US1396220A - Steam-turbine-driven locomotive - Google Patents

Description

C. KOHLER.

STEAM TURBINE DRIVEN LOCOMOTIVE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 28, 1920.

1,396,220, Patented Nov. 8, 1921.

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Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented N ov.-8, 1921.

Application filed September 28, 1920. Serial Illo. 418,350.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

' Be it known that I, CONRAD KoHLEn, a citizen of the Re ublicof Switzerland, residing at Zurich, witzerland, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Steam-Turbine-Driven Locomotives; and I do =hereb declare the following to be a clear, full, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable other skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, and to letters or figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This inventlon relates to improvements in steam-turbine driven locomotives.

After steam-turbines have been perfected with respect to their design and workmanship and have been adopted for power generating purposes in almost every branch of industry owing to their economical advantages, the ideasuggested itself to utilize the steam-turbine drive also with, locomo tives. Although a great many proposals have been made to thisend the efforts of building an eflicient steam-turbine driven locomotive have not proved successful up to the present.

In order to obtain a low coal consumption it is necessary that the steam-turbine operate with condensation. I A steam-turbine driven locomotive has therefore to be provided with a condenser and with all the auxiliaries necessary for obtaining an eflicient condensation of the exhaust steam. Further the q transmission of the driving power from the reliable manner.

high speed steam-turbine to the driving wheels has to be effected in a thoroughly In constructing steamturbine driven locomotives present themselves inasmuc as the design and the arrangement of the difierent parts of a locomotive are subjected to limits in the longitudinal, vertical and transverse directions which limits have to be strictl adhered to. The cross-section of a locomotive is defined by the outline of the clearance gage within which all the parts must be arranged and the'over all length of a locomotive should not exceed a certain length which is fixed by existing turntables and the like.

The object of the present invention is a steam turbine driven locomotive the various parts of which are so constructed and arranged that-the locomotive complies with the above mentioned requirements with great difficulties regard to adhering to the prescribed clearance gage and to a fixed length over the buffers.

According to the invention the steamturbine driven locomotive comprises a steamboiler fitted with an induced draft furnace, an mpulse steam-turbine arranged in the 'front part of the locomotive and placed transversely to the longitudinal axis of the latter; This turbine is connected by means of two exhaust pipes to a surface-condensng plant, the turbine driving through the nterposition of two spur-wheel gearings an intermediate shaft mounted in bearings rigidly fixedto the locomotive frame. From said intermediate shaft rotation is imparted to the driving axles by parallel crank gear. A device for re-cooling the COOIil'lg water used for condensing urposes is arranged behind the steam boifer and the cab at distance from the latter that is at least equal to the eifective height channel, in WhiChrB-COOling device the contrivance for effecting a rain-like distributlon of the water to be cooled is arranged inside a vaulted-door shaped structure which closely corresponds at the top and at the sides to the outline defined by the railway clearance gage. The'interior of this vaulted-door shaped structure forms a cooling channel-with a free entrance and passage area that is as large as possible and through whi fl1 'the cooling air flows only once in a longitudinal direction. Furthermore the .main steam turbine as well as all the other auxiliary steam-driven power engines used for the forced draft furnace, for feeding the boiler, and for the condensing and recooling plant are arranged in the immediate neighborhood of the steam-boiler and for the greater part below its vertical center plane whereby flexible steam conduits are avoided. exemplification' of the invention is shown on the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a side-view of the locomotive; Fig. 2 illustrates on a larger scale a sideview of the front part of the locomotive shown in Fig. 1; Y

Fig. 3 ShOWs in a plan-view the arrangement of the steam-turbine, the gearings an the'condenser;

Fig. 4 is a transverse section through the cooling channel.

1 denotes the boiler provided with an 1nduc'ed draft furnace worked by means of a of the cooling i 6 through blower 2 forcing compressed air into the ash-pit below the grate. i

The drive of the locomotive is effected by an, impulse steam-turbine 3 working with 5 condensation and placed transverse to the direction of running. The steam-turbine runs at a high speed. The size of the turbine is so small that it can be arranged in the front part of the locomotive with its and furthermore with the small diameters of the disks a favorable ratio is obtained between the velocity of'the steam and the circumferential velocity, and thereforea favorable steamconsumption results. The transmission of power from the high speed turbine 3 to the driving wheels 4:, 5 is efi'ected by means of a double spur-gearing (6, 7 and 8, 9) to an intermediate shaft 10 from the latter by means of a parallel crank gear 11, 12 to the driving wheels 4 and 5. The

spur-gearings 6, 7 and 8, 9 as well as the intermediate shaft 10 are mounted in bearings rigidly fixed to the rigid locomotive frame 13 and are arranged for the greater part below the locomotive. In this manner the problem of transmitting the power from the high speed turbine rigidly fixed to the spring mounted locomotive driving wheels issolved in an efficient way which provides at the same time for the variation of the elevation of the turbine with regard to the position of the driving .wheels.

The condensation of the exhaust steam of the turbine is carried out in a surface condenser 14 arranged below the locomotive boiler in the vertical center plane of the latter. The condenser 14-. is provided with'two inlet branches arranged to the left and the 9 right of said plane which are connected by means of" two conduits 15 and 16 to two ex- .haust branches of thesteam turbine 3. The

' condenser is so shaped as to find accommodation below the boiler and within the locomo- 4 t'ive frame.

' The cooling water required fortondensing purposes in the surface condenser is cooled in a re-cooling device 17 arranged on a tender behind the steam-boiler. In this re cooling device'17 the cooling water flows in a rain-like distribution in the vertical direction through a cooling channel 18, in which it is cooled down by an air current induced upon the running of the locomotive, which .55 currentfiows through the cooling channelin a substantially horizontal direction. In or der to obtain a re-cooling device of the highest efliciency the'cross-section of the cooling channel is shaped like a vaulted door structure, the outline of which corresponds in its.

upper part and at thetwosides closely tothe.

railway clearance gage 18 and the interior of 'flmwhich structure provides for a free'entrance for the air current to pass and passage area Furthat is as large as possible.

axis transverse to the direction of running frame to the thermore the front end of the cooling chan- .nel is arranged at a distance 19' from the cab 20 which is at least equal to the effective height of thecooling channel, so that the entrance ,of the air into the cooling channel is not restricted by any structures in front of it. By means of a cooling water pump 21, driven by steam turbine 22, the cooling water is forced through the surface condenser 14 and through a conduit 23 to a distributer 24 arranged above the cooling channel 18 from where it falls through the cooling channel in a rain-like distribution and is collected .in tanks 25 which are connected together by .a conduit 31 below'thc channel. The water is drawn from the tanks by the pump 21 through a conduit 26 back to the condenser 14. The fioor of the cooling channel is raised at its rear end 27 in broad bend so that particles of water entrained by the current of air may be deposited thereon.

The rear end of the cooling channel is at such an'eleva-tion 28 that the evaporated water 'is carried above the following carriages of the train.

The arrangement is so chosen that the cooling water the quantity of which is at least equal .to 120 times the weight of steam flows twice through the surface condenser 14 in the longitudinal direction thereof and once through the channel 18 of the re-cool- By the combination of the above described constructional parts, which as such are partly. lmown, of the locomotive an efiicient' unit is produced 2'. e. a locomotive driven by a steam turbine working with condensation, by which locomot ve a cons derable saving in the consumption of coal as compared with existing locomotives, is attained.

I claim 1. A steam-turbine driven locomotive, comprising a steam-boiler having an induced draft furnace, a surface condensing plant, an impulse steam-turbine arranged in the front part of the locomotive with itsaxis transversetothe direction of running, transmission gearing consisting of spur-gearings, an intermediate shaft and crank gearinterposed'between said steam-turbine and the driving wheels, a re-cooling device for coolthe waterused for condensing purposes arranged behind the' steam boiler, a, device for effecting a rain-like *distribution of the cooling water provided in said re'cooling formed by the interior structure through which channel the cooling locomotive frame,

. device and shaped like a vaulted door structure the outline of which is within the railway clearance gage, a cooling channel air current flows once a longitudinal direction, and auxiliary steam driven power engines for driving the furnace blower, the boiler feed device and the pump used for condensing and re-cooling purposes, which auxiliary engines are arranged closely to the steam-boiler and for the greater part below its horizontal center plane whereby any flexible steam-conduits are avoided.

2. A steam-turbine driven locomotive, comprising a steam-boiler having an induced draft furnace worked by an undergrate blower, an impulse steam-turbine arranged in the front part of the locomotive with its axis transverse to the direction of running, a surface condensing plant arranged below the boiler and connected by means of two conduits symmetrically arranged to the 1ongitudinal center plane of the locomotive with two exhaust branches provided on the turbine, two spur-gearings interposed between said steam-turbine and an intermediate shaft mounted in bearings rigidly fixed to the parallel crank gear opof said vaulted door Y eratively connecting said intermediate shaft vto the driving wheels,

a re-cooling device for cooling the water usedfor, condensing purposes arranged behind the locomotive at a distance from the cab that is at least equal to the effective height of the cooling channel. a device for efi'ecting a rain-like'distribution of the cooling Water provided in said re-cooling device and shaped like a'vaulted door structure, a cooling channel formed by the interior of said vaulted door shaped structure having a freeentrance \and passage area that is as large as possible through which channel the cooling air current induced upon the running of the vehicle flows once in a longitudinal direction, a pump for forcing the cooling water in a circuit through said surface; condenser and said distributing device, and auxiliary steam driven power engines for actuating the furnace blower, the boiler feed device, and said cooling water pump which auxiliary engines are arranged closely to the steamboiler and for the greater part below its horizontal center plane whereby any flexible steam conduits are avoided.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention, 1 have signed my name.

CONRAD KOHLER.

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