 5 and 6- that is to say, the nozzle 26 has its narrowest cylindrical portion 26 in communication with the steam-pipe 25 and is shaped to aii'ord a plurality of flat thin divergent passages radiating from a common center, so that in end view the nozzle has star-like appearance. (Illustrated in Fig. 5.) This construction I deem to be of great advantage, as it gives to the steam-jet a more extended surface for contact with the water than would a cylindrical or conical jet, and I have found that when the steam is introduced into the water through a nozzle of the shape described it produces less eddy effect thanwhen introduced by a conical or cylindrical nozzle.

In Fig. 7 I have illustrated a form of apparatus differing from that shown in Fig. 6 mainly in that the rotor is divided into two parts 18 and 18, having their blades oppositely disposed and the casings for the sections of the rotor having their blades correspondingly opposed in directions. The conduit member is consistently divided into two sections 24DL and 24h, arranged so that the path of flow of the water is substantially the shape of the iigure 8. It will be noted from the arrows that the body of translating liquid iiows through the two sections of the rotor in opposite directions, so that the end thrust of one section is counterbalanced by the end thrust of the other and practically no thrust is imposed upon the bearings of the shaft.

In Figs. 9 and 10 I have illustrated a specific construction of steam-nozzle which is advantageous in that it imposes no resistance to the flow of the water through the conduit, and in such figures 25L represents the steampipe having an orifice 25b and extending up into rotary connection with the casing 26, arranged exteriorly to the conduit 24 and communicating with said conduit through two nozzle members 26b and 26, divergently arranged. It will be apparent that the pipe 25EL may be turned so that its orifice 25b communicates with either of the nozzles 26" or 26c to impel the translating fluid .in the conduit 24 in either direction.

IVhile I have shown my turbine as horizontally arranged, it will beA apparent that the principles of my invention might be embodied in a vertical turbine.

It will be apparent that numerous changes might be made in the specific embodiment of my invention without departing from the spirit and scope thereof.

That I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is#

1. A turbine comprising a casing providing an endless passage, a body of liquid in said IOO IIO

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casing, an inlet-pipe for an elastic fluid having its orifice arranged to inject the iuid into the liquid to set the same in motion through the casing, and a rotor in the casing arranged in the path of flow of the liquid.

2. In a turbine, a rotor, a casing providing a chamber for the rotor and a conduit connecting the ends of the chamber, a body of liquid lilling the casing, and fluid-inlets arranged to discharge into the water to impel the same through the casing.

3. In a turbine, a rotor, an endless casing providing a chamber for said rotor and a conduit connecting the ends of the chamber, a body of liquid filling the casing, Huid-inlets arranged to discharge into the liquid to impel the same through the casing, and a liquidholder arranged to maintain the casing full of liquid.

4. 1n a turbine, a casing providing' an endless passage, a rotor arranged in said passage, a body of liquid in the passage, and Huid-inlets arranged to discharge into the liquid to impel the liquid through the passage.

5. In a turbine, a casing providing an endless passage, a rotor arranged in the passage, a body of liquid in the passage, Huid-inlets arranged to discharge into the liquid to impel the liquid through the passage, a source of regulable fluid-supply, and means operated by the iiow of liquid for regulating theiiluidsupply.

6. An expansion-nozzle for elastic-fluid turbines comprising a plurality of narrow, longitudinally-tapering passages radiating from a common axis and arranged for communication with a common source of supply.

7. In a turbine a casing providing an endless passage, a rotor arranged in the passage, a body of liquid in the passage, fluid-inlets arranged to discharge into the liquid to impel the samethrough-the passage, a source of Huid-supply for the inlets, and means for regulating the fluid-supply comprising a valve controlling the supply, a pivoted blade hung in the turbine-passage to yieldingly oppose the movementy by the liquid, means for controlling the opposition ofthe blade to movement, and a connection between the blade and the valve whereby movement of the blade regulates the position of the valve.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I aiiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

HENRY WIESNER. In presence of- GEORGE T. MAY, Jr., MARY F. ALLEN.

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