cylindrical boiler with front blown off and sides partially flattenedFig. 36.
Fig. 36.
Explosions of these boilers have sometimes taken place by collapse of the tubes, but much more generally by the failure of the shell over the fire, as shown in the sketchFig. 36, representing an explosion that occurred at Wolverhampton in 1865, in which the first rent took place in a seam over the fire where frequent repair had led to a considerable length of longitudinal seam being in one continuous line. The four plates over the fire parted and opened out until they had ripped two seams completelyround the boiler; and the plates were thrown in one flat piece, as shown, upon a bank behind. The main body of the boiler with the tubes was turned over, and the front end blown away.
Butterley boilerFig. 37.
Fig. 37.
A modification or amalgamation of several of the forms of boilers already mentioned led to the construction known as the Butterley boiler, shown inFig. 37, with a wagon-shaped end over the fire, continued in a single tube within a plain cylindrical shell beyond. This boiler has been found to generate steam very rapidly; but the extreme weakness of the construction over the fire and along the tube, especially at the part where the front end of the tube widens out in a bell mouth to meet the wagon-topped fireplace, has led to so many explosions that few boilers are now made of this form. A very early explosion that occurred at Edinburgh in 1821 was of a boiler somewhat of this shape, only that the wagon-topped fireplace was much longer. Other explosions of this form of boiler occurred at Ashton-under-Lyne in 1845, at Wolverhampton in 1854, and at Tipton in 1856.
Cornish boilerFig. 38.
Fig. 38.
double flue boilerFig. 39.
Fig. 39.
Breeches-tube boilerFig. 40.
Fig. 40.
oval boilerFig. 41.
Fig. 41.
The desire to economise fuel led to placing the fire inside the boiler, in a tube running from end to end, as shown inFig. 38,and the great number of boilers of this form used in Cornwall gave it the name of the Cornish boiler. The exceedingly good duty performed by these boilers led many to believe them the most perfect for economy and durability; but the great number of explosions, or more properly of collapsed flues, that have happened, have altered this opinion, and led to the double-flue boiler shown inFig. 39, in which not only is the heating surface increased but the strength also, by having two tubes of smaller diameter in the same shell. There are a great many varieties of the two-tube boiler, which have been made for the purpose of obtaining various particular results. In some cases the two tubes have been made to unite into a single tube immediately behind the fires, forming what is known as the Breeches-tube boiler, as shown inFig. 40, and in other instances the outside shell of the boiler has been made oval, as shown inFig. 41, with the two tubes continued through from end to end.The heating surface has also been increased, and the strength of the main tubes, by placing smaller transverse tubes across them at right angles; but these advantages are gained by increased complication, leading of course to greater difficulty in examination and repair.
boiler with a collapsed flueFig. 42.
Fig. 42.
The frequent failure of tubes by collapse when used for high pressures, and also the results of careful experiments, led to the simple addition of strengthening rings of different makes around the exterior of these tubes, by which the shell and the tubes are rendered of equal strength. It has taken considerable time for the belief in the weakness of large tubes when exposed to external pressure to become general, and a great many boilers are still made and used having even large tubes without the strengthening rings; and in some districts such boilers are used in great numbers and at far higher pressures than can be considered judicious. In more than one bed of boilers, one boiler after another has exploded by the collapse of the tube from the want of strengthening rings, and yet these have still been believed unnecessary; and the cases of isolated boilers of this construction where the large tubes have collapsed are extremely numerous, yet any other reason than the weakness of the tube has been considered more probable as the cause of explosion. A sketch of a boilerwith collapsed flue is given inFig. 42, which exploded at Burton-on-Trent in 1865; and it is selected from many others because it was a new boiler, well made and mounted, and was a good example of the weakness of a large tube to resist high external pressure when made of great length without the support of strengthening rings.
There are a great many advantages in the tubular boiler internally fired. The shell which is exposed to the greatest tension is not also exposed to the first action of the fire. The fire is in the midst of the water, so that the greatest effect is obtained from it; and the heating surface immediately over the fire, from which most steam is generated, has not so great a depth of water above it for the steam to pass through as in the externally fired boilers heated from the bottom. The tubes also act as stays to the ends; and the mud in the water falls off the tubes, where it would do mischief, and settles on the bottom, where it is comparatively harmless.
These tubular boilers are however subject to disadvantages peculiarly their own. It is not so easy to move about within them for cleaning and examination as in the plain cylindrical boiler, as the tubes fill up the space so much. The difference of expansion between the highly heated tube and the comparatively cool shell produces a strain, which causes the ends to bulge out; or if the ends are made rigid, the strain sets up a contortion in the tube, which causes furrowing of the plates by making the iron softer or more susceptible of corrosion in certain lines of strain. Notwithstanding these drawbacks however this form of boiler is an excellent one.
upright boiler with central tubeFig. 43.
Fig. 43.
Upright boiler for puddling furnaceFig. 44.
Fig. 44.
Many modifications in the forms of boilers have been made to enable the manufacturers to use the waste heat from various processes, especially from the making of iron. The plain cylindricalboiler has been used in this way, with sometimes as many as eight puddling furnaces made to work upon one boiler. One of the earliest special arrangements for this purpose was the Upright boiler with central tube, shown inFig. 43, which was originally made for two furnaces; and about 7 feet diameter and 16 feet high. The size has since been increased to 10 feet diameter and 28 feet high, as shown inFig. 44. These boilers are made for one, two, three, or four puddling furnaces; and consist of a cylinder with spherical ends, standing upright, with a central tube from the bottom to about half the height, into which the side tubes join. The heat from each furnace plays over a portion of the shell, and then passes through the side tubes and down the centre tube into the underground flue to the chimney.
These boilers have many good points: there is great heating surface; and the shell being heated all round does not strain theplates and seams by unequal expansion so much as in the horizontal plain cylindrical boiler heated only at the bottom; and as both ends are spherical there is no alteration of shape under internal pressure. Moreover in consequence of the upright position of the boiler a safe depth of water can easily be maintained, and yet the steam is taken off so high above its surface that there is little priming; and every part can most easily be cleaned and examined, as a man can stand upright both in the boiler and in the flues. But the great drawback to this class of boilers is that they must stand in the midst of the workmen; so that, although they are not more liable to explode than any other form of boiler, yet when they do burst they necessarily endanger more lives than is usually the case with other boilers that can be placed more away from the men employed at the works. Should anything arise with the boiler to make it desirable to withdraw the fire, this cannot be done without much delay, as the furnaces have to be stopped and the iron run out. Also an explosion can hardly happen without some of the melted iron being scattered among the men at work.
Dudley boilerFig. 45.
Fig. 45.
angle ironFig. 46.
Fig. 46.
Some of the most fatal explosions of these boilers have arisen from careless construction. Such was the case in an explosion at Dudley in 1862, shown inFig. 45, where the crown plate formingthe top of the centre tube was attached to the sides of the tube by so slight an angle iron, as shown enlarged inFig. 46, that the pressure of steam on the flat crown plate fairly sheared the angle iron through, and allowed the plate to be blown down the centre tube into the chimney flue, whereupon the boiler was violently thrown off its seating by the reaction of the issuing steam and water thus liberated.
The double-tube horizontal boiler is also used in connection with iron-making furnaces in many places, one furnace working into each tube. Although by this arrangement the boiler can be placed a little further from the workmen, some very fatal explosions have happened to such boilers, as at Masborough in 1862.
single-tube boilerFig. 47.
Fig. 47.
Single-furnace boilers have been much used in the form of a single-tube boiler standing on end, as shown inFig. 47, with the flame passing up the tube, which is continued in the form of a chimney on the top of the boiler. The tube passes through the steam at the top, so that the plate is not protected from overheating by contact with water; and this has caused explosion in some instances, although the tube has been lined on the inside with firebrick to shield the plate from the flame. Another great disadvantage of this Chimney boiler is that the space between the tube and the shell is so narrow that it is almost impossible to examine or clean it internally.
elbow boilerFig. 48.
Fig. 48.
A further arrangement for a single-furnace boiler is the Elbow boiler, shown inFig. 48, where the two difficulties mentioned in the previous boiler are avoided.
internally fired upright boilerFig. 49.
Fig. 49.
Many internally fired upright boilers of various shapes have beenconstructed to suit various purposes. One of a large size that has been at work many years is shown inFig. 49, with an internal fireplace and a suspended cone and cross tube for increasing the heating surface. This boiler is set in brickwork in such a way that the heat passes through the side tubes and round the exterior shell before going off to the chimney.
internally fired upright boilerFig. 50.
Fig. 50.
upright boiler severed at the fire boxFig. 51.
Fig. 51.
A very fatal explosion at Stoke-upon-Trent, in 1863, resulted from an attempt to work a boiler of somewhat the same general form, but without the same careful attention to the details of construction.This boiler is shown inFig. 50; the internal fireplace is of conical shape, 4 ft. 6 ins. diameter on the top and 6 ft. 10 ins. at bottom, and was joined to the external shell by a flat annular bottom. Almost the first time it was worked at high pressure the conical fireplace collapsed, breaking off at the seam at the top of the cone, and blowing down upon the grate, as shown inFig. 51. The flat bottom was then left without the support of the cone and side tubes, and gave way all round the outside angle iron; and the top flew up a great height into the air, and fell a crumpled heap, as shown in the sketch. In this case the only wonder is that a boiler of such weak construction worked at all without explosion.
There yet remains to be noticed a very large and varied class of boilers that have been designed with the express object of avoiding explosion. Some of these, made of cast-iron pipes of small diameter, have already been referred to. When steam carriages were first constructed, boilers were tried made of a cluster of small pipes, set both upright and horizontally, connected with a general receiver and with each other by still smaller pipes. These were found tohave such small circulation of water that they very soon burnt out, and also led to much priming. Afterwards, narrow chambers made of corrugated plates set like the cells of a battery were tried, but without much success. The multitubular boilers of the locomotive type soon superseded all others as quick steam generators, and until lately they have been considered as almost absolutely safe from explosion. It is found however that the barrel of these boilers is peculiarly liable to furrowing, owing to the strain weakening the iron in certain lines. Perhaps no boiler shows more clearly than the locomotive how necessary it is that every part should be open to examination; and also how unwise it would be to use for stationary purposes small cramped up boilers, only intended to meet the necessities of locomotion. Many explosions of locomotive boilers have taken place; but it is not necessary to give details in this paper, as they are fully given in the published official reports of the government inspectors.
Among the form of boilers designed to obtain very rapid generation of steam, combined with increased safety from explosion, may be specially named that consisting of a system of small pipes within a shell with an artificial circulation of water, and also the boiler consisting of a cluster of cast-iron spheres, both of which have been described at previous meetings of the Institution (see Proceedings Inst. M. E. 1861 page 30, and 1864 page 61); but neither has been much used in this country at present. The boilers also which consist chiefly of small tubes hanging down into the fire, with smaller tubes or other arrangements within them for securing a natural circulation, deserve mention, as they appear successfully to accomplish that end.
The principle of all these small boilers appears to be that only a small quantity of water should be contained in them, so that there should not be a reservoir of danger in the shape of a mass of highly heated water ready to be converted into steam if a rupture takes place: and it cannot be denied that this is an advantage. But on the other hand these boilers of small capacity, which evaporate their whole contents in a few minutes, are subject to new dangers fromthat very cause; and although admirably adapted for purposes where steam is wanted quickly on a sudden emergency, as in the case of fire engines, or where the generating power required varies each moment, as in the locomotive, they are for the most part ill adapted for ordinary stationary purposes, such as the mill or the colliery. They require constant firing and vigilant attention to the feed, and cannot be left for a time with safety like the ordinary stationary boilers. It has to be borne in mind also that the very reservoir of danger so much dreaded is also a reservoir of power, which assists in the steady maintenance of the machinery in motion. The large mass of water heated to the evaporating point, the heated brickwork of the flues, and the large fireplace, are so many assistances to regularity, and enable the man in charge to attend to his other duties without the risk of spoiling the boiler or letting down the steam by a few minutes' absence from the stoke hole. Steam employers are found at present to prefer the known dangers of the large boilers to the supposed safety of small boilers, which they fear are troublesome in practice.
Many of the early boilers were rendered weak by the injudicious manner of arranging the seams. The longitudinal seams were made in a continuous line from end to end, as shown inFig. 24, page 20, with the transverse seams also continued completely round the boiler, so that at the corner of each plate there were four thicknesses of iron. The crossing of the seams, as inFig. 25, page 21, adds much to the strength, and also often prevents a rent from continuing forward to a dangerous extent.
faulty rivettingFig. 52.
Fig. 52.
It is scarcely requisite to mention the necessity of good material and workmanship to secure strength in a boiler, however perfect the design. If the plates are of weak and brittle iron, or imperfectly manufactured, they will never make a good boiler. Apart from the strain upon the boiler when at work, the iron has to undergo the strain of the necessary manipulation, shaping, and punching, during the construction of the boiler. If the plates forming the boiler are not well fitted to their places before the rivet holes aremade, the errors have to be partially rectified by using the drift in the holes to an unwarrantable extent, and then using imperfect rivets to fill up the holes that do not correspond with each other; and the mischief is too frequently increased afterwards by excessive caulking, in the endeavour to stop the leaking which is sure to show itself. In this way a boiler is often exposed to most unequal internal strain between its several parts before it is set to work at all; and when the heat is applied to it, the mere expansion causes undue contortion, and leads to seam rips, and ultimately to disaster. Several specimens of faulty rivetting and caulking were exhibited to the meeting, and a sketch of one of them is shown inFig. 52.
rectangular steam domeFig. 53.
Fig. 53.
The strength of a boiler is often very much lessened by the injudicious manner in which the mountings are fixed upon the boiler, and many explosions are the consequence of this defect. Not only are a great many holes for fittings cut out of the boiler in one line, but these holes are made needlessly large. Steam domes are often so placed as greatly to weaken the shell of the boiler, the hole cut out of the plate being made the full diameter of the dome; and in some cases the domes or steam chests have been made square or rectangular, so as to weaken the shell still more, as shown inFig. 53.
boiler with exploded manholeFig. 54.
Fig. 54.
Manholes are often a source of danger, if not properly arranged and duly strengthened. Even in very small boilers they are often placed with the longest diameter in the longitudinal direction of the boiler, so that the shell is greatly weakened, as in the sketch,Fig. 54, of an exploded boiler at Walsall in 1865. This boiler was 5 ft. 3 ins. long and 2 ft. 6 ins. diameter, and yet the manhole was 18 inches by 13 inches, and placed within a few inches of one end. The end was fastened in by angle iron, which was not welded, and consequently there was so little strength at the small portion of the shell between the end and the manhole that it gave way and liberated the end and the manhole lid, after which the main body of the boiler was thrown by the reaction across several streets to a great distance.
manhole exploded through plateFig. 55.
Fig. 55.
A somewhat similar injudicious arrangement of the manhole is shown inFig. 55, where a manhole 17 inches by 14 inches was cut out of the flat top of a steam dome only 2 ft. 6 ins. diameter, without any strengthening ring to compensate for it. The repeated strain of screwing up the manhole lid, combined with the pressure of the steam, caused the lid to force its way out through the plate and blow away. This explosion occurred at Birmingham in 1865.
The preceding examples have shown how explosions often result from faults in the construction of boilers; and the following instances illustrate the explosions caused by mischief arising during working. A boiler perhaps more than any other structure is subject to wear and tear; and let it be worked ever so carefully, it will seriously deteriorate. The wonder is, considering the work they have to perform, that so many boilers are found which have worked twenty, thirty, or even fifty years without explosion. The terms wear and tear however are too vague for this subject, and the mischief met with must be considered under distinct heads.
There is no doubt that the thing most to be dreaded for boilers is corrosion; because when the plate is once thinned, it cannot be strengthened again, but must remain permanently weakened. Corrosion the more deserves attention because it is easily detected by moderate vigilance, and can generally be prevented by moderate care, or by the boilers being so arranged that they can be readily examined in every part. Corrosion has been the direct and unmistakeable cause of a very large proportion of the explosions that have happened: it occurs both inside and outside the boiler, according to circumstances, and attacks the iron in various ways and in different places.
corrosion on plateFig. 56.
Fig. 56.
plate corrosion cross sectionFig. 57.
Fig. 57.
plate corrosionFig. 58.
Fig. 58.
cross section of corroded plateFig. 59.
Fig. 59.
Internal corrosionsometimes takes place from bad feed water, and its effects are different in extent in the different parts of the same boiler. It very seldom thins the plate over a large surface regularly, but attacks the iron in spots, pitting it in a number of holes. These are sometimes large, as if gradually increasing from a centre of action; and sometimes small, but so close together as to leave very little more space whole than that which is attacked. A very curious example of the latter was exhibited to the meeting, and shown inFig. 56andFig. 57, cut from the lower part of the shell of a large tubular boiler externally fired. The corrosion was greatest along that part of the shell most exposed to heat, and was so extensive that two boilers exploded simultaneously. The boilers had been at work sixteen years, but the corrosion commenced about eight years before the explosion, when the feed water was rendered corrosive by being obtained from some iron mines.This explosion occurred at Aberaman in 1864. The corrosion had been seen going on for years, and was not considered sufficient to cause danger; but the depth to which it extended through the thickness of the metal is seen in the half size section,Fig. 57. Another sample equally curious was exhibited to the meeting, and shown inFig. 58andFig. 59, taken from the sweep plate over the fire in a plain cylindrical boiler which had worked about ten years.
The feed water was occasionally bad, and attacked the iron over the areaDDD, where unprotected by scale. The protection afforded by scale against occasional corrosive feed water is worthy of notice. In the two specimens exhibited it is seen that the protection has been perfect where the scale has not been chipped off; and the edge of the sound part projects over the hollow, asseen in the half size sections,Fig. 57andFig. 59, the corrosive water having eaten away a larger area beneath than that through which it first entered the surface of the iron.
Internal corrosion is frequently observed where boilers are fed from canals or streams in the neighbourhood of chemical works from which corrosive matter is discharged at intervals into the water. The corrosion takes place in isolated spots, but causes deep holes; which seems to be accounted for on the supposition that the scale previously upon the plate cracks during the cooling of the boiler for cleaning, and forms a blister, so that a piece of about 2 inches area is raised slightly from the iron. When the boiler is again put to work, this blister becomes filled with the corrosive water, which is held there without circulation and causes corrosion. When the boiler is again emptied these blisters may be seen, and if broken show the blackened water and the injured surface. Infuture working each of these blisters forms a constant unprotected point for attack. It is frequently seen further that such corrosion is arrested if water be used which deposits scurf; but fresh blisters and renewed corrosion will result from a return to the use of the bad water.
The internal corrosion called furrowing has proved a frequent cause of explosion, especially in locomotive boilers. It differs from other corrosion by being in deep narrow continuous lines with abrupt edges. It will sometimes go completely through a plate; and is found where a sudden change of thickness occurs, either along the lines of the seams, or opposite the edge of angle-iron attachments. This effect is supposed to be due to the alternate springing of the plates under each variation of the pressure or temperature, causing the line of least resistance to receive a strain somewhat similar to that produced by bending a piece of iron backwards and forwards for the purpose of breaking it. This line of injury is exposed to constant attack from corrosion, because the scurf is always thrown off from it.
External corrosionis a far more frequent cause of explosion in stationary boilers; and it arises from many causes. The most frequent cause, although the most easily detected, is leakage from the joints of the fittings on the top of the boiler, which are too frequently attached by bolts instead of rivets. This evil is much increased when the boilers are covered with brickwork, which holds the water against the plates, and hides the mischief from observation. It is astonishing to find how much damage is allowed in this way to go on without attention, until the tops of boilers are corroded so thin that little holes burst through. These are sometimes found stopped with wooden pegs or covered by screwed patches of plate, either of which cause leakage that hastens the mischief, as shown by the sample exhibited. Boilers exposed to the weather will of course become corroded like anything else made of iron and not painted; and yet so much mischief is sometimes caused by leakage beneath improper covering that exposure may almostbe said to be the smaller evil of the two, as it is better to see what is going on than to rest in false security. No covering will be found cheaper, or better, in the long run, than a roof, which prevents the loss of heat by exposure, and yet allows free access to all the fittings and joints on the top of the boiler.
corroded plateFig. 60.
Fig. 60.
plate cross section showing corrosionFig. 61.
Fig. 61.
Some examples of the evils of covering can be given that have come under the writer's observation. A set of boilers had been well covered by arches of brickwork, so built as to keep out all water, and also set so as to touch the boilers only at intervals, leaving a space generally of a few inches. After about seven years' working, the whole of the tops of the boilers were discovered to be dangerously thin, and had to be renewed. The cause was leakage from the joints of fittings and seams of the boilers, and the issuing steam had been drawn along the space between the boilers and the arches, and had escaped at a place where it had not attracted notice. In another case, a somewhat similar set of boilers were covered with ashes, to prevent the loss of heat by radiation; and the rain and the leakage beneath the ashes, in conjunction with the corrosive matter from the ashes themselves, thinned the tops of the boilers to a dangerous extent in less than two years. A sketch of the corrosion caused in this instance by covering with ashes is shown inFig. 60andFig. 61.
plate showing corrosionFig. 62.
Fig. 62.
cross section of corroded plateFig. 63.
Fig. 63.
Similar mischief has been noticed in boilers covered with sand, as shown in the sketchesFig. 62andFig. 63, which represent an instance of corrosion after eight years' working; although nothing forms a better covering than sand for preventing loss of heat by radiation. In both these examples it will be seen that the corrosion has continued until the thickness of the plate has been so eaten away that a hole has been burst out atSS. A very good covering is formed by brickwork in cement; or various cements made for the purpose, which adhere to the surface of the plate and yet show leakage; or such materials as sacking or felt; or sheet-iron casing, leaving about 6 inches of air space all round the boiler.But all these have the great objection that they hide the boiler from inspection, except by the expensive process of removing the covering; and in this way dangers that have caused explosion have remained hidden from observation.
boiler with shell peeled offFig. 64.
Fig. 64.
explosion due to bottom corrosionFig. 65.
Fig. 65.
Explosions have also taken place from general corrosion of the surface of the boilers in the flues. A new boiler which was set on sidewalls built upon a foundation of porous rock was found to have become corroded all along the bottom in less than two years, owing to the dampness which rose from the foundations causing a constant presence of vapour. The corrosion was peculiar, and more like that found on old iron left for a long time in a damp place; for the iron plate fell to pieces when touched, and large flakes could be raised from the surface, and the greater part of the thickness of the plate could be removed with the fingers. Somewhat similar corrosion had taken place in a boiler which exploded at Loughborough in 1863; the bottom of the shell became rent at the corroded part, and as the fracture continued spirally round the boiler several times, nearly all the shell was peeled off in the curious manner shown inFig. 64. The explosion shown inFig. 65, which occurred at Leeds in 1866, also arose from corrosion of the bottom of the boiler.
channellingFig. 66.
Fig. 66.
channellingFig. 67.
Fig. 67.
The greater part of the corrosion found in the side flues of boilers is caused by the leakage of seams. Many boilers are emptied for cleaning as soon as work is over on Saturday night, and long before the brickwork of the fireplaces and flues has cooled; andconsequently, the boiler, having no water in it, is made much hotter than it ever is in working, and the seams are injured and sprung and the rivets loosened by the extra expansion so caused. This is sometimes done intentionally, in order to loosen the scale by the greater expansion of the iron than of the scurf. When the boiler is again set to work, the seams and rivets leak and cause that corrosion which is called channelling. This has been observed to occur to such an extent that all the seams in a boiler have been seen thus corroded; and the same has sometimes been found in all the boilers in a large manufactory. Specimens of this channelling were exhibited to the meeting. One in particular, shown inFig. 66andFig. 67, deserves attention, as it shows the effect of a jet of steam and water from the leaking rivetR, in cutting a series of channels into the plate along the course of the dotted linesEEE, and producing a hole in the plate atS. This corrosion had been going on for about four years, but was in a part of the boiler seldom seen in ordinary examination.Many explosions have resulted from this form of corrosion; for when a rent is once made, the fracture continues along the thinned channel of the plate.
The corrosion most to be dreaded, because most difficult to detect, is that which takes place where the boiler is in contact with brickwork; and it is found alike in all forms of boilers set in brickwork. When found at the part where the side flues are gathered in at the top against the boiler, it is usually occasioned by the leaking of fittings or feed pipes, or by rain being allowed to run between the boiler and the brickwork. More than one explosion has been caused by the droppings from a roof being allowed to fall upon the tops of the flues. When the corrosion is found at the point where the bottom flue walls touch the boiler, it is frequently caused by the leaking of seams that have been strained by the weight of the boiler; and this often arises from want of care to replace the brickwork, after repair of the boiler or flues, in such a position as to take again its proper proportion of the weight of the boiler. Cases have been met with where the shape of the bottom of large boilers has been quite altered by such means. The brackets on the sides of heavy boilers have not only been strained so that the rivets or bolts have leaked and caused corrosion, but they have also bent or cracked the side plates of the boiler. The bracket shown atBinFig. 53, page 40, made of only an angle iron with a piece of plate attached, is especially liable to cause injury if the brickwork is not rebuilt close up to the angle iron, as theleverage is so great. This is avoided by the better form of bracket shown atC, consisting of an elbow of flat bar-iron rivetted at top and bottom to the boiler.
corrosion on boilerFig. 68.
Fig. 68.
In the old balloon and wagon boilers, the angle where the bottom joined the sides scarcely ever remained sound for long when in contact with the brickwork, and many of those that exploded have been found almost corroded through where they stood upon the brickwork. The explosion before alluded to and shown inFig. 7, was caused by corrosion of the bottom of the boiler where it was set on the brickwork. Many boilers are so set that the brickwork of the flues is made to follow the shape of the boiler, with as little space between as possible; but the slight advantage gained in increased heating effect is far outweighed by the impossibility of getting into the flues for examination. It is only by having the flues sufficiently roomy that proper examination can be made, and that the indications on the brickwork of leaking can be seen and remedied, and corrosion arrested. A remarkable case of corrosion occurred in a boiler with an oval shell, set upon a middle wall. The flues were too narrow for a man to enter, and a leak in the bottom was only discovered by the boiler nearly running empty while the engine pumps were standing for a short time. It was subsequently found that the whole bottom where it rested on the wall was extensively corroded in a continuous line, and that explosion was only prevented by the numerous stays across the bottom to compensate for the oval shape.Fig. 68, shows the position and extent of the corrosion, and the plate was completely in holes at the parts indicated by theblack marks. This corrosion was supposed to have been going on for about three years.
boiler with one plate blown outFig. 69.
Fig. 69.
boiler showing line of fractureFig. 70.
Fig. 70.
exploded boiler with the bottom blown outFig. 71.
Fig. 71.
It is sometimes asserted that corrosion cannot be the cause of an explosion, because the corroded place would simply give way and let off the steam harmlessly, or at least the boiler would not be displaced from its seating. When the corrosion is only local, and surrounded by sound plates of sufficient strength to arrest the extension of the fracture, this may be the case, as in an explosion at Sheffield in 1865, shown inFig. 69, where a piece of plate was blown out on one side of the boiler, allowing the steam and water to escape without displacing the boiler; the thickness of the plate at that part had been reduced to 1/8th inch by corrosion in about 1½ years, which had been caused by leakage at the seams from inefficient repair with bolts instead of rivets, and also from the moisture having been allowed to be kept against the plate by the brickwork. But even under such circumstances, if the piece blown out should be from the bottom, the whole boiler may be thrown a great distance by the reaction of the issuing steam, as in an explosion at Leeds in 1865, shown inFig. 70. If the corrosionextends for any length, the first rent is almost sure to continue until a complete explosion is the result. Several of the small models exhibited to the meeting showed the line of fracture in various cases of explosion. One showed the appearance of a plain cylindrical boiler after explosion caused by corrosion along the whole length where it rested on brickwork; this explosion occurred at Wigan in 1865, and a sketch of it is given inFig. 71.